Shakespeare's Hamlet - A Synopsis

Hey folks,

Here's a link to a good synopsis of Hamlet. Easy to google and find more. As you might guess, Sparknotes and Cliff's has them too.

http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/hamlet/summary/hamlet_summary.htm

Also, this one is even better. Much more exhaustive / comprehensive:
http://www.enotes.com/topics/hamlet

Onward!
Final draft of your paper (also bring rough to hand in) due at our next meeting. Also, actively read Acts II and III of Hamlet.

Grifters, Paper Dates, Pre-writing

See the post below. We have changed your Paper 1 due dates as follows:

Rough Draft: Tuesday 2/10 at the start of class [Bring THREE COPIES of your paper to class] We will use these for peer editing/reading in class. 

Final Draft: Due on Tuesday 2/17

For next week: 
1) Finish the Book
2) Work on your thesis, drafting and prewriting for Paper 1. Bring a minimum of two pages of writing/work to turn in. This should a) address a specific question from the assignment b) head toward a thesis c) involve specific evidence from the book and d) work toward ideas/topic sentences that support your thesis.

Grifters paper and Syllabus for Spring [DATES CHANGED]

Hello Eng 1B students!

Here are links to your Syllabus and the first paper.
Syllabus for Eng 1B Spring 2015

First paper assignment: Grifters

Your due dates for the Grifters paper are as follows:

Rough Draft: Tuesday 2/10 at the start of class [Bring THREE COPIES of your paper to class] We will use these for peer editing/reading in class.

Final Draft: Due on Tuesday 2/17

Your Homework for 1/27 is as follows:

1) Actively read in The Grifters to p. 126. Start thinking more about themes and tracking them as your read.

2) Writer two discussion questions to turn in at next class regarding The Grifters up to this point.

Now: Blogging for SP 15 Eng 1B at Mission

This is now the blog for Seth Harwood's SP15 Eng 1B at Mission campus on Tuesday nights.

If you're interested at all in what we did last semester in 1A, have a look below. Otherwise, stay tuned to what's next here for 1B!

Wrapping Up: Well Done!

First, great class this semester. We faced difficult topics, challenging readings and paper assignments made to make you work. You did work, each of you producing some excellent writing on your way to the end of the class.

I'm very proud of how you took part in the discussions about Underground America, as well as your final project on immigration. Well done!

For those of you who want to contact Peter Orner, he'd be happy to hear from you. His email is peterorner (at) gmail (dot) com

If you'd like a copy of Underground America in Spanish, you should be able to stop in to their offices (Voices of Witness) at 849 Valencia St. Tell them you were in my class and that Peter suggested you come by. I bet they'll be happy to give you a copy for free. They're great folks! 

You can also email mimi lok here at mimi.lok (at) voiceofwitness (dot) org and she'll help you out as well.

Here's a link to the book in Spanish: 

http://voiceofwitness.org/en-las-sombras-de-estados-unidos/

Once again,

All my best and thanks for a great term! Stay in touch and feel free to let me know if you'd like a signed copy of my book. I'm happy to make that happen.

Homework for Thanksgiving Week

1) Carefully read the assignment for your final project (Oral History and Research Paper) and write down any questions you have to raise at the start of next class.

Link to full paper assignment and schedule: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-0Jh0q__dp3ZWZMeFUxNzl3MUE/view?usp=sharing
Look carefully also at the schedule on page 2.

2) Watch or read President Obama's speech on immigration from 11/20/14
Video link: http://youtu.be/wejt939QXko (see below)
Transcript and Video: The Washington Post

3) Line up or start interview for your Final Project (know who your subject will be)

4) Do Library Workshop B, “Finding Magazine, Journal, and Newspaper articles in periodical databases.” http://www.ccsf.edu/~library/libskills_register.php

5) Start searching online databases for articles connected to your immigration issue.

Underground America Paper (and Schedule)

Here's the document for the paper assignment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-0Jh0q__dp3eGJSdlp1U0xDMEk/view?usp=sharing 

The schedule for the paper is as follows:

11/10 No Class

Actively read: "El Mojado" (p. 203) and Adela (p. 305)

11/17 Paper Rough Draft Due: Bring 3 copies

11/24 Final Draft Due

Homework for 11/3

Hello folks, good work this week on getting through the concept of arguments and the argumentative paper. Special thanks to Cheri for sharing her work with the rest of the class.

For this next week

First: Root for the Giants! Go Giants!

Read: 

1) The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Please print this out, if you're able, so you can show active reading on it. We'll be referring to this in class and on your next paper. (Assignment to come.)

2) In Underground America let's continue with the narratives of Lorena (p. 181) and Desiree (p. 261)

Write:
Think about the 30 articles in the Declaration of Human Rights. Write a page and a half about what violations of these human rights you see Lorena and Desiree encounter. You can do this in your journal, to be checked off. (Consider this prewriting/freewriting for the prompt below.)

Lab/Online:
Continue working in Reading Plus by doing 3 SR, 1 iB and 1, RA
Learning Curve: this week we focus on Verbs! (one assignment here)

Start thinking about the following prompt for your next paper:

Argument: Drawing on at least two narratives in Underground America, expose experiences in which human rights have been violated according to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and/or the United States Constitution, including the right to freedom of speech. 

I will give you a more detailed explanation of the assignment in class.

United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Here is the Declaration of Human Rights (for your next assignment)
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

HW for 10/27

1) Make sure you have a good Halloween costume. Never too early to start thinking about this.

2) Actively read p. 1-54 in Underground America (Orner).
This includes: Forward, Introduction, Diana, Mr. Lai and Saleem.

3) Write one page in your journal/notebook about your thoughts and response to this reading.

4) Do your usual work in Reading Plus and Learning Curve.

Have a great week!

Reading for Week of 10-6 to 10-13

First, your primary homework for the current week is to revise, edit and proofread your draft of the "Reefer Madness" argument paper.

Keep in mind that you're writing to evaluate Schlosser's use of persuasive techniques and how he presents his argument. Each body paragraph should have an idea (you making a point of your own about how effective Schlosser is) and material from the text that you're analyzing. If this doesn't make sense, email me asap.

Also, here's a handy Proofreading Tips Sheet that you can use when you're ready.

For this week, also read the conclusion "Out of the Underground" in Schlosser. If you have the extra afterword, please read that too, but if you're pressed for time, you can save it for next week.

Keep in mind to do some Reading Plus and Learning Curve work this week: one exercise on LC and 5 from RP. If you're still having difficulty, email me.

Good luck with your drafts! Keep in mind there's a free tutoring service on Ocean campus on the 2nd floor of Rosenburg Library. R205. Faculty and ace students are standing by to read YOUR draft and give you feedback. Check it out!

Midterm Exam Schedule

October 20th will be the date of our midterm. 

It will be an in-class essay. I will give you the question in class as well as a handout to use for prewriting/outlining your response.

You will have one hour to do pre-writing and then the rest of the class to write your essay.
The prompt for this essay will involve the all sections of Reefer Madness, except "The Empire of the Obscene." This means you will have to read Schlosser's conclusion "Out of the Underground" for the exam.

CHANGED: Your homework for the week of 10/13 to 10/20 will be active reading from Underground America: the essays "Roberto" p. 55 and "Olga"p. 99 

MLA Works Cited Page and In-Text Citations

Here are two great handouts from our library that help you see the proper formatting and use of MLA citations.

First, for your in-text citations, see this handout. 

Second, here's the handout for your MLA Works Cited Page format.

From the English Lab page, here are a few helpful pieces: 

On formatting your whole paper in MLA style in MS Word. 

AND... 

Here is a very clear video tutorial to help you with Word 2007/2010 MLA formatting, including running a page header and setting up your Works Cited page.

Reading Plus and Learning Curve Help Pages

Hey folks,

Good to see you logging into Reading Plus and Learning Curve from the lab tonight.

Remember our goal is to do one Learning Curve assignment per week and spend 30-45 minutes on Reading Plus doing exercises. Shoot for three SeeReader (SR) exercises and one each of Read Around (RA) and iBalance (iB).

If you're having trouble at home, here are a couple of helpful hints to get you going:

1) Learning Curve:

Click here: Improving sentence-level skills with Learning Curve

2) Reading Plus:

Go to login.readingplus.com 

Site code is ccsf

Your username is your student ID. 

Your Password is your last name (first letter capitalized).

Another way to enter the site is try "searching by class" 

See below:  

Ok. Onward! 

Homework Schedule for Paper 2 Assignment

Your Homework Schedule for the Next Segment (Reefer Madness Paper) is as follows:

Week of 9/22:
Answer Questions on Ch. 1 Handout here and respond to Q5 with at least 1 page of free writing toward your essay in your journal. (Note: I will be checking these off in class on 9/29.)

Go over Active Reading for entire "Reefer Madness" chapter, improving your first round and summarizing/mapping the main points and structure that Schlosser uses. Identify specific items you might want to use in your paper. Also decide which way to go with your thesis.

Note: here is the handout on Ethos/Pathos Logos.

Week of 9/29:
Write Rough Draft of Reefer Madness Paper.
Use your free writing and consider outline structure from handout to create paragraphs with main ideas/topic sentences to support your thesis.
Bring three printed copies of your draft to class for peer review.

Week of 10/6:
Finish your Final Draft to hand in on 10/13 at the start of class.
Consider:
Revision tools: Use feedback from Peer Review and Outline Template Handout

Editing: Now that you've considered your paragraph arrangement and what points you want to get across, examine the interior of your paragraphs: Do they start with a topic sentence (an idea)? If not, where/what is the idea for the paragraph? What unifies it? Do you use evidence? Is it properly set up, cited if necessary? Do you make your point clear?
Is each paragraph approx. 1/3 to 2/3 of a page? Not longer or shorter?

Proofreading: Consider the work you've been doing on Learning Curve. Go to Lab to get help from tutors. Read your work out loud to hear how it sounds. Use proofreading strategies here.

2nd Paper: Your First Argument Paper: "Reefer Madness" -- Is Schlosser Effective?

An Appealing Argument?

Background

In the first chapter of Eric Schlosser’s book Reefer Madness, he argues that the punishments for marijuana use and possession are perhaps too stringent and these strict laws reveal a problem within American culture’s perception of marijuana use and possession.

Task

In a 3-4 page essay discuss in detail how effective you think Schlosser’s argument is. Some questions to think about when addressing this prompt would be: What is Schlosser’s argument? How does he support his argument? What kind of argumentative strategies is Schlosser using? Is he persuasive and if so, how? If not, why not? What function do rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos and logos have in his argument?

Goals for this Essay

•       A unique title that shows some level or original creativity/thought.
•       An introduction that introduces the reading, author, and topic and catches the reader’s attention.
•    Clear thesis statement that conveys your opinion about Schlosser’s argument (NOT about marijuana laws).
• Your thesis should be one of the two: either you find Schlosser's argument effective or you do not find it effective--then you'll prove why.

• Well-organized body paragraphs in which you:

·      Have strong topic sentences that clearly support your thesis statement.

·      Use of evidence from Schlosser’s introduction and first chapter to support your points, specifically identifying effective or non-effective use of rhetoric (think Logos, Ethos, Pathos) in his argument.

·      Explain/analyze how and why your evidence proves your points.

• Quotations and references to Reefer Madness using the MLA guidelines.
• Work Cited page.
• Free of proofreading errors.

Due Dates/Schedule

Rough Draft: 10/6—Start early! 

Begin preparing your ideas and outlining or freewriting before 9/29.

Final draft due:         10/13

Homework for week of 9/15

THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE ON 9/22.

1)   Outline "Reefer Madness" pp. 13 to 53 using template handout as a guide.

Outline should have: 10 sections

Strive to use complete sentences for the main ideas of sections.

            Should be typed and printed.

See attached template handout for assistance. 

2)   Actively Read “Reefer Madness” to end (p. 74)

I’ll be checking active reading in class.
Continue to focus on marking main points, adding key words in margins.

3)   Learning Curve – Finish Subject/Verb Agreement assignment.

4)   Reading Plus: Complete Diagnostic test and work through a few more exercises until you either a) level up or b) reach an hour’s time spent.

Don’t let too many days go by before you start in on this work. Break it up into pieces that you can accomplish easily and chip away.

Part of the challenge of the once-weekly course is to take responsibility for your own time management and get work done over a span of time. You can do it! Email me if you need pointers, help or encouragement.

Accessing Online Resources for Class

We have two useful online resources to draw from so far for your class lab hours.

1) The first is Learning Curve.

You may access our class page on learning curve here:
http://www.macmillanhighered.com/learningcurve/rules7e/938931

When you first access this page, you'll need to use the code 8pj-duj-aygf6s9a to get in. 

Follow these instructions:

select “I have a student access code,” enter the code 8pj-duj-aygf6s9a, and click Submit.

If you have problems registering or logging in, please contact Customer Support. You can reach a representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

1. through the online form
2. by chat

Or from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. EST, 7 days a week: 
by phone at (800) 936-6899

2) The second is Reading Plus

Access Reading Plus here: https://login.readingplus.com

The site code is ccsf

Select our class from the list, your name and use YOUR LAST NAME as your password.

3) The English Dept Lab Page

For more info, questions and further resources, visit the English Web Resources Page here:

http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/English/labpage/webresources.htm

or the English Dept. Lab page. 

Enjoy!

Homework Due on 9/15: Continuing Summary Work

Hello!

As many of you realized last night, your summary assignment is still in the works. All but a few of you chose to do revision and development for another week rather than turning your current work in for a grade. Having looked a few of these over, I can say you made the right choice. 

Look to your peer editing and revision process this week to keep improving those summaries. I look forward to seeing final drafts Next Week.

Reading HW: do your best Active Reading on Schlosser's first section in the book, "Reefer Madness." (The section has the same title as the book.) to p. 53. 

I'll be grading your active reading on pp. 13 to 53 of the book as your quiz grade on active reading during our next 

class. Be sure to mark main points in the margins and underline the best of his ideas.

Here's the link to the peer review form, again. 

Initial Homework Assignments: Leading to Summary Assignment 1

First assignments and initial schedule

Note: Due to Labor Day, we will not meet on 9/1. This means some legwork*.

Week 1: 8/18

First Homework assignment:

1) Actively read Reefer Madness: Intro (p. 1-11) and start “In the Strawberry Fields” pages 77-88. Note: your active reading will be checked off in class and evaluated in Week 2.

2) Autobiography of a reader: Length: Two typed pages

(double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1.25” margins)

Describe your experiences in life relating to reading. Lead up to where you are now from your first exposure to reading. (Did someone first read to you? Who? When/where did you learn how to read? What books have you liked best? What kinds of reading have excited you most?) You may choose to begin this assignment by making a timeline to help you with finding the important dates and moments of your life as far as reading is concerned.

3) Read over this syllabus to see if you have any questions.

Week 2: 8/25

Second Homework Assignment – Due 9/8

Note: due to the Labor Day holiday, we will not have class on 9/1. *It is your responsibility to connect with your peer group during these two weeks for feedback and workshop on your summary assignment.

Note: See attached handout for peer review. 

1) Finish actively reading “Into the Strawberry Fields.” Your active reading will be graded as a quiz score on 9/8 in class. (Scale of 1-10)

2) Graded Writing Assignment #1: Summarize Schlosser’s “Strawberry Fields” section covering as many of the main points, arguments and evidence as you can in 2-3 pages. (Not more than 3.)

Week 3: 9/8

            Collect Graded Assignment 1: Summary (rough draft and final)

Active reading for Strawberry Fields graded: quiz grade.

Further discussion of Summary/Writing process and Schlosser reading.