Shakespeare was called The Upstart Crow as a young writer. Image ©1962 and used with the kind permission of The Upstart Crow Theatre Company.

En 11 Texts and Contexts (Web)

Dr. Richard Regan

Summer 2011

Donnarumma Hall 103

Fairfield University

Email: rjregan@fairfield.edu

This online course will begin on Monday, July 18. We will work from this web page for our course structure, and we will use our email accounts daily (Monday through Friday) to discuss topics in the course. It's a good idea to have more than one email account in case one is down when you need it; Yahoo and Hotmail offer free accounts. You will of course need internet access, as well as a copy of Microsoft Word which we will use to exchange papers as email attachments. We can practice the exchange of files as soon as students contact the professor at the beginning of the course.

I am also available for consultation in my campus office by arrangement.

The course is divided into four modules, for four types of writing: narration, exposition, description, and persuasion. This organization is reflected in the textbook, Patterns for a Purpose, 6th edition (2010), ed. Clouse (McGraw-Hill), available in the bookstore. You must have this textbook. If you have any difficulty getting your hands on it, contact me immediately. You can buy it online at amazon.com.

Patterns for a Purpose, 6th edition (2010)

For each type of essay, we will develop several rewrites in our e-mail conversations. The grade for the course will be the average grade on the final versions of the four essays, on the assumption that class members also participate in daily emails, which will be our discussion forums. A final portfolio with a metanarrative is also required.

Take a look at the green navigation menu which floats in the left column of this page. Clicking of the name of any module will bring you to that place on this course page, and will also open a submenu of links to helpful websites. So bookmark this course page in your browser, and when you get here just click on the part of the course you're working on. The floating menu will follow you as you scroll through that module. If you scroll down or up to another module, however, the floating main menu will remain open to the module you just clicked. I recommend that you navigate this page by clicking on module names in the floating green menu.

Module 1 - Narration

Patterns of Narration and Essays: pp. 199-211:
Chris Abani, "The Lottery"
Langston Hughes, "Salvation"
Shawn Macomber, "Stripping Away Free Expression"

Read the inside rear cover pages of Patterns for a Purpose, which describe Narration, Description, and six different kinds of Exposition. Then read pp. 3-12 and pp. 29-36 as a general introduction. Then read pp. 181-191, which contain some ideas about narrative writing as well as several sample essays.

Then try writing in Microsoft Word a brief narrative (take 20-30 minutes - length is not important) and email it to me (rjregan@mail.fairfield.edu) as an attachment to your email message. Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Narrative mini-essay." You can try one of the following topics suggested in our book: p. 202 #2; p. 206 #2; p.210 #2 (or on p. 229). Notice that these topics are related to the essays you have just read. This is an ungraded assignment, but you must do it to practice the form of narration. As you write these mini-essays, remember that you can turn any one into the main narrative essay.

Narrative mini-essay #1 due Wednesday, July 20

I will send an email message each day, Monday through Friday, prompting you to talk about the narrative essays in our book. We'll also talk about some of the main points made about narrative writing in the book and also in the linked pages from the floating menu.

After you hear back from me about your mini-essay, read pp. 212-222.

More Narrative Essays:
John Schwartz, "The Poncho Bearer"
Natalie Kusz, "Ring Leader"

Choose another topic for another mini-essay. I suggest the topics on p. 216 #2; 221-222 #2 (also p. 229). Send your essay to me as "Smith Narrative mini 2," then get to work on your main effort in the narrative essay. This essay should be 3-4 pages, and will be graded. There are some interesting topics on p. 229, and a Checklist on p. 194. Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Narrative #1."I will send back to you some suggested revisions, and we can have an extended email conversation. You may rewrite this essay as many times as you wish. Each new version will be graded, and the new grade will replace the former grade.

Narrative mini-essay #2 due Friday, July 22

Graded Narrative Essay due Monday, July 25

First Narrative Rewrite due Wednesday, July 27

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant is an interesting collection of advice about several different types of writing. There is no magic formula which guarantees good writing, so it's helpful to hear different voices on the subject.

Guide to Grammar and Writing is a large site with enough parts to keep you busy all summer, and beyond. There are interesting sections on different kinds of writing, and grammar sections with interactive quizzes. I'm not one of those writing teachers who believes that grammar study helps make good writers. It probably makes good grammarians. When I went to high school and studied Latin for the first time, I discovered that I finally understood the rules for English grammar because the early grammarians had based their rules for English on the rules for Latin. Times have changed somewhat, and most enlightened writers and editors now believe in the principle of usage, meaning that "correct" language is what the majority of educated speakers use, and it's always changing. The Word Detective is an up to date site with creative ideas about language.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab is the most famous of its kind. Notice the section on Student/Teacher Handouts, which addresses many common problem areas in writing.

Here is a web page which provides editing aids:

The Editing and Rewriting Process

Note the editing checklist at the bottom of the page. And here's another:

The Deadly Sins Checklist

Module 2 - Exposition

Notice that we're not following the order of the sections in Patterns for a Purpose. I liked (okay, loved) this book at first sight because it's so clear and so helpful. I decided to rearrange the order for my presentation because exposition and persuasion are the two hardest modes of writing for most students. So I split them up, and put description in between. But you may discover that any one of these forms is the one (or two) that you find most appealing as a writer. One of the purposes of this course is to help you discover your writing strengths, and to develop them as you also work on forms you find more difficult.

Writing situations outside the classroom (or classnet, in this case) call for mixing several forms, as your book tells you frequently in the "Using...for a Purpose" section in each Module's reading assignment. I'll call your attention to this frequently.

Read pp. pp. 473-483 (Classification-Division), our first kind of expository writing. After you read the essays listed below, Send me a mini-essay based on one of these topics: pp. 481 #2; p. 495 #2; p. 502 #2; p. 508 #2 (also p. 520). Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Classification mini."

Essays, pp. 467-485

Sissela Bok, "White Lies"
Martin Luther King, Jr., "The Ways of Meeting Oppression"
Bill Bunn, "What's Relly in Your Shampoo?"
Thomas Friedman, "Globalization: The Super-Story"

Reply All to my emails on these four classification/division essays.

Mini-essay due Friday, July 29

Read pp. pp. 291-300 (Process), our second expository form. After you read the essays listed below, Send me a mini-essay based on one of these topics: p. 310 #2; p. 316 #2; p. 324 #2 (also p. 344). Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Process mini."

Essays, pp. 303-323

Student essay: "A Visit to Candyland"

Dave Barry, "Science: It's Just Not Fair"
Diane Cole, "Don't Just Stand There"
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., "In the Kitchen"

Reply All to my emails on these three process essays.

Mini-essay due Monday, August 1

Read pp. 349-359 (Comparison-Contrast), our third form. After you read the essays listed below, Send me a mini-essay based on one of these topics: p. 371-372 #2; p. 384 #2; p. 391-392 #2; p. 407 #2; p. 387 #2 (also p. 410). Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Comparison mini."

Essays, pp. 367-371, 379-390, 402-406

Bruce Catton, "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts"
Alice Walker, "Am I Blue"
Deborah Siegel, "The New Trophy Wife"
Arthur L. Campa, "Anglo vs. Chicano: Why?"

Reply All to my emails on these four comparison-contrast essays.

Mini-essay due Wednesday, August 3

Read pp. pp. 413-423 (Cause+Effect), the fourth form. After you read the essays listed below, Send me a mini-essay based on one of these topics: p. 431 #2; p. 435 # 2; p. 440 # 2; p. 452-453 #2 (also p. 469). Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Cause mini."

Essays, pp. 403-433

Reply All to my emails on these four cause+effect essays.

Mini-essay due Friday, August 5

There are some good topics and checklists on the following pages:

Classification-Division, Topics: 520; Checklist: 484

Process, Topics: 344; Checklist 302

Comparison-Contrast, Topics: 410; Checklist: 361

Cause+Effect, Topics: 469; Checklist: 423

Since Expository writing is often more formal than Narration, you might find it helpful now to read Chapter 3 "Writing and Rewriting," pp.59-83. Part of this chapter deals with rewriting, which we'll be doing a lot of.

Choose a form and write a three to four page essay. Remember that you can develop one of your mini-essays into the major essay. Send the essay to me as an email attachment. Put your last name and "#2 Exposition" in the subject line of the email. I will send back to you some suggested revisions, and we can have an extended email conversation. You may rewrite this essay as many times as you wish. Each new version will be graded, and the new grade will replace the former grade.

Graded Expository Essay due Monday, August 8

First Expository Rewrite due Wednesday, August 10

Linguists often divide speech into five levels of social interaction:

Oratorical language is the formal speech of important public occasions, like an inauguration.

Deliberative language is the speech of lectures, for example, where the speaker controls the occasion and doesn't expect questions or interruptions.

Consultative language is less formal, and the speaker expects some response from the listener(s).

Casual language is everyday speech, often full of slang, where the speaker pays little or no attention to language standards.

Intimate language is spoken in families, in couples, between siblings or close friends, and has private references or code which the outsider has little chance of understanding.

Module 3 - Description

Description is a technique you can use in any kind of writing to make the essay more vivid. Here we'll concentrate on the description itself.

Read pp. 119-132. After you read the essays listed below,Send me a mini-essay based on one of these topics: p. 144 # 2; p. 148 # 2; p. 154 #2; p. 163 #2 (also p. 178). Put your last name and a short title in the subject line of the email, like "Smith Description mini."

Essays, pp. 140-162

N. Scott Momaday, "The Homestead on Rainy Mountain Creek"
Diane Ackerman, "World at Dawn..."
Annie Dillard, "The Deer at Providencia"
Gretel Ehrlich, "Struck by Lightning"

Reply All to my emails on these four descriptive essays..

Mini-essay due Friday, August 12

Now it's time to write your main descriptive essay. Put your last name and "#3 Description" in the subject line of the email.

Here are some useful topics and a checklist: Topics: p. 178; Checklist: p. 132.

As you work on your main descriptive essay, remember that the techniques you are encouraged to use, especially showing rather than telling, can be used to good effect in all your writing, including rewrites you are doing in this course. You can't write good description without being specific, which is good advice for everything you write.

Graded Descriptive Essay due Monday, August 15

Begin the reading for Module 4 (Persuasion) now.

First Descriptive Rewrite due Wednesday, August 17

Module 4 - Persuasion

This module is the most challenging for most students. Notice that Patterns for a Purpose deals with Argument and Persuasion, and makes a distinction between them. Argument generally refers to formal argument based on classic rhetorical strategies, and is a difficult form which I think needs its own course. Here we will study persuasive writing, which is the kind you are most likely to use in college and in your professional life, as well as in your life as a citizen.

First, we'll return to some basic strategies for organization: read pp. 34-47 on Topic and Thesis. We have not spent time on the thesis directly, but you have used a thesis approach in your expository essay. It's important to see the difference between a topic, which is a subject you wish to write about, and a thesis, which is your specific interpretation of the topic, your attempt to persuade the reader to agree with your point of view, or your call to action.

Here are two mixed form essays which have persuasive components:

Pagan Kennedy, "One Room, 3000 Brains," pp. 677-684.
Esther Thorson, "Dissect an Ad," pp. 685-690.

Also start reading the editorial page of your local newspaper, or a major national newspaper.

Read pp. 47-54 on Outlining and Drafting. Writing persuasively calls for special care in organization and development.

Read pp. 571-588 to learn some of the basic techniques of persuasive writing. Notice especially the three modes of rhetoric: reasoning and logic (called logos, Greek for word), emotions (called pathos, Greek for feeling), and values and beliefs (related to the Greek ethos or ethical appeal). Ethos is a quality which a speaker or writer projects to persuade the audience to agree with him or her: expertise, personal experience, or any other quality the audience might find appealing.

EXAMPLES of Argument and Persuasion

PRO and CON: "Should the Law Allow Payment to Organ Donors?" (pp. 592-598)

National Kidney Foundation, "Financial Incentives for Organ Donation"
Sally Satel, "The Case for Paying Organ Donors"

"Should Juvenile Offenders be Tried in Adult Courts?" (pp. 599-620)

New York Times editorial, "Little Adult Criminals"
Laurence Steinberg, "Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried as Adults?"
Linda J. Collier, "Adult Crime, Adult Time"
Timothy Roche and Amanda Bower, "Young Voices from the Cell"

"What Speech Does the First Amendment Protect On College Campuses?" (pp. 622-644)

Cinnamon Stillwell, "Mob Rule on College Campuses"
Charles R. Lawrence III, "The Debate Over Placing Limits on Racist Speech Must Not Ignore the Damage It Does to Its Victims"
Harvey A. Silvergate and Greg Lukianoff, "Speech Codes: Alive and Well at College"
Howard M. Wasserman, "Fan Profanity"

Now it's time to prepare a topic and thesis for your persuasive essay. Our topics will be drawn from current environmental issues. Instead of sending me a mini-essay, send me the first paragraph of a persuasive essay you'd like to try. I'll reply with an assessment of your topic and approach.

Here are reliable online sources to help guide you to a topic:

The Daily Green
Treehugger
Earth 911
Go Green
The Reluctant Environmentalist

You are looking for a topic which you have some interest in, some familiarity with, something local, not national or global. Here more than anywhere else follow the classic advice: write about what you know. Part of what you know will come from your research.

Since your topic requires you to present background material, like data and quotations, read the section on Locating, Evaluating, and Drawing on Sources: pp.701-711.

First Paragraph of Persuasive Essay due Friday, August 19

I'll get back to you with my opinion of the probability of success of your proposed essay. Then send me your persuasive essay, and we'll work on subsequent revision.

Graded Persuasive Essay due Monday, August 22

First Persuasive Rewrite due Wednesday, August 24

Metanarrative, Portfolio, and Conclusion

The final new step in the course is the portfolio.

Writing Portfolios: What Teachers Learn…

Creating An Electronic Portfolio

It's your task to review each of your graded essays, together with one mini-essay from each module.Then write a 3-4 page essay (called a metanarrative) explaining how your writing has progressed during the course. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How can you improve your writing where needed, and how can you use your strengths? Many writing tasks await you in college and in your profession. The more you're aware of how you write, the greater the chance of success.

Metanarrative due Friday, August 26

The course ends at midnight, August 26. You will see a link to an online course evaluation in Stagweb under "My Courses." Please fill it out to help us improve our online teaching. Here is a link to another evaluation done by the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium:

CDLC Online Evaluation

Thanks in advance for filling out both evaluations.

I hope you have enjoyed and profited from our Texts and Contexts course. Please send me any suggestions for improving it, and good luck in your future studies.

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