Assignments for Thursday March 25th

For Thursday's class, please read

• Chapter 8: Organizing and Drafting an Essay (351 - 379)
• King Curtis's Echo by Max Thayer (191 - 194)

Also, come to class prepared to begin working on your research paper outline and introduction. (You might want to bring some of your source material with you.)

Discussion Board
Analyze the way in which ideas are organized in the essay by Max Thayer. How would you describe the structure? Is it effective? If the ideas were ordered differently, could the overall impact be stronger? How? Be sure to read Chapter 8, as well as King Kurtis's Echo, before attempting to answer this question.

Assignments for Tuesday March 23rd

Please finish WP #3: Bibliography.

Also, please read the following articles from our texbook:

1. On Teenagers and Tattoos by Andres Martin (24 - 28)
2. Under My Skin by Jon Bowen (29 - 32)
   

Discussion Board:
Based on the two articles, do you think teenagers should be able to make their own decisions to get a tattoo? Use details from both articles to support your response.

(post response in comments section below before Tuesday's class)

Recommended Poetry Event...

One of my favorite poets, Rae Armantrout, will be discussing the art of the lyric next week Tuesday at Poets House. The event starts at 7:00pm and costs $7 for students. See details here: Lyric Persuasions: A Conversation with Rae Armantrout & Norman Fischer

I hope to see some of there! (Extra credit will be given.)

Assignments for Thursday March 11th

In preparation for Thursday's in-class midterm exam, please read

1. When Reality TV Gets Too Real by Jeremy W. Peters (pg. 239)
2. Evaluative Response (pgs. 438 - 443)

For Discussion:
What is Peters' argument in "When Reality TV Gets Too Real"? What key points does he make?

Assignments for Tuesday March 9th

Read Chapter 13: Writing the Research Paper (pgs. 509 - 559).

Complete final draft of Writing Project #2: Research Proposal.

For Discussion:
1. What are the pros and cons of online sources?
2. Even better than 2nd-degree sources (like books and articles) are 1st-degree sources (first-hand knowledge from an expert in the field). If you could interview anyone for your research topic, who would you choose and how would the experience enhance your paper?

Assignment for Thursday March 4th

For Thursday, please read Discrimination at Large by Jennifer A. Coleman (pgs. 198 - 200). Be prepared to engage in group discussion during class.

Also, be prepared to share your research topic and thesis statement with the class. (It'll be interesting to discover what people are covering.)

Discussion Board:
Do you agree with the author's assertion that jokes and slurs about overweight people are "as wrong and damaging as any racial or ethnic slur"? Why or why not?