Thursday, December 18, 2008

AGENDA 12/18

Have a safe, wonderful, fun-filled, restful Winter Break!

And of course, enjoy the
WINTER BREAK ASSIGNMENT:

Read Chapters 1-23 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Complete three rhetorical terms entries using Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as your example text. Two must be humor devices (see Humor Devices bookmark for details); the third may be any device of your choosing, but I recommend "colloquialism" or "dialect").

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn bookmark - what to notice as you read
Humor devices bookmark - to help with your rhetorical terms

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

AGENDA 12/17

Peer Revision Protocol:

First, the author of the draft responds to the following on a separate sheet of paper--
QUICK CHECK
1) What are you happiest with regarding your draft?
2) What part do you want help with?
3) What are you already planning to fix/revise?

Next, give your paper and your "Quick Check" to a partner, who will read both your "Quick Check" and your draft and then answer the following as a response to your "Quick Check":
1) What is the most persuasive/convincing part of the paper? (Give page & paragraph number)
2) Where does the writer address counterargument(s) -- and if the paper does not fully refute/explain the counterarguments, please give guidance!
3) What part is hardest to follow?
4) What part is especially well-written?

HW: Finish up research papers--final & rough drafts due tomorrow or Friday! See Final Checklist for Researched Argument Papers to make sure all requirements--formatting, content, and style--are met. Bring ID cards and The Crucible books for our textbook room trip tomorrow. Tomorrow, we begin Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!

Friday, December 5, 2008

AGENDA 12/5

Healthy Kids Survey

Handout: Sample Researched Argument Paper #1 on Gun Control
This paper is well-researched and wonderfully readable--it includes a number of rhetorical techniques and stylistic devices, handles statistics and paraphrased information well, and incorporates the writer's unique voice. It DOES include a few grammatical errors, but despite those minor flaws, the paper is an excellent example of a researched argument paper because it synthesizes information from a variety of sources, and uses those examples and quotations to advance the writer's argument--it doesn't read like a book report on the subject but is truly a persuasive piece.

Handout: Sample Researched Argument Paper #2 on Recreation in National Parks
This paper is a little more traditional--it also received an A and includes terrific examples of how to embed direct quotations using meaningful half-sentences and how to open body paragraphs with clear, persuasive claims. This student also does an excellent job of transitioning between paragraphs and moving on to new ideas. She, too, includes a number of stylistic techniques, and handles a great deal of background information in a way that is intriguing and advances her argument.

**The key idea to take from these samples is that your persuasive papers should be just that--persuasive. Although they must refer to a number of sources, your papers should NOT be dull and boring, but should make a plea, exhortation, convincing case, or demand of some sort--combining appeals to logos AND pathos to win over your audience to your way of thinking. Your paper MUST contain a lot of facts...but do so in a fun-to-read, compelling, mature, sophisticated, stylish, entertaining, passionate way.

Handout: Researched Argument Paper Final Checklist
This handout includes all of the requirements for the FINAL draft. We'll be working on various portions of this over the next two weeks.

HW: Due Monday--Working Bibliography of 20 sources & first quarter of indie reading book read
Due Wednesday--2 rhetorical terms entries (one from "The World House" and one from "What Really Ails America") and "down draft" of researched argument paper (this can be a total disaster--it just needs to be something "down" on paper...preferably 2-3 pages worth--an intro and a handful of body paragraphs...)

Thursday, December 4, 2008

AGENDA 12/4

Formulating your thesis for your researched argument paper

Work Day:
Continue prewriting for researched arg paper ("down draft" due Weds - a sample will be given in class tomorrow)
Work on 2 rhetorical terms entries (typed, due Weds), one from "The World House" and one from "What Really Ails America":
suggested devices for "The World House": personification, catalogue, antithesis, metaphor, repetition, anecdote
suggested devices for "What Really Ails America": catalogue, anecdote, statistics, analogy, repetition, allusion, refrain
Read first quarter of indie reading book

HW: Working Bibliography due Monday. First quarter of indie reading book due Monday. (Stand Up seminar on "What Really Ails America" and "The World House" continues Monday. "Down draft" of researched argument paper due Wednesday, as well as 2 rhetorical terms entries.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

AGENDA 12/3

Announcements & due dates
Stand Up Seminar Preparation to discuss "The World House" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and "What Really Ails America" by William J. Bennett
Begin Stand Up Seminar - continue on Monday

Tomorrow: *Work Day*...Bring McGraw-Hill Reader to work on two rhetorical terms, bring source packet to work on researched argument paper (guidelines & sample to be given in class tomorrow) and bring new indie reading book to get going on that...

HW: Working Bibliography due Monday. First quarter of indie reading book should be read for Monday. Be ready to discuss "What Really Ails America" and "The World House" on Monday. Two rhetorical terms due next Wednesday, one using "What Really Ails America" and one using "The World House." First draft of researched argument paper will be due next Wednesday.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Computer Lab - Let the bibliography-making continue! :)

Working Bibliographies due Monday 12/8...remember to alphabetize before exporting to RTF or Word, then change the title from "Works Cited" to Working Bibliography, add your last name & page number in the upper right hand corner of each page (Use View-->Headers and Footers) and type your first & last name, instructor's name, course title/period, and the date written as 8 December 2008 in the upper left hand corner. Refer back to the McGraw-Hill Reader or to your Grapes of Wrath paper sample for models.

HW: Read "The World House" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and "What Really Ails America" by William J. Bennett in The McGraw-Hill Reader, pages 338-343 and 443-446, respectively. No writing assignment due--just read these two essays and bring your book tomorrow. Also, please bring your source packet to class each day so that I can score a few at a time. And don't forget to have your indie reading book and be one-quarter of the way through it by Monday, December 8th!