Today in class, we had fun critiquing Cristina's essay on E-40. Well-researched and written, Latrice, Chantha and I enjoyed the discussion with Cristina who was a great sport about it all.

Latrice still isn't having much luck getting in touch with the folks at Ella Baker, but she has some other ideas about how to get primary to sources like the rap artists and other organizations that collaborate with Ella Baker Center like Leadership Excellence.

Chantha will be speaking to Elena at EastSide this afternoon, so we should be in for a treat Thursday when we share once again. Tomorrow is our last library session with Steve Gerstle. We meet downstairs.

The essays are due Tuesday, Dec. 4; however, the peer review is this week, so bring in a draft. It doesn't have to be great, just get it out. The first step is to become an expert on your topic, then put the materials up and write. Of course, you have an outline to direct the writing to make certain it's all covered. You could even answer the questions then put the parts together later.

There is a program: "Sisters in Law" is on PBS Channel 9 tonight at 10 p.m. I highly recommend it.

Monday, Nov. 26: Counting Down

Today we met in the Writing Center Lounge. We'll meet in the L-Bldg. for the rest of this week and perhaps the semester. It seems easier than the alternative. We completed the exercises on logical fallacies in Hacker (345-368). We also talked about the difference between inductive reasoning, that is, arguing from the specific to the general and deductive arguments, arguing from the general to the specific. We noted that in both cases, the conclusion or claim is only an approximate, not absolute truth.

Homework is to respond to the pre-writing prompt on the Ann McClintock essay, "Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising." The essay is due Monday, Dec. 3. The essay is a response to one of the five questions at the end of the McClintock essay. It needs to be minimally 250 words long. Post it here.

Remember, the last information literacy session is Wednesday, Nov. 29, in the library with Steve Gerstle, 11-12 noon.

The final draft of your essay is due this following day for a peer review. I have copied the dates and grade criterion below. I gave students a hard copy today. If you were absent, you can pick up a copy of the McClintock essay at my office.

Students are still resisting asking the reference librarian for help. They are the experts, ask for assistance. They are teachers and are a great resource most students ignore.

Research Essay English 1A

Essays were due for peer reviews last Wednesday, Nov. 21. We will do the peer reviews today instead. The final draft is due to me, Thursday, Nov. 29 on a disk or CD. I'd like your planning sheet and outline, plus at least one peer review based on the handout I gave you last week (see Hacker pages 26-27. If you do not have all these parts you will loose points on the essay.

The grading will be based on the following:

The essay writing: 65 percent
essay structure and organization: introduction, body and conclusion
clearly stated thesis,
topic sentences,
evidence

Research 15 percent
How well does the student know the topic
How sound is the research
Use of signal phrases
paraphrases
block quotes

Grammar 15 percent
Syntax and mechanics
I am particularly looking at dependent and independent clauses; fused sentences, comma splices, subject verb agreement, pronoun reference agreement in gender and count, spelling and misuse of words

A way to avoid this is to read the paper aloud before you turn it in

Supplementary documents: 5 percent
Essay Planning Sheet
Essay outline
Peer review or review of essay by a teacher/tutor in the Writing Center.

What the tutor/teacher recommends is just that, a recommendation. Take what you agree with and leave the rest.

An A is 95-100 percent; B 85 percent; C 80 percent

There is an automatic revision required for any grades below 80 percent. You have one week to respond. This is a high impact grade which is none negotiable. You need to have a passing grade on this essay to pass the class.

We are meeting in the Writing Center today. Come by and let me see your essay. Post it here if you'd like a critique before the final draft is due next week. Bring in the final draft Tuesday, November 27, for a peer review. We will meet at the reference desk for the last class in our Information Literacy class with Steve Gerstle.

Keep reading Guy. You should be up to Chapter 7 by next week. It's a fast read. Let it be what you do when you need to let your essay percolate or simmer.

Have a great holiday!

Not many students came to class today. Jay and Latrice and I sat in my office and reviewed Latrice's draft. Her paper is on the Ella Baker Center. It has improved since I looked at the introduction earlier this week.

Today students trickled in one at a time, so by the time 11:30 rolled around I'd said goodbye to Latrice who along with Al headed over to the Ella Baker Center to get an interview with one of the programmers connected to the Stop the Violence initiative. Jay and Zareth came in shortly afterwards. Zareth is interviewing Sylvia at La Pena Cultural Center tomorrow.

Essays are due Wednesday, Nov. 21. Bring them in. We will have peer reviews and continue our discussion of Afeni Shakur. We're up to Chapter 6 I believe.

Today in class we looked at the chapter on Argument in Rules for Writers and completed the exercises at the end. We took time to talk about deductive and inductive arguments. We even drew a ven diagram from a syllogism about the spill in the SF Bay and its affect on the crab industry.

Homework was to complete the outlines, introductions and conclusions for the research essay due in two weeks. We also talked a little about Elements of Style.

I passed out information about a free movie Thursday in Piedmont called Autumn's Eyes, and told students about a performance at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco this weekend, beginning Thursday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m. 11/15 performance is pay what-you-can. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is showing excerpts of a larger work based on Jeff Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop: The History of Hip Hop. I am going tomorrow.

Long weekend ahead

Today in class we reviewed the website evaluation assignment. Only one person completed the entire assignment. Students need to get it done. If you have questions refer them to the librarians at the COA reference desk. You can also get assistance at your neighborhood libraries. Most librarians, not library aides have master's degrees.

I have incorrect dates on the Research Essay schedule. Just remember that the documents are due the last class meeting day of the week, except Thanksgiving week.
Your final drafts are due when we return from the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Students also shared their planning sheets and resource lists for the research essay. We didn't get to talk about argumentation or watch the video. We will do this next week. At this point, students should be reading articles, watching broadcast reports, reading books, etc., so that you become an expert on your topic. The introduction and conclusion are due Thursday, Nov. 16. If your midterm grade was a C-or a D you have to revise your essay. Revisions need to include the original graded paper along with the essay you'd like considered. I also want students to write a separate narrative explaining what you did to improve the essay. This reflective piece doesn't have to be long.

Please turn in revisions by the end of next week or by prior arrangement. If you have the corrected essay electronically, you can email the package to me, or you can give it to me as a hardcopy. It's your choice.

Some students have not turned in their midterm essays. To pass the class you have to complete the midterm. The cut off for this essay is next week so those who have not gotten it in, this is your last chance unless we have made other plans. My office hours are MW 9-11. I am sometimes a little tardy getting over to L-236, but I am coming, wait for me. Tuesday and Thursday after 12 noon is a possiblity if arranged in advance.

Keep reading the Guy book, "Evolution of a Revolutionary." My book has walked; my name is in it. If anyone knows it's whereabouts I'd appreciate its return. Thanks! You can read up to chapter 5 for the next meeting. Don't forget to keep reading logs.

Remember the veteran's over the holiday recess. I returned most if not all of the essays I received as hardcopies. If you missed class or left early, email me and I will send your grade to you. I am not leaving essays for people to pick up for confidentiality reasons.

Oh tonight is the COLOR PURPLE THEATRE OUTING! WE ARE MEETING AT THE WEST OAKLAND BART AT 7 P.M. THE EXIT IS CIVIC CENTER. WE ARE GOING TO THE ORPHEUM THEATER ON MARKET STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO. CALL ME IF WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN AND YOU WANT TO RIDE OVER ON BART WITH US, OTHERWISE I'LL SEE YOU THERE.

Color Purple Tonight!

Today in class we discussed the article about Muhammad Yunnus, "An Innovative Idea: Grameen Bank and Microcredit." I don't remember if I told you to post a response to the article here. If you feel so inclined, especially if you missed the class and have questions, pick up a copy of the article in the bin outside my office, and by all means respond. The article is an example of what I am looking for in the essay on the SE. You can watch a video about Grameen Bank and Yunnus at the Frontline World
website. Tonight on FW, Channel 9, 10 p.m., there is an episode about the CIA and its interrogation methods.

Tomorrow we will meet in the classroom. Students need to bring the completed Evaluating a Website assignment in for discussion. Answer all the questions. If you don't know the answer to one, ask the librarian.

Homework was to read the section on argument from Diana Hacker. I gave students copies of the section. We will watch a video about argument tomorrow. For Thursday we'll continue talking about Shakur. I will also have your midterm essays to return. Read up to chapter 4 for Thursday.


Today I handed out an article on social entrepreneur, Muhammad Yunnus, "Turning Poverty into Peace," reprinted from Ode Magazine. Muhammad Yunnus is founder of Grameen Bank, an institution which lends money to poor people. This article is a model of the type of essay or article I'd like students to produce for their research essay. Last semester, one student actually turned in a magazine style essay on Alice Walker. I am always open to suggestions on projects so make it fun for yourself.

Keep in mind the following questions:
What did you like most stylistically about the writing? If you had to answer the question: What was the author's purpose and what question did the writers want this article to answer, how would you answer?

How is Yunnus' work used as an extended analogy to talk about the key idea of this article? What is the point here? It is repeated minimally 4 times.

Where does the conclusion start? The key point is repeated here one last time. What is that point?

What references are sited to prove the writers' point? List them.

The authors also give other references to organizations whose development went through similar phases as did Grameen Bank. List them.

(Muhammad Yunnus is on the the SE profiled in Frontline World. Tonight on FW they will be looking at the CIA and its secret interrogations on Channel 9, 10 p.m.)

We'll meet in the classroom Thursday, Nov. 9. We will review the evaluation of a website questionnaires. If you had any trouble, drop by the reference desk. I want all the questions answered.

Keep reading Afeni. We are up to Chapter 4. We had a great discussion today about her life. Don't forget to read your Hardy selection and be prepared to share. Also, your planning sheets and source list is due. You should have made an appointment to talk to your SE, also you should be gathering materials to begin your research.

DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT TO START!

I gave students copies of the Hacker section on Argument. Please read. We will watch a film about argumentation Thursday and answer the questions at the end of the handout together.

Evolution of a Revolutionary

Today we met in the lab where we will meet tomorrow also. We read two poems: "Starry Night" and "If I Fail" from A Rose that Grew from Concrete, pp. 25 and 27. Students were to respond to the poems in a freewrite. I mentioned Dyson's reference to Van Gogh in his book (74) and my notes for the line "I only follow my voice inside (Chapter 4, Dyson) and the song Me Against the World.

Share your freewrites here. We then started a profile on Afeni Shakur. Students had only read up to chapter 1. Homework is to read up to chapter 3. We'll continue the profile tomorrow.

The characteristics listed were:

loving (4) friendship
skinny (10)
skin
short and thick hair
short not tall

smokes weed and cigarette (18)
angry (18)
hot-headed (impulsive) (18)
silver tongued (articulate)

add to the list with page numbers
The characteristics we listed were: Afeni: beauty--dark-skinned, low self-esteem, short kinky hair, thin, short in stature. I asked the question: when did Afeni begin to love herself? Love the way she looked? Love her hair and dark skin?

We spoke about the term "evolution" which means to develop and grow or change over time. it also has the connotation of the stuff that remains when all else is destroyed or eliminated, as in Darwin's theories of human evolution, which he terms the "survival of the fittest." What does this theory suggest about Afeni Shakur and the life she has led when Jasmine Guy begins to write this book? So what remains of Afeni when Jasmin Guy meets here at the courthouse?

Evolution is "a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex form. In biology, its the theory that organisms change with the passage of time, mainly as a result of natural selection, so that its descendants differ morphologically and physiologically from their ancestors." It comes from a Latin word meaning to "unroll" (The American Heritage Dictionary 298).

List continue (put page numbers next to the characteristics. Add more to the list. We'll share in class tomorrow. Post all of these responses on the blog today.

After the freewrite we paired up and did the research project: Evaluate a Website. We will complete the assignment tomorrow.

Today we huddled in my office, heater on, Censorship essays out. We looked at the questions at the end of the essays which looked at the type of claim these essays were--claims of policy, and the essay content. We spent a lot of time looking at qualification statements or concessions and how that can win a skeptical audience over to your side especially with volatile subjects like parental rights and rap music.

We went off on our usual tangents which were too numerous to recall, plus it's late and I want to go home.

The discussion we had before concluding looked at potential persons for the social entrepreneur. I encourage students to look at art as social change and find someone who is a change agent in the community. I suggested students look at East Side Arts Alliance as a potential place for artists to profile, if not the founders of the organization. Another organization is The Center for Art and Public Life and Art Esteem.

We are meeting in the lab Monday, November 5. Homework is to figure out who you might want to write about--two potential sources is good. The list of sources. Read Hacker, pp. 371-400. We've already looked at pp. 401-423.