English 5, Critical Thinking

Funeral Consumers Alliance

Jessica Mitford

Bay Area Funeral Society

The portfolio/self-evaluation provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your progress over the course of the semester, and to showcase the work that best indicates your progress.

You will turn in a folder that includes:
- Two one-pagers and one annotated bibliography that best represent your writing and analytical skills
- All three essays with my original comments and grading sheet.
- (Optional) A rewrite of any of the previous three essays for an improved grade. Keep in mind that the essay should be reexamined for content, not just technical errors.
- a one to two-page, type-written self-evaluation (explained below).

Your self-evaluation will include:
- a rationale for why you chose to include these particular work samples.
- a reflection on the semester and evaluation of yourself as a student in this class. Here are some suggested questions to help guide you: What have you learned as a writer? What have you learned as a reader? What was your role in learning (active? passive?)? What are you proud of? What would you have done differently?
- Below are the exit skills for English 5, as written on the course syllabus, taken from the Peralta Community College District’s Course Outline. Evaluate yourself in relation to these skills. Have you attained each skill? If so, how have you demonstrated each skill? If not, why not?

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
- Distinguish effective, valid argumentation from unclear, invalid argumentation
- Address a problem or issue using valid reasoning while considering other perspectives and new information
- Demonstrate an understanding of the working concepts of critical thinking, argumentation, logic and analysis
- Criticize and advocate ideas from specific reading for their logical consistency and social implications

If you would like your portfolio returned, please provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope with correct postage. I will not provide additional postage if you provide insufficient postage.

Day Class: Due May 19th
Night Class: Due May 17th

Due May 24th

Your final assignment will be a creative project that reflects your creative thinking about the topics covered in this course. You may focus on one specific issue, or your project can cover a number of points. I expect polished work, which has been well developed and thought through. In addition to the creative piece, you will write a defense of your project (the length of this paper has yet to be determined, but expect at least 6 pages). In the paper you will explain the validity of your creative piece and how it beneficial to the understanding of the topic you've addressed.

Here are a few suggestions for a creative project. Please do not feel limited to these options. I am open to any ideas, so email or speak to me about what you want to do for the project.

- A children's book explaining one of issues we've addressed (for example gender, death, etc.) The book would have to be appropriate for the age group you determine and include illustrations (the visuals can be computer generated, complied from other images or created by a helpful friend).

- A blog (web blog), which chronicles your opinions of the class issues and your reflections on the representations of the issues in popular culture. This option should be stared ASAP.

- A mini-documentary of one or more of the topics we've discussed in class.

- A 'zine (an independent magazine) adapting you class work into a creative, readable format with visuals. The articles must address aspects of the issues we've discusses. Not all the text has to be yours (think about asking a friend to submit a poem, story, article about one of our class topics), but you should compose a majority of the writing. The visuals do not have to be your own.


Again, these are merely suggestions. I am open to a variety of projects and I encourage you to explore your creativity. Make sure to check in with me before starting a project. I want to make sure you are on track and don’t spend time on a project that won’t be accepted.

5-7 pages
typed, double-spaced

For this essay you will take a stance on an issue. Your topic will relate directly to the subject of death. As I stated in class, please do not discuss abortion or death penalty issues. Instead, focus on the death industry (look to Mitford's book for inspiration), how the media portrays death, how we as a society cope with death. There are plenty of topics you can address. If you are uncertain if your topic is appropriate, email me.

Once you've developed your topic and taken a stance on an issue related to the topic, you will need to persuade your reader to agree with your stance. You will accomplish this with strong writing, a well thought out argument and supporting evidence. You will seek out evidence from legitimate sources such as books, magazines and newspapers. The outside materials should not make the argument for you, but rather, enhance and support your argument. For more information on how to incorporated research materials read chapter 9 in WLTC.

What I expect:
- citations from legitimate sources using proper MLA format
- a works cited page (MLA format)
- a well articulated argument
- a strong thesis statement
- an error-free essay (proofread, proofread, proofread)

Day Class
Draft Workshop: 4/14 (bring 2 copies and the front page for my review)
Final draft due: 4/21

Night Class
Draft Workshop: 4/19 (bring 2 copies and the front page for my review)
Final draft due: 4/26

* Remember: Absolutely no late papers will be accepted. If you have an emergency that prevents you from completing the paper on time, email your request for an extension at least 24 hours before the due date. Extensions will be granted on a case by case basis and will only if you have not previously used an extension for this class.

I think it is appropriate that you are assigned to read The American Way of Death during Easter week. When reading Mitford's book keep in mind:
1. Some of her numbers (prices, etc.) are from the 1963 version. She often adds footnotes to reflect the current costs. But these updates are from 1998, so prices have most likely increased in the past seven years.
2. Look for connections between TAWoD and Born To Buy.
3. If you are squimish, skip the details about embalming--from the top of page 45 to the bottom of 49.

Enjoy the reading and have a good break.
Also, I will be out of town from Wednesday to Sunday. If you email me during that time, I will not respond until I return.

Right along with our class discussions....

SF Gate article

Sorry I didn't post this earlier. Here is the format for the annotated bib. (Remember, it is just your standard MLA citation.)

Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. New York: Random House, 1980.

(the title, in this case A Confederacy of Dunces, should be underlined or italized. I just can't figure out how to do it on the blog. My HTML is very rusty.)

After your citation, you will include a space and indent. Then you will examine the article. The questions I've posed are suggestions only. For the Griffin article, don't feel pressured to understand right away. I recommend reading it more than once (or at least reviewing the parts you are most confused about again). In your examination of the Griffin article, you can point out the parts of the article you find confusing, questions you have about her arguments and any other questions you may have.

SAVE EVERYTHING. You will be submitting a writing portfolio at the end of the semester. I'll hand out more details in class, but for sure you will include:
-all of your original essays with my comments
-an optional rewrite of one of the essays (the grade your receive on the rewrite will replace your previous grade)
-a selection of your best one-pagers and annotated bibs.
-a short paper (a page or less) reflecting on your writing experiences in the class.

Day class: Your papers are due today. I'm looking forward to reading them and will do my best to get them back to you next week. We'll be watching a movie today called "The Celluloid Closet." We'll discuss this movie, "Slut" and "Holy Fratimony " next week. Jot down some questions/thoughts about any or all of these for our discussions.

Night class: Don't hesitate to email me if you are stuck with your papers or you are uncertain about something. Also, make sure you know correct MLA format. There are two links in the sidebar to help you find proper citing methods.

Everyone: Starting with this essay, I will only be making grammar/punctuation corrections on the first page. I will still be reading your entire essay and commenting on content, but I will limit the amount of mechanical errors I mark.
Start reading The American Way of Death. You should have about half of the book read when we return from spring break. This is a quick read and I think you'll find it interesting. As you read, keep in mind your next paper will be persuasive/research. That means you will have to take a stance on an issue related to death and convince your reader (persuade) with the help of researched information. I will be giving you a detailed handout of the assignment after spring break. Just have it brewing in your
head as you read.

Don't forget! If you are doing a presentation, you are expected to turn in a two page paper as well. The paper should address the following questions:
Is this source reliable?
Should it be questioned?
Are there biases?
Omitted information?
Why is the article relevant to the class?

1. You need to come to class on Tuesday with questions/comments prepared about Technology of Orgasm. You will not have to turn anything in to me, but I do expect everyone to be able to participate.

2. Your essay needs to be addressing a specific representation of gender/sexuality. It can be a film, TV show, song(s), magazine, and so on. The most important element is being able to point to the representation and say "See. See what this (movie, show, etc.) is doing. That is a (mis)representation of gender." I expect you to use specific evidence--such as bits of dialogue or direct quotes. You must make a solid argument about the significance of the representation. If I ask "so what?", your paper should answer that question. Contact me if you are feeling unsure about what you are suppose to do.

3. If you decide to incorporate outside sources, do so in MLA format. Information on MLA format can be found at

MLA

or

Diana Hacker

A thesis statement is a sentence (or sentences) that expresses the main ideas of your paper and answers the question or questions posed by your paper. It offers your readers a quick and easy to follow summary of what the paper will be discussing and what you as a writer are setting out to tell them. The thesis is your promise to the reader: it maps out what you are going to prove, and gives you a point of reference to keep your whole essay on track.


Here is a simple way to think about your thesis statement:


Thesis = Topic + Assertion


Your thesis should include the topic you are analyzing, plus a claim or assertion you are trying to make about that topic.

Once you have a topic, ask yourself these questions in order to come up with an assertion:

- What is the relationship of my topic to the text’s theme(s)?
- What is the relationship of my topic to character development?
- How is my topic conveyed in the text?
- How does my topic relate to some larger idea outside of the text (such as gender, race, feminism)
- What is the significance of my topic to the meaning of the text?


Now that you have created a thesis, double-check that your thesis is solid by asking yourself:
- Does my thesis have a topic?
- Does my thesis make an assertion about the topic?
- Is my thesis specific enough for the scope of my paper?
- Is my thesis supportable with evidence from the text?

4-6 pages
typed, double-spaced

You will be writing an argument essay. For review of writing arguments, please see chapter four in Writing Logically, Thinking Critically. You will be selecting a representation of gender or sexuality. Look to movies, films or magazines (please do not use advertisements, since we’ve already covered this ground). You will analyze your material(s) by explaining how it works, what cultural beliefs underlie it and what is its significance. You do not have to take a positive or negative stance regarding the material, but explain how the elements work together to have a particular effect on the audience. To write a successful argument about your chosen material, you will need to present clear insight and provide logical, specific evidence.

Treat the material you choose as a text and perform a close reading. Also, discuss how your subject fits into the big picture regarding gender roles or sexuality. I encourage you to use the articles we have read to support your claims, but it is not required. You may also use outside sources you discover on your own. Make sure to properly cite any articles/books you use.

For this essay, I expect:
clear, concise writing
a strong thesis statement
a title
properly cited references (if you choose to include sources)
proofreading

Avoid:
Contractions (don't, can't, it's, shouldn't)
Exclamation points
etc.
using clichés or colloquial language
repeating words or sentence structure

DAY CLASS:
Draft Workshop: 3/3 (bring 2 copies, plus the front page for my review)
Final draft due: 3/10

NIGHT CLASS:
Draft Workshop: 3/8 (bring 2 copies, plus the front page for my review)
Final draft due: 3/15