Office 121. Email:
jmcmahon@elcamino.edu
Website: Breakthrough Writer:
http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/
Required Texts: Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver; Acting Out Culture edited by James Miller; Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker.
Students with
Disabilities:
If you have a
documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please
contact me as soon as possible.
Student Learning
Objective
Given an out-of-class writing
task in which students find multiple sources related to a particular topic,
students will write a research report, which shows the ability to support a
thesis using analysis, to
synthesize and integrate materials effectively from a variety of sources, and
to cite sources in MLA format (including a works cited page). The report is
organized, technically correct
in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling and word use,
and demonstrates thoughtful treatment of the topic.
Success in
McMahon’s Class Is Predicated on Three Major Components:
One. Turn in 4
five-page research papers with correct MLA format ON TIME. Research Papers (all
4 of your essays) have a minimum of 4 sources, which can include Signs of Life
in the USA, my lecture notes, interviews, and online sources.
Two. Do the reading
assignments so that you can write a one-paragraph response that is cohesive,
coherent and well developed in the five surprise closed-book reading tests.
Three. Show up on time
to 90% of the classes. Missing 3 out of 30 classes is 90%.
Grading (based on
mandatory 24 pages):
Four Research
Papers (1,250 words, 5 double-spaced
pages): 210 each for total of 840 points, 84% of your grade.
Four Reading Exams that are a 1-page 250-word paragraph, 40 each for total
of 160 points, 16% of your grade. Your 250-word paragraphs should be
grammatically correct, contain a topic sentence, and have relevant supporting
details that show your comprehension of the assigned readings.
Grand Total: 1,000
points based on a total of 6,000 words of writing.
Policies:
You cannot make-up
exams.
Late Papers: Reduce one full grade ; no late papers accepted AFTER
ONE WEEK. Since not turning in a paper will probably fail you, I’ll drop you at
that point.
Research Papers should be approximately 1,000 words, 12 font, Times
New Roman, page numbers, name, and essay title in upper right hand corner
(headers in Microsoft View) and Works Cited should have minimum 3 sources and
spacing using MLA format.
Revisions: You may revise one paper for 10-30 pts. depending on
the quality of the rewrite. Revision must be turned in one week after
original due date.
If your research paper
has no headers, your last name and page number on every page, your essay will
be deducted 20 points.
If your research paper
has no Works Cited page, you’ll lose 40 points.
Student Learning Objectives:
I. Review of Grammar and
Usage
The student will locate and demonstrate the ability to
correct the following errors in a composition:
A. sentence fragments
B. comma splices
C. misused commas
D. fused sentences
E. misplaced and dangling modifiers
F. incorrect pronoun case
G. faculty pronoun references
H. pronoun-antecedent disagreement
I. subject-verb agreement
J. wrong tense
II. Instruction in Reading
A. Essays
The student will
1. locate and paraphrase the thesis/preposition
2. identify the basic types of support used to develop
the thesis or proposition: examples, facts, details, reasons, illustrations,
anecdotes
3. indicate the shift from general to specific levels
of support
4. distinguish statements of fact from statements of
opinion
5. identify the method of development/strategy used:
comparison, contrast, classification, definition, cause/effect, process,
persuasion
6. summarize the idea and content
7. advocate or challenge the author's opinions
B. Short fiction and poetry
The student will
1. paraphrase the work
2. identify and define the central theme or metaphor
3. assess the aesthetic qualities of the work
4. compare the work with another, drawing conclusions
based on appropriate criteria
C. Book-length nonfiction
The student will
1. summarize the work in its separate units and as a
complete entity
2. identify the central theme or themes
3. judge the value of the information
4. advocate or challenge the author's opinions
D. Novels
The student will
1. summarize the plot
2. identify the central themes
3. indicate the functions of characters, plot, and
setting in relation to the themes
4. judge the aesthetic value of 2 or 3 and of the
whole work
III. Instruction in Composition
The student will
1. compose theses/topic statements of a proper scope
for the composition
2. delimit subjects by brainstorming and outlining
3. organize the content of a composition using
spatial, climatic, and/or chronological principles
4. use a range of general and specific levels of
support with proper transitions to signal shifts from one level to another
5. compose introductory and concluding paragraphs for
a composition
6. compose a timed essay
7. perform research techniques (use library resources,
cite and document sources) and compose a formal research paper of at least 1250
words, utilizing parenthetical documentation
Reading and
Writing Schedule for 1A Winter 2010
January 6 Intro
January 7 Carver:
“What We Talk About . . . “ 170
January 8 Carver:
“Feathers” 332
January 11 Carver: “A
Small Good Thing” 376
January 12 Carver:
“Elephant” 472
January 13 Carver: “Cathedral” 356; Quiz 1
January 14 and 15 Essay 1 due in Humanities 121
January 18 Holiday
(Remaining page numbers refer to Acting Out Culture)
January 19 “The Big
Organic” 174
January 20 “The Wages
of Sin” 197; pronoun errors, mixed structure; citing works
January 21 “Add Cake,
Subtract Self-Esteem”
January 22 Quiz 2
January 25 and 26
Essay 2 due in my office Humanities 121
January 27
“Unspeakable Conversations” 92
January 28 “Watching
Torture in Prime Time” 109
January 29 “AWOL in
America” 358 Quiz 3
February 1 and 2
Essay 3 due in my office Humanities 121
February 3 “Hopelessly
Hooked on Help” 543; “Finding a Coach in the Land of Oz” 278
February 4 “Love and
War in Cyberspace” 380; “Developers Vs. Mothers . . .” 356
February 5 “The
Consequences of Undoing Sanity”; Quiz 4
February 8 and 9:
Essay 4 due in my office Humanities 121
Winter 2010 1A Writing Assignments
Essay
1: The War Between the Ego and Empathy in Where I’m Calling From
In page one, profile someone
who suffers “the type of swollen ego that results in solipsism and isolation
from sanity, maturity, and the human race.” Then in your second page, profile
someone who embodies the “sweet grace of empathy” and show how this person’s
empathy connects him or her to others.
Then using an
appropriate paragraph transition such as "Similarly" or
"Likewise," you might start your thesis paragraph this way:
The above characters
are antithetical to each other. Similarly, the stories pit characters at war
between their egos and the liberation of empathy. Egotism in the stories
(choose no fewer than 3) of Raymond Carver has grave consequences, which
include _______________________, _________________________,
________________________, and ____________________________. In contrast,
empathy has a healing effect on the downtrodden evidenced by
_________________________, _______________________, __________________________,
and ______________________________.
Your body paragraphs
will correspond to the components you use to fill in the above blanks. Your
conclusion will be one sentence, a brief, dramatic restatement of your thesis.
Your final page, your Works Cited page, will show the sources you used from Where
I’m Calling From, from my blog, from
interviews, or from other helpful sources you find. Your Works Cited page
and manuscript must conform to MLA format. Be sure to make your own catchy,
creative title.
Essay 2: Our Dysfunctional
Relationship with Food
In page one, write a profile
of someone you know, you or someone else, who has a dysfunctional relationship
with food. This pathological behavior may include one or more of the following:
gluttony, mindless eating, bingeing and purging, yo-yo dieting, halo shopping
in order to feel superior to others.
Then using an
appropriate paragraph transition such as "Similarly" or
"Likewise," you might start your thesis paragraph this way:
Likewise, the essays
in the “How We Eat” chapter render us a dyspeptic nation trapped in a cycle of
pathological eating evidenced by ______________________,
____________________________, _______________________________,
__________________________________, and ____________________________________.
Your body paragraphs
will correspond to the components you use to fill in the above blanks. Your
conclusion will be one sentence, a brief, dramatic restatement of your thesis.
Your final page, your Works Cited page, will show the sources you used from Acting
Out Culture, from my blog, from
interviews, or from other helpful sources you find. Your Works Cited page
and manuscript must conform to MLA format. Be sure to make your own catchy,
creative title.
Essay 3 Options
Option 1: Write a 5-page
critique of Peter Singer’s philosophy as rendered in “Unspeakable Conversation”
(92). In your first page, explain Peter Singer’s philosophy and the methods he
uses to defend it. Then in your next page, begin a thesis paragraph that
defends or refutes Singer. You must use a Works Cited page that has no fewer
than 4 sources.
Option 2: Write a
5-page defense or refutation of the use of torture. In your first 2 pages,
explain the position of your opponents and the justifications they use to
defend their position. Then in the next 3 pages, argue, point by point, why
your opponents are wrong. You must use a Works Cited page that has no fewer
than 4 sources.
Option 3: Write a
5-page defense or refutation of the use of enforcing AWOL laws. In your first 2
pages, explain the position of your opponents and the justifications they use
to defend their position. Then in the next 3 pages, argue, point by point, why
your opponents are wrong. You must use a Works Cited page that has no fewer
than 4 sources.
Essay 4 Options
Option 1: Write a
5-page essay that defends or refutes the contention that the self-help industry
is wrought with charlatans and frauds who offer no concrete help to their
clients and, worse, siphon money from them. Your Works Cited sources will include
“Hopelessly Hooked on Help” (543), “Finding a Coach in the Land of Oz” (278),
and 2 interviews with people who have employed the help of life coaches,
therapists, personal trainers, etc.
Option 2: Write a
5-page profile of one or two people you know who are heavily involved in
computers (Internet, gaming, etc.) and compare their behavior to the arrested
social development and other pathologies rendered “Video Game Developers vs.
Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence” (356) and “Love and War in
Cyberspace” (380). You must have 4 sources minimum for your Works Cited page,
which can include the two aforementioned essays and interviews with the people
you profile.
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