Office PE 4; Classes meet in H209; Email: jmcmahon@elcamino.edu
Website: Breakthrough Writer: http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/
Required Texts: Cooked by Louis Jeff Henderson; Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver; The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier; Back in the World by Tobias Wolff; 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 Spring of 2010
February 15 Holiday
February 17 Introduction: Grading, late papers, quizzes, essay consultations, etc.
February 22 Cooked: Read pages 1-100
February 24: Cooked: Read pages 100-165
March 1 Cooked: Read 165 to the end.
March 3 Cooked: In-class paragraph quiz for 40 points.
March 8 and 10 Essay 1 due in consult room, PE 4
March 15 Where I’m Calling From: “What We Talk About . . .” 170
March 17 Where I’m Calling From: “Cathedral” 356
March 22 Where I’m Calling From: “Feathers” 332
March 24 Where I’m Calling From: “A Small, Good Thing” 376
March 29 Where I’m Calling From: “Elephant” 472
March 31 Where I’m Calling From: In-class paragraph quiz for 40 points.
April 5 and 7 Essay 2 due in consult room, PE 4
April 19 The Chocolate War: Read pages 1-60
April 21 The Chocolate War: Read pages 61-120
April 26 The Chocolate War: Read pages 121-180
April 28 The Chocolate War: Read pages 181-220
May 3 The Chocolate War: Read 220-end
May 5 The Chocolate War: In-class paragraph quiz for 40 points
May 10 and 12 Essay 3 due in consult room, PE4
May 17 Back in the World: “The Missing Person” 17
May 19 Back in the World: “Say Yes” 53
May 24 Back in the World: “Desert Breakdown” 117
May 26: Back in the World: “The Rich Brother” 189
May 31 Holiday
June 2 Back in the World: In-class paragraph quiz for 40 points
June 7 and 9 Essay 4 due in consult room, PE4
1A Writing Assignments for Spring 2010
Essay One: The Fall, Perdition, and Redemption in Cooked
In 1-1.5 pages, write a salient, concrete, colorful profile of someone you know who experienced a fall, perdition, and redemption. If you don't know such a person, find a character in a film or a work of literature.
Then using an appropriate paragraph transition such as "Similarly" or "Likewise," you might start your thesis paragraph this way:
Likewise, we read in Cooked about the extraordinary Jeff Henderson who undergoes his own Fall into the abyss of insanity and a redemption born from necessity. JH's Fall is caused by ___________________, _________________________, and _____________________________. Only after sinking to the rotten depths of nihilism does he begin his journey toward redemption. This salubrious journey is born from _____________________________, ____________________________, _____________________________, 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 Cooked, 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.
Open-Ended Option for Essay #1:
Analyze the causes behind Jeff Henderson's fall into the moral abyss and his eventual redemption by comparing his journey to someone you know or someone from a book or film. Same research required as described above.
Essay 2: 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.
Option #2: Redemptive and Misguided Love
In a 5-page essay, contrast misguided love (“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” “Feathers,” “Elephant”) and redemptive love (“A Small, Good Thing” and “Cathedral”) in the aforementioned stories.
Option #3: Symbiosis
In a 5-page essay explain the meaning of symbiosis or unhealthy mutual dependence in “Feathers” and “Elephant.” Before your comparison of the two stories, write a one-page introduction about an unhealthy symbiotic you’ve observed from your personal experience.
Option #4: The Chimera
Compare Mel McGuiness’ chimera from “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” with the chimera that afflicts the couple in “Feathers.” Before you compare the chimeras from the two stories, begin with a one-page introduction in which you describe a chimera that once afflicted you or someone else you know.
Option #5: Solipsism
In 1 or 2 pages, profile someone you know who descended into the private hell of solipsism. Then compare in 3 or 4 pages the solipsism evident in Mel from "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" and the narrator (before his transformation) in "Cathedral."
Option #6: The Disaffected
In a page, profile someone you know who is disaffected. Then analyze the causes and effects of the disaffected characters in "Cathedral" and "Feathers."
Some Research Links
Cathedral
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
A Small, Good Thing
Symbiosis According to Erich Fromm
Symbiosis and the Fear of Freedom
David Foster Wallace and Solipsism
Essay 3: Tribalism, Symbiosis, Obedience, Conformity, Determinism, and Individual Conscience in The Chocolate War
In page one, analyze the forces in the novel that would compel us to call it a “dark vision of the human condition.”
Then in the second page, start your thesis paragraph in which you connect the themes to the dangers of obedience as it relates to power, authority, and symbiosis. Because this is your multiple-source research paper, you will need to connect the novel’s themes to themes outside the text. You may, for example, look at the theme of obedience in the context of Stanley Milgram’s famous experiments or the abuse of power in the Stanford Experiment.
A thesis might look like this: The Chocolate War shows the demands of tribalism, which compromises our humanity by ________________________, _____________________________, _________________________, and _______________________________.
In your final page, you will write about how you or someone you know had a conflict between individual conscience and conformity during a “peer pressure” situation that revealed the “tiger’s claw of tribalism.” You conclusion will tie in your personal account with your novel analysis.
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 The Chocolate War, 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.
Open-Ended Option for Essay #3
Analyze the conflict between the demands of conformity and individual conscience as they play out in the novel by comparing this conflict to someone you know. Same research requirements as above.
Essay 4 When Our World Turns Upside Down: The Terrifying Character Awakenings in Back in the World
In your first two pages, profile someone (your or anyone else) who had lived too long “removed from the world” and narrate the incident that re-connected this person to reality.
Then using an appropriate paragraph transition such as "Similarly" or "Likewise," you might start your thesis paragraph this way:
Similarly, the characters (drawn from no fewer than 3 stories) in Tobias Wolff’s masterful stories go on their own “Back in the World” journey, an arduous, excruciating passage that is characterized 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.
Open-Ended Essay Option for Essay #4
Using no fewer than 2 stories, analyze the meaning of the book's title Back in the World. Same research requirements as above.
