Required Texts: A Good Fall by Ha Jin; Cooked by Jeff Henderson; The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier; Back in the World by Tobias Wolff; The Writer’s Resource; 3rd Edition.
Email: jmcmahon@elcamino.edu
Website: Breakthrough Writer: http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/
Grading: Four Essays 225 each; Four quizzes 25 each; Grand Total: 1,000 points
Reading and Writing Schedule
February 14 Introduction
February 16 Ha Jin “The Beauty” 25-48 and “Temporary Love” 175-194
February 21 Holiday
February 23 Ha Jin A Composer and His Parakeets” (9) and “Choice” (49)
February 28 Ha Jin “The House Behind a Weeping Cherry” 195, "A Good Fall" 221
March 2 Quiz 1 turned in to PE4
March 7 Essay 1 for first half of class in PE4
March 9 Essay 1 for second half of class in PE4
March 14 Cooked, first fourth
March 16 Cooked, first half
March 21 Cooked, three quarters
March 23 Cooked, finish
March 28 Quiz 2 turned in to PE4
March 30 Consultations in PE4 to discuss your thesis
April 4 Essay 2 in PE4
April 6 Essay 2 in PE4
April 18 The Chocolate War, first fourth
April 20 The Chocolate War, first half
April 25 The Chocolate War, three quarters
April 27 The Chocolate War, finish
May 2 Quiz 3 turned in to PE4
May 4 Consultations in PE4 to check over your thesis
May 9 Essay 3 in PE4
May 11 Essay 3 in PE4
May 16 Wolff “The Rich Brother”
May 18 Wolff “Desert Breakdown, 1968”
May 23 Wolff “Say Yes”
May 25 Wolff “The Missing Person”
May 30 Holiday
June 1 Quiz 4 turned in to PE4
June 6 Essay 4 in PE4
June 8 Essay 4 in PE4
Essay Assignments
Essay 1 A Good Fall
In a 5-page research paper, develop a thesis that develops the contradictions of freedom as those contradictions are evidenced in the stories of Ha Jin’s A Good Fall. Refer to no fewer than 2 stories. Your outline might look like this:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping components
Paragraph 10: Conclusion, a restatement of your thesis
Last page is your Works Cited page with at least 3 sources.
Essay 2 Cooked:
A wise man once said that when "we think we're rising in life we're really falling; and when we think we're falling in life we're really rising."
In a 5-page research paper, apply this adage to the memoir of Jeff Henderson as rendered in his book Cooked. Successful papers will use personal comparisons to underscore the salient wisdom above.
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping components in these supporting paragraphs
Paragraph 10: Restate your thesis with a dramatic restatement.
Last page: Works Cited with no fewer than 3 sources.
Essay 3 The Chocolate War
In a 5-page research paper, explain why the novel is so painfully dark as to be almost unbearable in its worldview. Your outline might look like this:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping components
Paragraph 10, conclusion restates your thesis
Last page is your Works Cited page with no fewer than 5 sources
Essay 4 Back in the World
Using at least two stories from Tobias Wolff's Back in the World, explain the book's title in your thesis. Successful papers will use personal experience to illustrate your major points.
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Support your mapping components
Paragraph 10. Restate your thesis
Last Page: Works Cited with no fewer than 2 sources
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%.
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
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