The purpose of a writing class is to develop a meaningful thesis, direct or implied, that will generate a compelling essay. Most importantly, a meaningful thesis will have a strong emotional connection between you and the material. In fact, if you don’t have a “fire in your belly” to write the paper, your essay will be nothing more than a limp document, a perfunctory exercise in futility. A successful thesis will also be intellectually challenging and afford a complexity worthy of college-level writing. Thirdly, the successful thesis will be demonstrable, which means it can be supported by examples and illustrations in a recognizable organizational design.
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Every fourth week there will be 3-page peer edit (no fewer than 500 words; failure to turn in draft result in loss of 20 points) for 1A on Monday and the 1,500-word essay due on Wednesday. The total is 8,000 words.
English 1C:
Every fourth week there will be a peer edit review on Tuesday (failure to bring draft of 3-page minimum will result in loss of 20 points). The next Thursday, the 1,500-word essay will be due. The total is 6,000 words.
First 3 essays are 225 points.
Fourth essay, your Final, is 325 points (32.5% of your grade).
For both classes, I'll keep 4 boxes for the drafts and if a student brings the draft to class, I'll check the box. At the end of the semester, I'll add the unchecked boxes and take away 20 points for each one.
Gun Fight by Adam Winkler: Develop a thesis that answers the following question: What American pathologies fuel the American gun debate? Consider polarization, fronteir myth, racism, and other factors.
Those six quizzes a year that I give to my 1A and 1C students will probably be replaced starting in the Spring of 2014 with prewriting assignments: introductions, theses, body paragraph using signal phrases and proper MLA source integration, etc.
As El Camino complies with accreditation process, we must have two hard copies of your final paper. The accreditation team will be randomly reading 1A essays from ALL instructors because 1A is a "core class."
Therefore, DO NOT EMAIL ME YOUR FINAL ESSAY. I WILL NEED 2, YES 2, COPIES.
If you don't turn in 2 hard copies, I won't be able to give you any credit for the last essay, so please take note of this.
Community Colleges throughout the state of California must provide English 1A Final Research Papers to Accreditation Team (people off campus) who randomly read essays to see if grade reflects consistent standards.
Final Essay Worth 280 Points (28% of Your Semester Grade), Essay 4: The Vegetarian Mythby Lierre Keith:
1. This research paper should present a thesis that is specific, manageable, provable, and contestable—in other words, the thesis should offer a clear position, stand, or opinion that will be proven with research. You should analyze and prove your thesis using examples and quotes from a variety of sources.
2. You need to research and cite from at least five sources. You must use at least 3 different types of sources.
At least one source must be a book, anthology or textbook.
At least one source must be from a credible website, appropriate for academic use.
The paper should not over-rely on one main source for most of the information. Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.
3. This paper will be approximately 5-7 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required. This means at least 5 full pages of text. The Works Cited page does NOT count towards length requirement. (See Sample Works Cited page)
4. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.
As El Camino complies with accreditation process, we must have two hard copies of your final paper. The accreditation team will be randomly reading 1A essays from ALL instructors because 1A is a "core class."
Therefore, DO NOT EMAIL ME YOUR FINAL ESSAY. I WILL NEED 2, YES 2, COPIES.
If you don't turn in 2 hard copies, I won't be able to give you any credit for the last essay, so please take note of this.
Starting this summer, I should make the switch from "The Overcoat" to This Boy's Life. The assignment would be the following:
A wise man once said, "Having a chimera will kill you, but not having a chimera will also kill you." Apply this saying to the character transformation of Tobias Wolff in This Boy's Life.