Practice Final Exam #1 - Article A1 and Reminders

Hello All,

I hope that you each had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. In case you need a copy, here you can find a PDF of the Kohn article, "No Contest: Play, Fun, and Competition." This is the first article for Practice Exam #1.

Be sure that you have thoroughly read and annotated this article for Monday's class. Upon entering the classroom you will receive a copy of the second article for the Practice Exam. You will then compose a five-paragraph essay (intro, body, conclusion) that compares and/or contrasts these two pieces. You may devote one paragraph to your opinion (this may also be simply included in the conclusion), but be sure that it appears at the end of your essay and that it is connected in some way to the readings!

Therefore, to take this exam you will need the following:

1. about five sheets of loose leaf paper (I do not want paper ripped from spiral notebooks)
2. two writing implements (preferably pencil so that you can neatly correct mistakes)
3. a fed body and an alert mind

I ask that you double-space your documents so that I can easily provide comments to you directly. You will be given the entire period to complete this in-class assignment, a total of nearly 110 minutes. Be on time so that you can utilize every second! Remember the breakdown: 15 minutes to read, 80 minutes to write, 15 minutes to proofread and revise. The Final Exam period is 120 minutes long, giving you an extra 10 minutes to compose your essay.

I plan on copying your pieces in pairs so that we can perform a peer-edit on Wednesday. Furthermore, you will be called up to my desk to speak with me where we will go over your essay one-on-one.

Should you have any questions I encourage you to email me. I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend everyone.

Best,
s.

Recent Articles on Facebook (Sample Secondary Sources) and a Reminder

Here are links to two New York Times articles that you may sample for the upcoming essay. The first concerns the freedom of speech in the workplace regarding an employee's Facebook status posting. The second discusses potential changes in online privacy.

As a reminder for our next class meeting, I would like you to bring all three texts from this segment of the course; i.e., Braden, Hempel with Lehman, and Westlake.

Essay #3 Topic Ideas (and Theses) for 11/15

Hello everyone. Again I hope that you found today's "field trip" to be beneficial and informative. Scott is certainly an energetic gentleman and you can be sure to find him in the Library most days. Just visit the Reference Desk!

Below I would like everyone to post a topic idea for this Monday. This should be a topic that you plan on pursuing in your upcoming paper, due one week from this Monday (11/20)!

Also post a potential thesis statement that you plan on arguing in your essay.

Remember to get these in by Monday's class meeting (in truth, it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes at most to compile and post this assignment). Having all these ideas presented online should help everyone formulate stronger and more focused theses when the time comes to begin writing.

Yet Another Revision to the Schedule

Please make note of the changes below. See you in class Wednesday.

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M 11/8:

No class (canceled)

W 11/10:

~ Field Trip: Using the Library the Internet: Vital Academic and Scholarly Resources (Meeting Room CL205)
~ In-class reading of BH, p.482-487
~ Review of how one avoids plagiarism
~ Handout – Proper Citation in a Works Cited Page and Annotated Bibliography 

M 11/15:

~ Review of Hempel and Lehman
~ Discussion of Westlake’s article and Braden’s essay
~ Review of e-journal #10
Reading – BH, p.379-387, 392-400

W 11/17:

~ Continuation of discussions on Westlake and Braden's texts
~ Proper usage of the semi-colon, colon, and quotation marks

~ In-class activity: selections from BH, p.382ff, Ex. 34-1 & 34-2; p.386f, Ex. 35-1; p.398ff, Ex. 37-1 & 37-2

      No additional reading or writing assignments… work on your paper and revision!

M 11/22:

Essay #3 Due – bring two extra copies of your document to class to perform a peer-edit!
Revision #2 Due – be sure to staple the original draft copy behind the revision copy in order to receive credit! 

Library "Field Trip"

Hello all,

For our class "field trip" Wednesday (11/10), please report to CL205 at 2:00pm sharp. We will be directed by Scott Scheidlower during this important informational session on how to research secondary source material. Again, our "field trip" begins Wednesday at 2:00 o'clock sharp

Vote!

Remember to vote today (11/2) if you are properly registered. The right to vote is indeed one of the greatest expressions of freedom we are granted as American citizens. The results of this midterm election could very well shape the political landscape of our country for years to come. Therefore, exercise this Constitutional right and make your views count.

Update to Schedule

Well, Christmas has come early this year ladies and gents! After speaking with the Department Secretary again today after our class, I learned that we in fact do not meet this Wednesday. I admire your persistence in this matter; it has been rewarded indeed. Know that I, like many others, was confused by the language regarding this change in the academic schedule. I was not going to cancel our class until I knew for sure. 


Please note the important changes below. Primarily, you need to read Westlake as well as Braden for next Monday. Save the next Hacker reading for next Wednesday. The tenth e-journal is still due on the 11/8.


W 11/3:

No class (classes which meet before 4pm are canceled) 

M 11/8:

~ Review of Hempel and Lehman 
~ Discussion of Westlake’s article and Braden’s essay, as well as e-journal #10
~ Handout – Orwell, “Selection from 1984” 

W 11/10:

~ Field Trip: Using the Library the Internet: Vital Academic and Scholarly Resources (Meeting Room TBA)
~ In-class reading of BH, p.482-487
~ Review of how one avoids plagiarism
~ Handout – Proper Citation in a Works Cited Page and Annotated Bibliography 
Reading – BH, p.379-387, 392-400