LAST DAY OF THE TRIMESTER!!

TURN IN ROUGH AND FINAL DRAFTS OF YOUR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY.


Last self-and course-assessment. Remember, this is worth 8% of your grade.


In a letter to me, please describe how you've grown as a reader, writer, and student (in general) from this class. What did you learn about writing, and what did you learn about yourself?


What should we have done more of, and what should we have done less of? (No, the number of essays is not up for negotiation.) 


If you think you're taking the class again (and you passed it this time), what would you like to focus on in the coming trimester? For  example, do you want to do longer and more difficult versions of the same essay format? Do you want to use the same essay format, but write about literature? Do you want to learn different essay formats (recognizing they will be less useful in college)?

Books still out!!

The following students still have books out, and they must be returned. Failure to return books will result in withholding of transcripts:

Christian Castro--The Things They Carried
Israel Ortega--The Things They Carried
Omar Nieves--Go Ask Alice
Ashley SanMartin--Road Dawgz
Fatima Lezcano--The Walking Dead
Marvin Mahamed--Hoops
Tiffany Hoeffner--The Color of Water 
Alexis Holland--Freakonomics

Last week of the trimester!!

If you turned in your rough draft and/or outline, I either have the hard copy, or made comments to you in an email.

You have this week to complete your final draft, which must be turned in along with rough draft,  by Friday.

To do your revision work, revisit the prior revising assignments (summary vs. analysis, unity, introductions and conclusions). In addition, you should also read your essay  out loud (or have someone else read it to you) as a way of picking up on errors that you would not have noticed just by reading it to yourself.

Thanksgiving Week

Continue work on your outline and rough draft. Please make sure I see rough draft BEFORE you begin writing your essay.

Outline and rough draft (hard copies of both) are due on Wednesday. Remember that you can work on your essay in class on Wed. from 8:30-10:00. Both assignments are being graded.

Argumentative outlines

Yesterday we practiced with the argument/counterargument structure. Today, we're going to begin outlining the arguments for our last essays. Please get started by downloading the argumentative outline.

practicing with argument structure

we're going to practice with that structure today. Yesterday we went over body paragraphs that include different types of evidence, counterarguments, and responses to counterarguments (rebuttals).

Your FIRST task for the day (you have two), is to write an argument, counterargument, and rebuttal. This should be two paragraphs, minimum 8-10 sentences each (and yes, I count). Email work to me and see me when you're done.

The last essay structure

Today we're going to begin looking at the last major assignment of the trimester: the argumentative essay. Today we will look at the structure of an argumentative essay. The rest of the week will be spent practicing with the structure, and analyzing different ways of outlining your essay. Next week you will begin writing. (It's not too early to think about your topic!)

A hard copy of your rough draft will be due Wednesday, November 23. The final draft of your essay will be due on Thursday, December 1.

This essay must be four pages, standard format (Times New Roman, double-spaced, one-inch margins).

Please take three minutes to respond to the following question: What do you do when you're trying to win an argument? Respond to the blog. (If you think it's not working, make sure you're using the correct word verification.)

 Now that we've gone through the structure of an argumentative essay, open the attachment entitled, "Neuter Your Pet." It contains an example of an argumentative essay, and some questions about the structure, Read the essay, answer the questions that follow, and send back to me as an attachment.