HW: Due October 1, 2013

Over the weekend, research persistently low-achieving schools in the Bay Area (you can find a list of them on the Eng. blog: http://ccenglish1a.blogspot.com) with your focus in mind. Compare what they have in common to schools in the book. Post a blog stating what the book and the research you found have in common and how some of the information you found relates to you paper focus. Remember to separate your points. Write a minimum of three paragraphs. Due Tuesday October 1, 2013. Create a written summary of the information you found (about a paragraph, can be more) and attach your 3 blog paragraphs to that summary. Print it out and bring the assignment to class on Tuesday. 

Poorly Funded Public Schools: Essay #2

 In this section of the course, we are looking at the repercussions of poorly funded public schools. The book Savage Inequalities has given us a view into the problems caused and enabled by having only bad schools as an option in some communities. What is a bad school, what happens to the children that attend these schools and what solutions to the many problems can I offer are all questions you should be asking yourself while developing your paper. Also, think of the documentaries we have or will watch. They are texts that you will be able to reference in your essay as well.

Pick one of the following topics to focus on and use the questions below to get you thinking:

School resources (this can include small things such as crayons all the way up to library books and workout equipment)

·      Do materials really matter? Why or why not?

·      Are there circumstances in which they do matter and times that they do not?

·      How does a child feel when he/she does not have them and why?

·      How does a child feel when he/she does and why?

·      What can we do for schools that don’t have materials/supplies if no one else will help?

·      What types of citizens are produced from a lack of materials in poorly funded public schools?

Bad Teachers (remember if you define what is a bad teacher you must say what a good one is and how he/she could make a difference)

·      What schools are prone to having bad teachers?

·      Why do bad teachers exist?

·      What affects do bad teachers have on a child?

·      Why can’t we get rid of them?

·      What standards should we hold teachers to?

·      Are bad teachers just as bad as bad parents?

·      What types of citizens are produced from a lack of good teachers in poorly funded public schools?

Protecting the wealthy by providing a lesser education to the poor.

·      What makes this observation true?

·      Who is mostly affected by this practice?

·      How are they affected?

·      Do you believe this is a problem or a necessity? We need people to fill entry-level jobs. What’s wrong with making sure a certain demographic fills them?

·      If a public education system’s pedagogy is heavily influenced by big business, what types of citizens are produced?

You may also submit your own paper topic proposal. If you do so, you will need to give me your focus as well as five questions you will ask yourself to help you dig deeper into your ideas.

***For any of these topics, you should ask yourself where your thoughts come from. For example, if you think a bad teacher is one that limits children’s hope for the future, tell me where that opinion came from. What did you reach for in your mind to form your opinions?

Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools in California

Check out all the Bay Area Schools on the list.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pl/

How to Construct a Thesis

Here are the multiple components you want in your working thesis:

•Your point of view/opinion/argument•Why your point of view/opinion is important
               What are you trying to make better by shining a light on the topic you chose to focus on?
•A very general idea of how your paper is organized

A working thesis is malleable, which means it can be easily changed if your paper takes some unexpected turns. When you are finished writing, look at your thesis and see if it still fits. If it doesn’t, change it.

The working thesis is just a guide that helps to keep you focused. 

What is a Synthesis Essay?

The main purpose of a synthesis essay is to make insightful connections. Those connections can show the relationship(s) between parts of a work or even between two or more works. It is your job to explain why those relationships are important.  In order to write a successful synthesis essay, you must gather research on your chosen topic, discover meaningful connections throughout your research, and develop a unique and interesting argument or perspective. A synthesis is not a summary. A synthesis is an opportunity to create new knowledge out of already existing knowledge, i.e., other sources. You combine, “synthesize,” the information in your sources to develop an argument or a unique perspective on a topic. Your thesis statement becomes a one-sentence claim that presents your perspective and identifies the new knowledge that you will create. 

Before writing your synthesis

1. Narrow a broad or general topic to a specific topic:

In a short essay, completely covering a large topic is impossible, so picking a specific, focused topic is important. For example, the broad topic of global warming would need to be narrowed down to something more specific, like the effects of automobile exhaust on an ecosystem.

2. Develop a working thesis statement:

A working thesis statement should include a rough idea of your topic and the important point you want to make about that topic.  Writing this statement at the top of a rough draft or outline and looking at it often can help you remain focused throughout the essay.  However, the thesis statement that you begin with is not set in stone.  If you find that your essay shifts topic slightly, you can change your thesis in later drafts so that it matches your new focus.

3. Decide how you will use your sources:

After completing your research and gathering sources, you may have a large or overwhelming amount of information. However, the purpose of a synthesis essay is to use only the most important parts of your research, the information that will best support your claim. At this point, you must decide which sources, and/or which parts of those sources, you will use.

4. Organize your research:

Now, decide the order in which you will present your evidence, the various arguments you will employ, and how you will convince your readers. 

(http://bellevuecollege.edu/asc/writing)

Important: Some Additional Essay Instructions

Hello Students,

The stuff we went over in class will be on the Blog by Wednesday night. 
http://ccenglish1a.blogspot.com/

Here are some additional instructions. Please read it all carefully.

Your essay will be 7 pages, typed, MLA format, which means double-spaced.

Because I can see that many of you need to spend the entire week focusing on your essay, I am not requiring that you read anything for the next class. We will push the readings to Thursday, September 19. No reading, just bring your finished paper on September 17.

What I will be looking for in your essay?

Main things:

• I will be looking for you to clearly state your point of view on a topic related to education. What do you think we need, what should there be more of, etc?
• I will be looking for you to use the articles we have read to support your point of view as well as support from an outside source
• I will be looking for your ability to break your big concepts down into smaller, more manageable concepts that you can write clear and focused paragraphs on.

Secondly:

• I will be looking at your ability to make an essay that flows. I am looking for transitions between paragraphs and how the multiple sections of your paper relate to one another.

Third:

• Mechanics, grammar.

I will be at the college on Thursday and in my office 453 N from 8 am-12 pm. If you would like to meet at another time on Thursday let me know and I will try to meet with you.

I will be looking at your thesis statements tomorrow and writing those of you that need some additional guidance. If you do not get a response from me by Thursday, you can assume your working thesis is fine. However, remember to look at your thesis again, after you have finished your paper, to evaluate if it still fits the contents of your essay.

Your draft assignment due Friday, September 13 is simply this:

• Think of three reasons your point of view is important. 
• Write a paragraph that you can use in your final essay for each of those reasons.
• When you have completed this assignment, you should have three complete, PIE structure paragraphs. 
• Post those three paragraphs to your blog. 

I hope this helps you. 

Visit me during my office hours if you need my help. 

Best,

Ms. Williams

Henry David Thoreau Reading

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined" (Thoreau).

Link to "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience."

http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Thoreau/Civil%20Disobedience.htm

Paragraphs (Due 09/10)

PIE (Due 09/10)

Turn the ideas in part II of your previous homework, “Writing Assignment: The Rule of Three,” into well-constructed paragraphs. Use the handout given in class as a guide.

To be clear, you are creating a paragraph for numbers 1a-3a, 1b-3b, and 1c-3c. While you write, keep in mind the larger topics that connect these three sections together. It will help you answer the question of why these topics matter to you.

Your paragraphs need to have smooth transitions. This assignment needs to be typed, double-spaced and in MLA format. Bring 2 hard copies of your work to class on Tuesday. If you do not bring hard copies, you will not get credit for this assignment.

Worth: 25 points

Features of Typical Academic Body Paragraph

 1. Paragraph Topic Sentence(s)—one single sentence isn’t enough—your goal is to create 3-4-5 sentences that set up ONE specific (right-sized) concept. You can explain/explore/define (but don’t use Dictionary)/discuss the concept. You must include Keyword/Keyword  Phrases. These keywords are found in the questions you are being asked to answer. If your essay doesn’t have questions for you to answer, you’ll need to create your own keywords. You don’t want a quote to start—or end—your paragraph. You want your voice to come first and last in the paragraph. The focus of Topic Sentences is to set up the concept; explain what it is; how it works; describe what you mean when you say_______; explore its different attributes.

2. Illustrations—The most common type of support is quotes, but you can bring in stats/data/graphs/pictures/photos/paraphrase/evidence/stories. Whatever you bring in, the goal here is for the support to make your paragraph’s concept be more persuasive, more clear, more “supported.” Quote length for a 5-page paper should be rather short, no more than a line or two.

3. Explanation—This is the part of the paragraph where you bring in your opinion/POV/analysis/response about 1 and 2 above—the concept and the support--you have already presented.  Your goal is to create 3-4-5 sentences of commentary. Commentary is more about evaluating; judging; critiquing; assessing the value of ________; deciding how you feel about __________. Students sometimes don’t feel comfortable including their opinions, or may feel they don’t know what to say. Rest assured that we (college) DO want to know what you think, and that it doesn’t have to be the “world’s greatest insight” every time you offer a commentary. It is important, however, that all—or most—of your paragraphs include your opinions. If you aren’t sure what to say, you might consider using the following questions to help get your ideas flowing. 

·       How does this make me feel?      What does this remind me of?

·       Why is this important or significant?   Who or what is to blame here?

·       What is the problem here?    What is the solution here?

·       What can we learn from this?  Why does this happen?

·       What can this be compared/contrasted to?   Why should anyone care about this?