November 28, 2011

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  Today in class we will examine some sample argumentative essays and evaluate them. On Wednesday, November 30,  we will have conference day. That will be your chance to meet with me for a conference on your rough draft. Conferences are optional but helpful. I’ll be in my office during the class period if you’d like to come by. Bring a draft of your essay if you decide to come.

On Monday, December 5, your essay is due by class time. E-mail your essay to me as an attachment, saved in either Microsoft Word or as Rich Text Format. Please do not send multiple documents. Your paper and works cited page should be all in the same document. Use your name when you name your document as in joneslastessay or smithfinalessay.

Dr. Remler will send you a confirmation message when she receives your paper. If you have not received your confirmation message by noon on Tuesday, December 6th,  be worried and call Dr. Remler at 344-2607.

November 17, 2011

Yesterday in class (Wednesday) we wrote the sixth and final in-class essay.  Monday, November 21 is research day. You should spend the class time making sure you have all your sources for your second formal paper. Remember that after Thanksgiving, it will be unacceptable for you to tell me that you can’t find your sources. I will be in my office Monday if you have questions or need assistance.

Check your e-mail. I have sent you a document (a .pdf file), which is your homework for Monday, November 28th. Download that file, print it out, and bring it to class that day (oh–and you should read it too!). If you did not receive that e-mail, you must alert me either today, tomorrow, or Monday the 21st so that I can be sure that you get it. It will be unacceptable for you to come to class without that document.

Please let me know if you have questions.

November 14, 2011

Today in class we will discuss the argumentative strategy of anticipating the opposition and rebutting it. We will also discuss avoiding logical fallacy. On Wednesday, November 16, we will write another in-class essay. This one will really be our last one. Come to class prepared to write. As usual, you can use Texting and your Little Penguin, but be prepared to budget your time wisely.

November 9, 2011

Today in class we will discuss argument, with an examination of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” We will focus today’s discussion on forming a debateable thesis and supporting that thesis with concrete evidence. Monday we will continue our discussion of argument with a focus on rebutting the opposition and avoiding logical fallacy. You have no reading assignment because I want you to conduct research (if you haven’t already) for the essay you are writing. Remember that it will be unacceptable for you to approach me after Thanksgiving to report you could not find appropriate sources. So if you have not begun your research, do so now.

November 7, 2011

Today in class we will discuss two readings, “The Cancer Cluster Myth” and “Offensive Play.” We will examine how the authors of those articles drew information from research into their writing. Wednesday, we will begin our conversation about argument. Your homework is to read and be prepared to discuss Chapter 10 of Texting, including Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

November 2, 2011

Today in class we will continue our discussion of how to cite sources in MLA style and how to format the works cited page.  Your homework over the weekend is to read and be prepared to discuss two essays in Texting: “The Cancer Cluster Myth” on page 48 and “Offensive Play” on page144.

October 31, 2011

Today in class we will discuss the basics of writing in-text and works cited citations. We will review the guidelines in the Little Penguin Handbook, and we will do some practice work with quoting and citing sources. We will continue working on these skills on Wednesday, November 2. Bring your Little Penguin Handbook to class.

October 26, 2011

Today in class we will review the two exercises we did for homework Those exercises will enable us to discuss evaluating sources more specifically. We will also answer questions about conducting research using our library’s databases.

Next week, we’ll transition into our discussion of how to document those sources we’ve found. Please review Chapter 14 of the Little Penguin Handbook. Pay careful attention to citing books, citing articles found using databases, and how to write the works cited page. There’s a sample essay at the end of Chapter 14. You’ll be smart to take a look at that too.

I have sent you two exercises via e-mail. After reviewing Chapter 14, do those exercises for homework. Bring them to class on Monday. If you did not receive those exercises, you need to let me know today, tomorrow, or Friday so that I can make sure I get them to you. It will be unacceptable to show up for class Monday claiming you did not receive the document.

October 24, 2011

Today in class we will begin our discussion of using the library’s databases for research so that we can begin work on the second formal essay. Your homework assignment for Wednesday, October 26 is to do two exercises in Chapter 4 of Texting:

• Exercise 2 on page 109
• Exercise 3 on pages 109-10

Exercise 3 has several topics, and you shouldn’t do all of them. Just do the topic to which you have been assigned:

1:30 Class

• College applications:  Chelsea, Wesley, Ourania, Shan
• Women’s Suffrage:  Trevor, Christina, Sam, Mallory
• Existentialism: Nat, Quinton, Gabrielle, Justin
• Shakespeare: Laruen, Candace, Chris, Cory
• Woodrow Wilson: Dylan, Emily, LaJenna

3:00 Class

• College applications:  Allison, Brianna, Brian, Roxanne, Damien
• Women’s Suffrage: both Jakes, Brandon, Sally
• Existentialism: Alesia, Nicholas, Autumn, Ally, Chad
• Shakespeare: Dillon, Ju Hwan, Kaitlyn, Ryan
• Woodrow Wilson: Drew, Kaleigh, Gini, Victor

Bring your books and your homework to class on Wednesday. Contact Dr. Remler if you have any questions.

Videos to Watch for October 24th Class

The following short instructional videos will help you to do your research using our library’s databases. Our library’s website is http://library.armstrong.edu. You might want to bookmark that link to make your research process faster.

Here is a video on how to use the GIL database to find sources on our library’s shelves:

http://www.screencast.com/t/3gmmiAzrsuoo

 

Here is a video to help you use GIL Express, which will enable you to find sources in other libraries in the University System of Georgia:

http://www.screencast.com/t/nmhuju5CI

Here is a video to show you how to use the database Academic Search Complete:

http://www.screencast.com/t/O4JdBxfQWx

Here is a video to show you how to use the database JSTOR:

http://www.screencast.com/t/urCZcTqR