Portfolio Info + Exam Info

Our final exam will take place in K109 in the Writing Center. We will be meeting at 1pm that day. Please bring your annotated copy of The Boston Photographs.


You will need to include:

• Narrative essay
• Exemplification Essay
• Boston Photographs Essay
• Midterm Exam 
• Revision of Midterm Exam

Your portfolio is due MAY 7th in class. If you require an extra day, you may hand deliver it to me at the Writing Center in K 115 on Friday, May 8th. NO EMAILED PORTFOLIOS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Portfolios that are not submitted by May 8th will result in a failing grade for the class. 

Intro: Exam Re-do

Write a well-developed essay of between one-and-one-half to three pages that draws on the different perspectives of the two readings listed above to respond to the following: Explain how bell hooks complicates or challenges Richard Rodriguez’s ideas about the relationship between academic success and family background.  Use this explanation to support your own argument about academic success and family background. Support your ideas with analysis of textual evidence, such as quotes or paraphrases, from both texts.



For most students, there is no one they want to be prouder of their accomplishments than their parents. From artwork taped to the refrigerator door to parent-teacher conferences, parents are the most important people to support the educational endeavors of children. But what if one’s parents do not support a child’s education? In Achievement of Desire, Richard Rodriquez describes the difficulty of growing up in a working class family and balancing it with the pursuit of his academic dreams. Rodriguez chose to handle this dilemma by isolating himself from his family. In keeping close to home: class and education, bell hooks discusses the importance of maintaining a balance between family and academic success despite their ambivalent support of her pursuits. Because family support has such a great impact on students performance, every student must decide for herself how much involvement family should have in her education. There is an important balance between family and education, although if family connections hinder your education, then those connections should be severed.

Midterm Exam Details

Hello, everyone,

Just a reminder that we have our midterm exam tomorrow. We will be meeting in a computer lab in K427 for the duration of the exam. Please check back for details.

Remember, I will not see you on Tuesday (March 31). You will be meeting in K109/K115 (The Writing Center) for 2 workshops. Attendance will be taken before each session, so please plan to be in attendance for both.

AZ

REVISED ESSAY 2

Hello all,

There was some confusion about the writing prompt you are working on. Based on our discussion on Tuesday, I modified it to apply to others as well. You have the liberty of discussing either your own experience or your observations of others' behaviors. 

Remember, this essay is based on Staples's essay, so use his experience and his text to reflect on your own (or others') lives and experience. How does he prove his thesis using examples? What language and techniques does he use to be successful in establishing his point?

Feel free to email me with questions, but leave time for me to respond.

Discuss ways in which you (or others) modify your behavior based on others' expectations of you.


Your essay should include:

• An engaging intro
• A clear thesis statement
• At least 3 body points that use EXAMPLES to establish your evidence
• A conclusion that provides a sense of closure to your essay
• Please write from 1st or 3rd person. No 2nd person (you) statements!

DUE THURSDAY

Announcement

Hello, all,

Sorry to disappoint, but I am canceling our class this afternoon.

I made some updates to our assignment schedule and those can be found on our blog at the tab above entitled "Assignment Schedule Updates".

Please arrive to our next class up to date with your reading assignments and with the first draft of your second essay in hand. You will give and receive feedback from your peers, so be prepared to share your work.

I will be checking my email periodically, so feel free to email with questions but leave time for a reply.

Enjoy your spring break!
AZ

Assignments due for next class

Hello, everybody,

Both for those who attended today and for those who were absent, I wanted to clarify the assignments due for our next class. You should arrive having read and prepared the following texts for discussion:

• Just Walk on By-- Brent Staples
• The High of an Illiterate Society- Jonathan Kozol 
• Introduction to Exemplification 
• In addition, you should arrive with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd drafts of your narrative essay for submission. 

I encourage you to make an appointment at the Writing Center in K-115 to meet with a tutor to discuss and review your latest draft, even if you are not struggling with it. It will help you become a better writer! The link for the center is on the right-hand side of this page.

Commas

• Interactive Quiz Here
• Comma Slideshow 1 Here
• 4 Common Grammar Mistakes Here