Week 5.2

Explain to me what the informative essay assignment entails. What do you have to do? What is the purpose? How does it relate to the other essays? What key elements will I be looking for in an informative essay? Will you choose a similar topic for all three essays? Why or why not? Again, it is up to you whether you want to do that. How many sources do you need? What kinds of sources do you need? Why have a variety of sources?

Answer the all of the following questions in 1-2 paragraphs. A paragraph is 4-6 coherent sentences.

Week 5.1

Today was a library day. We had a great lecturer talk to us about the library and some of the tools for conducting good research - research beyond just Google. Answer the following questions in one paragraph. A paragraph is 4-6 coherent sentences.

1. Discuss two things you learned from your library orientation. What do you now know about the library that you didn't before today?

2. Why do you think we went to the library for an orientation? Why should students know how to use the library? Why does the library offer orientations for instructors and students?

Week 4.3

This is the last extra credit blog post for the week. So it is the end of conference week and I'm wondering how you liked or disliked meeting with me individually. In one paragraph, tell me how our conference helped your essay. Did you learn anything? What did you learn about how I grade? Are your anxieties about this essay subdued? If it didn't help, tell me what I can do for future conferences. Conferences are a way to help each student with their own personal writing issues.

I enjoyed conference week. I hope you all enjoyed it too.

Week 4.2

Extra Credit Post:

Music is an important part of our lives. I haven't kept up with it for a while, but I always have an iPod handy with some songs from the past. Music has the magical power of transporting us to different times and places with the push of a button.

Name one song that, at one time or another, just captivated you. You know, the song that you hit repeat 100 times in a row because you loved it so much. Then, in one paragraph, explain what you love about the song, or any memorable lyrics. Below is an example:

The first time I heard "The Freshmen" I knew I would be hooked. I first heard it on One Tree Hill and quickly searched the Internet to find the name of the song. I then found a cover version of the song by one of my favorite groups, Boyce Avenue. I love the pace and rhythm, as well as the message that I think the song portrays: one of innocence and an allowance of mistakes.

Week 4.1

Extra Credit Blog:

1. List your top favorite TV shows and why you enjoy the show. If you don't watch TV, list your top 5 books and why. If you don't read books, come and talk to me. You can borrow some books from me. Below is an example.

1. LOST - Great characters and storyline. Also, the show is shot on location in my backyard.

2. One Tree Hill - The music is so great in this show. It can be a little dramatic at times though.

3. Friends - I'm currently in a Friends marathon. This show was so great.

4. The Simpsons/Futurama/King of the Hill - All great shows from similar minds. Love the jokes and subtle humor.

5. The Office - This show was a milestone in TV comedy. Incorporating the interview/confessional was brilliant.

Locked out of URSA for the weekend

I just wanted to let you know that I've been locked out of URSA for the weekend and I won't have access to my email at all. If you need to contact me, please send me an email at koba2802@bears.unco.edu. Please let your fellow students know through Blackboard by sending a mass email to all Student Users. Thanks.

Chris

Week 3.3

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country.

Here are last year's winners...

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. Instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m., at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

Pick one of these similes/metaphors. Explain to me, in one paragraph, why it is so ridiculously funny. What is wrong with the writer's thinking? What is the fallacy? You don't have to give me the specific name, but tell me what is wrong with the logic.To help you think, feel free to watch this video below. It's pretty entertaining and displays how we can say different things with the same techniques.

Week 3.2

For today's post, I'd like you to share your notes from the essay we graded in class, "The Miracle Quilt." Share your compliment sandwich (one strength, one area of improvement, one strength). Also, what grade did you give the essay and why? Explain your reasoning. Lastly, what did you learn about grading as a result of this activity?

Answer the questions in 1-2 paragraphs. A paragraph is 4-6 sentences.

Week 3.1

Great discussion today on Amy Tan's essay. Answer one of the following questions:

1. What does the essay say about mother-daughter relationships? What does it say about parent-child relationships? What does it reveal about relationships in general?

2. What is the power of language? How does Tan discuss language in the context of her relationship with her mother? Why is language powerful?

3. Define the title of the essay, "Mother tongue." What does it mean? How does it work in the context of this novel? How does it function?

Remember to write at least one paragraph. A paragraph is 4-6 coherent sentences.

Week 2.2

This is the blog post for Friday. Remember, if you don't post a comment by the deadline, you will be counted as absent for the class.

Read "Just Another Soldier" by Jason Christopher Hartley (pp. 91-94). Choose one of the four questions that comes before the story and answer it in one paragraph. Remember, one paragraph is 4-6 coherent sentences. Use examples from the text whenever possible. If you are comfortable quoting from the text, please do so, as it shows me you understand what you are reading.

Have a great weekend.

Week 2.1

With the upcoming Reflection Essay, tell me about the topic you are writing about. You do not need to know exactly, but give me at least a general idea of what you are interested in writing about for this class. Why have you chosen this topic? Explain the significance of the experience to your life now. Why should other people care?

Do not state that you have no topic. By this point, you should at least have an idea. If you really don't know what you are interested in writing about, come and see me so we can talk about it.

Answer the following questions in 1-2 paragraphs. A paragraph is 4-6 coherent sentences.

Week 1.3

Today we discussed "Let It Snow" by David Sedaris. Please answer one of the following questions in paragraph form. A paragraph is at least 4-6 coherent sentences.

1. On the surface, this story centers around a snowstorm, and children playing in it. Underlying these events are the much darker issues of the narrator's mother, her drinking, and her treatment of her children. How exactly does the snowstorm focus Sedaris's investigation of his family's past?

2. The narrator, as a fifth-grader, thinks that having his sister get hit by a car would be "the perfect solution" to their problem. What do you believe the adult narrator thinks of this "solution"? Are there any other clues that the narrator feels differently now?

3. The humor turns a potentially sad story into a ridiculous one. Think about how this essay might have been written without the humor. Could it be as effective?

4. Although this story deals with intensely personal issues, the tone is quite ironic and detached. Given the tone, what do you make of the story's ending, with the children surrounding their mother "tightly on all sides," finally going back to their house?

Week 1.2

Today, we discussed "Some Lines for a Younger Brother." Answer the following questions in paragraph form.

1. What is the purpose of this essay?

2. Can you trust the writer?

3. How does this essay work? How does it appeal to the reader? What emotions are transferred from the writer to the reader?

This is the extra credit blog post for the week. The first student to successfully answer the post will receive a free absence for this class. Good luck.