FINAL BLOG POST (More or less)

Your portfolios will be outside my office by 5 PM tonight. Please only
look at your own. I will lock them up over the weekend and then put them
back out on Monday. I have posted your final grade on Spectrum - I don't
know if you can access them yet.

PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT

I will be putting a box on my desk with these instructions. However,

You need to turn in your portfolio in a manilla folder. Turn in papers in the following order:

Reflective Evaluation
Textual Analysis
Reader Response
Synthesis

Then paper clip it shut. There will be paper clips on my desk.

You must turn them in by Wednesday, December 5th at 12 PM. I will be in PT323 from 5:30 to 8:30 (during our normal class time) if you want to hand them in person. If you come at this time, I will hand back your synthesis. If you are in the 7:10 class, and you are going to come early, email me so you can make sure that I have yours graded. Otherwise, it will be ready by 7:10.

If you want your portfolio back, check the blog. I will also send out an email explaining when I will be in my office at PT103 to hand them back. I will leave them on my desk as well, but I can't promise that the office will be open.

If you've missed class and have no idea what I'm talking about, please check the previous blog posts.

FOR TUESDAY

Remember to turn in your synthesis assignment. I will not accept it any later than Thursday.

If you missed class, or are confused on what to do, go to the UMDrive and download the file CHECKLIST FOR SYNTHESIS.DOC

Make sure your synthesis can stand up to this checklist.

See you Tuesday.

FOR CLASS TUESDAY

Don't forget to bring your typed rough draft. If you don't have a rough draft, or miss class altogether, you will get a 0/20 for this assignment.

Meeting Times

I have meeting times available at from 3:45-4:15 and 8:30-9:00 today. I have times available from 3:45-4:15 on Friday and after 5 Pm. Otherwise, I can meet on Monday from 4:00 - 5:00 PM.

Email me at alblack1@memphis.edu to let me know if you want to set up an appointment time on Thursday or Friday.


Andy

UPDATED SCHEDULE:

Okay, here's the updated schedule I went over in class:

Thursday the 8th: Library Day / Conference Day
(I will be parked in PT323, our classroom, from 5:30 to 8:30. You can come get your Reader Responses and ask me any questions about your synthesis or anything else). We will NOT be having class. It is time for you to see me or for you to work on your paper. It's up to you how you spend the night off, but I recommend you spend it working.)

Tuesday the 13th: Class - Discuss Synthesis

Thursday the 15th: Scheduled Conference Day
On Tuesday I'll pass out a sign-up sheet when you can schedule time to meet with me about. I recommend you have a rough draft in hand.

Tuesday the 20th: Draft Due; Peer Workshopping

Thursday the 22nd: Thanksgiving

Tuesday 27th: Final Draft due (THIS HAS CHANGED - see post below); We will discuss the reflective analysis

Thursday 29th: Further discuss reflective analysis; last class meeting

Tuesday Dec. 4th: Portfolio WITH Reflective Analysis due
(Remember, your portfolio should include: your Textual Analysis, Reader Response, Synthesis, and Reflective Analysis)

WE WILL NOT MEET DURING THE FINAL EXAM

MISTAKE

Due to a scheduling error, I was wrong about the date when the Synthesis is due. The Final Draft will be due on the 27th. Because of the confusion, I will also accept it on the 29th, but I wouldn't recommend it, as there is another paper due on the 4th.

Sorry for the confusion. You still have plenty of time to work on this. I will elaborate in class.

FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

Really the only thing we have going on is the Synthesis. You can get it from the UMDrive. Click here to get it and download Synthesis.doc

I am not going to be updating the blog regularly, as this will be your only major assignment. Here are the dates to remember.

Remember, the synthesis should be 5 to 7 pages. Read over the assignment sheet, do the assigned reading, and follow the guidelines set out on the sheet.

November 20th: Rough Draft
December 4th: Final Paper Due

Change to the absence policy:

I've decided to change something on the absence policy. Rather than knocking you off a letter grade for your fourth absence, I'm going to take five points off your overall average points total for each absence after your third one. This should help some of you immensely. However an excess of absences will still affect you. Email me if you have any questions.

Assignment for 11/1

Read the essay on p. 244 - I HAVE A DREAM and the essay on p. 351 - SELECTION, SLANTING, AND CHARGED LANGUAGE

Just FYI, if you are more than fifteen minutes late, you will officially be counted absent.


Also, check the Umdrive and download the file synthesis.doc - I will be going over this in class some on Thursday and again on Friday

FOR TUESDAY

Go to my UMDrive

Download Dorm.doc and read it. Print out a copy and bring it to class.

Then write a 300 word response (NOT A SUMMARY). You do not have to use parenthetical citations, but it should be formatted correctly and have a word count on the page.

No class on Thursday! See you Tuesday. Don't forget to bring your LANGUAGE AWARENESS books to class.

ASSIGNMENT FOR TUESDAY

Turn in your Reader Response Tuesday. Make sure you follow all the instructions.

FALL BREAK!

No homework over the weekend! Enjoy your break. Although, if you haven't completed a rough draft, I highly recommend that you do it by Monday in order to get any credit (a 5/10 instead of a 10/10). Email it to me.

See you Thursday.

And remember, you must keep a copy of your textual analysis for the end of the year portfolio - whether it is my graded copy or a printed copy.

FOR CLASS ON THURSDAY 10/11

This Thursday, I'm not taking roll; all I'm doing is taking up a rough draft of the Reader Response. Therefore, if you don't have a rough draft completed, you may as well not come. I will be giving a grade just for completing the rough draft - if you do it, and do it right, you'll get a 10/10. If you don't do it: 0/10.

Remember - Bring TWO copies of the rough draft. One for me and one for your peer groups.
It needs to be typed, but don't worry about format for this assignment - it can be single spaced in any font you want. In order to get credit, you must bring two copies.

Email me if you have any questions.

And, just in case you were curious, here is the video for Marilyn Manson's Lunchbox. Warning: Explicit material.

Assignment - 10/5/07

Go to the UMDrive. Download the file COLOMBINE.DOC and read it for class on Tuesday. You will have a short quiz at the beginning of class. You must be there by 5:35 to take the quiz. It will not be given late.

Also, a rough draft of your Reader Response paper is due Thursday (before Fall Break). This is a required draft. It must be typed. You can get the file on the UMDrive - Readerresp.doc

I am also putting the Power Point presentation from class - readerresp.ppt

Enjoy your weekend!

Here, by the way, is the commercial we discussed in class.

FOR THURSDAY

There's no homework, unless of course you haven't finished your paper.

The minimum paper requirement is 500 words, however please note the previous blog post where I said that, in general, 5 papers will be at least 700 words. Papers that are too short will probably receive a 4 at the highest. In looking over your papers, some of them are far too short. I want to emphasize that length of a paper matters.

Check the UMDRIVE to get the latest assignment - the rough draft for your paper due a week from Thursday. It is called Readerresp.doc

Also, there are two other files worth noting:

mlastuff.ppt - the power point presentation I went over last night
kantrhetfinal.doc - a paper I wrote in which the Works Cited is formatted correctly

See you Thursday

CLASS ON TUESDAY - IMPORTANT NOTE

I am not canceling class tomorrow, but I am not going to take roll. No one will be counted absent. Because of the U of M football game, I'm allowing you the opportunity to go if you like without penalty. I will be having class, thought it will be shorter; we'll be going over MLA format requirements. If you think you have a pretty good handle on it, you don't have to come. If you have no idea what I'm talking about when I say "MLA format requirements," I highly recommend that you be there.

HOWEVER, I must have a hard copy of your paper if by Tuesday at 8:30 PM at the latest. My office and desk are in Patterson 103. Leave it there if you are not coming to class, or you can hand it to me at the beginning of class.

I hope you go to the game to support the team, especially in light of the recent tragedy.

ASSIGNMENT 9/28

Textual Analysis Due Tuesday - See previous blog posts for information.

REMEMBER:

Follow Rule Sheets carefully
Do Quotes correctly (You MUST use quotes!)
NO MLA Citation
Format Paper correctly
Put a word count!

Good luck! See you then. Have a great weekend.

Here is the GREED IS GOOD speech we discussed in its entirety.

And Here is an interesting article about this speech, this character, and its legacy.

ENGLISH HW - 9/25

The sample Textual Analysis is up on the UM Drive. The file is called testpaperquindlen.doc

Also, I have put the Power Point Presentation on as well. You will need to have MS Power Point on your computer to get it - recommended for those who missed class. All the U of M computer labs have Power Point (I think). The file is TEXTUAL ANALYSIS.PPT

You can find the commercial here

Remember my suggested format:

• Brief Summary (1 Paragraph)

• Statement of Author’s purpose / target audience (1 Paragraph)

• How well did the author achieve this purpose? (1 Paragraph)

• What is the author’s tone / attitude? What is some evidence of that? (1 Paragraph)

• What are the strengths / weaknesses of the argument / essay? (2 Paragraphs)

• Which elements of the article are the most / least persuasive? (2 Paragraphs)

• Conclusion (1 Paragraph)

A 5 (A) Paper must be formatted correctly and should be at least 700 words.

You do NOT need an MLA citation for this essay or parenthetical citations. You do need to pull quotes from the essay, so make sure you do them correctly. Consult your Hacker or THEY SAY I SAY for guidance. Also, look at my sample.

I do need a word count at the end of the paper.

The paper will be due Tuesday. This is your first major grade, so I need a hard copy on Tuesday. I have been lenient on the late papers until recently, but I will be following the lateness policy to the letter on this one. Please consult your syllabus.

Do your best! We'll talk more about this on Thursday.

HOMEWORK 9/20

The homework for Tuesday is to come up with a rough draft of your textual analysis. I know I said 500-750 words, but any paper that will receive a 4 or over should have at least 700. It needs to be about 3 to 4 double spaced pages.

The rough draft should be typed, but does not have to follow any format instructions.

If you missed class, you can get the assignment here. Read the previous entry for instructions on how to get it. Also, I have given another option for the reading that I mentioned in class. The file is called SIMMONS.DOC - It's also on the hyperdrive.

This textual analysis is your first big assignment of the year. Please dedicate the necessary time to it and follow all instructions. I have been a little more lenient with late papers previously, but the late policy definitely applies here.

Please email me if you have ANY questions.

Tuesday 9/18

No homework! I will assigning a paper on Thursday due Tuesday. You can get a jump-start on this by looking over the assignment sheets on the UM-drive.

There are three files, and they each begin with TEXTUAL ANALYSIS. One of them is the assignment description; another is the grading rubric I will use; another is a grading analysis that I will consult, but not stick to strictly.

I suggest you begin doing one of the readings for the assignments. They are:

“And May He Be Bilingual” by Judith Ortiz Cofer (560); “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde (567); “Going to Japan” by Barbara Kingsolver (573).

As the assignment sheet notes, you will pick one and follow the instructions.

See you Thursday!

Assignment - 9/13

Your summary is due Tuesday - the assignment is on the UMdrive. Click here to get to it. It is called summary913.doc - it is the exact same sheet as the handout I gave in class.

Remember:

Format matters
Format your paper exactly as you are supposed to.
Look over the rules sheets
The point of this assignment is NOT evaluation or opinion, but summarization.

ALSO, put the word count at the end of the assignment, as is shown on the example.

ASSIGNMENT - 9/11

For September 13th . . .

Since I'm in a good mood after a rare Mississippi State victory, I'm shortening your reading for Thursday.

Download the article here. It is called wimpsandbarbarians.doc - just click on it and it will open up in MS Word. Print out the entire article and bring it to class.

(For the computer not-so-literate, like me - click on the "here" to get it)

You can also get it here if for some reason the word file doesn't work.

Read pages 2 through 7. Start with the heading CHARACTER COUNTS and stop at the heading BRAVE NEW WORLD.

I will ask the following questions in class - it will be "open article" - meaning you can use your test. But you should read it beforehand, as there will be a time limit.

Here they are:

1) Summarize the author's opinion on "Wimps" (3 to 4 sentences)
2) Summarize the author's opinion on "Barbarians" (3 to 4 sentences)
3) Is the author persuasive, why? (3 to 4 sentences)
4) Based on what you read, what do you think the author thinks is the problem? (2-3 sentences)
5) Even though you haven't read it yet, what do you think the solution might be? (2-3 sentences)

Thanks to Victoria, Chris, Shaun from section 61 and Angela, Precious, and Erica from section 60 for reading! You guys are great!

See you Thursday.

HYPERDRIVE ADDRESS

Either click here

OR

Copy this url:

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/alblack1/public/

The reading for Thursday is WIMPS AND BARBARIANS. More details tomorrow. Please print it out and bring a copy to class.

Assignments - 9/4

NEW CLASS RULE:

Due to the fact that we will be discussing most of the works we are reading in class, all quizzes must be taken at the beginning of class. I will wait until after I call roll, but the quizzes will be taken promptly at five minutes after class.

Reminder: THERE IS NO CLASS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH. Enjoy your night off!

This is pretty much verbatim what I wrote on the last one:

Your first major assignment will be a narrative about yourself. The assignment length will be 600-800 words (600 words is the absolute minimum; a goodly length is probably about 700). This will be on Tuesday, September 11th. This can be a narrative about a number of subjects. I'll give five options. If you have another idea that you'd like to do, we can discuss it.

Your choices are:

1) Your college experience so far.
2) Your pre-college experience and what led you to the University of Memphis
3) How you came to enjoy doing something you do
4) Your experiences with English
5) A major event in your life

If you have another suggestion for a topic, email me at alblack1@memphis.edu

This paper can be slightly conversational in tone, but make sure you look over the rules sheets. I think this is a good way to start out a class on writing and reading, by writing about yourself.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

You can now address the hyperdrive here. Go on there to download the syllabus (syllabustoclass.doc) and the writing rules (UMWritingrules.doc).

Or you can add this link to your browser:

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/alblack1/public/

Let me know if it doesn't work.

BONUS OPPORTUNITY

The first five people who email me from each class and offer to read their narrative in front of the class will receive two bonus points each for 2 points.

Assignments For Tuesday 9/4

First off, unless otherwise noted, these assignments are for both sections: 60 (5:30 T, TH) and 61 (7:10 T, TH).

Your Homework for Tuesday are the following readings:from the LANGUAGE AWARENESS text

Malcolm X p.37
Helen Keller p. 43
David Raymond p. 48

You do NOT have to answer any questions about the text. I will give a brief quiz over the reading on Tuesday.

Also, you should retype the handout I gave in class, making the necessary changes. If, for whatever reason, you did not get it, email me at alblack1@memphis.edu

Reminder: THERE IS NO CLASS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH. Enjoy your night off!

Your first major assignment will be a narrative about yourself. The assignment length will be 600-800 words (600 words is the absolute minimum; a goodly length is probably about 700). This will be on Tuesday, September 11th. This can be a narrative about a number of subjects. I'll give five options. If you have another idea that you'd like to do, we can discuss it.

Your choices are:

1) Your college experience so far.
2) Your pre-college experience and what led you to the University of Memphis
3) How you came to enjoy doing something you do
4) Your experiences with English
5) A major event in your life

This paper can be slightly conversational in tone, but make sure you look over the rules sheets. I think this is a good way to start out a class on writing and reading, by writing about yourself.

See you Tuesday. Have a great Labor Day Weekend and Go Tigers!

Assignment for Thursday 8/30

I enjoyed meeting all of you on Tuesday. Here's whats on the agenda for Thursday:

- I emailed all of you a copy of the syllabus and a rules packet that I want you to bring to class on Thursday. If you print these out, I'll give you a bonus point for each.

- Several of the emails came back to me as invalid. It is possible that I did not read your writing correctly. If you did NOT get this email, write me at alblack1@memphis.edu with your correct email address. I sent it to both the email you sent me and your University email, just to be safe.

- I will be giving a handout on Thursday. If you miss class, you must get this from me, as I will not be e-mailing a copy out.

- Reading due TUESDAY (in addition to an assignment I will be giving in class on Thursday):

Malcolm X, p. 37
Helen Keller, p. 43
David Raymond p. 48

Just read the essays themselves.

See you Thursday!

Pre-Class Post

Students in EN1010 sections 60 or 61 at the U of M (5:30 - 6:55 or 7:10 - 8:35):

I am planning on using this page to post assignments and general comments. I will more than likely update it on Wednesdays and Fridays following class.

Here's an important link: my hyperdrive address.

You can click here to get to it.

Or copy this link to your brower or bookmark folder:

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/alblack1/

I will be adding the syllabus shortly. In order to save money on copies, please print out the syllabus and bring it with you to class. If you do, you will get some early bonus points toward your average.

Here's how to get it: go to the above link and download the file syllabus.doc - It will open itself up as a Word document and you may save or print it.

According to Spectrum, Section 60 (5:30-6:55) meets in Patterson 323. Section 61 (7:10-8:35) meets in Patterson 309.

I look forward to meeting all of you on Tuesday! I hope we have a great year.

Andy Black