Day 12: Neat People vs Sloppy People & Batting Clean-up

Writing: Brainstorm a list of traits for people you see as opposite from you. From that brainstorm, tease out 2-3 that have the potential for humor and write away.

Check-in about previous essay: reading of some opening lines.

• Three areas where people struggled: consistent tone, focusing on one moment around which to tell your story/share revelations (get to that story earlier), writing voice distinction

Discussion

1. Neat People v Sloppy People

Small Groups --> review homework questions AND figure out the audience, So What?, and tone. (share on board)

Large Groups --> Review board work

2. Batting Clean-up

Small groups --> come up with your own questions. 1 on structure and 1 on meaning. Put on board.

Large groups --> share questions and discuss

Weekly Post #5: Words!

Diction. Vocabulary. Word choice. Call it what you will, but the style and tone and voice of a writer are all created with the most basic unit of writing: words. Find something in the diction that stands out. Maybe it's a word combination, the use of simple words, a word bomb that makes you reach for the dictionary.

A sentence I just had to share. From the NYT and Mark Bittman. This is awesome!!

The food processor replaces the whisk; the pastry cutter; the standing mixer (for which there are still some uses, but only if you’re a dedicated baker); the mandoline (which, to me, remains a fine alternative to the food processor for small quantities); the mortar and pestle, which, no matter how lovely, quaint and authentic, is perhaps the most labor-intensive, primitive and damnable set of tools in the kitchen; and, perhaps most importantly, the grater.

Day 11: Middle Class Black's Burden & Fatso

Writing: What oppositions do you use to evaluate people? Nice/mean. Men/women. Tall/short.

Discussion

1. The Middle-Class Black's Burden

Small Groups --> review homework questions AND figure out the audience, So What?, and tone. (share on board)

Large Groups --> Review board work.

Forms of persuasion
1. Ethos: trust, credibility (credible sources, personal experience)
2. Logos: reason, logic (references studies, comparisons, analogies, metaphors)
3. Pathos: values, emotion (personal stories, inspirational quotes/speech, vivid language)

Is McClain trying to persuade us of something? If so, what forms does she use?

2. Fatso

Small Groups --> review homework questions AND role of repetition.

Large Groups --> Is there a difference between identity elements you can control** and elements you're born with?

**assumed

Day 10: Compare & Contrast: Living in Two Worlds

Writing: Tell about a time when you knew you were different. How did you know? Who was the other group? How were they different from you?

Check-in about previous essay .... process in class and out? What else do you need/want?

Working with compare/contrast:
One of the most popular forms of essays we see every day. Think Presidential elections. Course selection. College selection. It's everywhere!!

Comparison --> to show similarities
Contrast --> to show differences

Explain (show similarities & differences to make either or both clear) or Evaluate (to establish advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses)

Subject-by-subject --> cover boys polo and then cover girls polo
Point-by-point --> style of play, skills of players, offensive tactics, defensive tactics

Questions to ask yourself: Will you emphasize both subjects equally or stress one over the other? Will you emphasize difference, similarities or both?

The most important piece is ... COHESION! No one wants to go to a tennis match while reading an essay. Smooth out the back and forth. Focus on strong transitions that signal the comparisons or contrasts you're trying to make.

Extra note: Look Back at Arm Wrestling with my Father and Salvation, and you'll see some compare and contrast going on. Bet you didn't even notice. It was that sneaky.

Reading: Listen to Six to Eight Black Men by David Sedaris

Discussing: What is purpose? Who is audience? Style of compare/contrast?

Weekly Post #4: Endings

You looked at opening lines, so now let's look at closing lines. What is the last line of the essay and is it an effective way to close the piece? If it is, why? If it isn't, is there a better ending earlier in the piece? Or feel free to suggest your own. Does the ending tie it all together? Does it feel complete? So many questions, so little time.

Great job so far. Keep it up.

Day 9: Share, Ask, Write

Share: Please share your work with at least two peers. Please note with whom you shared as I'd like to know for my notes.

Ask: Eugenie is a wealth of information when it comes to writing. She's a writer herself! So please ask her for help should you need any. She's awesome. Promise.

Write: Once you have swapped with peers, use class time to refine and revise your work. Your final essay needs to be uploaded to dropbox before the start of our next class. Instructions are on MyMA. Good luck!

Please bring your books and laptops to our next class. We are heading into Compare & Contrast territory for the next essay. So exciting.

Day 8: Writing workshop w partners

A little reading --> how to start

Seeing as you have a first draft, there's no better time to share it with your peers and get some serious feedback. Awesome!

Step 1: At the top of your draft please write the following:

• 3 things I love about my work.
• 3 thing I need help with.
• 3 questions for the reader (unrelated to previous ideas)

Step 2: Find your partners and get reading. Be sure to read their notes at the top. Remember: this is a time to be concision, constructive and honest in your feedback.

Step 3: Work on your own. Ask Mary questions. Work toward that second draft.

Groups:
Lacy, Nora, Brodie
Jorge, Kyndelle, Jez
Jenny N, Jack, Micah
Andrew, Jaq, Jenny R, JR
Angus, Michelle, Douglas, Jason

Weekly Post #3: Sentence structure

Few things tell me as much about an author as sentence structure. I'm not just talking about the ability to put a subject and a verb together; rather, I'm talking about being wowed by a simple variation or double wowed by a wild one. Maybe your author loves the fragment or the meandering thought or, god forbid, the interjection. Whatever it is, post a sentence that dazzles or bores you. A sentence that makes you want to steal it or one that makes you want to erase it. A sentence that reveals something about the author's style. Once you've posted your sentence, tell me briefly why you chose that sentence and what it tells you about the author.

Day 7: Talking workshop

Large group: What are the components of a good narrative? What makes a good story great? What do you as the reader want to experience? What do you as the writer what to achieve?

In groups of four ...

1. Presenter presents. Partners listen. (5 mins) Talk out the narrative, the details, the ideas. Listeners listen, take notes (think about what stands out, what you'd like to know, etc).
2. Listeners report back. Presenter listens. 5 mins) What did you hear? What do you want to know? What needs elaborating? Share your thoughts and insights.
3. Repeat until everyone has told their story.

Group 1: Lacy, Kyndelle, Andrew, Angus
Group 2: Nora, Jenny N, Jaq, Michelle
Group 3: Brodie, Jack, Jenny R, Douglas
Group 4: Jorge, Micah, Julia-Rose, Jason

Weekly Post #2: opening lines

Please share the opening line of your writer's work this week. What stands out about it? What works? What doesn't work? Do you think it's an effective way to begin the piece? Why/Why not?

Day 6: Salvation & Arm Wrestling

Writing: Tell me about a childhood epiphany you had

Discussion

In small groups --> Compare and contrast these two essays and their use of emotion, not only revealing their own but also drawing on the reader's.

In large group

1. Salvation

• Do you see child-like innocence in this essay? If so, how? where?
• Focusing on the opening, how does Hughes get the reader to buy in early?
• How is Hughes' tone reflective yet his style adolescent?
• Paragraph 2: Is this younger Hughes or older Hughes? What language and structural hints can we use to answer this?
• Paragraph 2: What's up with all those exclamation points?
• Ending --> is Hughes sad because he didn't have realization? because he let those around him down? OR because he lied?
• What's the main point of the essay? What change occurs in him as a result of his experience? (M1)
• Ideas of unmet expectations OR unexpected expectations ... how do expectations change us?
• Where can we find irony in this piece?

2. Arm Wrestling With My Father

• What is the overall tone of this piece?
• Who is the audience?
• How does Manning create universal appeal out of a very personal story?
• What impression do you have of Manning's father? Does Manning want the reader to have empathy for the father? Understand his way of love?
• How would you describe Manning's style? His voice? Does he always remain in the present, adult voice?

Day 5: The Chase & Santa Ana

Writing: Tell me about a time when you were chased or when you were chasing someone/something.

Discussion

In small groups --> review the homework questions. Identify SAS.

In large group

1. Santa Ana

• Ending: is this all of LA? California? Humanity?
• How does Didion use objectivity to appeal to emotion?
• How does Didion establish her credibility and truth?
• What's the tone of this piece?
• Do the Santa Ana's change people who expose a truth about people?
• How does Didion exclude and/or include her audience in her work?
• How dos she make the regional universal?

2. The Chase

• How does Dillard balance her youthful tone and adult reflection? Why is the success of this essay dependent on that balance?
• What's the So What? How do we reconcile the ending?
• is the man a placeholder, something against which to expose a personal truth?
• What's the tone of this piece?
• Paragraph 6: notice the structure
• Paragraph 20: does hyperbole work for or against the narrative?

What would you want to steal or borrow from these pieces? Ideas? Structural pieces? Something stylistic?

Day 4: Narration/Description, SAS & more

Writing: Tell me a childhood story you’ve told many times before. Be sure to include the last time you told it.

Working with Description

Description draws on the perceptions of the five senses — sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch — to understand and communicate a particular experience of the world.

Objective vs Subjective Description

Dominant Impression — a central theme or idea about the subject. Could be something seen, an emotional response. Serves as unifying principle that guides the writer's selection of details and the reader's understanding of the subject.

Point of View — consistency is key

Working with Narration

We tell stories all day long. Your job in your essay is make some meaning out of the story and convey some larger point/idea.

Modes of telling a story: chronologically, en media res (start in the middle), flashbacks, frame story (final event comes first and then details of how you get to final event follow)

Thesis — You should have a point to make. And that point should be clear but not overtly stated (this is hard to do, but you'll get there)

Point of View — consistency is key

SAS Triangle
Speaker --> who?
Audience --> to whom?
Subject --> what?

Purpose --> Why? relationship between speaker and audience
Tone --> How? relationship between speaker and subject
Argument & Point --> So what? relationship between audience and subject

In-class reading and discussing ...