Article on the large hadron collider in the news - jinxed from the future!!
For those that read or saw Angels and Demons, this was in that fictional work with its ability to create (maybe) the God particle.
Please be sure when you're doing Stephen Hawking that this is an AUTHOR CRITIQUE - not a BIOGRAPHY.
I'm concerned with WHY the information is important to the author - not WHAT every single piece of the information is.
Think about it like this: If I want to read the article, I can just read that. All I want from you is what the author was trying to get across in 5 paragraphs.
This all takes things back to why I'm so concerned about students listing everything (it's makes me wonder if they understand any of it) on their note cards.
Each paragraph is a single fact - not a retelling of every fact.
Remember, when you have the fact, it hast to mean something that is a larger explanation of the hero / heroine's life (to the author).
Your thesis is that the "author's intention is X."
If you don't prove that in your paper, then you're not proving your case (it's just like a courtroom drama). Just saying Jackie Robinson did X or Doris Voitier did Y is not the same as saying, "when Stephen Hawking did Z, it made Rachel Cooke see that it meant A and she wanted the reader to clearly know this was what made him a special person."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
PLEASE DON'T FORGET
Doris Voitier article is due to be read on Tuesday. We'll have a quiz on this.
For those that may have forgotten - journals... my writing lab...
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!
Jackie Robinson essay is due IN CLASS on Tuesday.
These are the standards....
You're good people. Follow these to do well. Turn the essay in to show that you care. I want you all to do well. I really do. Please, make this assignment count. Put your heart and soul (and spell and grammar check) into it. Impress me. Please.
How to do what you have to do in order to get a C on this paper.
1. The first paragraph is a vague 2-3 sentence lead in to get to the thesis, which FOR MY PURPOSES is always the last sentence of the first paragraph.
2. These sentences MUST INCLUDE the name of the article (in quotes) and the author who wrote the article. You MUST TELL ME what the author’s credentials are in writing this article. If you don’t know, then you MUST FIND OUT.
3. The thesis is the author’s main idea in writing this.
4. For example: Many authors have attempted to teach students how to write in a way that is educational and fun at the same time. However, few of these writers have succeeded. Nevertheless, Dan Glass, an English teacher at Reading Area Community College, wrote “The Karate Kid Method of Learning Grammar” in an attempt to show students how to set up a paper so that they could get good grades.
5. After this, EACH OF THE THREE PARAGRAPHS contains one AND ONLY ONE idea that proves how the author does this. Anything more than 1 idea is a quick way to get under a C. Under a C means that you ARE NOT PASSING THIS CLASS. You don’t want this. I don’t want this. Follow the directions.
6. The final paragraph contains a sentence that tells what “it is clear to see that” from reading this article. This is a summary. This is not a repetition of the author’s entire article or your entire summary. You will write 3 sentences and done.
7. For example: It is clear to see that any attempt to make grammar fun and educational is based on a serious commitment to understand grammar and the ability to be able to make it work for the average student. Without these two things, any system, no matter how well-intentioned, will fail. Nevertheless, as a result of Glass’s love of pop culture and dedication to excellence in his profession, he has done all of these things in such a way that many students that never were able to learn grammar can and will now be able to succeed in writing.
8. You will prove your thesis. If you don’t do this, nothing else matters.
9. Your paper will make sense when read out loud in STANDARD-EDITED ENGLISH. Please note that this does not say read out loud for clarity. Often times, how a student understands English is not standard-edited English (i.e. conversational slang). As a result, this is another plea for you to READ OFTEN and START WRITING on your own about ideas that are scholarly. If you’re not committed to excellence, the other option will come. You don’t want this. I don’t want this. Do what you have to do in order to succeed.
10. Your paper will follow grammatical rules. Your paper will flow. You will use factual information.
11. Type the paper in 12 point type, Times New Roman font, and double space everything.
12. Do not use the words, “I, we, you, us, our.” No conversational slang or abbreviations either.
13. The heading is your name, my name, the class, the date (all on a different line that is left aligned). The title is then centered on the next line down. These are also double spaced.
14. You will have a citation for your article at the bottom under the centered heading WORKS CITED, and it will be: Last name, First name. “Title of article.” Title of website. Date created. Date accessed. URL.
15. Glass, Dan. “Karate Kid Method of Learning Grammar.” Unique and Awesome English Materials. August 26, 1971. August 26, 2009. www.uniqueandawesomeenglishmaterials.org
Do you want an A? Do everything above and what’s in 9+10 exceptionally.
However, thinking you know better than the system, replacing the system with your own way to do this, and not proofreading are three ways to fail quickly (and to truly upset your teacher). I will warn you that if you don’t proofread your paper, then I won’t either. REALLY. A word of advice to anyone who thinks that getting others to write their papers will get them to pass this class – it won’t. The final exam is in class writing and must be passed on your own merit to pass the class. Many students fail this class at RACC and wonder why. This is why. REALLY.
For those that may have forgotten - journals... my writing lab...
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!
Jackie Robinson essay is due IN CLASS on Tuesday.
These are the standards....
You're good people. Follow these to do well. Turn the essay in to show that you care. I want you all to do well. I really do. Please, make this assignment count. Put your heart and soul (and spell and grammar check) into it. Impress me. Please.
How to do what you have to do in order to get a C on this paper.
1. The first paragraph is a vague 2-3 sentence lead in to get to the thesis, which FOR MY PURPOSES is always the last sentence of the first paragraph.
2. These sentences MUST INCLUDE the name of the article (in quotes) and the author who wrote the article. You MUST TELL ME what the author’s credentials are in writing this article. If you don’t know, then you MUST FIND OUT.
3. The thesis is the author’s main idea in writing this.
4. For example: Many authors have attempted to teach students how to write in a way that is educational and fun at the same time. However, few of these writers have succeeded. Nevertheless, Dan Glass, an English teacher at Reading Area Community College, wrote “The Karate Kid Method of Learning Grammar” in an attempt to show students how to set up a paper so that they could get good grades.
5. After this, EACH OF THE THREE PARAGRAPHS contains one AND ONLY ONE idea that proves how the author does this. Anything more than 1 idea is a quick way to get under a C. Under a C means that you ARE NOT PASSING THIS CLASS. You don’t want this. I don’t want this. Follow the directions.
6. The final paragraph contains a sentence that tells what “it is clear to see that” from reading this article. This is a summary. This is not a repetition of the author’s entire article or your entire summary. You will write 3 sentences and done.
7. For example: It is clear to see that any attempt to make grammar fun and educational is based on a serious commitment to understand grammar and the ability to be able to make it work for the average student. Without these two things, any system, no matter how well-intentioned, will fail. Nevertheless, as a result of Glass’s love of pop culture and dedication to excellence in his profession, he has done all of these things in such a way that many students that never were able to learn grammar can and will now be able to succeed in writing.
8. You will prove your thesis. If you don’t do this, nothing else matters.
9. Your paper will make sense when read out loud in STANDARD-EDITED ENGLISH. Please note that this does not say read out loud for clarity. Often times, how a student understands English is not standard-edited English (i.e. conversational slang). As a result, this is another plea for you to READ OFTEN and START WRITING on your own about ideas that are scholarly. If you’re not committed to excellence, the other option will come. You don’t want this. I don’t want this. Do what you have to do in order to succeed.
10. Your paper will follow grammatical rules. Your paper will flow. You will use factual information.
11. Type the paper in 12 point type, Times New Roman font, and double space everything.
12. Do not use the words, “I, we, you, us, our.” No conversational slang or abbreviations either.
13. The heading is your name, my name, the class, the date (all on a different line that is left aligned). The title is then centered on the next line down. These are also double spaced.
14. You will have a citation for your article at the bottom under the centered heading WORKS CITED, and it will be: Last name, First name. “Title of article.” Title of website. Date created. Date accessed. URL.
15. Glass, Dan. “Karate Kid Method of Learning Grammar.” Unique and Awesome English Materials. August 26, 1971. August 26, 2009. www.uniqueandawesomeenglishmaterials.org
Do you want an A? Do everything above and what’s in 9+10 exceptionally.
However, thinking you know better than the system, replacing the system with your own way to do this, and not proofreading are three ways to fail quickly (and to truly upset your teacher). I will warn you that if you don’t proofread your paper, then I won’t either. REALLY. A word of advice to anyone who thinks that getting others to write their papers will get them to pass this class – it won’t. The final exam is in class writing and must be passed on your own merit to pass the class. Many students fail this class at RACC and wonder why. This is why. REALLY.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
National Parks Outline Assignment - DUE NEXT THURSDAY!
To do the outline, we will watch a video of the national parks of the Colorado Plateau.
Each place (3 national parks, 3 national monuments, and 3 other places) is a capital letter with sufficient subdivisions (at least 2 that are listed with regular numbers) under it with at least 1 descriptive detail (lower case letters).
You will have 9 places arranged like this (according to the sample outline set up paper):
I. Other Places
A. Ricketts Glen State Park
1. Waterfalls
a. Harrison Wright
b. B. Reynolds
c. Ganoga
2. Trails
a. Waterfall Trail
b. Bulldozer Trail
c. Hemlock trail
3. Other pursuits
a. Fishing on Lake Jean
b. Snowmobiling
c. Picnics
d. Camping
I have a lot of additional video of them here. According to discussion we have had in class regarding your Internet sites visited (we'll be doing a different project on this later), you know how to search these places out on youtube and google. You can find other video all kinds of places. I recommend seeing as many of these places as you can.
I also have pictures of these places here.
A good website with lots of info on the Colorado Plateau is here.
If I could take great pictures instead of just really good ones, I would be hosting this website.
Both video and pictures include Zion National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Waterholes Canyon, the Wave, Antelope Canyon, Ute Mountain Tribal Park, In the Desert Solitaire (a reference to Edward Abbey's incredible book entitled Desert Solitaire), Clear Creek Canyon, and Paria Canyon. Not all of these are on the video, but not all of these are meant for casual hikers.
I KNOW WHICH PLACES ARE IN MY VIDEO AND WHICH ARE ON THE WEB. IF YOU USE ONES THAT AREN'T IN THE VIDEO, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS.
While you cannot do this assignment if you aren't in class, I include this stuff for you to encourage you to see more unique visions of what these places actually look like.
THIS ASSIGNMENT OF 2.5 PAGES OF NOTES AND A FULL OUTLINE IS DUE THE LAST DAY THAT YOU ARE IN CLASS THIS WEEK.
My journeys to the Wave and my finally making it into this geographic wonder are the most influential journeys I have been on since graduating from RACC and Alvernia College to become a teacher. From not getting to this destination on 3 different occasions, the 4th time became a defining moment in my life.
Here, it is.
My 3 videos of my trip to the Wave (story to follow).
Each place (3 national parks, 3 national monuments, and 3 other places) is a capital letter with sufficient subdivisions (at least 2 that are listed with regular numbers) under it with at least 1 descriptive detail (lower case letters).
You will have 9 places arranged like this (according to the sample outline set up paper):
I. Other Places
A. Ricketts Glen State Park
1. Waterfalls
a. Harrison Wright
b. B. Reynolds
c. Ganoga
2. Trails
a. Waterfall Trail
b. Bulldozer Trail
c. Hemlock trail
3. Other pursuits
a. Fishing on Lake Jean
b. Snowmobiling
c. Picnics
d. Camping
I have a lot of additional video of them here. According to discussion we have had in class regarding your Internet sites visited (we'll be doing a different project on this later), you know how to search these places out on youtube and google. You can find other video all kinds of places. I recommend seeing as many of these places as you can.
I also have pictures of these places here.
A good website with lots of info on the Colorado Plateau is here.
If I could take great pictures instead of just really good ones, I would be hosting this website.
Both video and pictures include Zion National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Waterholes Canyon, the Wave, Antelope Canyon, Ute Mountain Tribal Park, In the Desert Solitaire (a reference to Edward Abbey's incredible book entitled Desert Solitaire), Clear Creek Canyon, and Paria Canyon. Not all of these are on the video, but not all of these are meant for casual hikers.
I KNOW WHICH PLACES ARE IN MY VIDEO AND WHICH ARE ON THE WEB. IF YOU USE ONES THAT AREN'T IN THE VIDEO, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS.
While you cannot do this assignment if you aren't in class, I include this stuff for you to encourage you to see more unique visions of what these places actually look like.
THIS ASSIGNMENT OF 2.5 PAGES OF NOTES AND A FULL OUTLINE IS DUE THE LAST DAY THAT YOU ARE IN CLASS THIS WEEK.
My journeys to the Wave and my finally making it into this geographic wonder are the most influential journeys I have been on since graduating from RACC and Alvernia College to become a teacher. From not getting to this destination on 3 different occasions, the 4th time became a defining moment in my life.
Here, it is.
My 3 videos of my trip to the Wave (story to follow).
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