English 100T Assignments

Assignment #1 – Narrative Essay

Write a 750 -word narrative describing an event, incident, or encounter in your past that has changed you in some noticeable (at least to you) way. For example, one student wrote about an injury he suffered as a high school lacrosse player. He was unable to play for one season and had to undergo extensive physical therapy. What he learned off the field about enduring pain, setting goals and inspiring others convinced him that he wanted to become a physical therapist. Perhaps your experience has been enlightening in a more subtle way. You might tell a story about something that has happened to you and surprise us with an insight that is different from what we might expect. Think about the essays we have read for class and consider our class discussions to help you choose a topic you feel passionate about and that your audience will find interesting. Be sure you create a dominant impression, that is, be clear about the impact the experience made on you and include enough details, dialogue and description to help your audience to get it.

¨ Strong Telling Details that allow the audience to infer some of the intended meaning

¨ A conclusion that makes clear the meaning of the event and how it changed you (unless your details are so vivid that the meaning is clear without stating it).

Final Draft (on top) neatly typed, double-spaced

“I am never as clear about any matter as when I have just finished writing about it.”

English 100T Porter

“When I was your age, I [insert your own] walked 30 miles in the snow to school everyday.”

Is your experience of life different from that of your grandparents, parents, older or younger siblings? Have you been brought up differently than others you know? Consider your education, family traditions, cultural mores, or just some of the daily conveniences or annoyances you experience. Is life better, easier or more stressful because of them?

Write an essay that advances a very specific, personal view on a topic of interest and support it with well-developed examples, anecdotes, facts and observations.

Consider a current issue of importance to you. In class, we have discussed the broad areas of technology, education, politics, and gender as possible topics for this essay. Once you settle on your topic, begin to narrow the focus by discussing your point of view with others and by asking many questions, pro and con, of your topic. When you have narrowed the focus and believe you have a working thesis, begin drafting an essay that puts forth a firm view about your subject. Remember to consider your Audience and Purpose before you begin writing. Remember to use the techniques and strategies we have discussed in class and read about in NCH in terms of organizing and supporting your contentions.

¨ A strong Thesis Statement – includes Subject, Controlling Idea, and hint of organization

“My first draft usually has only a few elements worth keeping. I have to find what they are and build from them and throw out what doesn’t work, or what simply is not alive.”

Using the text of Frankenstein, critical essays from your edition, class discussions, and relevant Annotated Bibliographies from class (including online sources) examine a particular theme you find interesting in the novel. Support your contentions with strong supports. Research what other authors have said about Shelley’s work to help support your point of view. If others don’t agree with you, use some of their arguments as an opposing view to yours and tell us why you think they are wrong. Write a five-page essay focusing on this theme. Your successful essay will include the following:

¨ A Title that arouses interest and informs (clever, announces thesis, or indicates controlling question)

¨ Evidence of careful, systematic organization (chronological narration, spatial description, classification, comparison/contrast, definition, cause/effect, problem-solution, assertion with examples or reasons, building to climax)

¨ An opposing view – say why you don’t agree with at least one credible author’s point of view

Remember that you do not need to summarize the plot. Assume your audience (peers) has read the novel and has a clear understanding of both the background material (Mary Shelley, Romanticism, Myth of Prometheus, etc) and storyline. Recognize that your audience has also shared the information presented in the Power Point Presentations and Annotated Bibliographies.

“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”

One of the many purposes of English Composition is to provide you with the skills necessary to function well both at the university and in the Areal world@ of business and industry. Because most businesses require group and collaborative efforts of their employees in which writing to a common purpose is an indispensable skill, we will be working to acquire that skill through a collaborative essay project which will have two parts, each with its own writing component.

You will be working in groups of three or four. Each group will be responsible for picking a group leader who will govern the direction of the group. I will ask to meet with each group at least twice during the process so that I can help guide you in the right direction or offer words of wisdom that I deem necessary. It is at these meetings where I should be informed of any problems that the group (or an individual) may be experiencing.

Please note: the group shares the effort and the grade and all students should work

Background and Theory

“John Dewey worked to restore education to its primitive, pre-print phase. He wanted to get the student out of the passive role as consumer of uniformly packaged learning. In fact, Dewey in reacting against passive print culture was surf-boarding along the new electronic wave.” -Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy.

“Cyberia is frightening to everyone. Not just to technophobes, rich businessmen, Midwestern farmers, and suburban housewives, but, most of all, to the boys and girls hoping to ride the crest of the informational wave.

UMBC has allegedly been riding the crest of this technological wave for some years now. It is, according to those high placed, technologically connected to the 21^st century. It affords its students every opportunity to advance in the technological field with such majors as Computer Science and Information Systems Management (IFSM). But is the hype on target? Is UMBC part of the new age of technology? Is the campus up to date and competitive in today’s cyber world? That is the issue that you will be asked to examine in this collaborative assignment.

The first step in the process will be to take one of the articles given to your group, read it, and prepare a one-page summary of it.

The group will be responsible for articulating the author=s main idea and key points as simply and briefly as possible, without sacrificing accuracy. This will entail reviewing the general guidelines for summaries we discussed in class as well as some intense brainstorming and discussion on the article and its meaning.

The second step in this collaborative process is to examine this “technological integration” and its impact on UMBC=s campus. This topic may include any issue relating to technology that you deem relevant to the "bigger picture.” The only restriction is that you must examine this campus and how it has handled this infusion of technology.

The focus of this paper will be determined by the intended purpose of each group. In that light, each group will need to brainstorm and find the approach that best suits all of its members. To aid you in this, the following questions may be considered:

2. What departments/divisions/offices are pro active in promoting more integration of technology?

4. What approaches work best when incorporating technological issues into coursework?

5. What courses or areas of study should include more attention to issues of technology? Should some issues be deleted? Why?

6. What does the concept of “technological integration” mean to UMBC students and faculty?

7. What special interest groups exist and what kind(s) of mission statements do they have?

8. What kinds of efforts are being made to educate the student who may not be technologically

advanced (especially the First Year student) and where are these efforts taking place?

9. What other local college campuses are more pro active in technological awareness?

10. What is being done on these campuses and how could we adopt some of their more successful measures?

11. Are instructors being apprised in current developments in their disciplines?

12. Does UMBC have the economic means to provide the campus with the latest technological advances? How does it stack up to other local college campuses?

Given the information you collect, how can what is being done on campus be improved? Can you actually come up with some sort of proposal for instituting more technological integration on UMBC’s campus?

For the most part, I am looking for Primary Research; information obtained right from the source. Therefore, each member of the group should investigate the appropriate person/office to interview and come up with some targeted questions to yield the optimum amount of information on the subject.

It will be a testimonial to good collaborative writing to turn this information into a really informative paper.

Directions: Rewrite the following paragraph, using subordinating conjunctions and relative pronouns to create complex sentences where they are appropriate. You may choose to leave some sentences as they are.

Example: We had several views of Mount Rainier. Every view was spectacular. Using Subordination: Every view that we had of Mount Rainier was spectacular.

We first sighted the snow-capped peak of Mount Rainier. We were still miles away. The clouds had hidden the peak from view for several days. They had finally disappeared. Even from a distance, Mount Rainier dominated the countryside. It is 14,410 feet above sea level. We drove through forests and country towns. They looked as if they belonged in the Old West. Mt. Rainier would sometimes disappear from view and then reappear, larger than ever. The road descended into a valley. It began to follow the winding route of the chalky gray Carbon River. It is fed by glaciers high on the mountainside. The road began to ascend and gradually became a narrow trail. We looked across pine-forested valleys and foothills immediately in front of us. We saw the huge volcanic slopes and rocky cliffs of Mt. Rainier, and we stared in awe at the ancient, lofty peak. It was such a magnificent sight.

Directions: Rewrite the following paragraph, using coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, or semicolons to create compound sentences where they are appropriate. You may choose to leave some sentences as they are.

Example: Washington is the only state named after a president. Many cities and counties are named after presidents.

Using Coordination: Washington is the only state named after a president; however, many cities and counties are named after presidents.

The state of Washington has a landscape that is full of contrasts. To the west, Washington is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. There are many large islands, waterways, and rivers. This area is famous for salmon and trout fishing. Near the coast, there are evergreen rain forests. The middle of the state consists of a high mountain range. These mountains have many snow-covered peaks. Many people come to Washington to ski every year. Hikers, rock climbers, and mountain bikers enjoy the many recreational opportunities in these mountains. There are quite a few inactive volcanoes in this range. One volcano, Mount St. Helens, erupted in 1980. The western part of the state is very wet. East of the Cascade Mountains, there are dry, treeless plains. This area is very productive. Irrigation turns the dry land into rich farmland.

Directions: Rewrite the following paragraph to emphasize ideas, to show connections among ideas, and to make the writing smooth. Change some of the simple sentences to compound and complex sentences. You may choose to leave some sentences as they are.

Example: There are many volcanoes in the continental United States. Most of them are inactive. Some of them still erupt at rare intervals.

There are many volcanoes in the continental United States, and most of them are inactive; nevertheless, a few of them may still erupt at rare intervals.

Mount St. Helens is located in the State of Washington in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. There was a violent eruption there on May 18, 1980. More than fifty people died. Tremendous damage occurred in the surrounding area. A wall of steam, water, and ash rolled down the mountain. It flattened trees and killed every living thing it touched. The eruption was over. Mount St. Helens was more than one thousand feet shorter. Another volcano in California, Oregon, Washington, or another state may erupt in the not-too-distant future. It would have a far-reaching effect. A big eruption in the West could leave an inch or more of ash as far east as Boston and New York City. No one knows when one of these volcanoes might erupt again.

1. After reading the essay through once, go back and underline the Thesis Statement and Circle the Controlling idea.

2. Comment on the writer’s choice of subject matter. Can peers relate to the topic? Why or why not? Does the writer go beyond the obvious in supporting the Thesis? Explain.

3. Is the Purpose of the essay dear? State what you see as the essay’s intent. If cannot, say why.

4. Read the Body Paragraphs with special attention to Topic Sentences and Primary and Secondary Supporting Sentences. Discuss the effectiveness of each paragraph. Comment on whether or not each one relates to the Thesis Statement.

6. Re-read the essay one more time and look for mechanical (spelling/punctuation, visual impact) and grammar (subject-verb and tense agreement, awkward phrases, run-ons, etc.) problems. Point them out on the paper.