Week 9

  

Welcome back.   Today we will address the essay involving  speculation or the hypothetical frame (#6). I will be looking for a draft from you all as well as the paragraph using the various conjugations of a verb of your choice (or we will do the latter as a warmup!).


There will be time to work in class, to finish assignments and review grammar.  We will have all next week for catching up and review. Those who have yet to present a paper should step up and do so then.  Not including the final, you should have completed seven essays by end of quarter.  The following essay work offers an excellent opportunity for you to review the narrative and descriptive modes and insight into the experiences of those whose work is published at the site thisibelieve.org.

Essay 7 (alternate to film): In 350-500 words address an idea that you hold as an article of faith or philosophical belief, using narrative or descriptive examples to support and flesh out the basis of that belief.  Examples can be found (some 125,000) at thisibelieve.org.  There you can explore topics and examples going all the way back to the 1950s, when the project itself first began.The site supports an international forum of sorts on core values, and offers opportunity to upload your essay for publication.

The guidelines for writing the essay are much like those we have been following in class, keeping to 350-500 words in a voice that is personal and original. The following URL within the site describes in detail what the editors want in terms of style and development: http://thisibelieve.org/guidelines/. You may summarize and quote from any one of the published essays as a lead-in to your piece, though neither summary nor response is a required element of the essay. The topic you address should reflect your particular experience and corresponding beliefs or concerns–whether of religion, money, virtue, vice, growing up, growing old, love, death, sickness, health, the meaning of life, the nature of existence, the human condition, pleasure, pain, the fate of life on this planet, etcetera. Your statement of belief should be articulated in a sentence or two.

We will take the final week 11.  Any rewrites must be submitted by week 11.

I will post grades at ecompanion this week. Please check the grades posted at ecompanion to see what you may be missing and that my record is consistent with yours.

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I have posted below material from an earlier post to allow for review of English syntax and basic punctuation principles. I also include the following link to an article featuring discussion and review of the use of commas: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/the-most-comma-mistakes/
and an exercise on verbs, reposted: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=39 , and to clarify, voice and mood:  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/07/

Sentence Type 1: The simple sentence has one subject and one predicate, the base of which is always a verb or verb phrase. And in English, the subject usually comes up front, followed by the verb and other predicate elements such as direct and indirect objects. This subject-verb combo is called a clause, an independent clause, because it expresses a grammatically complete, stand-alone thought. Examples follow here:

Jesus wept.

Style has meaning.

Choices resonate.

What is the subject in each of the three preceding sentences? Jesus. Style. Choices. And the verbs?Wept and has and resonate, and some form of the "be" verb": is, was, are, were . . .

And in the following?

The house is surrounded by razor wire.

He and I fight too often. We cannot be good for one another.

After spring sunset, mist rises from the river, spreading like a flood.

From a bough, floating down river, insect song. (Sentence fragment here . . . no verb).

They slept on the floor.

The girl raised the flag.

Note: inverted syntax order: Subject follows the verb instead of preceding it. Lovable he isn't. Tall grow the pines on the hills.

Normal order: A fly is in my soup. With an expletive (which delays the subject) it looks like this: There is a fly in my soup.

Sentence type 2: The compound sentence has at least two independent subject and verb combinations or clauses, and no dependent clauses. Each independent clause is joined by means of some conjunction or coordinating punctuation:

Autumn is a sad season, but I love it anyway. (coordinating conjunction but preceded by a comma)
Name the baby Huey, or I'll cut you out of my will.
The class was young, eager, and intelligent, and the teacher delighted in their presence.
The sky grew black, and the wind died; an ominous quiet hung over the whole city. (semi-colon used, no coordinating conjunction required)
My mind is made up; however, I do want to discuss the decision with you. (semi-colon required with adverbial conjunction however)

Any of the seven short coordinating conjunctions can be used before the comma to join independent clauses: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so: they can be remembered as FANBOYS.

*A semi-colon (;) must be used before adverbial conjunctions joining independent clauses: however, indeed, therefore, thus, in fact, moreover, in addition, consequently, still, etcetera.

Sentence Type 3: The complex sentence is composed of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

My man left me, though it was I who begged him to go.

Those who live in glass houses should not cast stones.

Many people believe that God does not exist.

Sentence Type 4: The compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

As I waited for the bus, the sun beat down all around me, and I shivered in my thoughts.

Because she said nothing, we assumed that she wanted nothing, but her mother knew better.

She and her sister Amina are dancers, and they work at parties around town when they can.

While John shopped for groceries, two armed men forced their way into his home; fortunately, his wife and children were away.

Examples of subordinating conjunctions––those used in from of dependent clauses–– include the following: because, that, which, who, when, while, where, wherever, though, as though, although, since, as, if, as if, unless, et al .

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Exercises: Place commas where needed in the following sentences.

1. Today is September 11, 2014 and a Thursday.

2. Students and teachers will be busy this week and next for many are taking or administering final exams and projects.

3. The lab teachers including Mr. Fish and Mrs. Bird have seen an influx of students in recent weeks.

4. Many of the students particularly those concerned about performance on upcoming finals have been eager to review fundamentals of course material.

5. Mr. Fish a math teacher is working as hard as he can to keep up with requests for tutoring which tend to rise during the weeks leading up to finals.

6. Introduction to Math and Introduction to Composition are two courses many students must take each course is designed to build basic skills needed in general college courses.

7. Schools across the nation have seen an increasing demand for courses that prepare students for upper level work, school administrators have responded by increasing the number and range of preparatory courses.

8. To facilitate student success they have also increased the number of hours tutors are available to help students with work.

9. Students today are often time-pressed as a matter of fact, many hold full-time jobs in addition to their course loads and get overwhelmed by the various pressures and demands they face.

10. Fortunately, the Internet is being used as a platform for teaching sharing and showcasing the work and ideas of people around the world it offers students means of connecting with and learning from their peers wherever they may be living at whatever hour of the day or night.

Week 8

   “Doorknob: Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.”  –from          Alice in Wonderland



Good day, Class.

Tonight, as we have several works in progress I'll be reviewing your drafts and finished work.  Essay 4 should be completed and the first draft of essay 5 nearly so.  I will return the verb quiz and sentence punctuation exercises done over the last several weeks, as well, and review the use of verbs by means of the paragraph assigned (covering the various conjugations of regular and irregular forms).

Between now and the final there will be just one more essay assigned.  Typically, I show a film or assign a piece inspired by on ongoing essay project that can be viewed at the website thisibelieve.org. We can talk tonight and decide then which topic is to be settled on.

Week 7

                                                           Chestnut Quail Thrush

Good evening. 

Today we will review work in progress,  the essay 4,  and continue verb exercises,  covering the subjunctive mood and modal verbs, use of which will be required in essay 6, described below.

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Essay 6 Prompts: If we were given the chance to rewrite some chapter in life, or to relive some moment now resigned to the past, what revisions would we make, or what insight would we bring to  the moment now?       If we could be for an hour, a day, a week, month, or year someone other than who  we are, step out of our own skin for a bit and see through the eyes of another . . . what might we learn?     If given a day, week, month, or year to live wherever and whenever and however,  what choices would we make? What lessons are there in wondering, what if . . . ?

The subjunctive mood expresses what is hypothetical, contrary to fact, a wish or desire:  I wish I were a child again.  I wish I had never grown up!  Or, had I known such and such a thing, I might never have done what I did.  The modal verbs–should could would ought may might must–and others indicate necessity, obligation, possibility, probability.  If you could do anything, what would you do now? 

Sometimes we rewrite the past with our inner voice, as a means of understanding what has worked and not worked for us, reshaping our thought and behavior as we move forward in life. What if we are stuck in outmoded ways of thinking and behaving? What if the possibility for personal change were to be taken from us? Transformation begins with our thoughts, and with the language we use to express ourselves. Thank goodness we can imagine possibilities beyond the given or present! 

Essay 6: In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario, something contrary to fact or actual experience:  

If I were given wings . . .  if I could change one thing, or if 
I could do it all again, relive the moment, catch a falling star! How might the past look then, how might today be different, and how might the future look?

This essay assignment provides good practice with verbs–past, present, future–and in using comparison and contrast mode. You will likely use the subjunctive mood and conditional (modal) tense forms as well as simple and perfect tenses.

For example, imagine that you had been born under or into circumstances other than those you were born into; say, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different gender (or species), and so on. Describe what your childhood was actually like, and what it might have been like (under changed circumstances); what your present life might be like (as opposed to what is actually happening); imagine your future, actually or hypothetically. Or look at any important decision you made or did not make and trace the consequences of having taken an opposite track. 

If we had the chance to do things differently, if we had superpowers, godlike omniscience, what would we do with these?  Of course, we must make do with what we have–but there are insights that reflection brings when we think of what might have been, or what might be if only . . .   

This "other" life is what Cheryl Strayed ("Sugar") refers to in the piece called "The Ghost Ship That Didn't Carry Us" (class handout).

You might start in one of the following ways: 

Had I been born an only child, instead of being born the fifth child of six,

I might have got more attention than I did.  I might have been spoiled!  My parents had little time for me, as it was, with so many to care for.

If I were sixty-five (you can fill in any future age) and to look back at my life, what would I want to see I had accomplished?

 If I could do one thing differently, rewrite the past, I would go back to the time when . . .

 If we were to walk, fly, or swim the proverbial mile in the life of (fill in whatever human, animal or insect subject interests you) we would discover . . .

If we were to travel to the ends of the earth and back, we would discover a great deal about life on this planet, including the fascinating  . . .

 If I were rich, free of all financial obligations, I would travel. 

Modern technology allows us to see the world in ways we could not without it.  Look at the short film here:  https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_hidden_miracles_of_the_natural_world

You could write about what is revealed by Schwartberg's camera eye, and your response to it.

If we had the power to examine a dragonfly's wings in slow motion, what would we discover? We now have the technology to make such an investigation possible, as the film reveals.

Checklist:

*Title the essay.

*Proofread to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support.

*Remember your audience and write on a matter of intrinsic or practical importance.

*Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness.

Note:

–The use of narration and description, with scene setting, vivid detail and action, will make readers see  and feel the particular experience(s) and ideas you have in mind. – Comparison/contrast mode will show the actual versus the imaginary, and make it clear that your  focus is hypothetical.