Hey-ho.
It occurs to me that I haven't blogged in a while, and yet a lot of you seem to be checking back once in a while to see if there's anything new. I've been really sick all day, so, for the second day in a row, not much essay-grading is getting done. I started out with the first dozen or so, marking nearly every problem, so that you could see where you went wrong and hopefully fix it. But I'm fighting in a losing cause in that regard, so, assuming I feel better tomorrow, I'll have to go in to hurry-up mode. At the pace I'm going, there is no way those research essays will get passed back to to my two 1101 classes by Wednesday. So I'll have to just start reading, with my red pen(found two more pens in my office with just a trace of red ink left in them. Note to self: clean office.) laid aside until I reach the end. Most of the time anyway. I hate doing it that way, but it's necessary.
That's all I have it in me to write tonight. Just wanted to say something.
I hope the stress of the semester is beginning to wane for most of you. It's been a long, hard slog, I realize, but pretty soon, you'll be done and I (and my wacky book selections) will be but a distant, pleasant memory as you dangle your feet in the swimming pool, soaking in the sun.
See you all Monday.
GC
Friday, March 30, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Hello from The Land of Essays! I'm scaling a mountain of essays at the moment and haven't had much time to blog, unfortunately. I've been getting tons of e-mails about the research essays, though, mostly asking question about topics I've already covered in class. I've pasted my response to some of those questions below in the hope that it will save you and me, or somebody, some time. Meanwhile, I hope the essays are going well for you. I'm halfway through the latest batch (ready to give back the essays to my ten o'clock class on Monday--they were mostly quite good) and ready now to tackle the next bunch from my noon 1101 class. Hopefully, they'll be just as good. It's nearly 7 p.m. Saturday evening, so it's debatable how much more I can do tonight after grading essays and answering e-mails all day. But I'll give it the old college try. As for those research essays:
The essay should be primarily your opinion on the novels. That is, compare and contrast the novels based on one subject, whatever it is you choose to discuss. As I've said in class on numerous occasions, your voice needs to be the most prominent in the essays. Use other voices (critics and writers) to support your ideas.You just have to show (when possible) what other people have to say in comparison to what you say. If those other people agree with you, then use a brief quote or two as backup for what you're saying; if they disagree with you, then suggest why your opinion works better or is just as good, just different. Again, when possible, you're researching what other people say about the novels.
Another way to research is simply look up information on various sub-topics that need explanation (the kind of thing you wouldn't necessarily know unless you looked it up somewhere--historical details, stuff about Greek mythology, or geography, that sort of thing). Also, you can simply look up what other writers have said about certain characters, rather than about entire novels. A short quote or two would suffice. And again, show it fits in with what YOU are trying to prove.
Hope this clarifies some issues for some of you. I'll try to write more in the next day or so, as issues arise.
For now, back to the salt mines. Oh, and for more info on write a research paper, check out the posts I wrote earlier in the week.
GC
The essay should be primarily your opinion on the novels. That is, compare and contrast the novels based on one subject, whatever it is you choose to discuss. As I've said in class on numerous occasions, your voice needs to be the most prominent in the essays. Use other voices (critics and writers) to support your ideas.You just have to show (when possible) what other people have to say in comparison to what you say. If those other people agree with you, then use a brief quote or two as backup for what you're saying; if they disagree with you, then suggest why your opinion works better or is just as good, just different. Again, when possible, you're researching what other people say about the novels.
Another way to research is simply look up information on various sub-topics that need explanation (the kind of thing you wouldn't necessarily know unless you looked it up somewhere--historical details, stuff about Greek mythology, or geography, that sort of thing). Also, you can simply look up what other writers have said about certain characters, rather than about entire novels. A short quote or two would suffice. And again, show it fits in with what YOU are trying to prove.
Hope this clarifies some issues for some of you. I'll try to write more in the next day or so, as issues arise.
For now, back to the salt mines. Oh, and for more info on write a research paper, check out the posts I wrote earlier in the week.
GC
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Help Is on the Way!
I know a lot of you have been checking out this blog in the past few days, looking for some advice and info on your upcoming essays. I've been awfully busy and haven't been able to find time for it. But in the days to come, I assure you, I will find time to talk about the research essays, quotation and citation methods, and how to prepare for the upcoming in-class essay. Thanks for being patient with me. I'll be writing something soon.
GC
GC
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Reminders: Library Class and Office Hours
Wednesday's English 1101 classes (March 7) have been moved to the library for an instructional session on how to research materials for your upcoming research essay for English 1101. Your instructor will be Ms. Wendy Rodgers. It's a good time to find out the answers to some of your questions regarding how to use the library to find sources. Room: L-1015/1016
Also, on Wednesday, please note that I've cancelled my office hour (11 a.m.-12 noon) for that day only.
Later this week, I'll be blogging about methods of quotation and citation for research essays.
GC
Also, on Wednesday, please note that I've cancelled my office hour (11 a.m.-12 noon) for that day only.
Later this week, I'll be blogging about methods of quotation and citation for research essays.
GC
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sunday News and Research Essay Proposals
Sunday morning and it's finally stopped snowing...for now. The sun is almost shining and the birds are almost singing (I'm sure the ones in Florida or some South American country actually are singing). But it's March madness time, which means I'm grading essays while you're writing them. It has always been thus and thus 'twill always be, I suspect.
The research essay proposals are due tomorrow and so I realized that I needed to blog a little about them.
The proposals aren't intended to be too formal; they're just meant to give me an idea of what you'll be writing about and also to get you started in thinking about your topic and approach. All I want is a working title, the titles of the two novels you're comparing (it is a comparative essay, after all), a thesis statement, and a paragraph about your intended procudure.
1. The working title.
This is subject to change, but do the best you can for now. The standard would be something like this:
Fathers and Children in A Bird in the House and The Divine Ryans.
You should try to work in the titles of the novels somehow, even if you have to use them in a subtitle:
e.g. Losing My Religion: A Study of Shifting Morals in Frankenstein and A Bird in the House.
2. List the novels you're working on.
3. Thesis statement: e.g. In both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House, various characters exchange their old beliefs for a new perspective on God and the place of religion in their lives.
4. The explanation of procedure: I intend to discuss the change that characters in these two novels undergo as a result of watching the people around them. In Frankenstein, major characters such as Victor, the creature, Elizabeth and Walton all begin life with a certain view of how the world should be, according to their own notions of fate and faith. In A Bird in the House, there is a similar shift in values, particularly for the narrator, Vanessa McLeod, as she grows up in Manawaka. In both novels, the characters lose innocence as a result of knowledge, but that sense of naivete is replaced by something more substantial and based on so-called reality rather than a fantasy or lies. I will also point out the differences between these characters and novels wherever possible.
That's all. Just show that you've give it some thought, even if you're just working your way through it. Notice in the last sentence, I suggested that I would show differences when, really, I only know generally that I will try while avoiding specifics for now. When you write your paper, of course, you will be more specific. For now, I just want to know that you have some idea of what you're going to do.
Hope this helps some. Oh, and write it on a single sheet of paper, keep it neat and legible. Your name, course number, and date should be at the top of the page.
Back to grading essays.
GC
The research essay proposals are due tomorrow and so I realized that I needed to blog a little about them.
The proposals aren't intended to be too formal; they're just meant to give me an idea of what you'll be writing about and also to get you started in thinking about your topic and approach. All I want is a working title, the titles of the two novels you're comparing (it is a comparative essay, after all), a thesis statement, and a paragraph about your intended procudure.
1. The working title.
This is subject to change, but do the best you can for now. The standard would be something like this:
Fathers and Children in A Bird in the House and The Divine Ryans.
You should try to work in the titles of the novels somehow, even if you have to use them in a subtitle:
e.g. Losing My Religion: A Study of Shifting Morals in Frankenstein and A Bird in the House.
2. List the novels you're working on.
3. Thesis statement: e.g. In both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Margaret Laurence's A Bird in the House, various characters exchange their old beliefs for a new perspective on God and the place of religion in their lives.
4. The explanation of procedure: I intend to discuss the change that characters in these two novels undergo as a result of watching the people around them. In Frankenstein, major characters such as Victor, the creature, Elizabeth and Walton all begin life with a certain view of how the world should be, according to their own notions of fate and faith. In A Bird in the House, there is a similar shift in values, particularly for the narrator, Vanessa McLeod, as she grows up in Manawaka. In both novels, the characters lose innocence as a result of knowledge, but that sense of naivete is replaced by something more substantial and based on so-called reality rather than a fantasy or lies. I will also point out the differences between these characters and novels wherever possible.
That's all. Just show that you've give it some thought, even if you're just working your way through it. Notice in the last sentence, I suggested that I would show differences when, really, I only know generally that I will try while avoiding specifics for now. When you write your paper, of course, you will be more specific. For now, I just want to know that you have some idea of what you're going to do.
Hope this helps some. Oh, and write it on a single sheet of paper, keep it neat and legible. Your name, course number, and date should be at the top of the page.
Back to grading essays.
GC
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