It’s dark in here. I’ve been grading essays ever since Monday night. Okay, that’s a lie, sort of. By the time I got home Monday evening around 6:30 p.m. with my sleigh full of final exam papers, I was too exhausted to do anything but eat and sit. The grading of essays began in earnest Tuesday morning and that’s where I’ve been at ever since: in the Examination Grading Cave (not to be confused with the Grading Curve, which I never speak of, let alone use. Nasty business.)
I can only imagine how tired y’all must have been. I saw a lot cramped hands (and a few cramped faces too, I admit) and a lot of bleary, red eyes looking up the gymnasium ceiling as if hoping it would rain and the exam would be cancelled.
The exam process for me, as a teacher, is always pretty grueling. Not just physically (I don’t know how waitresses and cashiers do it, standing on their feet all day!), but the worrying, the fear, the hope…and that’s just how I feel for you when you’re writing. I’m always torn between two emotions—there’s the relief that it’s over, that you’re getting to move on to something else, that I’m getting to move on to something else, and there’s also the wistfulness that I feel that it’s over. I watch you all, knowing more or less what most of you have been through in the past four months. I know that some of you have had personal tragedy and difficulty, deaths in families, and sickness for yourself. Some of you even had a hard time just making it to the exam, but I hope you’re glad that you did. I know I am.
Anyway, the grading is going well. I’ll hold off on giving any hints as to how it’s going, except to say that there have been very, very few disappointments so far.
I must get back to work. Just wanted to say hi.
Till next time.
Gerard
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
New Poll!
I'm considering keeping this blog rolling even after the semester is done, so I'm asking you to let me know (anonymously, of course) if you intend to keep checking here. The results will let me know if it's worth my time and, to some extent, what you're interested in having me write about (if you're interested at all). Thanks for taking the time out. The voter icon is at the top-right of this page.
Also, if you voted last time, thank you! The results really helped me know what to talk about on this blog during the semester, and I think some people benefited from that.
Meanwhile I'll be blogging over the next few days, so this is definitely not my last post.
Good luck on the exam today!
Gerard
Also, if you voted last time, thank you! The results really helped me know what to talk about on this blog during the semester, and I think some people benefited from that.
Meanwhile I'll be blogging over the next few days, so this is definitely not my last post.
Good luck on the exam today!
Gerard
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Famous Final Scene
Maybe you don’t need a pep talk at this point. Maybe you've seen too many of them lately.
I mean, who could put it better than William Wallace in Braveheart when he tells his battle-ready troops before heading off to war with the British: “Every man dies, but not every man lives.” Of course, I guess he meant women too, but then, who knows what lurks in the heart of Mel?
And then there’s Aragorn at the final battle in The Return of the King, leading his weary fellowship against Sauron’s fading might: “I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you, stand, Men of the West.”
Or Mats Sundin to his battle-scarred Leafs on the night of the season’s last game: “There’s nothing left to say. We’ve got to just go out and play hard and try our best to win.”
But then there’s the wise and magnificent, Yoda: “There is no try, only do or do not.”
Which brings me to me. What advice have I left? Do I even have it in me to say the words that you need. (Imagine me saying this with a half-smile on my face, while maintaining an air of earnestness.) What can I say at this point that will make a difference?
Let’s try some sports cliché’s, shall we? It’s do-or-die. Backs against the wall. No holds barred. There is no tomorrow.
Except there actually is a tomorrow. And nobody ever died from writing a mediocre exam. And your backs won’t be against the wall. Your seats are more in the middle of the gymnasium, just to the right, really. So, no, sports cliché’s won’t do. You’ll need something more.
The thing about English is this: just speak truth. Know your characters, but know yourself first and how you respond to those characters and the truth that they represent.
That’s better, but not quite it.
How about this: when I was your age….no, no, no! Can’t say that. Can’t even think that.
Hmmm….
If I was writing this exam tomorrow, I simply would know the novels really well. You can pretty much guess what the questions will be, more or less.
Go through each character in these novels and ask yourself what they stand for and how can you possibly prove it. Get inside the minds of these characters and ask yourself what they most want, what they most fear, and whether or not they get what they want. Or, as the Stones would sing, do they sometimes just get what they need? That goes for the good and the bad characters. The Draper Doyles and the Aunt Phils. The Dr. Jekylls and the Mr. Uttersons and Hydes. The Holden Caulfields and the Phoebe Caulfields. And who are all those minor characters? The Sally Hayes person and the Father Seymours? The Henry Clervals and the Grandmother Macleods, not to mention the Noreens and the Elizabeth Frankensteins! What do they all desire, and do they get it? What do they each fear?
I think, in the end, we all just want…
…truth?
No. Truth can hurt sometimes. We often can’t handle the truth.
…freedom?
Maybe? Is it freedom we want more than anything? Freedom to do what? To be what? Freedom to choose, to be who we want to be, without restrictions, without anyone else playing the authority figure over us, telling us what to do and how to do it, or what to be. Freedom from persecution. Freedom from lies. Freedom to face the truth on our own terms and decide for ourselves how to deal with, what to do about it.
That’s what these characters want, isn’t it? Self-governance. Freedom. Peace of mind. As elusive as it is. As impossible as it is.
It might even be that the thing fear the most is freedom. Because that would mean we are also responsible for ourselves. We can blame no one for our state of being, whatever is, but ourselves.
Holden Caulfield is really free to do as he pleases; he just can’t see it, and that’s a big part of his problem. Vanessa? Free as a bird. Victor? Could have been somebody. Could have been a contend-uh. He was so smart, with so many privileges, he could have been anything, done anything, he wanted. Dr. Jekyll? Wants freedom, gets freedom, can’t handle freedom. End of story. Draper Doyle Ryan? He and his whole, entire family just want freedom, and it’s there for the taking. So they do.
Up until they get freedom, they’re just afraid of it.
I’m not saying that this entire exam is about freedom. It’s not. Not by a long shot. There's so much more to talk about, as you know. But then again, the bottom line here (pardon the cliché) is that you’re free to choose which questions to answer and how you answer them. You’re even free to choose not to answer any questions, but I hope you won’t go that route. Freedom comes with a price sometimes, unfortunately. It’s built-in like a package deal.
But seize the opportunity. Carpe diem! Don’t be afraid to say something wrong. Say what’s in your heart to say. But say in an intelligent, controlled, articulate way: otherwise, it’s like a king in the back row—power that’s wasted.
You’ve spent four months (eight months really, going back to English 1080) improving your powers of communication. So now’s the time to just say what you’ve been wanting to say all semester long about these characters. If you’ve got nothing to say, well, you’re just not trying (or doing, as Yoda would say). You know these characters now. You’ve lived with them for weeks. You know who they are, what they want, what they fear, and how they live on a daily basis.
So what do you have to say about them?
“This is no place for Hobbits,” Gandalf the Grey has said. And it’s true. The exam is meant to offer you the chance to show what you know, not what you don’t know.
So write what you know.
See you tomorrow. Have some fun with it. And use your nervous energy to blaze truth, wax wit, and wager philosophy.
Don’t play defensively. Come fully armed and ready to wrestle truth to the ground.
But then, I’m not much for speeches.
May the force...oh, never mind.
Gerard
I mean, who could put it better than William Wallace in Braveheart when he tells his battle-ready troops before heading off to war with the British: “Every man dies, but not every man lives.” Of course, I guess he meant women too, but then, who knows what lurks in the heart of Mel?
And then there’s Aragorn at the final battle in The Return of the King, leading his weary fellowship against Sauron’s fading might: “I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you, stand, Men of the West.”
Or Mats Sundin to his battle-scarred Leafs on the night of the season’s last game: “There’s nothing left to say. We’ve got to just go out and play hard and try our best to win.”
But then there’s the wise and magnificent, Yoda: “There is no try, only do or do not.”
Which brings me to me. What advice have I left? Do I even have it in me to say the words that you need. (Imagine me saying this with a half-smile on my face, while maintaining an air of earnestness.) What can I say at this point that will make a difference?
Let’s try some sports cliché’s, shall we? It’s do-or-die. Backs against the wall. No holds barred. There is no tomorrow.
Except there actually is a tomorrow. And nobody ever died from writing a mediocre exam. And your backs won’t be against the wall. Your seats are more in the middle of the gymnasium, just to the right, really. So, no, sports cliché’s won’t do. You’ll need something more.
The thing about English is this: just speak truth. Know your characters, but know yourself first and how you respond to those characters and the truth that they represent.
That’s better, but not quite it.
How about this: when I was your age….no, no, no! Can’t say that. Can’t even think that.
Hmmm….
If I was writing this exam tomorrow, I simply would know the novels really well. You can pretty much guess what the questions will be, more or less.
Go through each character in these novels and ask yourself what they stand for and how can you possibly prove it. Get inside the minds of these characters and ask yourself what they most want, what they most fear, and whether or not they get what they want. Or, as the Stones would sing, do they sometimes just get what they need? That goes for the good and the bad characters. The Draper Doyles and the Aunt Phils. The Dr. Jekylls and the Mr. Uttersons and Hydes. The Holden Caulfields and the Phoebe Caulfields. And who are all those minor characters? The Sally Hayes person and the Father Seymours? The Henry Clervals and the Grandmother Macleods, not to mention the Noreens and the Elizabeth Frankensteins! What do they all desire, and do they get it? What do they each fear?
I think, in the end, we all just want…
…truth?
No. Truth can hurt sometimes. We often can’t handle the truth.
…freedom?
Maybe? Is it freedom we want more than anything? Freedom to do what? To be what? Freedom to choose, to be who we want to be, without restrictions, without anyone else playing the authority figure over us, telling us what to do and how to do it, or what to be. Freedom from persecution. Freedom from lies. Freedom to face the truth on our own terms and decide for ourselves how to deal with, what to do about it.
That’s what these characters want, isn’t it? Self-governance. Freedom. Peace of mind. As elusive as it is. As impossible as it is.
It might even be that the thing fear the most is freedom. Because that would mean we are also responsible for ourselves. We can blame no one for our state of being, whatever is, but ourselves.
Holden Caulfield is really free to do as he pleases; he just can’t see it, and that’s a big part of his problem. Vanessa? Free as a bird. Victor? Could have been somebody. Could have been a contend-uh. He was so smart, with so many privileges, he could have been anything, done anything, he wanted. Dr. Jekyll? Wants freedom, gets freedom, can’t handle freedom. End of story. Draper Doyle Ryan? He and his whole, entire family just want freedom, and it’s there for the taking. So they do.
Up until they get freedom, they’re just afraid of it.
I’m not saying that this entire exam is about freedom. It’s not. Not by a long shot. There's so much more to talk about, as you know. But then again, the bottom line here (pardon the cliché) is that you’re free to choose which questions to answer and how you answer them. You’re even free to choose not to answer any questions, but I hope you won’t go that route. Freedom comes with a price sometimes, unfortunately. It’s built-in like a package deal.
But seize the opportunity. Carpe diem! Don’t be afraid to say something wrong. Say what’s in your heart to say. But say in an intelligent, controlled, articulate way: otherwise, it’s like a king in the back row—power that’s wasted.
You’ve spent four months (eight months really, going back to English 1080) improving your powers of communication. So now’s the time to just say what you’ve been wanting to say all semester long about these characters. If you’ve got nothing to say, well, you’re just not trying (or doing, as Yoda would say). You know these characters now. You’ve lived with them for weeks. You know who they are, what they want, what they fear, and how they live on a daily basis.
So what do you have to say about them?
“This is no place for Hobbits,” Gandalf the Grey has said. And it’s true. The exam is meant to offer you the chance to show what you know, not what you don’t know.
So write what you know.
See you tomorrow. Have some fun with it. And use your nervous energy to blaze truth, wax wit, and wager philosophy.
Don’t play defensively. Come fully armed and ready to wrestle truth to the ground.
But then, I’m not much for speeches.
May the force...oh, never mind.
Gerard
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The End Is Near!
Good Saturday afternoon and Happy Easter to those of you who are inclined towards one.
With classes now over and final exams coming up in a couple of days, there’s some stuff that needs to be said, as well as repeated.
First: The English 1101 exam is in the Physical Education gymnasium at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon (it's 2.5 hours long). If you’ve been in class in the last few days of classes (as well as all semester long), you’re already fairly well prepared for the exam itself. Make sure that you sit in the right exam area because that will mean that you are writing the appropriate exam. The question sheet should be canary yellow, and my name (Dr. G. Collins) appears at the top.
On the exam, there are two sections (A and B) and there are four questions in each section. You must answer one (1) question from each section, two essays in total. Do not use the same novel in two different questions. Most questions give you a short quote and then a question, asking you to discuss a particular topic.
Mark the question number (e.g. Section A, Question #3) at the beginning of your essay.
The best way to approach something like that is to brainstorm some ideas first. Try to figure out what the question is asking you. What is required by the question? Why is this quote significant? Try to phrase your thesis statement so that you’re not just repeating the quote. There’s not really wrong with doing that, except it sounds stale and repetitive, as if you couldn’t think of anything else to say (which is probably true if that’s what you did). If all else fails, fine, just incorporate the quote into your thesis statement. The main thing is to just get started.
Divide your time equally. Make sure you leave sufficient time to answer the second question. I’ve seen way too many final exams over the years that have gotten an “A” on the first essay, but barely managed a pass on the second essay because the person wrote only a couple of paragraphs or so. Write two complete essays.
Leave time at the end to go back over your essays. If you know there are certain problems you’ve had all semester long (if you’ve been reading the many comments I’ve been making on your essays), then go back and fix as many of those as you can. It could do wonders for your grades.
Oh, and it doesn’t matter if you single-space or double-space.
I won’t go into discussing the novels here because I’ve done that enough in class all semester long and re-capped everything in the last class of the semester. What I would suggest, though, is that you know the characters in each novel really well. Figure out what each one represents. Consider the relationships of these characters to the main character. What do they have to do with what the novel is about and, in particular (when you’re writing the exam), what do they have to do with the idea you’re writing about? Again, brainstorming some ideas will help with this. It might be helpful to discuss each character one at a time, in a separate paragraph for each.
Also, feel free to bring in some other ideas, such as setting and symbolism or, if you’re feeling really brave, narrative technique. I’ve already told you that I’m not asking questions specifically about literary techniques, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them in responding to exam questions. Bonus points for you if you are able to do so, as long as you’re comfortable talking about them. But it won’t be expected. The focus really is on theme and characterization, but when you're asked about a certain subject, feel free to discuss how that subject is represented in the novel, whether that's through characters, dialogue, setting, narrative point of view, imagery, or symbolism, or whatever.
Still feeling nervous? Don’t over-think it. Just make sure you can visualize the entire novel that you’re going to be discussing. Before you begin writing, try to remember the beginning (the very first scene) and then the ending (the very last image that we get). Think about what changes have occurred for the main characters on that journey and how they got there. Try to recall some of the key moments, images, and scenes. Also, are there any choice bits of dialogue, even a word or phrase, that stuck with you because it perfectly typifies who that character is and what they represent? Most of you, for example, remember Aunt Phil and when she lies to Draper about what the Doberman is doing. That scene says so much about her ability to achieve a kind of false truth of her own through denial, which is what Aunt Phil is all about: it’s power and authority through her own version of the truth, which no one else can see. But is there another moment when we see this too? How about when Draper sees the ghost and we are told that only Aunt Phil is an “authority” on apparitions. In other words, try to build on what you already know for sure by adding another scene or image (or more) to your repertoire of things you can talk about. Whatever parts of the novel you choose to discuss, just make sure it's something that you can use to go into some depth with, showing how it's a scene, image, or moment that relates to what the novel (and/or that character) is about overall.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I’ll be in my office for a while before the exam on Monday, in case anyone wants their essays and revised essays returned. I’ve still got quite a lot of them, and I won’t be holding onto them past the end of April.
I’ll be writing a bit more tomorrow, and I’ll certainly have more to say next week, after you write the exam.
Beyond that, I don’t mind answering e-mail questions, provided that they don’t require me to write an essay of my own.
Good luck on the exam! I imagine you’ll be glad when it’s over.
See you Monday!
Gerard
With classes now over and final exams coming up in a couple of days, there’s some stuff that needs to be said, as well as repeated.
First: The English 1101 exam is in the Physical Education gymnasium at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon (it's 2.5 hours long). If you’ve been in class in the last few days of classes (as well as all semester long), you’re already fairly well prepared for the exam itself. Make sure that you sit in the right exam area because that will mean that you are writing the appropriate exam. The question sheet should be canary yellow, and my name (Dr. G. Collins) appears at the top.
On the exam, there are two sections (A and B) and there are four questions in each section. You must answer one (1) question from each section, two essays in total. Do not use the same novel in two different questions. Most questions give you a short quote and then a question, asking you to discuss a particular topic.
Mark the question number (e.g. Section A, Question #3) at the beginning of your essay.
The best way to approach something like that is to brainstorm some ideas first. Try to figure out what the question is asking you. What is required by the question? Why is this quote significant? Try to phrase your thesis statement so that you’re not just repeating the quote. There’s not really wrong with doing that, except it sounds stale and repetitive, as if you couldn’t think of anything else to say (which is probably true if that’s what you did). If all else fails, fine, just incorporate the quote into your thesis statement. The main thing is to just get started.
Divide your time equally. Make sure you leave sufficient time to answer the second question. I’ve seen way too many final exams over the years that have gotten an “A” on the first essay, but barely managed a pass on the second essay because the person wrote only a couple of paragraphs or so. Write two complete essays.
Leave time at the end to go back over your essays. If you know there are certain problems you’ve had all semester long (if you’ve been reading the many comments I’ve been making on your essays), then go back and fix as many of those as you can. It could do wonders for your grades.
Oh, and it doesn’t matter if you single-space or double-space.
I won’t go into discussing the novels here because I’ve done that enough in class all semester long and re-capped everything in the last class of the semester. What I would suggest, though, is that you know the characters in each novel really well. Figure out what each one represents. Consider the relationships of these characters to the main character. What do they have to do with what the novel is about and, in particular (when you’re writing the exam), what do they have to do with the idea you’re writing about? Again, brainstorming some ideas will help with this. It might be helpful to discuss each character one at a time, in a separate paragraph for each.
Also, feel free to bring in some other ideas, such as setting and symbolism or, if you’re feeling really brave, narrative technique. I’ve already told you that I’m not asking questions specifically about literary techniques, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them in responding to exam questions. Bonus points for you if you are able to do so, as long as you’re comfortable talking about them. But it won’t be expected. The focus really is on theme and characterization, but when you're asked about a certain subject, feel free to discuss how that subject is represented in the novel, whether that's through characters, dialogue, setting, narrative point of view, imagery, or symbolism, or whatever.
Still feeling nervous? Don’t over-think it. Just make sure you can visualize the entire novel that you’re going to be discussing. Before you begin writing, try to remember the beginning (the very first scene) and then the ending (the very last image that we get). Think about what changes have occurred for the main characters on that journey and how they got there. Try to recall some of the key moments, images, and scenes. Also, are there any choice bits of dialogue, even a word or phrase, that stuck with you because it perfectly typifies who that character is and what they represent? Most of you, for example, remember Aunt Phil and when she lies to Draper about what the Doberman is doing. That scene says so much about her ability to achieve a kind of false truth of her own through denial, which is what Aunt Phil is all about: it’s power and authority through her own version of the truth, which no one else can see. But is there another moment when we see this too? How about when Draper sees the ghost and we are told that only Aunt Phil is an “authority” on apparitions. In other words, try to build on what you already know for sure by adding another scene or image (or more) to your repertoire of things you can talk about. Whatever parts of the novel you choose to discuss, just make sure it's something that you can use to go into some depth with, showing how it's a scene, image, or moment that relates to what the novel (and/or that character) is about overall.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I’ll be in my office for a while before the exam on Monday, in case anyone wants their essays and revised essays returned. I’ve still got quite a lot of them, and I won’t be holding onto them past the end of April.
I’ll be writing a bit more tomorrow, and I’ll certainly have more to say next week, after you write the exam.
Beyond that, I don’t mind answering e-mail questions, provided that they don’t require me to write an essay of my own.
Good luck on the exam! I imagine you’ll be glad when it’s over.
See you Monday!
Gerard
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The Countdown Begins!
Hi, people.
I've spent the evening crunching numbers and I'm almost done the final calculations for the term grades. I'm finished for the night, though, because my brain won't go no more and I fear making mistakes. So they'll be done in the morning. For those of you who haven't done so already, if you send me an e-mail with "Term Grade" in the subject line, I'll send you your term grade. Otherwise, you can see it on my office door next week or check with me in person.
If there's a paper that you want back, I'll be in the office on Monday from 2 p.m. until 2:30 p.m., just before the exam. You can pick up your paper then. Any other possible times will be posted here.
I'll be blogging at least once or twice over the weekend, especially with the exam coming up. Lots to say.
Till then.
Gerard
I've spent the evening crunching numbers and I'm almost done the final calculations for the term grades. I'm finished for the night, though, because my brain won't go no more and I fear making mistakes. So they'll be done in the morning. For those of you who haven't done so already, if you send me an e-mail with "Term Grade" in the subject line, I'll send you your term grade. Otherwise, you can see it on my office door next week or check with me in person.
If there's a paper that you want back, I'll be in the office on Monday from 2 p.m. until 2:30 p.m., just before the exam. You can pick up your paper then. Any other possible times will be posted here.
I'll be blogging at least once or twice over the weekend, especially with the exam coming up. Lots to say.
Till then.
Gerard
Friday, March 30, 2007
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
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
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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