Week 10

Monday class, welcome back.  I hope you had no great difficulty in accessing or understanding last week's assignment.  In any case, we will have time in class tonight to address any remaining work/assignments and to review for next week's final.

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

Wednesday and Thursday classes, you all will be taking the final this week, and next will be reserved for makeups and rewrites, as needed.

Week 9

What each must seek in his life never was on land or sea. It is something out of his own unique potentiality for experience, something that never has been and never could have been experienced by anyone else. –Joseph Campbell
 

Good day to you all.* I hope you had a nice weekend.  

*To all of you in Monday night's class, as discussed last week, we will not be meeting this week.  


This week's assignment is described below, and due in class when you return week 10.  If you have done all seven essays thus far assigned, this essay is optional, for I will be dropping the lowest grade of the total of nine, including the final essay. If you are missing any assignment, you can make up one by writing this piece.

Essay #8:  In 350-500 words address 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.  I have several examples to give you from a book collection called This I Believe II:  The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, but more can be found at thisibelieve.org.  The site supports a public forum on personal belief, and opportunity to upload your essay for publication.  It also allows you to explore topics and examples going all the way back to the 1950's, when the project itself first began. 

 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, or structure the piece as a response to any of the examples, 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, the fate of life on this planet, etcetera.  Your statement of belief should be articulated in a sentence or two.

Week 8

                                                       

        The groves were God's first temples.  ~William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn"

Good afternoon.  I hope that you are all well today, feeling good  . . . about life and, oh, I dunno, your place in the world.  

Monday class, I want to announce that next week we will not meet in class because I cannot be here for class.  I will post next week's assignment next week, and you can follow the link I post for clear examples of the topic's execution.

Today's class work (#7) allows you to choose between the following two options.  Please email me the work as an attachment (ndoyle@aii.edu)  Bring next week's assignment to class the following week, week 10.  Monday night's class will take the final week 11.

    

 Essay 7:  The first option involves exploring the meaning of a word that has some significance in your life, in your behavior and in your thoughts and, perhaps, spiritual practice.  I use the phrase spiritual practice in no particular religious sense but loosely to refer to the many ways we attempt to bring ourselves in to harmony with the world, the people we share our lives with, and, perhaps most importantly, with our own self.  The essay involves defining the word you have chosen in an extended fashion.  That is, you might employ a simple dictionary definition of the word's most common meaning in use, or the secondary or tertiary meaning, as listed in a dictionary entry.  The development of the essay will proceed with narration and description of the meaning the word has in your life, story and description to illustrate the meaning it has in the context of your life experience.  The following is a list of abstract words (i.e. they cannot be physically seen or touched as say an apple or a diamond or a tree can) that you might choose from:  

Attention

Beauty

Compassion

Devotion

Faith

Grace

Justice

Peace

Reverance

Silence

Wonder

With abstract words or concepts, one must bring them to life by means of the concrete, the tangible, the three-dimensional world we live in.  Our notions of beauty, for example, derive from the visible, the audible, the tactile–the world of the senses–even as we also comprehend abstract notions such as truth and peace as being, in a real sense, manifestations of beauty.  So the assignment requires you to define a word as you have come to understand its meaning.  I want you also to use one quotation, either as an epigraph (appearing just below the title of the essay) or somewhere in the text of the essay.  A simple google search of the word plus  key word "quotations" should provide you an array of choices.  Write this essay in 350-500 words.

You might choose a concrete word, rather than an abstract.  Again, you have the dictionary to supply an essential definition but you provide description of appearance, constituent parts, function, historical and cultural and personal significance.  What is a tree?  Clearly, it is a living organism, with certain characteristic features (depending on species), an ecological role to play, an historical and cultural role in the life of humankind, and so on.  Trees are also symbols of strength and shelter and wonder and beauty and mystery.  We've all admired trees, played among them, climbed them, photographed them, too, perhaps.  What is it about trees that makes us love them so?

The second option is to write about your academic or career goals:  In an essay of 350-500 words, with introduction, body of 1-2 paragraphs, and conclusion, describe the skills that you are practicing in your studies at AiFl.  Identify for readers what the associated field requires of its professionals in skills and aptitudes, and the particular challenges and rewards you see now in your coursework and personal projects or work. Describe the peculiar fit you find working in the field for which you are training, and opportunities for growth short and long term.   I want you also to use one quotation, either as an epigraph (appearing just below the title of the essay) or somewhere in the text of the essay.  A simple google search of the word plus  key word "quotations" should provide you an array of choices.

Week 7

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

                                                                                                                                  –Carl Jung

This week we'll follow up on some verb tense and agreement work, review sentence patterns and arrangement for clarity, etc.   As for assignments, I have in mind a film review of a recent work.  To that end this week I'll have a film biopic of an eccentric animal rights activist named Timothy Treadwell. It will provide us an opportunity to write about an odd character whose life and work have provoked both admiration and condemnation, and whose actions and manners are unforgettable in many ways.

The plan then is for the first hour or so of class to be dedicated to the grammar, et al work from last week; and the last hour or so to the film and discussion of how to proceed in writing about it.

ENC0020/Week 7: Writing a film review or commentary requires you to introduce the film by title (in italic letters), release date, and director (see below). The subject of the film and the story line, the arc of the narrative, must be summarized briefly and your thesis, too, should appear early on or up front in the introductory paragraph. The thesis is your considered opinion, an idea that unifies the whole essay. The body paragraph(s) serve to provide the evidence and examples needed to support the thesis. The conclusion puts the finishing touch on the essay, and reminds readers of the significance of your subject and your claims. 

Example Introduction:  Grizzly Man (2005), directed by Werner Herzog, is about a man named Timothy Treadwell, the “kind warrior,” who lived and died in defense, he believed, of his ideals. He strove to protect and to know familiarly the grizzly bears living in Katmai National Park, Alaska. He spent 12 summers there, living among the bears, photographing them, loving them in his way. He drew admirers and critics. For filmmaker Herzog, he appears a symbol of humanity’s conflicting feelings about nature and civilization.

Essay 6:  After watching the film, describe Tim Treadwell --his appearance, personality, aims, desires, and work. Tell what makes him remarkable, bringing him to life in the way the film does, whether as idealistic, brave, kind, funny, strange, angry, tormented, paranoid, scary, wise or unwise. Pick a few moments/scenes/images from the film to illustrate the man’s character in a balanced way, including, if you like, some of the opinions of those who appear in the film. Title the essay. Compose 350 words at a minimum.  

Three paragraphs at least, 350 words, include film title and director’s name up front in the opening paragraph. Underline your thesis idea.

Week 6

Welcome back to class.  Hope you had a good weekend,  Today we'll finish some practice work and get to the essay work I assigned last week, and for which I set aside time today to complete.

Here I have reposted the essay assignment that will be due at the end of class today:

Essay 5:  In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario, that is, one that  never actually existed, in terms of its effects, past, present, and future.  You will find yourself using the subjunctive and conditional verb forms as well as others to express time and effect. You might imagine that you or someone else had been born under or into circumstances other than existed; for example, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different body (or species), or that you or another had done something differently.  Describe what childhood was actually like, and what might  have been); what the present might be like (as opposed to what is actually happening); and what you imagine happening in the future.   Title the essay.  Proofread it to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support.  Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness.      You might start in this way:  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, particularly my mother, had little time and attention to spare, afterall . . . Or:  If I were given the chance to rewrite some chapter in my life, or to relive some moment now  resigned to the past, what revisions would I make, or what insight would I bring to the moment now?   What lessons are there in wondering, what if . . . ?

Week 5

Everything speaks. –James Joyce Good day to you all. I hope you had a nice weekend.       Today we will review the summary piece assigned last week, including your use of quotations.        We will focus as well on verb tense use, in ways I hope will make the proper tense  choice, simple past or present perfect, for example, clearer, including use of the  subjunctive and conditional verb tenses. ----------------------  Essay 4 is due today.  You had a choice:  (1) to analyze the cause(s) or effect(s) of  some phenomenon, situation, or action;  or (2) to describe the process by which something occurs  or is done.  Whether you choose option one or two, you should have a clear purpose and central  idea,  and clear supporting points in the body paragraph(s). Below I have listed topics that lend themselves to the means of development indicated above. Cause/Effect Mode                                                     Process Mode * Stress/disease                                                           *Staying focused/motivated * Addiction                                                                 *Eating Right * Laughter                                                                  *Building a Portfolio * Loneliness/friendship                                               *1-2-3 of Happiness/Health Revision/Editing Reminders: Key to writing the instructional or "How To" essay is to have a plan and a structure and to use clear transitions,  words that maintain the coherence of time (now, then, later, before, after, finally, while) and order (first, next, while, after, second, etc.), and so on.  You must also remember to  fashion an engaging introductory paragraph to elicit interest and convey the significance of your subject. Exploring causes or effects often involves relating the reasons one thing or another is  happening; first or major causes, if known, should be presented as such and lesser  contributors presented as minor, marginal, or indirect.  Prioritize so that you isolate the most important causes or effects relevant to the essay's purpose.  You may want to explore an indirect effect, for example, of no longer being able to use the credit card (maxed out). Or show, having got oneself into debt, how one can get out of debt and reap certain rewards, such as time to think and relax and develop a do-it-yourself attitude without feeling compelled to  buy anything. ----------------------   After break we will focus as well on verb tense use, in ways I hope will make the proper tense  choice, simple past or present perfect, for example, clearer, including use of the  subjunctive and conditional verb tenses.       Essay 5:  In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario, that is, one that  never actually existed, in terms of its effects on your past, present, and future.  This essay will require you reference both the past, present, and future tense.   In doing so, you will necessarily use the subjunctive mood and conditional (modal) tense forms.   Imagine that you had been born under or into circumstances other than those you were born into; for example, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different body (or species),  and so on.  Describe what your childhood was actually like, and what it might have been like (under  the changed circumstances); what your present life might be like (as opposed to what is actually  happening);and what you imagine happening in your future, actually or hypothetically. *Title the essay.  Proofread it to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support.  Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness.      You might start in this way:  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, particularly my mother, had little time and attention to spare, afterall . . .      Verb tense sequencing here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/1/ and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=39 and here:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/07/ Appositives:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/596/1/