Process essay

Changes from 10 October 2007 appear in BLUE text.

Updates. This week we're starting work on the first essay. Note the due dates for essays in this class are two weeks apart. Consult the Dropbox for deadlines. While the page with the unit's lesson will be up for two weeks, it may be updated periodically during that span of time and it's still your responsibility to check in at least twice a week.

I've created a graphic version of the timeline for this class. Click here to view it. I thought this might help give you an at-a-glance version of the assignments in the class.

Most of you have chimed in about peer review. If not, please see the "Questions for your peers" thread in the discussion - there's a topic called "Peer review: love it or leave it" that you may find interesting. I'd like to make the decision about what to do with this activity before we begin the review process for the Cause and Effect essay (two weeks away). Ideally, everyone would actively read and comment in the discussion throughout the week so that I can make a final decision by the end of this unit. Thanks, all, for your help here!

It looks like the votes are in - the active members of our class prefer to do peer review and organize it like we did for the Compare and contrast paragraph. That means that for the next writing assignment, I'll provide you with some instructions for peer review. I will also adjust the partner assignments to reflect recent withdrawals.

Many of you did rewrites at my request. The deadline for midterm grades is looming, and I intend to have all the work you have completed in my gradebook by that point. To save time, I've printed hard copies of ally ungraded papers, and I hope to finish hand writing comments on them by the end of the weekend. When I finished, I'll ask the secretary to send the copy, with my comments, to you at the physical address the school has on file. If you're not living at that address, please let me know so that I don't send a stranger your graded paper!

Quick list. Here's a quick list of the things you need to do this week. Keep reading to find out more about each item:

Read
- Patterns Chapter 7 introduction
- Hills, "The Right Way to Eat an Ice-Cream Cone"
- Hubbell, "The Beekeeper"
- QA Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, and Chapter 17
Write a rough draft of the Process essay
Respond to the reflective writing prompt after you have written a rough draft of your paper
Revise and submit your Compare and Contrast paragraph by the deadline, Friday 05 October 2007 at 11:55pm MST

About essays. This week marks our first venture into essay writing.

In the grand scheme of things, essays and paragraphs share similar organization: each has a beginning, a middle, and an end. While essays resemble extrapolated paragraphs in their structure, writing a coherent essay is a profoundly more complex task than writing a paragraph. Before we begin here, let me tell you that those of you who comfortable with the five paragraph essay (Jane Schafer method) are going to have to learn something else here: that kind of restrictive, formulaic approach to writing, for the most part, doesn't work in college. It's not that you need to disregard what you know, but you will need to grow past it - that approach ties your hands for anything other than a short essay, and this semester and next, you may find that you're asked to write more. Certainly you're asked to write differently. Please read this section carefully to find out what I'm looking for because it certainly isn't a specific number of detail sentences.

In a paragraph, the introductory section is usually one sentence, usually at the beginning of the paragraph, and forecasts the topic of the paper, the direction the writer is going to run with the idea. The topic sentence also reveals the mode of development of the paper. In an essay, the introductory section is one or more paragraphs that occur at the beginning. The introduction typically includes some background about the topic, that is, relevant and necessary context information - why the writer is writing about that topic at that moment in time. The context in the introduction may or may not be a narrative - it depends on the tone the writer chooses, the audience that the writer has in mind, and the time and place the essay is geared for. At the end (typically) of the introductory section of an essay is the thesis statement. The thesis statement is a one-sentence articulation of the writer's topic, direction, and motive - much like the topic sentence, a thesis needs each of these parts to be complete and effective.

The middle section of both essay and paragraph is a setoff details supporting the thesis statement (for an essay) or topic sentence (for a paragraph). In an essay, like in a paragraph, it's essential to support the main idea clearly and thoroughly, presenting a logical sequence of ideas that helps the reader understand what you're getting at - development and organization are two keys to effective writing, no matter how long of a paper you're expected to write. In a paragraph, it's important for you to use appropriate transitional words and expressions to flag the introduction of a new point. This practice helps your reader follow along. In an essay, the logical sequence of ideas is more complicated than just appropriate and well-placed transitional expressions simply because there is more information to communicate. In an essay, the body is organized into paragraphs, one per main idea (or, for process essays, main step in the process). Each of the body paragraphs has a strong topic sentence and a conclusion that contains a transitional expression that alerts the audience to the introduction of a new point coming up in the next paragraph.

The conclusion in an essay, like in a paragraph, returns to the idea you brought up in the thesis or topic sentence. You can think of the conclusion as one final opportunity to clarify your ideas. The conclusion DOES NOT begin with "in conclusion" or "in summary." That method is too elementary for our purposes. The conclusion also DOES NOT simply restate your thesis. As you may imagine, writing a conclusion is sometimes a tricky business, but if you think of it as a final opportunity to bring the essay or paragraph full circle and reaffirm the main idea, you'll do fine.

There was a good question in the Discussion about the number of paragraphs an essay requires. The short answer is that an essay will have at least three paragraphs - an introductory paragraph, a body paragraph, and a concluding paragraph. The reality is that an essay will have as many paragraphs as are needed to communicate the writer's point. For a more detailed explanation, find that discussion post (it's dated 10 October 2007, and it's from Heather).

Here are the things to watch for when you're writing your essay for this time around:

Check to make sure that your thesis sentence, at the end of paragraph one, reveals your topic and that the essay is going to describe a process.
Check to make sure that the main steps in the process are each in their own paragraphs.
Check to make sure that you have described the process in great enough detail, without belaboring obvious points, that anyone could repeat it and get the same results (for a process that gives a "how to") or observe it an understand exactly what's going on at every step (for a process that gives an explanation of something that you can't actually repeat yourself, e.g., photosynthesis)
Check to make sure that your conclusion goes back to your main idea and commenting on the direction you take, e.g., emphasizing the ease of the process, or commenting on its complexity.

About the reading. This unit's reading selections are quite good, even though they have their flaws. "The Beekeeper" provides an outline of the process of desensitizing a prospective employee to bee stings. There are some problems with the focus in the selection. As you read, notice details that seem out of place - what's not necessary? How would you retrain the focus if this were your paper? Also look for development problems - are there spots where the quality, quantity, or depth of detail seem thin? If so, how would you correct it if this were your paper? "The Right Way to Eat an Ice-Cream Cone" provides another good description of a process. In this case, however, the writer takes a tone that may or may not work for you. Does the humor come across in the writing? If not, what would you add , change, or leave out if this were your paper? Also take a look at the development in this paper. What steps in this process seem excessive? Remember that it's unnecessary to belabor points that we all experience, e.g., it wouldn't be necessary or useful to explain to the audience how to breathe, swallow, or trim one's toenails, unless you're absolutely sure that the audience has a different experience or comes from a different tradition than you. For both selections, try to answer the comprehension questions about the reading and then answer the questions about the writer's strategies - those questions will help you see some of the strengths and weaknesses of the selections.

About the writing. This week you're writing the rough draft of your Process essay. Please see the course packet (page 11) for specific information about this assignment, including acceptable topics. This week you're also cleaning up your Compare and contrast paragraph in anticipation of the 05 October 2007 deadline.

After you have written a rough draft of your paper, give yourself a day off. Return to the writing after this short break with fresh eyes - sometimes that's all that's necessary for you to see errors or problems. Before you begin to revise, take a look at the comments on the papers I have returned to you. Digest the comments, that is, look for common themes - are there things that I have consistently marked on your papers? If so, make a note of it.

For this project, please respond to the following reflective writing prompt in a few sentences at the top of the paper: After reviewing the comments you received on your last paper, what skills or aspects of the writing do you plan to focus on for the upcoming assignment? This note should appear at the top of the final draft.

There is no peer review for this assignment, but I encourage you to seek help in advance of the deadline - visit with a Learning Center tutor, a classmate, or schedule an appointment to see me about your draft. Believe that I'm sincere when say that I'm approachable

About your upcoming quiz

There are two quizzes in this class, one around midterm and one at finals. Both quizzes are comprehensive. Both quizzes are worth 200 points - in all, roughly 22 percent of your final grade. That means if you fail to take one quiz (or you do very, very poorly), the highest possible grade you will be able earn in the class is a B. If the same thing happens for the second quiz, you're looking at a C. I'm not telling you this to scare you; however, in previous semesters, students didn't take the quizzes seriously, and it bit them later. Read this section carefully to find out what you can do to prepare.

The first quiz will be open book, open notes, un-timed, and you have two chances to enter the quiz. There will be roughly 50 questions, and there will be a small opportunity for extra credit (you'll know which questions are extra credit because they don't have anything to do with English). Note: Just because you have two chances doesn't mean that you will get the opportunity to answer the same questions twice. Be prepared for a different question set if you choose to retake the quiz.

There will be three types of questions on the quiz: multiple choice, definition, and error correction. For the error correction questions, you will be given an example sentence with one or more grammatical errors. The object is to rewrite the sentence without grammatical errors. For the definition questions, you will be given a term or concept that appears in one of your textbooks. The object is to paraphrase - that is, restate in your own words - the definition of the term or concept. You're all familiar with the object of multiple choice.

These are the topics to study in preparation for the quiz (this listing will be updated regularly - check back periodically to see if there's new information here). Consult QA for further information about any topic:

Sentence parts. There are a variety of terms you need to be aware of. If you don't know these terms, it's incredibly difficult to talk to you about errors in your writing. Some of these terms may be more familiar than others; regardless, there is a detailed explanation of each of these concepts in QA.
- Subject, including simple and compound subjects
- Verb, including simple and compound verbs
- Predicate
- Prepositional phrase, including the preposition and the object of the preposition
- Independent clause
- Dependent clause (for our purposes, a dependent clause is a group of words, including subject and verb, that begins with a subordinating conjunction)
IMPORTANT! Sentence types, coordination, subordination, and punctuation. There are four sentence types in English. Your correct identification of sentence type allows us to have a conversation about the stylistic choices you make when you write, including sentence variety and combining sentences using coordination and subordination. Knowing the types should also allow you to begin to get a handle on correct punctuation, e.g., where the comma goes if a sentence begins with a dependent clauses.
- Simple: one subject and one verb
  - SV
    - I ate.
- Compound: two independent clauses (joining independent clauses that results in a compound sentence is referred to as coordination)
  - SV, [coordinating conjunction] SV.
    - I ate, and I slept.
  - SV; SV.
    - She yawned; I yawned, too.
  - SV; [conjunctive adverb], SV.
    - I planned to dump you; however, I know you will never get another date.
- Complex: one independent clause and one dependent clause (joining a dependent clause to an independent clause that results in a complex sentence is referred to as subordination)
  - [subordinating conjunction] SV, SV.
    - Although you are crazy, you are my friend.
  - SV [subordinating conjunction] SV.
    - I was lost after I took that left turn.
- Compound-complex: at least one dependent clause and at least two independent clauses. There are quite a few combinations for this pattern. Here are just a few:
  - [subordinating conjunction] SV, SV, [coordinating conjunction] SV.
    - While I really wanted to dump you, you looked very pathetic, and I just couldn't do it.
  - SV, [coordinating conjunction] SV [subordinating conjunction] SV.
    - I like my job, and I don't want to get fired although sometimes it's hard to remember all the rules.
  - SV; [subordinating conjunction] SV, SV.
    - I love french fries; while they're no good for you, they taste great!
Common errors. Of the five most common errors in student writing, three involve improperly joining clauses or improperly punctuating compound and complex sentences. For this quiz, you must be able to spot the error, name it, and fix it.
- Fragments. A fragment is a non-sentence. It's missing either a subject, or a verb, or both a subject and a verb.
  - I want to go. After I finish here. Where? To the store, of course.
- Run-ons. Improper coordination is the cause of run-ons. Eliminating any of the punctuation from the examples in the compound sentence section (see above) results in a run-on.
  - I went to the store I bought eggs.
- Comma splices. Improper subordination and coordination both result in comma splices. A comma splice is two independent causes that are joined by a comma and nothing else.
  - I went to the store, I bought eggs.
Pronoun case and reference. The idea that pronouns must match the words they refer to (called their antecedent) shouldn't strike you as odd - we expect many things to match (or agree) in English, e.g., subjects and verbs (she eats, not she eat), and adjectives and their nouns (I have two cats, not I have two cat).
- Pronoun case. There are three cases: subject, object, and possessive. It's common to mix up subject and object case, especially when there's a compound subject involved. Your book has some suggested tests to make sure that you're choosing the right case - look into it.
  - She and I went to the movies, not Me and her went to the mall. In this case, you need the subject pronouns (she and I), not the object pronouns (me and her).
- Pronoun reference. Pronoun reference is the link between the pronoun and its antecedent. It's your responsibility to make sure that the pronoun clearly connects to its antecedent, and that you choose the right pronoun for the job (often called pronoun-antecedent agreement)
  - Every cook should know her recipes, not Every cook should know their recipes. In this case, the subject (every cook) is singular and requires a singular pronoun (his or her, not their).
Transitional expressions. The conjunctive adverbs (e.g., moreover, however, nevertheless, etc.) that are used in coordination all serve unique purposes by indicating a different relationship between ideas. However indicates that the item that follows contrasts with the item that comes before while moreover indicates that the item that follows provides something additional. Be vigilant and discriminate between adverbs wisely.

There is a practice quiz available so that you can see the kind of questions you'll be asked. Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the file.

My face-to-face asked to have a full class hour as a review session for the midterm quiz. We'd love to have you if you can make it - sometimes it's easier to review face-to-face than it is online. The review session is scheduled for 18 October 2007 at 11:30-12:20 in B135 on the MSUGF campus.

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