Day One, Third Quarter

Welcome back! I'm writing this at yet another Brooklyn hipster cafe. It's the middle of the day, so no one else is here.

If you took Regents exams last week, I hope you did well. If you had no Regents exams, I hope you had a relaxing week and returned to school ready to work. We're halfway through the trimester; depending on how you're doing, you may have to step it up a bit in order to earn the credit.

This week is going to be a bit of a review. From your essays and feedback, it's clear that we need to go over CEE writing again, as well as paraphrasing and summarizing.

This quarter, I will not be accepting any essay rough drafts after the due date (Tuesday, February 14).  Plan accordingly. Your rough draft and course/self-assessment are due Friday, February 16, Again, plan accordingly.

I am here after school for at least an hour EVERY DAY. If you're falling behind/in need of extra help/need computer access, take advantage of that.

In a comment below, give an example of a cause-effect relationship. If you understand what a cause-effect relationship is now, you can begin thinking about your essay topic.

Today's revision task

When I read your essays, I couldn't help but notice the following: You DID NOT use the claim-evidence-explanation structure; you DID NOT cite your sources, and you DID NOT follow the compare-contrast structure. That is what you are being graded on (rubric is posted, if you weren't here yesterday).


Reread your essay, looking for those components. If they are not there, make sure they are. When you are done with that, read the introduction PowerPoint and revise your intro according to it. This is not optional.


Time is running out for getting your make-up work in. Chances are good you're failing.

If you are done with your rough AND final drafts of your essay, you can complete your course and self-assessment. This is worth 8% of your grade. 

rough draft due today!!

Hi!


The rough draft of your essay is due today by 4:30. If you get it in on time, I will grade it tonight using the rubric for the assessment, and we'll conference about it tomorrow. If you don't get it in today, I'll still look at it, but you will not have the benefit of a conference.


Rough draft (hard copy) AND final draft (hard copy AND emailed) are due Friday. On Friday you will also have your course and self-assessment due.


If you're not sure what you're missing, see me.

Get started!!

You should begin the note-taking process for your essay today. Take the first ten minutes of class to identify two sources of information for your essay. We will then go over note-taking strategies.

REMEMBER, YOUR ARTICLE OF THE WEEK IS DUE TOMORROW. 

Moving on--compare/contrast essay

So, today we are starting the compare/contrast essay. Remember when I said you're unlikely to pass the class if you don't do work outside the classroom? That is doubly true now.

From yesterday's work, you should understand the basic format of a compare/contrast essay. I strongly suggest that you go through the outlines for a compare/contrast essay, as well as the PowerPoint. If you need an additional example of what your essay should look like, there is one more posted on the site.

I am assuming you know something about internet research. If not, there is a self-guided "Evaluating Websites tutorial" that you should go through. Stay away from sources like wikipedia, ask.com, and so on. See me if you have further questions.

You must create a bibliography for your essay. There is a model for your bibliography, titled "Creating a Bibliography." Use it!!!

I strongly suggest that you create an outline for your essay. You will be graded on organization, and nothing is more helpful than an outline, in terms of organization.

Your rough draft is due TUESDAY, at the end of the day (I'll accept it until 4:30 PM). I want a hard copy. If you are taking this class for the first time, your paper should be 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced, with one-inch margins and a SEPARATE cover page. The body paragraphs of your essay should all be written in CEE format, using quotations, paraphrasing, and summarizing as necessary. Cite your sources!!

If you get me your rough draft on time, I'll go over it with you. If your rough draft is late, you are totally on your own in terms of figuring out revisions.

Due at the end of the period today: A paragraph in which you provide the two things you are comparing,  the criteriacategories/ you are using to compare them, and a minimum of two websites you can use for research. Send assignment using subject line "essay topic." Tomorrow we will briefly go over note-taking.

Moving on--compare/contrast essay

To get started, take the first ten minutes of class to complete the work from yesterday. If that's done, you can use these ten minutes to work on your Article of the Week.

Today we are going to explore the structure of the compare/contrast essay. I'm assign you to a partner/group, and give you a copy of a compare/contrast essay. Your task to figure out the structure of the compare/contrast essay. Your comments should be general comments that can help someone understand a compare/contrast essay. Do not make comments about the specific content of the essay.  To do so, answer the following questions:


1. Where does the author first introduce the things that are being compared/contrasted?
2. What are the criteria being used for the comparisons/contrasts?
3. What pattern, if any is the author using? 
4. How does the writer organize his/her paragraphs?
5. What signal words, if any, does the writer use to signal that comparisions and/or contrasts are taking place?


You should answer these questions on the chart paper. Highlight signal words, point out patterns, claims, etc... You will then present your work to the students who read the other essay.

Remember, article of the week is due FRIDAY.

Using paraphrasing and summarizing

Make sure you pick up the new Article of the Week. It's due Friday. Three assignments have been graded so far; too many of you have a ZERO average.

I think we all struggled last week with paraphrasing and summarizing. Paraphrasing and summarizing aren't writing skills as much as they are reading skills. And, in order to paraphrase and summarize, you have to read really closely, paying attention not only to all the words, but to the way phrases connect to each other. It's possible that your classes haven't required you to read this closely; you'll definitely have to in college. Struggling with this is OK; summarizing is generally recognized as one of the hardest skills to learn (and teach!) We'll continue working with summarizing and paraphrasing next quarter.

Today, we're going to continue with our summarizing and paraphrasing practice. We looked at how to use this in isolation, but today we return to the CEE paragraphs we worked on last quarter. Instead of using direct quotations, however, we are going to use paraphrases and/or summaries. Please open the document entitled "Using paraphrasing and summarizing in a paragraph."

Friday

1. Complete the summarizing article.
2. If you are finished with that, and haven't finished your paraphrasing piece, finish that.
3. If those are done, complete your article of the week (due today!)
4. If all of that is done, move onto the "Evaluating Websites" piece.

Moving on to summaring

 Last night I graded your work on paraphrasing. If you did not send it to me, you currently have a zero for that assignment, and need to complete it ON YOUR OWN TIME. Please realize that working in a chill fashion, giving yourself time to chat, listen to music, write lyrics, etc... will NOT give you enough time to complete your work. You need to step up your game, because I am not going to lower my expectations.


Please open the summarizing PowerPoint. We'll go through it together, and there is an assignment in a Word document for you to complete on your own. This is due TODAY, because tomorrow you're going to work on using these skills in a CEE paragraph.

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK IS DUE TOMORROW!!!

Hi!!

We're going to continue with the paraphrasing work from yesterday.


If you WERE here, you know what you need to do--complete the article paraphrasing and send to me with the subject line "Paraphrasing."


If you were NOT here yesterday, read the "paraphrasing" powerpoint, and get the article from me.


Remember, article of the week is due FRIDAY. If you finish early, you can complete work on your "Article of the Week."

Welcome Back! Second Quarter begins today!

So, here we are at the beginning of the second quarter. I hope your break was good; I was sick with bronchitis for most of mine. Got some reading done, and began shopping for a bicycle.

While grading, I noticed a direct correlation between completing the articles of the week and high grades. So, if you're hoping to squeak through with better than a 65, I suggest that you make another New Year's resolution, to complete your weekly homework assignments!

This week, we're going to look at how to paraphrase and summarize, and how to use paraphrases and summaries in our CEE paragraphs. Over the weekend, you should be thinking about your compare/contrast topic. Next week, we're going to look at the structure of a compare/contrast essay, and begin writing. Your rough draft (more about that later) is due on Tuesday, January 17, and your final draft (more about that later, too) is due on Thursday, January 19.