english 101: dr. alvarez college essay. reading requirments you have to use a minimum of 3 articles...

English 101: Dr. AlvarezCollege Essay

Reading Requirments

• You have to use a minimum of 3 articles throughout the entire “50 Essays” book.

• You can use 3 articles you find online.

• You must print the online articles and show me.

• Valid online publications include: The New Yorker, Harpers, The Guardian, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Economist, Scientific American.

Now

• Take out a piece of paper. Label it “Thesis: English 101”

What type of “uncommon” question can you ask about the “common” wisdom of your theme?

Example: How does a strong sense identity hurt you?

1.Write down at least 3 questions.

2.Talk with a partner.

What type of “uncommon” question can you ask about the “common” wisdom of your theme?

Example: How does a strong sense identity hurt you?

Answer your 3 questions:

A strong sense of your identity hurts you.

Choose your most interesting question/answer. This will be your working thesis.

Broad thesis:


What can be more detailed in this thesis?

Talk to a partner.

I will call on you.


What part of your identity?

What type of “hurt?”

A strong sense of your ethnic identity can disable your ability to relate to other ethnic groups, isolating you and preventing economic opportunities.

• What are the most important words of this thesis?

• A strong sense of your ethnic identity can disable your ability to relate to other ethnic groups, isolating you and preventing economic opportunities.

• Underline the most important words of YOUR thesis.• Find synonyms for these words. • You will use them in your “Matter” of your essay

• Research: You can look up articles online• You must print the online articles and show me.• Valid online publications include:

– The New Yorker– Harpers– The Guardian– Atlantic Monthly– The New York Times– The Economist– Scientific American– If you want to explore other publications, I must approve

them.

Finding Quotes to support your thesis

• Hamburger-Hotdog a piece of paper.

• Write your thesis in the middle diamond.

• Choose two quotes to support your thesis on the two halves.

• Choose a “counterargument” quote in the bottom left quadrant.

• Take out your “Say-mean-matter” power verbs and phrases

Hamburger Hotdog Paper

Writer’s Name: Tommy KimQuote #1

Say: Mean: Matter:

Quote #2

Say: Mean: Matter:.

Quote #3 (Counterargument)Say: Mean: Matter:

THESIS

Checklist:1.Did you mention the key words from your thesis in your “Matter?”

2.Did you mention a key word from your “mean” in your matter?

3.Did you use a metaphor (not necessary in every “matter”)

4.Did you use the words, “thing, anything, nothing, everywhere, everyone, something?”

1.Thesis

2. Introduction to quote

3.Say #1

4.Mean#1

5.Matter#1

6.Transition from matter #1 to next paragraph

7. Introduction to quote (Moves 7 & 8 could be the same sentence)

Page 1 which includes all 7 moves will be due on Tuesday, December 9th…TYPED AND PRINTED.

Introduction

• Anecdotal using Scene

• Statement of opinion

• Interesting Factual statement

• Rhetorical Question (use cautiously…don’t want to simply repeat the prompt).

• COLLECT NOTES on these moves.

Introductions

• Write an introduction for each “move.”

• Anecdotal using Scene

• Rhetorical Question

• Interesting Factual statement

Introductions

• Rhetorical Question– First sentence grabs reader’s attention and

asks a rhetorical question. – Rest of introduction talks about the “who”,

“what”, “where” of argument.

– Who: Us, a public figure, a family member– What: judgment, admiral qualities– Where: Earth, the heavens, your backyard.

Introductions• Examples:

– “Is a woman judged by her actions or her thoughts?”

– “If perfection is impossible, why do we judge harshly for those who are imperfect?”

– Write your own.

Introductions

• Interesting Statement of Fact– Start introduction with a compelling fact. – Tone of introduction is factual, objective, and

scientific. – Writer is telling reader, “I’m not messing with

feelings. It’s all facts, baby.”– Good for writing that is heavily leaning on logic

• Research papers

• Science writing

Introductions

• Take out ANOTHER piece of paper.

• Write “interesting fact” on this paper.

Introductions• Interesting Statement of Fact

• Look up an interesting fact about character or judgment:

• When Martin Luther King Jr. marched for equality, he was a target for murder.

• Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 25 years.

• Fifty two percent of marriages end in divorce, which means someone at some point was not acting admirably.

Introductions

• Start first sentence with interesting fact

Fifty two percent of marriages end in divorce, which means someone at some point was not acting admirably. Human beings (WHO) are embedded with flaws, and it is the drama of trying to understand these flaws under the light of our strengths that is the human struggle (WHEN), represented through every day statistics and in literature. Those who live understanding this struggle are to be admired for their awareness (WHAT). In the novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carroway lives with this awareness, because of his conscious way of living, he is admirable.

Who, what, where of argument.– Who: Human Beings, Divorced people– What: Awareness– When: Human struggle

Introductions


Stanford University’s acceptance rate is 0.6%, and these candidates are the top students of their schools. These candidates strive for what they want, despite the statistics, enduring hours of homework, playing sports, and surviving disasterous family lives. In the same way these students strove for greatness, Jay Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby also attains what he wants.

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is an admirable character because he strives for what he wants.


Introductions


In Ferguson County, protestors were shot at by rubber bullets, gassed, and beaten my militant police. The protesters were teachers, mothers, sons: Americans. They believed fiercely for the right to be equal, to protest the institutional racial profiling pervading the state. Another person who fiercely fought for his beliefs was Tom Buchannan, from the novel The Great Gatsby.

In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchannan is an admirable character because he fights mightily for his deepest beliefs.

Who, what, where of argument.– Who: People who fight for beliefs– What: admirable character

Introductions


In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is an admirable character because he strives for what he wants.


Introduction• Take out a piece of paper and label it,

“Statement of Opinion.”

Introduction• Father Thesis, Baby Thesis: Statement of

Opinion• Write a more GENERAL version of your thesis as your

first line. First line must HOOK.

IntroductionFather Thesis, Baby Thesis: Statement of Opinion

Write a more GENERAL version of your thesis as your first line. First line must HOOK.

GENERAL STATEMENT: The people worth admiring are the people who don’t know how to be contained.

THESIS: In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is an admirable character whose reaching for the impossible is considered heroic.

Who, what, where of argument.–Who: Visionaries like Christopher Columbus–What: Boundless imagination,

IntroductionFather Thesis, Baby Thesis: Statement of Opinion

Write a more GENERAL version of your thesis as your first line. First line must HOOK.

GENERAL STATEMENT:

People with extraordinary visions are bound to do extraordinary things. President Obama saw a country whose sons would be able to take care of their dying mothers because we would all have health care. He saw it first.

THESIS: In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is an admirable character whose reaching for the impossible is extraordinary.

Who, what, where of argument.– Who: Visionaries like Christopher Columbus– What: Boundless imagination,

IntroductionThe people worth admiring are the people who don’t know how to be contained. An artist’s soul is capacious, able to take in the entire world and place it on a plate, or a blueprint, or a classroom. A visionary requires limitless thinking and dreaming, a way of being that cannot be bound by sensibility and conventions. Christopher Columbus saw a world that in fact never ended, a circumference that could run forever with enough wind and will. Those who are tyrannized by fear and limited vision seem always bound by height, weight, or aptitude, reasons for staying cornered by fear and cynicism, a combination that always underlies sadness for what is already determined in their minds. It is our reaching and straining beyond limitations that make us admirable, that make life boundless and soaring with the very stars we can’t reach. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is one such hero, an admirable character whose reaching for the impossible is considered heroic.

Introduction• Scene

• Use 3 out of the 5 senses• Quickest way to emotionally convince the reader• Pure storytelling• Mr. Kim is nuts about this one. But you should learn other

techniques.• Who, what, where of argument.

– Who: People, beings, living creatures– What: Transience– Where: Living rooms, kitchens, schools, anywhere!

Introduction• Take out a piece of paper.

• Label it “Scene Introduction.”

Introduction• Turn in “Scene Introduction” in the back

tray.

Introduction• Scene: Write 3 sensory details about a

time you experienced the thesis:

EXAMPLE: MR. KIM’s FATHER IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

3 SENSORY DETAILS• Air conditioning• Back Pack zipping• Whispering of students

Introduction• Scene: Write 3 sensory details.The air conditioning of the classroom (WHERE) came down heavily on

my father’s (WHO) head, chilling the sweat off of his neck. The community college classroom was filled to capacity, with 80 students rustling papers, zipping up back packs, and whispering to each other before the professor arrived. My father smelled the strange perfumes that reminded him of fruit and flowers. When the professor began the lecture, my father was utterly bewildered. He could catch a few words, but the Chemistry class seemed fractured, unable to be pieced together. Although he had a minimal understanding of English, my father charged ahead to take this class to provide a better life for his family. The impossibility (WHAT) stared him in the face, but he attempted the class anyways. He ultimately dropped out of the class, but it doesn’t mean he is less admirable. (TRANSITION TO THESIS)It is the reaching that matters more than the attaining.

• Who, what, where of argument.– Who: My father– What: impossibility– Where: Classroom

Introduction• Scene: Write 3 sensory details.Nick Carraway doesn’t judge people:

The Topanga mall smelled like pretzel and perfume. Jay was quiet, his hands shoved into his pockets. The loud conversations bounced off the tile floor, and I could hardly hear Jay’s words as he pulled out the stack of one dollar bills. He told me he had stolen the money for a birthday present. I hugged him.

Introduction• Write your thesis after each of your introductions:

Scene, Rhetorical Question, Factual Statement.• Example:

The air conditioning of the classroom came down heavily on my father’s head, chilling the sweat off of his neck. The community college classroom was filled to capacity, with 80 students rustling papers, zipping up back packs, and whispering to each other before the professor arrived. My father smelled the strange perfumes that reminded him of fruit and flowers. When the professor began the lecture, my father was utterly bewildered. He could catch a few words, but the Chemistry class seemed fractured, unable to be pieced together. Although he had a minimal understanding of English, my father charged ahead to take this class to provide a better life for his family. The impossibility stared him in the face, but he attempted the class anyways. He ultimately dropped out of the class, but it doesn’t mean he is less admirable. It is the reaching that matters more than the attaining. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is one such hero, an admirable character whose reaching for the impossible is considered heroic.

1.Thesis


3.Say #1

4.Mean#1

5.Matter#1



Page 1 which includes all 7 moves will be due on Tuesday, December 9th…TYPED AND PRINTED.

The Counterargument

“I know you are, but what am I?”

Evidence: The Counterargument What do you know about a “counterargument?”

Contradicts your argument/thesis

Reveals other side

Leaves room for debate

Transition words (antithetical corollary)

But, however, although, Despite

Evidence: The Counterargument Your parents tell you, “your curfew is set for 10pm. The Van Nuys police website shows that crime is mostly committed between the times of 10pm-2am.”

Talk to a partner and explain how you can give a counterargument.

1 minute.

Evidence: The Counterargument Your parents tell you, “you cannot go to Alejandro’s party. He was arrested in middle school for bringing matches and dirty underwear to school.”


1 Minute

Evidence: The Counterargument Your parents tell you, “downtown Los Angeles is too far. You can’t go there without an adult.”


1 Minute

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis

Contradicting Evidence

Counter-argument on how evidence

Is NOT valid.

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis

Contradicting Evidence

Use an UNMENTIONED VARIABLE to show how contradicting evidence still proves thesis.

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: Pitbulls are one of the friendliest breeds and the ban in Denver should be overturned.

Contradicting Evidence: Pitbulls have the highest rate of attacks on humans.

•Unmentioned variable: THE OWNERS!

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: Pitbulls are one of the friendliest breeds and the ban in Denver should be overturned.

Contradicting Evidence: Pitbulls have the highest rate of attacks on humans.

Counter-argument on how evidence is NOT valid: This breed of dog attracts owners who are criminals who raise the dogs to fight, training them to have violent tendencies. Like children, mean and violent owners will translate to mean and violent dogs, and most other breeds have owners who want to raise their dogs properly. It’s not the dog breed that is violent but the type of owner who raise them.

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: All types of guns should be legal.

Contradicting Evidence: The Sandy Hook shootings left dozens of children dead.

Counter-argument on how evidence is NOT valid:

Work with a partner and come up with why this contradicting evidence can be WRONG. I will give you 3 minutes.

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: All types of guns should be legal.

Contradicting Evidence: The Sandy Hook shootings left dozens of children dead.


Unmentioned VARIABLE: Mental Illness!

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: We should encourage the use of capital punishment in all states.

Contradicting Evidence: Texas has the most executions out of all states, but the murder rate is also the highest.


Work with a partner and come up with why this contradicting evidence can be WRONG (hint, use 3rd variable, low income, low graduation rates, etc. of TX). I will give you 3 minutes.



•Unmentioned variable: Income (low)

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: College athletes should get paid for playing.

Contradicting Evidence: In Slovania, where college players get paid, they have the highest dropout rate in the world.


Unmentioned variable: Slovania’s average income is lowest in the European Union.




Work with a partner and come up with why this contradicting evidence can be WRONG (hint, use low income, low graduation rates, etc. of TX). I will give you 3 minutes.

Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: The Lakers are the best team in basketball this season.

Contradicting Evidence: The Lakers have the worst record in the league.

Counter-argument using UNMENTIONED VARIABLE on how evidence is NOT valid:


Evidence: The Counterargument Thesis: Birmingham Students are the most kind students in all of the valley.

Contradicting Evidence: Birmingham has the highest rate of fights.



Thesis: Gatsby is admirable.

Quote #3 – COUNTERARGUMENT: Find a quote that CONTRADICTS your thesis.Say: “He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong (Fitzgerald 141).

Mean (What does the quote “mean”? Summarize): Tom argues that Gatsby is of inferior moral quality because he breaks the law. MATTER (How does this matter to the thesis?):

Although some laws make sense in their time, other laws are unreasonable, playing out the collective paranoia that keep citizens tyrannized. Slavery, segregation, women’s suffrage (Unmentioned variable) were all legal embodiments of a vicious tyranny against those who are deprived of political and social power. Laws can be wrong. Alcohol is now legal, and if any political figure would try to abolish alcohol today, they would be ensuring their downfall in the next election. Gatsby’s cause for the impossible transcended a misguided law, and he was a hero for seeing beyond it.

Pages 1-2

1.Thesis


3.Say #1

4.Mean#1

5.Matter#1



8.Say #2

9.Mean#2

10.Matter#2

And repeat until you have 6 pages.

Move #1• Write your thesis after your transition into your

thesis.• Example:The people worth admiring are the people who don’t know how to be

contained. An artist’s soul is capacious, able to take in the entire world and place it on a plate, or a blueprint, or a classroom. A visionary requires limitless thinking and dreaming, a way of being that cannot be bound by sensibility and conventions. Christopher Columbus saw a world that in fact never ended, a circumference that could run forever with enough wind and will. Those who are tyrannized by fear and limited vision seem always bound by height, weight, or aptitude, reasons for staying cornered by fear and cynicism, a combination that always underlies sadness for what is already determined in their minds. It is our reaching and straining beyond limitations that make us admirable, that make life boundless and soaring with the very stars we can’t reach. (Move #1) In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is one such hero, an admirable character whose reaching for what is believed by others to be unattainable is heroic.

MOVE #2, PARAGRAPH #2!• Introduce quote “move. Summarize what is happening

around the quote. Assume the reader hasn’t read the book.)

• Use the following template:

(Character’s Name) first exemplifies how he/she is admirable by (who-what-when of scene), “Quote” (Fitzgerald #)

– Example: When Gatsby was in the hotel room with Daisy, Tom and the entourage of friends, he saw that his argument for Daisy to leave Tom was flagging, that he was immersed in what was hopeless.

Move #3 - 5 (Move # 3) “But with every word she was drawing

further and further into herself, so he gave that up and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room (Fitzgerald 142).” (Move # 4) This passage explains how Gatsby reaches for the unattainable, knowing he can’t convince Daisy to leave Tom. (Move # 5) In this case, even though Gatsby knows Daisy will not be with him, the dream continues, nourishing a vitality in Gatsby’s imagination, which is essential to his ability to see more than failure or fear. He suffers for this vision, but it is through struggle that we transform not only ourselves, but those around us, as Nick was transformed by Gatsby’s pain.

Transition

Not only does Author X highlight_____________ this feature, Author Y also emphasizes how___________. (Summarize what is happening around quote.)

Contrast Transition(Contrast Transition): Although this character’s traits are

overall admirable, there are some traits that some might find unappealing.

Paragraph #5: Moves 16-1816. Transition into last paragraph

17. Restatement of thesis

18 Connect thesis to the rest of the world

(Move 16: Transition) Laws that are morally detestable require courage and vision to break. These traits also fuel the hearts and minds who chase after stars, empowering the great contributors of our society. (Move 17: Connect thesis to rest of the world)Thomas Edison, Neal Armstrong, Rosa Parks all stood tall against the impossible, and with courage and vision they defined a quintessential American ideal. (Move 18: Restatement of thesis) Like Gatsby, we are at our best when we are struggling, fighting for a vision that seems impossible. Dreams are no longer real when we achieve them. In order for us to live authentically, we continually need to place the impossible in front of us.

Essay Rubric– Essay is due on the day of the final.

english 101: dr. alvarez college essay. reading requirments you have to use a minimum of 3 articles...

Documents

strong sense identity

ethnic identity

broad thesis

working thesis

online articles

matter power verbs

important words

key words