foreward

a citizenship reminder

***From your syllabus:

We all must feel comfortable, and we all must have respect for one another even though our viewpoints may (can and will) differ, we still need to grant another’s right to their beliefs, even if something they are saying seems “wrong” to you.

***From your syllabus:

Because of this, I ask that we give one another the utmost respect. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn a little something new about each other, our different cultures, and our different lives.

We don’t all agree; we aren’t supposed.

This class (in conjunction with being a

writing class) is very much a thinking

class.

Thinking about concepts we may not

have considered before …

Thinking about viewpoints we may not

have considered before …

Thinking about our own viewpoints, why

we have them, and what if anything we

should change about them.

That said:

You won’t agree with me nor I with you,

but there is room for all of our

opinions, and there is room for change.

That’s where our writing comes in—

writing to inspire change!

In this class,you are writing

to inspire the changes

YOUwant to see happen!

narratives

wra115 / spring 2007wra115 / spring 2007

sue webbsue webb

addressingglobal-to-local issues

Evaluation Scale:

Excellent=4 Good=3 Fair in Some Parts=2 Weak=1

Assignment/Audience: completed all requirements of the writing

assignment; your essay is sensitive to your audience.

Thought: Your essay shows that you have thought deeply about your topic;

You point out things that many people may not have noticed before.

Organization/Unity: Your essay is organized around a thesis; your body

paragraphs are unified and related to the thesis; you use transitions to

connect ideas between sentences and between paragraphs.

Support/Development: You support your ideas with specific reasons,

details, and examples, which add “spice” to your essay; in developing your

ideas, you integrate paraphrase and quotation from reading material.

Language/Grammar: Your essay demonstrates control of sentence

structure, punctuation, spelling, and other grammatical elements. Your

sentences vary in structure and style. You use a wide range of vocabulary

correctly.

be specific

who?what?where?when?why?how?

me, I, my, my best friend, our neighbor, etc.

USE SPECIFIC PEOPLE,USE SPECIFIC PEOPLE,

SPECIFIC PLACES,SPECIFIC PLACES,

SPECIFICS IN GENERAL!SPECIFICS IN GENERAL!

Generalities

Kids today…Kids today…

In today’s society…In today’s society…

In this day and age…In this day and age…

me, I, my, my best friend, our neighbor, this guy

named john.

who?what?where?when?why?how?

who?My best friend, Jamie

what?Took LSD

where?One night, out at Cheney Lake

when?She was 19, I think it was 1980

why?I never did understand what the hell happened. She freaked out; ended up drinking a can of Raid and spending 6 weeks in the psych ward of St. Francis hospital. She hasn’t been the same since.

how?

specifics

who?what?where?when?why?how?

details

““That was the last I remember of that night. The That was the last I remember of that night. The next morning, I woke up in my bed to find white next morning, I woke up in my bed to find white monitor stickers all over my stomach and a monitor stickers all over my stomach and a hospital bracelet on my wrist. At 2 a.m. on January hospital bracelet on my wrist. At 2 a.m. on January 1, I was checked into hospital X for overdosing on 1, I was checked into hospital X for overdosing on alcohol. I blew a .29 that night, or as the doctor alcohol. I blew a .29 that night, or as the doctor explained to my parents, if I would have gone to explained to my parents, if I would have gone to sleep that night without getting treatment, I would sleep that night without getting treatment, I would have died from overdosing.”have died from overdosing.”

the namesthe scenethe place

the date & timethe reasonsthe means

give readersthe details

and you reel them in!

spelling&

grammar

Spell Checker

Eye halve a spelling chequerIt came with my pea seaIt plainly marques four my revueMiss steaks eye kin knot sea.Eye strike a key and type a wordAnd weight four it two sayWeather eye am wrong oar writeIt shows me strait a weigh.As soon as a mist ache is maidIt nose bee fore two longAnd eye can put the error riteIts rare lea ever wrong.Eye have run this poem threw itI am shore your pleased two noIts letter perfect awl the weighMy chequer tolled me sew.

James Knisley at http://www.gcfl.net.

<tools><options>

<spelling & grammar>

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proofreading

please!

Ever been told to READ ALOUD?Ever been told to READ ALOUD?You should!You should!

there / their / they’re

a place / ownership / sub+verba place / ownership / sub+verb

then / than

next / comparingnext / comparing

you

adding “spice”

description

““My friends would always buy the My friends would always buy the greenest, fluffiest, most gorgeous greenest, fluffiest, most gorgeous looking marijuana with orange hairs all looking marijuana with orange hairs all over it.”over it.”

description

““After the two longest days of my life, it was finally Friday! I After the two longest days of my life, it was finally Friday! I put the mushrooms in my pocket and hopped into my car. put the mushrooms in my pocket and hopped into my car. What I didn’t know was that the license plate had expired. What I didn’t know was that the license plate had expired. After about two minutes of driving, I looked back and saw After about two minutes of driving, I looked back and saw flashing lights in the review. My heart sank. I was starting to flashing lights in the review. My heart sank. I was starting to shake and sweat began to bead on my forehead. I kept shake and sweat began to bead on my forehead. I kept telling myself to calm down, but the shaking wouldn’t stop.”telling myself to calm down, but the shaking wouldn’t stop.”

punctuation

commas &commas &semi-colonssemi-colons

that *%!$(^& commathat *%!$(^& comma

single/plural issues

““When they got her to the hospital, she When they got her to the hospital, she was in a coma. They called her mother was in a coma. They called her mother who got there as fast as they could.”who got there as fast as they could.”

keeping tense

pick one

Occasionally you may work in a flashback or Occasionally you may work in a flashback or a flash forward, but generally you will work in a flash forward, but generally you will work in either past or present tense.either past or present tense.

metaphor

““So we all scurry out of the house So we all scurry out of the house to our cars like cockroaches from to our cars like cockroaches from light.” light.”

ordering events

““After driving about 10 minutes, I knew After driving about 10 minutes, I knew I was close when I saw many of my I was close when I saw many of my friend’s cars parked on the street. friend’s cars parked on the street. Marching through the snow, and Marching through the snow, and parking the car, I was happy to get parking the car, I was happy to get inside the warm home and see many of inside the warm home and see many of my friends.”my friends.”

ordering events

““The following morning, I woke up The following morning, I woke up at about one o’clock in the at about one o’clock in the afternoon.”afternoon.”

technique

““I’m fuckedI’m fucked is the only thing is the only thing reoccurring in my head. … Hands reoccurring in my head. … Hands where I can see them,” he tells me where I can see them,” he tells me as I get out of the car. as I get out of the car. Holy shit! Holy shit! I’m getting arrested two weeks before I’m getting arrested two weeks before my eighteenth birthday.”my eighteenth birthday.”

parallelism

““Between Between the ridethe ride along with along with officers and officers and lookinglooking through files, through files, there was never a dull moment.”there was never a dull moment.”

on being profound

““Honestly I believe the root of his [drug] Honestly I believe the root of his [drug] problems came from when he lost his problems came from when he lost his arm down to about the elbow in an arm down to about the elbow in an accident at his job. … He feels he accident at his job. … He feels he cannot function unless he is high, for it cannot function unless he is high, for it helps him numb the pain he feels from helps him numb the pain he feels from the devastation of losing his arm.”the devastation of losing his arm.”

on being profound

““I did not get out of trouble because “God” I did not get out of trouble because “God” helped me; I got out of trouble because helped me; I got out of trouble because America’s judicial system is racially and America’s judicial system is racially and economically unfair. I was white and middle economically unfair. I was white and middle class, so I caught a break. If I was born a class, so I caught a break. If I was born a poor, black kid in the ghetto and got in that poor, black kid in the ghetto and got in that situation with the cops, I would have been situation with the cops, I would have been beaten until my face was pulp.”beaten until my face was pulp.”

on being profound

““For some reason, marijuana takes For some reason, marijuana takes longer to get out of a person’s system longer to get out of a person’s system than any of the other drugs. ... Since he than any of the other drugs. ... Since he could not risk getting caught smoking, could not risk getting caught smoking, he started doing other drugs more and he started doing other drugs more and more often. He got into drugs that would more often. He got into drugs that would not show up on drug tests.”not show up on drug tests.”

writing the analysis

This powerpoint will be available through This powerpoint will be available through our home page and you can download it our home page and you can download it and refer to it for your future work(s). and refer to it for your future work(s).

posting your papers

I’ll make a folder in the common Lackey-Webb I’ll make a folder in the common Lackey-Webb ANGEL site for you to post your works. This is ANGEL site for you to post your works. This is optional, but feel free to remove names and optional, but feel free to remove names and places (use John and Kalamazoo) – I think it places (use John and Kalamazoo) – I think it would be most valuable to one another to gain would be most valuable to one another to gain the perspectives of your classmates. While there the perspectives of your classmates. While there are over 50 of you, with over 50 different are over 50 of you, with over 50 different histories and lives, you still share some amazing histories and lives, you still share some amazing similarities and some profound moments in your similarities and some profound moments in your lives. We would all grow by reading one lives. We would all grow by reading one another's’ stories. another's’ stories. —OPTIONAL

writing the analysis

This powerpoint will be available through This powerpoint will be available through our home page and you can download it our home page and you can download it and refer to it for your future work(s). and refer to it for your future work(s).

credits

Ashley, Abby, Jackson, Joe, Ruba, Luis, Ashley, Abby, Jackson, Joe, Ruba, Luis,

Alonzo, Alex, Leanna, Luke, Kerry, Josh,Alonzo, Alex, Leanna, Luke, Kerry, Josh,

John, Daeik, Jeff, Ben, So Yean, Joe, Katey, John, Daeik, Jeff, Ben, So Yean, Joe, Katey,

Katelyn, Justin, Jeff, Josh, Jameka, Angela, Katelyn, Justin, Jeff, Josh, Jameka, Angela,

Tony, LavoughndaTony, Lavoughnda

© 2007© 2007