Introduction to the RESEARCH PAPER

Class, now is the time to post your research introduction.  We will treat this in the same way as the previous blogging assignment.  However, I want you to respond to two of your peers who you had not responded to in the last blog.  This will give you an opportunity to read other research ideas.  In your two responses to your peers, be sure to offer suggestions for improvement in the introduction.  The introduction should be about 400-600 words.  So, it should be thorough.  Remember, it is an introduction to a research argument.  Keep the thesis as the last sentence.  You may use one or two paragraphs for the introduction.  Good Luck everyone!  In your critique of one another - everything counts - mechanics too.  Remember - offer critiques to two other peers (none of the two from the last blog).

RESEARCH PROPOSAL: SUPPORT and OBJECTIONS

Your task for this blog is in a number of parts (so read carefully):

1.  Write your approved research thesis

2.  List three major support points (you may have more, but list the best three).

3.  List three objections that someone else may have toward your thesis.

Write a paragraph explaining why your support is the best you can do for this thesis.

Write a paragraph explaining why these objections are the most prominent for your thesis.

Finally, respond to TWO of your peers' postings.  Read their thesis, their support, and the proposed objections to their thesis.  This is where you can all help one another.  Once there have been two replies to a student, you should then choose someone else for your reply - this insures that everyone gets feedback to their thesis.  This blogging assignment is worth more than double the points:  your personal blog = 10 points; each peer feedback (two maximum) = 5 points each; Total blog = 20 points

Research! Research! Research!

Learning to research can be a daunting task.  With the use of the Internet, researchers must be wise in choosing credible sources.  It is also important to work with a variety of sources - from both the Internet and from hard copies of journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and anthologies.  It is the PROCESS of research that is important to know.  Once a writer has gathered all of his or her research, making a plan is next.  Students write a research proposal that will identify the major points of the research paper.  Once this has been accomplished, students will begin to see their papers unfold.  In this blog post, reveal your thesis (if it is already approved) or your intended topic.  Then explain how you are obtaining reliable research.  You should also discuss how you are able to determine what a credible source might be.  Finally, how are you enjoying the research process so far?  Are you watching those points add up? 

POE and HAWTHORNE: Psychological Puzzles?

After reading "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we are left with a sense of the supernatural which is characteristic of some literature born during the American Romantic period.  Make a comparison, using quotations from both of the short stories, of some of the elements of the supernatural and explain how they advance the meaning of the stories. Can the authors be considered psychological enigmas?  Explain.   Write between 1/2 page to 3/4 page; respond to two of your peers' posts by Friday at midnight.

Throughout the story Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving relies heavily on the use of description in regards to both nature and characters. There are many different scenes in which nature is described in great detail, and most of the characters have their features described carefully. In which ways is this reliance on nature important? What does it say about Rip Van Winkle and his attributes regarding the earthly world? What about the description of characters? What is it that Irving is saying about Rip's tendency to detail things? Is there a connection between how he views the world and how he interacts with it?

Steve Job's Graduation Speech at Stanford University 2005

The link for the video we were watching in class is here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded

In this blog, you are to simply watch the video of this great American.  You are then to make a response without much prompting from me.  It is your reaction that matters.  This is an informal writing so structure is not important.  What does this video evoke inside of you?  What is your response to Steve Job's basic philosophy of life?

The American Dream - the words of the men and women who helped shape an emerging nation

As we read and study the works of men and women who are in the midst of experiencing the American Dream, we encounter historical and literary figures who have helped to define the term, American Dream.  Choose Phillis Wheatley, who was born in Ghana, was stolen as a slave, which brought her to America and/or Thomas Jefferson of Virginia to show how the American Dream is identified through them and their experiences.  Be sure to post your own discussion (about one page) and remember to reply to your peers (about 1/2 page) according to the instructions on the blogging handout.

Aphorisms - Ben Franklin's advice to mankind

Class
Review Benjamin Franklin's "aphorisms"  -  focusing on your favorite.  Post the aphorism here and then write a one-paragraph paraphrase of the aphorism.  Finally, after you paraphrase, explain with your own insights, how this is particularly effective in today's world.

Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano had to survive brutal injustices at the hands of his captors and owners.  It wasn't until he was able to buy his freedom that he could experience the luxury of adventure.  Write down your memories of an incident in your life when you felt that one of your rights was being restricted or otherwise jeopardized.  What kind of action, if any, were you able to take to protect that right? What did you learn about yourself as a result of the incident?

Beginnings of American Literature

Most readers think of American Literature as starting with the Puritans; however, there was a tradition of oral literature passed on by Native Americans that has eventually found its place in literature anthologies. Before we actually begin our discussion on the Puritans, what do you suspect was the central theme or ideas that stimulated our original inhabitants to tell their stories and traditions?  Be sure to support you responses.