E NGLISH 105: F RIDAY, M AY 27

A GENDA FOR THE DAY Discussion on the reading Review: Topic Sentences and Thesis Statements Lecture/Activity: Parallel Structure Lecture/Activity: Compare/Contrast and Outlines 12-12:50: 204: work on compare/contrast essay, meet with me regarding previous essays

“I S TAND H ERE I RONING ”

T OPIC S ENTENCE R EVIEW What is the purpose of the topic sentence? Supports the thesis by clearly stating a main point for discussion Identifies the main/central idea for a paragraph Controls the subject matter for the paragraph – the paragraph must support the topic sentence Practice: Complete the handout given to you. Underline the topic sentence and cross out any material that does not belong in the paragraph.

Quilt making has served as an important means of social, political, and artistic expression for women. In the nineteenth century, quilting circles provided one of the few opportunities for women to forge social bonds outside of their families. Once a week or more, they came together to sew as well as trade small talk, advice, and news. They used dyed cotton fabrics much like the fabrics quilters use today; surprisingly, quilters’ basic materials haven’t changed that much over the years. Sometimes the women joined their efforts in the support of a political cause, making quilts that would be raffled to raise money for temperance societies, hospitals for sick and wounded soldiers, and the fight against slavery. Quilt making also afforded women a means of artistic expression at a time when they had few other creative outlets. Within their socially acceptable roles as homemakers, many quilters subtly pushed back at the restrictions placed on them by experimenting with color, design, and technique.

T HESIS S TATEMENTS A good thesis states the writer’s clearly defined opinion on some subject A good thesis asserts one main idea A good thesis has something worthwhile to say A good thesis is limited to fit the assignment A good thesis is clearly stated in specific terms A good thesis is easily recognized as the main idea and is often located in the first or second paragraph Practice: Working with a partner, complete the two handouts on thesis statements

P ARALLEL S TRUCTURE Parallelism (parallel structure) means using the same grammatical structure in several words, phrases, or sentences to establish coherence. Leonardo was handsome, generous, clever, and ambidextrous Or Leonardo was handsome, generous, clever, and able to use either hand for most activities Or Leonardo was handsome, generous, clever, and he could use either hand for most activities

D ETECTING P ARALLELISM A lot of time, like we can “hear” sentence fragments, we can “hear” parallel structure. Leonardo’s life had three distinct periods: his childhood in Vinci, his apprenticeship in Florence, and _____ A) when he was an adult B) his being an adult and earning his own way C) his adulthood in various Italian cities Which of these three answers sounds the best to complete the sentence? They all mean the same thing, but one works best.

W HY DO WE USE PARALLEL STRUCTURE Coherence – it makes the paragraph sound more united and focused Clarity – it sounds more controlled

P RACTICE Complete the handouts provided. You may work with a partner. For more information on parallelism, see pages in the Green handbook, and in the textbook.

C LASS D ISCUSSION : D ESCRIBE THE PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES, AND DISCUSS THE EFFECTIVENESS All respect we may have had for politicians, preachers, lawyers, governors, presidents, senators, congressmen was utterly destroyed as we watched them temporizing and compromising over right and wrong, over legality and illegality, over constitutionality and unconstitutionality. -Eldrige Cleaver I learned three important things in college – to use a library, to memorize quickly and visually, to drop asleep at any time given a horizontal surface and fifteen minute. What I could not learn was to think creatively on schedule. -Agnes de Mille

C OMPARE AND C ONTRAST Comparing and Contrasting is a common way to evaluate the characteristics of two similar subjects. Compare: looking at the similiarities Contrast: looking at the differences Compare/Contrast is an important part of a lot of field assessments for various jobs/tasks As a manager for several apartment complexes while working on my master’s degree, I frequently had to compare/contrast various products and make a reccomendation to my boss about which to purchase for our properties

T WO FORMS OF ORGANIZATION Block: When you organize by subject (block), you address all of the characteristics of the first subject; then, you address all of the same characteristics of the second subject. For example: Apples are red, shiny and crunchy, but oranges are orange, dimpled and squishy. Point-by-point: When you organize by characteristic (point), you address each characteristic and alternate between subjects. For example: Apples are red, but oranges are orange; apples are shiny, but oranges are dimpled; and, apples are crunchy, but oranges are squishy.

O UTLINE S TRUCTURE A) apples are red A) apples are shiny A)apples are crunchy B) oranges are orange B) oranges are dimpled B) oranges are squishy A) apples are red B) oranges are orange A) apples are shiny B) oranges are dimpled A) apples are crunchy B) oranges are squishy BlockPoint-by-point

E FFECTIVE B RAINSTORMING FOR C/C Apples: red, hard, green, yellow, trees, seeds, sweet, sour, variety, crunchy, gala, granny smith, fuji, pie, caramel, no peel, core, stem, healthy, teacher, apple sauce Oranges: orange, soft, have to peel, dimply, juice, marmalade, sweet, pulp, vitamin C, slice, iguana, acidic, candy, chewy, sherbet, mandarin, jello, orange syrup ListsVenn Diagram

A CTIVITY We’re going to watch a short film and read the corresponding short story that was the basis for the story. In your peer response groups, brainstorm the points for writing a 3 paragraph compare/contrast essay and complete the outline worksheet provided. You must turn in a completed outline and your brainstorming notes