Welcome to English 101

To Do List for Today: Go over syllabus Discuss turnitin accounts and course website Prepare for success in Eng 101 Discuss the questions “What is rhetoric?” and “What is pop culture?” Review the writing process Branstorming and freewriting practice Write diagnostic essay

Syllabus Highlights The best way to reach me is my or faculty mailbox. Assignments are due on the date they are listed under on the syllabus. Please note policies on cell phones, absences, and rough drafts. The syllabus is available on the class website. You are responsible for knowing and understanding the content of the syllabus.

Course Resources We have a class website that is accessible by going to my LAMC faculty page and clicking on our course link on the left hand side of my page. I will be posting copies of assignment sheets and handouts that I pass out on the website. If you lose a handout or your syllabus, it is probably posted there. (Note: This does not apply to copies of readings.) You will be using our course turnitin.com site to upload all paper drafts and do peer review.

What can I do to be successful? Come to class Do the work Strive for excellence In order to help you meet these goals… – Have a partner in the class who will take notes/get copies of assignment sheets for you (assignment sheets will also be posted on the class website) – Come to see me during my office hours. – Come to class prepared to participate. – Indulge in curiosity. Question your assumptions.

What should I bring to each class meeting? Yourself. Show up ready to engage with the material we are learning every class meeting. Your text book. Even if there is no assigned reading, I may ask you to refer to the book during a lecture or activity. The most current draft of the current essay. Paper and pens/pencils. We will be doing frequent in class assignments.

What will our class meetings look like? A regular day might include… Discussion of readings that are listed as due on the syllabus for that day. This means that if it’s listed on the syllabus, you should come to class prepared to offer your ideas about it. Lecture on a new writing technique and time to practice it. Lecture on a writing technique and time to incorporate it into an essay draft. (If I tell you to bring a draft, this is why. If you don’t bring a draft, you won’t get the time to work on it in class using what you learned.) An in-class writing addressing a question about a reading or a set of readings we have already done. A quiz on the reading that is listed as due on the syllabus for that day.

Student Data Sheet On the back of your student data sheet, answer the following question: “Why are you here at LA Mission College?” What experiences have led you to this place? What are the goals you hope this college will help you to accomplish? I have two rules for in class writing, and they are: – Write the whole time. At no point during an in class writing situation should you be finished. There is always something you can do to improve your work. – Don’t talk while other people are trying to write.

What is “Rhetoric”? Definition of RHETORIC (from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) 1: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient timescomposition b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion 2a : skill in the effective use of speech b : a type or mode of language or speech; also : insincere or grandiloquent languagemodegrandiloquent

Who Uses Rhetoric? The short answer is, everyone. If you have ever convinced someone to come around to your point of view, written a facebook post, or written a clever tweet on twitter, you have used rhetoric effectively. Rhetoric is simply the study of how to communicate effectively and persuasively. When I talk about “rhetorical choices,” I am talking about the choices that a writer makes in order to fulfill the purpose of the piece of writing and communicate effectively.

The Writing Process Prewrite – Choose a topic, brainstorm, freewrite, outline. If you are writing a research paper, then this is where you being to find sources. Draft – Put your ideas together in a first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but this is a first try. Revise – It’s time to see your writing from a new perspective. Seek advice from peers, tutors, and instructors. Put revision strategies we learn in class to work. Edit – Check for grammar, spelling, word choice, and clarity. Read your essay aloud to yourself. Publish – Check your format, make sure your paper looks the way you want it to on the screen, then print/upload.

What is “culture”? cul·ture noun : the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time The art of a culture is ALL of that culture’s methods of creative expression. What are some of the ways people express themselves creatively in the culture of early 21 st century America?

What is “Pop Culture”? One possible definition is in the introduction to our textbook Pop Perspectives, where pop culture is defined as “the common images, traditions, customs, and knowledge shared by large groups of people” (5). What this means: Pop culture is short for “popular culture.” This means it has a broad appeal. (A large cross section of society relates to it.) Pop culture is sometimes defined in opposition to “high culture” (which is a label I’m not fond of). “High culture” is thought to be more accessible to the educated/elite, while “popular” cultures is thought to be the art and creative expression of the “masses.”

Group List of Pop Culture What are some specific examples of pop culture you we can come up with as a group? Again, we’re talking about TV, Movies, music, books (yes, comic books count), fashion icons, artists, and brands that have a broad appeal.

Some Other Features of Pop Culture… Pop culture is dynamic. This means it is constantly changing and in motion. This is always been true, but the speed at which pop culture shifts has increased as mobile internet technology and social media have become more and more popular. Pop culture is not monolithic. This means that while we may talk about pop culture as a whole in order to understand it, the individual pieces that make up pop culture are diverse, and sometimes contradictory.

Brainstorming Brainstorming is a writing activity that asks you to write down ideas quickly, in short bursts without worrying about correctness. – You might use an idea web – You might make lists of phrases/ideas as they come to you. We are going to brainstorm as a class about the idea of “success,” and later you will brainstorm on your own about a different topic.

Writing as “Unpacking the Box” One way to think of writing is as the process of unpacking a box that is full of objects. Each sentence is a box that contains other sentences. You just have to look carefully to find them. Using our brainstorming as a class, we are going to write three sentences and then “unpack the box” in order to find more sentences.

What to do with brainstorming once you have it… Identify words/concepts that are related. Do you notice any patterns? Record what you notice on your brainstorming sheet. Does one set of ideas stand out to you? Mark it. Why does it stand out? Which of the ideas you brainstormed seems like the “box” with the most in it? (Remember the metaphor of writing as unpacking a box?) That is the one you probably want to write about, as long as it fits your topic.

Freewriting Freewriting is “stream of consciousness” writing about a topic. While you freewrite, keep your pen or pencil moving and do not worry about unity, coherence, or correctness. Having identified your favorite ideas from the brainstorming, I am going to ask you to freewrite about the topic for a specified period of time. If you get stuck, choose a phrase like “I don’t know what to write,” and write that over and over again. Your brain will eventually get bored and give you something else to say.

Individual Brainstorming/Freewriting Brainstorm, using an idea web or some other brainstorming technique, about the following topic: “My relationship with pop culture.” When I call time, you should stop brainstorming, identify groups of related ideas in your brainstorming, and begin to freewrite about those ideas.

Characteristics of an Essay Has a thesis statement – a claim the entire essay works to support Has paragraphs that support the thesis. – Each paragraph covers one point of support for the thesis. – Each point of support (these are your reasons that the thesis is correct) is logical and explained thoroughly. Uses an appropriate tone and style for the intended audience. Uses the tools of writing to convey the author’s message clearly and memorably.

Using Brainstorming to Draft a Short In-Class Essay Look back at your freewriting and write a brief in- class essay draft where you make a claim about the topic we discussed earlier: “My relationship with pop culture.” Your thesis will be a statement about the topic, and your support will require you to think about questions like this: Why do you have the relationship with pop culture that you do? Has this relationship enhanced your life? What events and circumstances have led you to this relationship?