Tuesday, May 13th, 2014--noon

Greetings,

Just to re-cap what I reminded you about in class yesterday:

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the last day of class for the semester.

Please bring to class all your graded work and your grade sheet, filled out.

If you plan to submit a revision, the deadline for that is Friday, May 23rd.

You must place it in my mailbox in Calaveras 149.

And....very important! You must email me and inform me that you have placed work in my dept. mailbox.

Thursday, May 8th, 2014--7:30 pm

Greetings,

1..As you know, next week is our last week of classes. There is no final exam in this class.
On Monday, please come prepared with your oral presentation and the accompanying paper.

2.  On Wednesday, please come to class with all your graded work and  your grade sheet.

3.  If you are planning to continue to work on a revision you have already submitted at least once to me, OR if you are planning to revise out of class essay 3, the final due date for those is
Friday, May 23rd. If you plan on submitting the revision on Wednesday, no problem.

4.  After Wednesday, you must submit the revision in my dept. mailbox AND then email me to tell me it is there. The English Dept. mailroom is located in Calaveras.

5.  For those students who have not written and submitted one or more of the out of class essays, remember! Even though the paper has clearly earned a failing grade due to lateness, you STILL  need to write and submit all three out of class essays in order to pass the course. (see syllabus)

One more thing...
I know will probably be busy studying for finals this Monday night. But just in case  you are free...

I am giving a poetry reading with three other Sacramento poets.
Monday, May 12th
7:30 pm
Sacramento Poetry Center
1719 - 25th Street (between Q and R streets)
Sacramento

Sunday, April 27th, 2014--1 pm

Greetings,

A reminder to be sure to have viewed the film, House of Sand and Fog, by tomorrow. Also, be sure to bring any notes you jotted down while viewing the film AND of course, bring the novel as well.

See you tomorrow!

Friday, April 18th, 2014

Greetings,

have a most lovely weekend, and for those who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

I have been asked to give a poetry reading on Wednesday, May 7th at 2 pm at Solano Valley College.
I would very much like to attend. This means that there will be no class on the 7th. I believe I can fit my entire lecture regarding How to Critically Read an Essay on Monday, the 5th.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014-- 6 pm

Greetings,

A few things...

1. If you have not revised out of class essay 1, and plan to revise out of class essay 2, your first revision is due next Wednesday, April 23rd.  Follow the instructions on your syllabus about how to submit a revised essay.

2.  Remember to bring the copy of the prose poem that was read and distributed in class on Monday.  Please read it again and record your answers to the points I listed on the board. You will not be submitting these answers but you will be using them during the group work tomorrow.

3.  Gentle reminder to stay on course during these next few weeks. The semester really speeds up now. Do not forget about your oral presentation, too!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014--8 pm

Greetings,
I apologize for the late notice.
I am now in the bay area.  My father is having some serious complications with his pacemaker. I feel I need to stay here with my mother through tomorrow.
Again, I apologize for the late notice.
There will be no class tomorrow.

Monday, April 7th, 2014--8 pm

Greetings,

Below you will find two of the three handouts from today's class. I did not include the note taking sheet on character analysis. Below are:

1. out of class essay 3 assignment

2. suggested vocabulary for character analysis

A few more things....

1. please be sure to bring your copy of The Unwanted to class on Wednesday

2. there are a few students who have excessive absences. This class meets only twice a week, as you know, and not only do you take a chance of missing an in class assignment, but even more importantly, you miss instruction. I am not addressing the students who have had to be absent and who have contacted me about the absence. With that said, use your class contact sheet to obtain any notes you miss during your absence.  For example, everything you need to be aware of is not always found in the syllabus or on a handout.

OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #3

English 1A, Spring 2014 Professor C. Fraga

200 points possible

Rough Draft due (optional) no later than midnight on Wednesday, April 23. If you are submitting a hard copy instead of e-mailing a copy, the hard copy is due no later than the 23^rd in class.

Final Draft due Wednesday, April 30

Directions: You will note that there is one essay prompt and then two prompts that are short answers. Please submit them as three separate documents, all stapled together. Each must follow MLA format.

Essay Prompt

SELECT A ‘CHARACTER’ FROM THE MEMOIR, THE UNWANTED. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT CHARACTERISTICS ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THIS PERSON? YOUR ESSAY WILL DISCUSS AT LEAST THREE CHARACTERISTICS, AND FOR EVERY CHARACTER ASSERTION YOU MAKE ABOUT THIS PERSON, YOU MUST PROVIDE AT LEAST FOUR VERY SPECIFIC SUPPORTS FROM THE BOOK. THIS RESPONSE WILL BE EVALUATED ON YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE AN ASSERTION AND SUPPORT IT LOGICALLY AND ARTICULATELY. (125 POINTS)

Short Answer:

WHICH SCENE IN THE BOOK AFFECTED YOU MOST DEEPLY?  EXPLAIN HOW IT AFFECTED YOU AND WHY. (25 POINTS)

Short Answer:

THIS MEMOIR REFLECTS A WEALTH OF VARIOUS THEMES/TOPICS, INCLUDING OUR SEMESTER-LONG THEME OF HOME. SELECT ONE THEME THAT THE MEMOIR SUGGESTS AND OFFER EXAMPLES FROM THE BOOK TO SUPPORT YOUR ASSERTION. (50 POINTS)

 English 1A-----Suggested Vocabulary for Discussing Character

adaptable                                    daring                                           industrious                                  sensitive  

aggressive                                    deceitful                     insensitive                                    serious

aimless                       dependent                                   intelligent                   shallow

alert                                              determined                                  intolerant                   shrewd

ambitious                                     dishonest                                    jealous                        sincere

antagonistic                                 disloyal                      kind                                               sly

boastful                     disobedient                                 lazy                                               spiritual

bragging                     energetic                    loyal                                              sportsmanlike

brave                                            enthusiastic                                 mean                                             stubborn

capable                      envious                       mercenary                                    studious

careful                        extravagant                                  modest                       sympathetic

careless                      faultfinding                                  observant                                    sullen

cheerful                      fearless                      original                       tactful

clever                                            frank                                             patient                        temperate

commanding                                generous                    persistent                                    thorough

conceited                                     greedy                        petty                                             thoughtless

confident                   helpful                        practical                     thrifty

conscientious            honest                        presumptuous           tolerant

considerate                                 hopeful                      proud                                           truthful

cooperative                                 imaginative                                   punctual                     unfriendly

courageous                                  impatient                    purposeful                                   ungracious

courteous                                    impulsive                    reckless                      unjust

cowardly                    independent                                reliable                       unselfish

credulous                                     indifferent                                    rude                                              vain

cruel                                              indomitable                                 sensible                      wicked

Monday, March 24th, 2014--10:45 pm

Greetings,

Just a note to remind you that I will still accept a rough draft of out of class essay #2 during this spring break week.

If possible, please do not email later than this Friday.  It is best to send as a Word attachment.

Continue to enjoy the break and be safe.

Saturday, March 15, 2014--3:30 pm

Greetings,

Spring Break is in only one more week. The semester always begins to really move quickly about this time. Please stay as focused as possible and continue to manage your time and balance all of your academic work as best as you can. For this particular course, staying current with the syllabus and the blog is mandatory for success. :)

REMINDERS...
If you have not started reading the memoir, The Unwanted, I suggest that you get started as soon as possible. It must be completed by Wednesday, April 2nd.

Rough draft of out of class essay #2 (optional) is due no later than Friday, March 21st at midnight. If this creates huge problems for you, please see me.

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014--6:30 pm

Greetings,

A few reminders and other details...

1. If you are planning on revising out of class essay #1, the first revision is due no later than next Wednesday, March 19th. Please follow the instructions on the syllabus for submitting a revision.

2. Remember to bring your Rules of Thumb text to class on Monday for use during the Rules of Thumb Quiz 3.

3. If you have not already, please consider purchasing your 3 x 5 cards and your 4 x 6 cards as soon as possible. And obviously, you will also want to determine what your topic will be and begin your research NOW.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014--1 pm

Greetings,

Since class had to be cancelled on Monday, I am moving the Rules of Thumb quiz, scheduled for tomorrow, to next Monday.

HOWEVER! Please be sure to bring your Rules of Thumb text to class tomorrow! Thanks.

See you then.

PLEASE READ ASAP! Sunday, March 9, 2014--6:10 pm

Greetings,

I have been really trying to fight off a migraine since early afternoon. However, I have not been terribly successful.

Bottom line: I am canceling class tomorrow, Monday, March 10. I apologize for the such late notice. I am unfortunately susceptible to migraines and they usually descend about every few months or so.

See you Wednesday.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014--9 pm

Greetings,

Below you will find a copy of the Out of Class Essay #2 assignment, which was distributed and discussed in class today.  If you happened to miss class, you will want to contact another student to get some very pertinent notes.

Also, you will want to pick up a pack of 3 x 5 index cards and 4 x 6 index cards as soon as possible.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend. See you Monday!

Eng. 1A, Section 11, Spring 2014, Instructor:  C. Fraga

ASSIGNMENT:  OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #2

• Assigned: Wednesday, March 5
• Optional Rough Draft due, typed & dbl. spaced, no later than Friday, March 21, by midnight, via email as a  Word document.  You may, of course, submit it earlier, either a hard copy or via an attachment through email. If you are submitting ON Friday, the 21^st, you obviously will have to email it to me since we

do not hold class on Fridays.

NOTE: you are not required to submit bibliography cards, note cards, or a Works Cited page with your rough draft. You are also not required to include your in text citations in the rough draft. However, if you want feedback from me about the accuracy of your documentation, you may want to include the Works Cited page and/or in text citations.

•  Due:  Monday, April 7

You have approximately four and a half weeks to work on this essay. Your final draft should reflect this fact.

Please select one of the prompts below and write an interesting, informative, well

supported analysis response.

Requirements:

• Must be typed and double-spaced and have a title.
• Must follow MLA format
• Must be submitted exactly as discussed and explained in class on Wednesday, March 5. (refer to your notes at the end of this prompt.)
• This essay, unlike out of class essays 1 and 3, is worth 400 points. 200 points for content and organization and 200 points for MLA documentation.

Since the purpose of this course is to strengthen your exploratory, expository and analytical writing with an emphasis on utilizing research and reading skills…AND because the theme for this course is the significance of home…I offer you a selection of three different essay prompts that each require you to carefully and deeply examine the theme of home in a particular genre. It is my intention that you will be drawn to one of the three enough so that you are motivated and even excited to conduct your research and write the essay.

Prompt #1: 

For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in children’s picture books.  After perusing several picture books, you will select a minimum of six to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home, through both words and illustrations.  In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Prompt #2:

For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in song lyrics.  After perusing and studying many song lyrics, you will select a minimum of six songs to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home. 

In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Songs/Lyrics you may NOT analyze (please)! J:

“Home” (Chris Daughtry)

“Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

“Home” (Michael Buble)

“Can’t Take me Home” (Pink)

Prompt #3:

For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in three different films (OR at least three episodes from a television series).  You will discuss, analyze and review each film (or episode) for its success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home.  In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

************************************************************************

IN ORDER TO ADDRESS ANY OF THESE THREE PROMPTS FULLY AND ADEQUATELY, YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE AT LEAST 5 PAGES IN LENGTH (approximately)

Phrases you may NOT use in your title or anywhere in your essay. Doing so will lower the overall grade you earn for the essay:

·       There’s no place like home.

·       Home sweet home.

·       Home is where the heart is.

·       Home means different things to different people.

NOTES FROM CLASS DISCUSSION RE: THIS ASSIGNMENT:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2nd posting on Tuesday, March 4, 2014--6:30 pm

Greetings, again,

Good evening.

If you have a spare three minutes, take a view of this video. It is entertaining and quite applicable to both verbal AND written communication. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGAMd-tT6fQ

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014--5:45 pm

Greetings!

As was pointed out to me in class yesterday, there is an error in the syllabus. Below you will find a correction of that section of the syllabus. I have also made the correction on the original posting of the syllabus on the Sunday, January 26th blog entry. :)

SYLLABUS CORRECTION UPDATE!

Week Eight (3/17-3/21)

·      Read Chapter 8 in The House as Mirror of Self  (Mon.) Q & C #3 due today

·      Read Chapter 9 in The House as Mirror of Self (Wed.)

·      Group Work #3 (Wednesday)
    Optional: ROUGH DRAFT OF OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #2 DUE NO LATER THAN TODAY, FRIDAY, AT MIDNIGHT. DRAFT MUST BE E-MAILED TO ME AS A WORD DOCUMENT AND I WILL E-MAIL IT BACK TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTARY (Friday)

Week Nine (3/24-3/30)

SPRING BREAK—no classes—enjoy and be safe.

Week Ten:  (3/31-4/4 )

·      No class today. Campus-wide holiday. C. Chavez B/D (Monday)

·      The Unwanted MUST be read by today (Wednesday)

·      Discuss The Unwanted (Wednesday)

Saturday, March 1st, 2014--6:15 pm

Hello,

A few reminders and details.....

1..As you know, the second question & comment homework is due on Monday.
Remember, you will be writing a Q & C for Chapter 6 AND a separate Q & C for Chapter 7.

2.  Remember to bring your Rules of Thumb text on Monday. It is, as always, an open book quiz.

Have a good, safe weekend.

Thursday, February 20, 2014--5 pm

Greetings,

I wanted to share some information about a workshop that you may be interested in and find helpful.

TIME MANAGEMENT & STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOP

Monday, March 10th, 2 - 3 pm

Peer and Academic  Resource Center (PARC)

Lassen 2200, Room P

Even if you feel that you have time management under control, it may be useful to attend and pick up some possible new tips and ideas on budgeting time and utilizing effective study habits.

Have a wonderful weekend. See you on Monday.

Monday, February 17th, 2014--5:30 pm

Greetings,

Below you will find the handout I distributed in class today regarding how to view a documentary film and a narrative film.

Also, we are now in the 4th week of the semester and I am concerned about how many students are attending class unprepared for the class session. This class meets only twice a week and there is a lot of work AND the workload only becomes more intense as the semester progresses. My specific concern today was how many students admitted that they had not done the reading for today. EVEN if you had not done the reading, if you had brought your textbook, you could have attempted to address the quiz questions.  It is just common sense in the academic world that when a reading is due, the student brings that text/reading to class. Bottom line: you need to keep current with the syllabus and the blog.
************************

English 1A

Prof. Fraga

In preparation for viewing the second film for the semester

and for viewing a documentary next week.

Purpose:

Just as reading fiction, non-fiction and poetry can aid in the development of a discriminatory, critical mind—and lead to critical writing and analysis in ANY area or topic—the viewing of films can elicit the same result.

A narrative film is a work of fiction.

A documentary film is a form that purports to report on the world as it exists.  The documentary filmmaker uses various well-known techniques taken from the world of news reporting:

• reporting events as they happen,
• recording interviews with participants, and
• utilizing photographs and testimony of historical figures to portray past events.

Sometimes, the distinction between narrative and documentary has to be carefully drawn.

For example, occasionally actors are used to portray characters in historical documentaries such as Ken Burns’ Jazz, usually in voice-over.  On the other hand, narrative films will often borrow various documentary techniques:  Steve Soderberg in Traffic used hand-held cameras and a complicated interweaving of different stories to mimic a documentary “feel.”  Nevertheless, it is clear that Traffic is a narrative film, and Jazz is a documentary.

It is generally assumed that documentaries will not deliberately falsify a view of reality…however, it is true that inevitably the documentary will reflect the filmmaker’s point of view, resulting in some manipulation of the absolute truth.  The main way documentaries shape the story is through

• choosing the interview subjects,
• selecting certain shots and framing devices,
• and most importantly by editing the material to support their vision as filmmakers.

To be sure, the director of a documentary may often attempt to show a balanced point of view by posing questions regarding a problem or by advancing various solutions.

But often a documentary will abandon such an attempt and use powerful evidence to advance a certain ideological argument, as in the classic Harlan County, USA, about a miners’ strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, in 1973.  Here, the miners’ side in the strike is presented through emotional interviews, songs, meetings, and events on the picket line, while what little we see of the owners’ point of view is presented in a negative light.  This kind of documentary that presents an argument is called a rhetorical form of documentary.

In evaluating a documentary it is important to understand what kind we are judging and thus what the filmmaker’s objectives are: 

• Is the filmmaker trying to put forth his or her own point of view or attempting to show a balanced point of view? 
• What techniques are being used to reveal the point of view? 
• What methods are used to gather data? 
• What are the criteria for choosing the people to be interviewed? 
• What kind of shots are used to portray the subjects, and how does editing contribute to the ideological and emotional effect of the film?

THE NARRATIVE FILM—how to evaluate

In evaluating whether a film is “good” or not, it is important to consider a few main points that will aid in discussion and in writing a critical response.

1. Do the most important filmic elements such as photography, acting, editing and design support and complement each other?  Is this unified style supportive of a strong theme?  Does the film fit into a certain genre? Does it imaginatively add something to the traditions of that genre or does it merely copy them in a clichéd manner?
2. Do events flow naturally, and in this flow of action are there surprises and twists that engage an audience’s interest? Is there a strong climax and resolution?  If the structure is nonlinear, do these varied elements build to some powerful emotional and/or intellectual effect?  Does the dialogue seem appropriate to the style and environment of the film? If it is meant to be a realistic film, is the dialogue natural and spontaneous?
3. Do the characters and relationships seem specific and real?  Do we identify with their goals and problems?  Do the actors seem convincing?  Do the actors present well-observed character details?  Is there emotional truth in the playing?  Is the acting style appropriate for the specific film genre?
4. Finally, looking at the film as a WHOLE…Common sense issues are very relevant.  For example, does the film hold our interest throughout? Do we care about what happens on the screen?  After the film, does it have a powerful effect on us?  The answer to this last question separates the great films from the merely good ones.

Wednesday, Feb. 12th, 2014--10:20 pm

Hello!

Thanks to Courtney for the link to the film, Daughter from Danang, which you can access on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AU_VUe2HX0

Also!
A reminder to complete the mini "analysis" assignment with the childhood illustration that you have from another student. Please type and double space your response. A minimum of one paragraph, please. To recap, you will write about what YOU see in the drawing. What might you guess about this person's childhood?

Have a most wonderful, safe weekend. See you Monday!

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014--12 noon

Greetings,

Just a quick reminder to complete and bring the assignment I discussed yesterday in class:

Draw a picture of a scene from your childhood.
Do not put your name anywhere on the picture.

See you tomorrow!