Week four tues thurs

COMPOSITION IIWEEK FOUR

TUESDAYSEPTEMBER 13, 2016

REMINDER:QUIZ OVER FIRST HALF OF SLEEPY HOLLOW ON 9/15

MECHANICS TIP• Use transitional phrases to connect sentences and paragraphs and organize writing into a unified

whole

• Transitional words and phrases can help your reader understand the logic of your paper

• Always use a comma after a transitional phrase or word regardless of where it appears in the sentence

• Examples of transitional phrases:• furthermore• moreover• too• also• in the second place• again• in addition• even more• next• while• immediately• never• after• later, earlier

• always• when• soon• whenever• meanwhile• sometimes• in the meantime• during• afterward• nevertheless• nonetheless• after all• but• however

• though• Otherwise• therefore• consequently• accordingly• thus• hence• as a result

MECHANICS TIP (CONT.)

• Examples:

• Subsequently, the mayor agreed in 1995 to allow yo-yos in public places once more.

• This kind of person, for instance, would be more susceptible to illness.

• The research, so far, indicates that women tolerate the drug better than men.

• In contrast, the people in the urban areas seemed to thrive under these provisions.

• The scientist, however, doubted the proof.

IN-CLASS EXERCISE• Using your handout, find an appropriate transitional word or phrase to insert in the

blanks.

• _________________, the sales representative concluded her speech with a demonstration.

• _________________, the research proved that men cannot operate the machine as well as women.

• The media, ____________________, portrayed him as a raving lunatic instead of a visionary.

• The information showed, _______________________, that the fundamentals of the experiment were lacking. This, ________________, led us to understand our research on a whole new level.

• ____________________, this type of novel is not one to be read just once in a lifetime.

LITERATURE AND THE WRITING PROCESS

WEEK FOUR LECTURE

WHY LITERARY ANALYSIS?• Literary analysis- the practice of looking closely at small parts of a story or poem to

see how they affect the whole

• Focuses on how plot, character, setting, and more create meaning

• Writing about a literary work encourages us to become better readers because it requires a close examination of the elements and themes of a story

• Paying close attention to the details allows us to understand how a work conveys its intent and meaning

• Understanding and employing literary analysis is a method crucial to research

• Being able to identify tone, biases, psychological complexities, and themes can help you dissect many works for validation, inspiration, and further research

LITERATURE AS RESEARCH

• Is literature a type of research?

• Yes! Writing poems, novels, biographies, fictional stories, and all that good stuff is an exploration of our humanity

• A study that has been around since the beginning of civilization

• Literature can:

• validate many social customs and practices specific to a culture

• embody a moment in history

• Inspire further research into a subject

• Create commentaries on political injustices

USING ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

• Authors make specific choices for particular reasons

• Writing and responding to literature should be an effort to point out the authors choices and explain their significance

• Literary analysis varies by perspective

• You do not always have to value the author’s intentions with a work

• As long as you can use the text to defend your answer, you are correct!

ALLEGORY

• A narrative form in which the characters are representative of some larger humanistic trait (greed, vanity, bravery) and attempts to convey some larger lesson or meaning to life

• Examples of allegories:

• X-Men evils of prejudice

• Harry Potter dangers of seeking racial purity

• The Tortoise and the Hare wasting natural talent/ laziness

CHARACTER

• Representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities in a work of fiction

• Protagonist- the character the story revolves around

• Antagonist- a character that opposes the protagonist

• Minor character- provides support or illumination for the protagonist

• Characterization- The choices and author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations

IMAGERY• The author’s attempt to create

a mental picture in the mind of the reader

• Most immediate forms of imagery are visual

• Some imagery can evoke emotional sensations

• How would you recreate this scene using imagery?

PLOT

• The arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story

• Foreshadowing- When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story

• Suspense- the tension the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown

• Conflict- struggle between opposing forces

• Exposition- background information regarding the setting, characters, and plot

• Rising action- the process the story follows as it builds to a conflict

• Crisis- a significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end

• Resolution- the way the story turns out

POINT OF VIEW• Pertains to who tells the story and how it is told

• Narrator- the person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the story

• First-Person- narrator participates in action but has limited knowledge/vision

• Second person- narrator addresses the reader directly as though they are part of the story

• Third Person (Objective)- narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a dethatched observer)

• Omniscient- All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives)

SETTING• The place or location of the action

• Provides historical and cultural context for the characters

• Can symbolize the emotional state of characters

IN-CLASS ACTIVITY• Children’s literature can be a good place to begin with literary analysis. Generally,

children’s literature is easy to dissect and have broad, allegoric themes that create commentaries on morality, safety, and social expectation.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k25wlcFOglA

• Listen to this story and answer the following questions:

• How did Dr. Seuss employ imagery? How did this imagery influence the message of the story?

• Who was the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Who are the minor characters?

• Did any of the characters represent something bigger than their part?

• What was the setting? Did it change?

• Did Seuss employ foreshadowing? What was the crisis? The resolution?

• What was the allegory of this story?

• Is this story significant outside the study of literature?

PLANNING A LITERARY ARGUMENT

• Decide what you want to argue about

• An argumentative essay attempts to change the way readers think about something

• Topic must be one on which some people might disagree

• Topic should be narrow enough to debate within your page limit

• If your topic is too broad you cannot hope to discuss it in detail

• Your topic should be interesting

• Your ideas should be well supported

DEVELOPING AN ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS

• An argumentative thesis statement makes a claim about a topic and then justifies it with specific evidence

• lays the foundation for your entire argument

• Your thesis must make it clear to readers what position you are taking

• You must be able to support your thesis with evidence from the text

• What do I mean by claim?

• A claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation

EXAMPLE: ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS STATEMENT

• It would help our economy and inspire patriotism if everyone in the United States were required to serve one year in the military or do one year of community service work.

• The paper that follows should:• Support the claim that military and community service aid the economy

• Support the claim that military and community service inspire patriotism

• The character the Onceler represented small business owners and how they can be afflicted by capitalistic greed and lose site of their business’ original goals and intentions.

• What should the following paper be about?

BUILDING MAIN POINTS/ BODY

• Consider the literary evidence that support your claim

• Consider how your beliefs and values support the claim

• Consider how the beliefs and values of society affect your claim

• Build strong main points that relate to the text and the larger argument

• Understand your opinion on the matter

• Understand the opposition

USING EVIDENCE

• Use MLA format to cite quotes, paraphrases, and themes from a work

• All main points should be supported by textual evidence

• You can also use textual evidence to disprove the opposing argument

DUE:• Thursday September 15:

• Have read first half of Sleepy Hollow

• QUIZ over first half (REVIEW LITERARY TERMS)

• Be working on Mini Paper

• Tuesday September 20:

• Have finished Sleepy Hollow

• QUIZ over second half

• Have your mini paper for peer review• If you do not bring your mini paper you will be asked to leave class

• Journal due Sunday 9/18 by midnight!