Homework Due Wednesday, February 2
Part One: Think about the thesis revision exercise from Monday’s in-class work. Write a thesis for your Beeman response. Based on that thesis, write a new response paper. You can use the materials (i.e. quotes, sentences, explanation, etc.) from your original response, but you should revise them so that they directly address the new thesis. Begin with your thesis and make sure that each point of your response directly addresses and supports your thesis (hint: you should, in your writing, specifically make that connection). You should have a total of three direct quotes (you can use the two from your previous response), complete with introductions of those quotes and explanations of those quotes. Your paper should be roughly 1.5 pages.
BEFORE YOU PRINT THE RESPONSE OUT, I want you to format your response according to MLA format. I have uploaded an MLA guideline in the box.net widget (you don’t need to print this out–you will get a copy in class on Wednesday). You can also get further information on MLA formatting at the Purdue OWL website. Format the paper to the best of your abilities (including in-text citations). You do NOT need to do a works cited page–we will cover this information at a later date. Once you believe that you have properly formatted your response, print it out. We will be reviewing/discussing MLA format in class on Wednesday, using these first attempts as a guide.
Part Two: Read Chapter 4: “Revising Essays for Style” (pages 130-161). Choose one section or quote from the chapter that you think is particularly useful/valuable/enlightening/interesting. Elaborate on that section/quote–Why did you choose it? How will you use this information to make you a better writer? You can write as much as you want, but I’m looking for at least 8-10 sentences.
Part Three: Look at the photos on pages 130 & 131. Which of these three dashing individuals has the best style? Tell me why (4-6 sentences).
English 102 Home Base 
Why did you assign this much homework if it’s due in one day? Can we have the weekend?
Hopefully it’s not taking too long! I try to write the homework assignments due Wednesday to take approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete. The first writing assignment only requires about half a page of ‘new’ writing plus a bit of revising based off what we discussed in class. Also, there is no need to worry if you don’t get the MLA format absolutely correct–that is the topic for class tomorrow. I just want you to give it your best shot. Don’t worry about writing a perfectly cohesive essay or anything like that. We are practicing a few things: developing a thesis, using direct quotes, explaining direct quotes, and using MLA format.
What I should have said for Part Two is that you should SKIM not read the chapter. Part Three is kind of just a joke that was meant to add humor not stress.
Overall, I want the homework assignments to be liberating rather than stressful. I want you to think but not worry. I want this to be a chance for you to practice your writing, communicating, and thinking in a safe environment. I apologize if this homework assignment happens to be a bit too much for a mid-week assignment, and I will keep that in mind as I write future assignments. I regret to say that I cannot change the due date because we are on a very tight schedule, and my desire is to get us to actually doing research and giving you as much time as possible to work on your research paper (which is a much larger percentage of your grade in this class).
Please do always let me know how long the homework assignments take–I ask around here and there to get an idea. But, again, my goal is 1-1.5 hours for due-Wednesday assignments, 1.5-2 hours for due-Monday assignments.
Oh alright. It just seems like a lot for one night It takes me around 3-4 hrs, and I know the exercises are suppose to help us out, but it’s overwhelming. I was thinking perhaps we could have more time to work on the essay if there was less hw? It’s hard to find the time for both 😦
Don’t get overwhelmed! And if you are feeling overwhelmed, please do come to office hours, set up an appointment with me, or pepper me with as many questions as you have via email. I know that what I ask you guys to do isn’t always easy–but I know that it’s not easy. I don’t expect you to have mastered these skills before walking into class because, well, then there would be no need for me to teach the class!
Also, this is the last “exercise” homework before the paper. The homework due Monday will be directly related to the first paper.
Thank you for the advice quick response.