English 111: Communications

Lecture 26: Final Exam Review

2009-12-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

Today we'll go over the structure of the exam and we'll spend the class reviewing the content of the first two parts of the exam.

Note: The image is from gates of academe.

Update: Answers for the practise exam. Note that your answers might vary and still be correct. I know a few of you rephrased sentence structure and word choice. That's fine too. If you'd like to e-mail me your correction to be double-checked, please do send it along.

Remember too, my suggestion that in formal writing you include the apostrophe before 'phone. Let's not follow in Birmingham's footsteps where the queen's English is now the queens English! "England's second-largest city decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned." Read more about the story here.

Earth's mid-ocean ridge system forms the longest feature on the Earth's surface. The system winds more than 70,000 km through all the major ocean basins like the seam on a baseball. The ridges range from 1,000 to 4,000 km wide. In a few places, such as Iceland, the mid-ocean ridge rises above the surface.

Lecture 25: Effective Writing

2009-11-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

Today we'll review aspects of effective writing. We'll focus on sentence clarity, strong vocabulary and the active voice.

One of our in-class activities will require us to analyse Obama's inaugural speech. We'll look for specific linguistic devices such as:

Repetition
Active voice
Passive voice
Vocabulary
Pronouns

Note: Please remember to bring all texts to Thursday's class for exam review.

Lecture 24: Research and Proofreading

2009-11-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

Proofreading is checking copy for
• Accuracy: spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
• Impression: tense, tone, intent
• Professionalism: overall appearance, clarity, conciseness

Finding Common Errors

Proofreading can be much easier when you know what you are looking for. Although everyone will have different error patterns, the following are issues that come up for many writers. When proofreading your paper, be on the lookout for these errors. Always remember to make note of what errors you make frequently—this will help you proofread more efficiently in the future!

Spelling

Do NOT rely on your computer's spellcheck—it will not get everything!

Examine each word in the paper individually by reading carefully. Moving a pencil under each line of text helps you to see each word.

If necessary, check a dictionary to see that each word is spelled correctly.

Be especially careful of words that are typical spelling nightmares, like "ei/ie" words and homonyms like your/you're, to/too/two, and there/their/they're.

Left-out and doubled words

Reading the paper aloud (and slowly) can help you make sure you haven't missed or repeated any words.

Fragment Sentences

Make sure each sentence has a subject. In the following sentence, the subject is "students": The students looked at the OWL website.

Make sure each sentence has a complete verb. In the following sentence, "were" is required to make a complete verb; "trying" alone would be incomplete: They were trying to improve their writing skills.

See that each sentence has an independent clause; remember that a dependent clause cannot stand on its own. The following sentence is a dependent clause that would qualify as a fragment sentence: Which is why the students read all of the handouts carefully.

Run-on Sentences

Review each sentence to see whether it contains more than one independent clause.

If there is more than one independent clause, check to make sure the clauses are separated by the appropriate punctuation.

Sometimes, it is just as effective (or even more so) to simply break the sentence into separate sentences instead of including punctuation to separate the clauses.

Example run-on: I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports all I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.

Edited version: I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports, and all I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.

Another option: I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports. All I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.

Comma Splices

Look at the sentences that have commas.

Check to see if the sentence contains two main clauses.

If there are two main clauses, they should be connected with a comma and a conjunction like and, but, for, or, so, yet.

Another option is to take out the comma and insert a semicolon instead.

Example: I would like to write my paper about basketball, it's a topic I can talk about at length.

Edited version: I would like to write my paper about basketball, because it's a topic I can talk about at length.

Edited version, using a semicolon: I would like to write my paper about basketball; it's a topic I can talk about at length.

Subject/Verb Agreement

Find the subject of each sentence.

Find the verb that goes with the subject.

The subject and verb should match in number, meaning that if the subject is plural, the verb should be as well and vice versa.

Example: Students at the university level usually is very busy.

Edited version: Students at the university level usually are very busy.

Mixed construction

Read through your sentences carefully to make sure that they do not start with one sentence structure and shift to another. A sentence that does this is called a mixed construction.

Example: Since I have a lot of work to do is why I can't go out tonight.

Edited version: Since I have a lot of work to do, I can't go out tonight.

Parallelism

Look through your paper for series of items and make sure these items are in parallel form.

Example: Being a good friend involves good listening skills, to be considerate, and that you know how to have fun.

Edited version: Being a good friend involves knowing how to listen, being considerate, and having fun.

Pronoun Reference/Agreement

Skim your paper, stopping at each pronoun.

Search for the noun that the pronoun replaces.

If you can't find any noun, insert one beforehand or change the pronoun to a noun.

If you can find a noun, be sure it agrees in number and person with your pronoun.

Apostrophes

Skim your paper, stopping only at those words which end in "s." If the "s" is used to indicate possession, there should be an apostrophe, as in Mary's book.

Look over the contractions, like you're for you are, it's for it is, etc. Each of these should include an apostrophe.

Remember that apostrophes are not used to make words plural. When making a word plural, only an "s" is added, not an apostrophe and an "s."

Read more on proofreading here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/02/

Note: the image is an example of copyediting from an extract of the MLA style guide.

Lecture 23: Research Assignment Workshop

2009-11-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

We'll spend most of today's class working on our research assignments, focussing on strong academic analysis and evaluation for the annotated bibliographies.

Here is an overview of the active and passive voice:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/01/

Once you've read the above, complete the following quiz:

http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/active-passive.html

**A reminder to please fill in the following survey about our library session:**

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=es32WE7fj5aFrEf7UC9SmQ_3d_3d

Lecture 22: Research Assignment Workshop

2009-11-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today, as noted in our last class, we'll have time to complete the assignment from Tuesday (the "potty-mouth" annotation) and post it to the blog or hand in a hard copy.

What to include:
Summary:
Write 2-3 sentences about Smith’s essay.
Analysis:
Where is the author’s position/thesis statement? Write it in your own words.
Where are Smith’s reasons? Find them and number them.
What kind of evidence does Smith use as support for his position?
How does Smith arrange these reasons (what is the logic)? Write 1-2 sentences about the rationale you think Smith uses to choose and arrange the reasons.
Does Smith consider alternative views or opposing perspectives? Write a sentence about the effectiveness (or not!) of the placement.
Ethos/Evaluation:
How reliable is the author?
Who is he?
Would you trust his view?
Is Smith well informed? How do you know?
Does Smith tell how he is connected to the issue?

We'll then spend the remainder of the class working on our research assignments, focussing on strong academic analysis and evaluation for the annotated bibliographies.

*****Homework*****

For Tuesday (24th of November) please reach Chapter 22 in Handbook for Writers.

Lecture 21: Research and Annotation

2009-11-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

Outline:
Pre-Reading Activity
Short Video
Read “Potty-Mouthed and Proud of It” (413)
Group Work
Homework

*****Homework*****
Bring all texts, articles, laptops, dictionaries to next class (Thursday 19th November) to help you work on your Research Assignment

Post “Potty-Mouthed” Dictionary Entry to the class blog BEFORE Thursday 9:30am (one entry per group, note all group members).

Note: Image from Linux Journal.

Library Research Session: Feedback Required

2009-11-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

Following your library session, please fill in the following survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=es32WE7fj5aFrEf7UC9SmQ_3d_3d

Lecture 20: Thesis Statements

2009-11-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

Please add your thesis statement as a comment to this blog post. Remember, your thesis statement should pertain to your public discussion topic. If you'd like to choose a different topic, please let me know before you craft your thesis statement.

Since your thesis statements are drawn from your public discussion topics I'm asking you to imagine writing an "argumentative" essay. This type of essay usually:

"makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided."

*****Example Thesis Statement*****

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.

Read more about writing thesis statements at OWL and here and here.

Here is some interesting information on the "myths about thesis statements."

Note: Image from arghh_im_a_pirate on flickr.

Lecture 19: Library Research Session

2009-11-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

Today we're meeting in the library, room 327, for a session devoted to finding scholarly materials for your research projects.

Public Discussion Analysis

2009-11-04T18:26:00.001-08:00

Assignment: Public Discussion Analysis

Due: 10^th November, Start of Class

Details: In a one page analysis of your group’s topic and debate you will have four sections:

· Debate Resolution

· Background

· Arguments (both pro and con)

· Works Cited (follow MLA style and include all YouTube videos as well)

NOTE: Each member of the group must hand in their own analysis but the group may collaborate during the writing stage.

SAMPLE Public Discussion Analysis

Resolution: Resolved, that handguns should not be protected under the provisions of the Second

Amendment.

Background: The United States has the most liberal gun ownership policy in the world and the highest crime rates in the world also. The National Rifle Association has for years had a vice grip on lawmakers when even the slightest hint of a handgun control bill is introduced into Congress. One of their typical arguments is that unlimited handgun possession is a guaranteed right protected by the Second Amendment. The time has come for the Supreme Court to decide the issue once and for all: is the wording of the amendment made under conditions existing in the late 1770s when militias were part of our national defense applicable to the late 1990s when people are afraid for their lives because every petty thief or robber could easily be carrying a handgun? When South Carolina passed a law that regulated the sale of handguns experimentally for a three year period, there was 28% reduction in the number of homicides committed with handguns. The time has come for the courts to recognize that there have been abuses promulgated by the Second Amendment and that it is time for us to care more about protecting our personal lives than protecting an outmoded wording within the Second Amendment. It's time to keep to the intent of the Founding Fathers and change the wording accordingly.

Arguments: The Second Amendment should not apply to handguns—especially firearms used for illegal purposes. Because handguns are so easily concealed, they do not have any reasonable relationship to the preservation of the efficiency of a "well-regulated militia." In the Supreme Court case United States V.

Cruisckshank, it was determined that the Second Amendment only applied to the "bearing of arms for a

lawful purpose."

Interpreting the Second Amendment to apply to personally-owned handguns tends to validate the use of handguns for a variety of inappropriate behaviors. "Deadly at No Cost," in Time reports that 40% of handgun deaths were suicides, 26% were accidental deaths and that 10% were felony related (24). Over three-quarters of the remaining handgun killings were related to guns that were originally bought to protect a family but became weapons of destruction. Additionally, 65% of all homicides in the U.S. are "crimes of passion" in which the victim knows his or her killer; this is hardly an argument for a "well-regulated militia" (25).

With total protection of gun ownership afforded by the Second Amendment, it is impossible to keep guns out of the hands of the undesirable. Most provisions of the Brady Law dealing with registration have been disallowed by the courts. People with criminal records or a history of mental instability can still purchase lethal weapons. "Ready, Aim, Fire at our Youth," describes how handguns make it onto high school, junior high school and even elementary school campuses as the black market for guns caters to youth (40).

Works Cited:

South Carolina Law Review, 1975: 45. Print.

"Deadly at No Cost," Time Magazine, February 3, 1992: 24-25. Print

Congressional Quarterly, January, 1992: 218-232. Print

"Ready, Aim, Fire at our Youth," Newsweek, February 17, 1992: 40-44. Print

"One Gun Too Many," Los Angeles Times, September 1, 1995: 1. Print

Lecture 18: Public Discussions Part II

2009-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today the remaining groups shall present their topics and debate for the class.

Your public discussion analysis assignment is added to the blog for you to peruse. Please hand it in on Tuesday before we begin our library session. Remember to come straight to the library for our research session which will help with the research assignment due on the 1st of December. We will be meeting in the Instruction Lab (it is room 347).

Note: Your thesis statement is due on Thursday by 11:00am (as a comment on next Thursday's blog post). Remember, this is the thesis statement based on your public discussion topic. You will have the class period as a research session to work on your thesis statements. This work can be done in the library.

Lecture 17: Public Discussions Part I

2009-11-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today half of the class will present their topics and debate for the class.

The class and I shall assess each group based on five criteria as noted last class and here in this rubric.

Thank you to groups 2 and 5 who set great examples of how an argument is set up and developed. Good rebuttals too.

Groups 1, 3 and 4 be ready for Thursday.

Research Assignment

2009-10-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Assignment: Annotated Bibliography

Topic: Public Discussion Topic or Own Choice (but please discuss with me)

Particulars: Choose 4-6 “academic” resources that are highly relevant to your topic. Give full reference information for each source and thoroughly explain why each resource is appropriate and relevant to your topic. Additionally, include how each resource was found (include keywords used in any Google searching). Each annotated entry should contain three critical writing tasks: summary (an overview of the main points), analysis (logic and effectiveness of the argument) and evaluation (ethos, reliability of the author and argument).

Purpose: Learn basic methodologies of research, learn how to locate and evaluate information, learn how to find appropriate resources

Length: Each annotation should consist of at least one fully-formed paragraph with complete reference information in MLA style. Total length should be 2.5-4.5 pages.

DUE: 1st December 2009

EXAMPLE ANNOTATION

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York:

Anchor Books, 1995.

Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.
Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.

Notice the indentation of all the text except for the first line of the reference?

For more information and style guidelines, visit the Online Writing Centre: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

Lecture 16: Midterm - Focus on Summaries

2009-10-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

MIDTERM today. As you know we`ll be focussing on summary writing for the midterm.

Also, in preparation of next week's public discussions, see below for the rubric which the class (and I) shall use to assess each group.

Lecture 15: Summary Review and Practise

2009-10-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Outline:
Reading Review
Summary Preparation
Reading
Practise Summary
Homework

In Class Practise:

Write a well-formed paragraph summary of “Borderland”
Include at least two quotations and one paraphrase (refer to 182-190 in Handbook for Writers)
Be sure that this summary is in your own words
Post your own summary to the blog as a comment to Lecture 15 (this post).
Include a link to an image that helps summarise the main ideas.

*****HOMEWORK*****

Post your summary of “Borderland” to the blog.

Review Chapter 9 and all class work on summaries in preparation for the Midterm next class (29th October)

FINAL EXAM

2009-10-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

The final exam schedule has been finalised. Please note the different room:

ENGL-111-41 Communications Exam CAC 152 17-Dec-2009 9:00 - 12:00

Lecture 14: MLA Quiz and Introduction to Summaries

2009-10-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Outline:
MLA Quiz
Pre-Reading Activity
Summary Activity
Summary Activity
Homework

Basic Steps to Follow:
Look for a title
So, if that’s the title, what might you read about in the selection?
Read the first sentence
Read the last sentence: highlight similar words, that’s (usually) the main idea of the paragraph
That’s also (usually) the topic of the paragraph/selection

*****HOMEWORK*****
Read 9J-K (190-194) in Handbook for Writers

For participation, add either of your summary paragraphs (“Japan” or “Little Bear”) to the Lecture 14 blog post (this one).

If you'd like to read more about the summary process, have a look at these handouts.

Here is an sample essay and how one might summarise it.

Lecture 13: Student Pronoun Presentations

2009-10-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone who presented on Tuesday did an excellent job. Each group not only clearly explained information, but incorporated questions and quizzes to faciliate understanding. Kudos to Brandy, Andrea and Maikki who created a fun game. A special thank you to David for his musical interludes during "English Feud."

Thanks too to the class for participating in each presentation and noticing groups' typographical errors (those abhorrent apostrophes!).

Lecture 13: Student Presentations

2009-10-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Today each group will present their section of Chapter 23 (pronouns).

NOTE: The MLA quiz will be next class (Thursday). Come prepared for the short quiz (multiple choice). You will need to know how to reference texts (books, journals and web pages) and also be aware of how to properly quote to avoid plagiarism. Re-read the "Avoiding Plagiarism" article here.

Don't forget to hand in your essays. Essays should be stapled and follow appropriate MLA format.

Remember too, for your essays, I have requested that you each do a cover page rather than include your title etc... in the top left margin of your first page. Please do, however, include your surname and page number in the top right header of each page.

MLA Review (note, follow the link in the side-bar to more MLA formatting information)

In-Text Citations
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.

Short Quotations

To indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the text, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text. For example:

According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?
Mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash, /, at the end of each line of verse: (a space should precede and follow the slash)

Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).

Long Quotations

For quotations that are four or more lines of verse or prose: place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation by a half inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

For example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

Look here for a sample works cited page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/

Here is a sample student paper. Note the information in the top left header is what should appear on your cover page. Remember, interesting titles will grab your reader's attention.

Note: top image from Leeds Metropolitan University Library. Bart Simpson image from Welcome to the Underground blog.

Lecture 12: Pronoun Postcards

2009-10-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

Lecture 12: Pronouns

2009-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson Outline:
Pre-Writing Activity
Group Work
Group Teachings
Homework

For the pre-writing activity we'll do a basic review of pronouns. Following the review, students will have the opportunity to write a short piece using pronouns and strong sentence structure (remember active verbs and adjectives). Please remember to hand this exercise in so that I may post it to the class blog.

Group Presentations on Chapter 23: Pronouns

Group 1: 23 a, b, c

Tyson, Jason, Kyla, Michelle

Group 2: 23 d, e, f

Elise, Crysta, Tyler, Jina, Melissa V.

Group 3: 23 g, h, i
Christopher, Brandy, Maikki, Andrea

Group 4: 23 j, k, l, m

Kaytlynn, Jaron, Linda, David Rees

Group 5: 23 n, o, p
Colin, Marie, Laura, David Renderos

Group 6: 23 q, r, s
Glenn, Amanda, Aleisha, Mellissa W.

Objective: Become Experts of your Information

Assignment: Teach the Class your Sections

Teaching Methods: Presentation, Question Answer, Practise, Assessment of Understanding (quiz, task, activity etc...)
Length: 10 minutes
Group: Everyone in the group must participate both in the background preparation and in the teaching

Due: Tuesday 20th October

Remember you can bring in handouts for the class. Also, you can bring in a memory stick if you're using PowerPoint and we can plug it into the main computer. Remember too, it is fine to use other resources such as a YouTube video, to help illustrate your subject.

*****Homework*****

Review MLA Style for Tuesday’s Quiz: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ and 195 in Handbook for Writers.

Read 556-559 (end of section 38b), 576-578 (end of section 39e), and 581-582 (end of section 40b) in Handbook for Writers.

Come to class on Thursday ready to teach your pronoun information!

Note: Images from Widgit Symbols Development.

Lecture 11: Public Discussion Practise

2009-10-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

Outline:

Review Argument Basics
Choose Public Discussion Groups (4 per group)
Choose Public Discussion Topics
If Time Permits, Opportunity to Work on Public Discussions

Controversial?
Examples of Controversial Topics
What makes that topic controversial?
What do the terms pro and con mean?

Note, today we are debating issues as practise to our formal (graded) public discussions which will be presented on 3-5 November.

By the end of today's class:
Groups of 4 chosen and members noted
Each group to choose debate topic

DEBATE TOPICS AND GROUPS

Group 1 Members:
Brandy H.
Laura P.
Andrea M.
Michelle H.
Jaron N.

Group 1 Topic: Racism: Does it Still Exist?

Group 2 Members:
Crysta H.
Amanda V.
Melissa V.
Mellissa W.

Group 2 Topic: Capital Punishment

Group 3 Members:
Ty M.
Tyson B.
Dave R.
Glen T.

Group 3 Topic: Farmers' Hours? Why Do We Still Conform?

Group 4 Members:
Jina K.
Kaytlynn M.
Kyla H.
Christopher E.
Aleisha V.

Group 4 Topic: Genetic Engineering Animals

NOTE: Those of you who were not in today's class, please see below for your group. You can choose your topic and let me know in our next class (Thursday 15th of October).

Group 5 Members:
Elise H.
Maikki M.
David Renderos
Tracy T.
Linda W.

Group 5 Topic: Same Sex Adoption

Group 6 Members:
Colin P.
Marie Scarlett
Michelle T.
Jason C.

Group 6 Topic:

NB: The image of the two debaters is from Debate Video Blog here.

Lecture 10: Expository Essay Revision

2009-10-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today, as promised, the class will receive their draft expository essays back. We shall spend the lesson time reviewing the function of an expository essay and revising your essays.

The homework for next Tuesday:

Think of issues worth debating (for our public discussions)
Review readings: page 125-127 , Reader’s Choice
Read 167-177, 249-360 and 334-345 in Reader’s Choice

Lecture 9: Argument and Opinion

2009-10-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Outline:

Formulating an Opinion

Supporting Arguments

Read Persuasive Essay

(Choice between Two)

Reading Activity

Homework

Brainstorm the word "alliance"

Definition? (on the board)

Examples? (on the board)

How are alliances usually formed?

What actions or practices might be expected of a member

of an alliance?

How can alliances be beneficial?

How might alliances lead to conflict?

What level of commitment is expected when you belong

to an alliance?

While listening to the audio recording:

Record facts in point form to show evidence of the level of support, both in theory and in practice, that Canada provided to the war efforts of the First World War.

What did Canada do that showed support?

What did Canada do that indicated a lack of support?

Reverse Engineering Argument: Written to Oral

Choose Either “A Call to Arms” (392) or “Raise the Driving Age” (422)
Fill in the following chart (found in Handbook for Writers 350) with the information from one of the essays
I’ll checkit, then you post that information to the blog as a comment to “Lecture 9” (that's this blog post).

Title:

Topic:
Specific Purpose:
Thesis Statement:
Introduction
Body
Major Point 1 and Specific Supporting Examples (clear transition from point 1 to point 2)
Major Point 2 and Specific Supporting Examples (clear transition from point 2 to point 3)
Major Point 3 and Specific Supporting Examples
Conclusion

Lecture 8: In Defense of Graffiti Activity

2009-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

For the final segment of Thursday's class, students were asked to create a persuasive poster to support Alex Boyd's view in "In Defense of Graffiti." The assignment requirements included:

Here is the student work:

Lecture 8: Parallel Structure, Active Verbs, Repetition

2009-10-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

*****HOMEWORK*****

Please Read Chapter 18 in Handbook for Writers and Do Not Forget to Bring Reader's Choice to Class.

Assignment 3: Blog Comment 2 - Rhetorical Devices

2009-09-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

DUE: Before start of October 1st Class

Choose three of the following terms:

Exemplum Metonymy Rhetorical Question Epistrophe Chiasmus Anaphora Amplification Ellipsis Enthymeme Litotes Antithesis Eponym Hypophora Zeugma Climax Conduplicatio Syllepsis Conduplicatio Parallelism Epithet Epanalepsis Isocolon Assonance Aporia Hyperbole Polysyndeton Catachresis Appositive Cacophony Euphemism

Define each of your three rhetorical devices
Create two-three examples of each
Find a “literary” work (poem, essay, novella, film, graphic novel) that employs your three rhetorical devices. You might want to find three separate works, each employing ONE of the devices. Include the example and reference your source(s) (follow MLA style)
Analyse the effectiveness of the devices.

Add your comment to the end of this post.

NB: Image from Nannygoathill.

Lecture 7: Rhetoric, Devices and Speaking

2009-09-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

Outline
Introduction to Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech

Rhetorical Analysis Activity

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

Audio: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

*****HOMEWORK*****

BEFORE Next Class:
Blog Comment 2: Rhetorical Devices

Choose three of the following terms:

Exemplum Metonymy Rhetorical Question Epistrophe Chiasmus Anaphora Amplification Ellipsis Enthymeme Litotes Antithesis Eponym Hypophora Zeugma Climax Conduplicatio Syllepsis Conduplicatio Parallelism Epithet Epanalepsis Isocolon Assonance Aporia Hyperbole Polysyndeton Catachresis Appositive Cacophony Euphemism

Define each of your three rhetorical devices

Create two-three examples of each

Find a “literary” work (poem, essay, novella, film, graphic novel) that employs your three rhetorical devices. You might want to find three separate works, each employing ONE of the devices. Include the example and reference your source(s) (follow MLA style)

Analyse the effectiveness of the devices.

Lecture 6: Expository Essay Practise and Marking

2009-09-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today we'll be working on our expository essay drafts which will be due at the start of next class (Tuesday). We'll also have a chance to read a draft essay and mark it in a way similar to how I'll mark your essays.

The outline for today is as follows:

Sample Expository Essay Marking

Work on Essay Draft

Homework

That means we'll:

Read the sample essay

Mark it according to:

the assignment guidelines

general expository essay technique (handout)

parts of speech and sentence structure (Chapter 21 in Handbook for Writers)

***HOMEWORK***

Read Chapter 3 in Reader’s Choice (this will help with your essay)

Read Chapter 10 in Handbook for Writers (especially important if you’re including any references in your essay)

ESSAY DRAFT DUE NEXT CLASS: 29th SEPTEMBER 10%

Lecture 5: Parts of Speech and Expository Essay Workshop

2009-09-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Lecture 4: Introduction to Expository Essays

2009-09-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

For your review, I'll include the sample descriptive essay we looked at in class:

"A dictionary contains a definition of friendship somewhere in the F’s between the words “fear” and “Friday.” An encyclopedia supplies interesting facts on friendship. But all the definitions and facts do not convey what friendship is really all about. It cannot be understood through words or exaggerations. The only way to understand friendship is through experience. It is an experience that involves all the senses.

Friendship can be seen. It is seen in an old couple sitting in the park holding hands. It is the way they touch, a touch as light as a leaf floating in the autumn air, a touch so strong that years of living could not pull them apart. Friendship is seen in a child freely sharing the last cookie. It is the small arm over the shoulder of another as they walk on the playground. Seeing friendship is not casual. It is watching for subtlety, but friendship is there for eyes that can see.

Friendship can be heard. It is heard in the words of two friends who squeezed in lunch together on an extremely busy day. It is the way they talk to each other, not the words. Their tone is unique. Friendship can be heard by those willing to listen.

Friendship is felt in a touch. It is a pat on the back from a teammate, a high five between classes, the slimy, wet kiss from the family dog. It’s a touch that reassures that someone is there, someone who cares. The touch communicates more than words or gestures. It is instantly understood and speaks volumes beyond the point of contact, to the heart.

Friendship has a taste. It tastes like homemade bread, the ingredients all measured and planned, then carefully mixed and kneaded, then the quiet waiting as the dough rises. Hot from the oven, the bread tastes more than the sum of its ingredients. There is something else there, perhaps the thoughts of the baker as her hands knead the dough, or her patience as she waits for the dough to rise. Unseen and unmeasured, this is the ingredient that makes the difference. Warm, fresh from the oven with a little butter, the difference you taste is friendship.

Friendship has a smell. It smells like the slightly burnt cookies your brother made especially for you. It smells like your home when stepping into it after being away for a long time. It smells like a sandbox or a sweaty gym. Friendship has a variety of smells. Taken for granted at the moment, they define the memory of friendship.

Finally, more than the other senses, friendship is an experience of the heart. It is the language of the heart—a language without words, vowels, or consonants; a language that, whether seen, felt, heard, or tasted, is understood by the heart. Like air fills the lungs, friendship fills the heart, allowing us to experience the best life has to offer: a friend."

*****HOMEWORK*****

Read Chapter 21, section a-j in Handbook for Writers.
Please add the information from your essay outline for “Description of a place where you would like to spend eternity” to this blog post on Lecture 4 (remember to include your name).

Lecture 3: Introduction to Paragraphs

2009-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Although the syllabus says we are going to focus on essays today, it makes sense to tackle the essay building blocks first. So, today we are going to:

Reading Review
Introduction to Paragraphs
Paragraph Activity
Paragraph Activity
Homework

NOTE: For homework I will take photos of your group paragraphs so don't worry about that point. All you need to do is read Chapter 3 in Handbook.

Lecture 3: Expository Essay Assigned

2009-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

EXPOSITORY WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Writing Situation: The notion behind expository writing is that the writer attempts to expose or reveal information that the reader is not likely to know. Your primary goal, then, is to explain a concept. Your objective in this essay is to demonstrate your proficiency at using well-chosen examples of various types. You will be expected to refer to your lecture notes, your textbooks and the class blog as resources for your writing.

Assignment: As we write well when we write about what we know, this essay subject should be about something on which you are an expert. Explain your topic to your audience (instructor, fellow students) through a variety of clear, well chosen examples. There is no requirement in this essay to include references or other evidence in support of your topic. Choose any topic you like.

If your creative well is dry, consider one of these topics:

• Traveling can broaden one's outlook.

• A good book beats a bad vacation.

• Computer skills are essential for any job in the 21st century.

• Cats are smarter than many people.

• Sick people ought to stay home.

• People eat the strangest things.

• Generation gaps do not really exist.

Organising and Structuring your Essay:

1. Introductory Paragraph: Begin your expository essay by raising the audience’s interest in the introductory paragraph with an anecdotal example (or another hook to get your reader interested). While using anecdotes is not the only method of building an introductory paragraph, it is fundamentally easy and an effective strategy for connecting with your audience. In the very last sentence of your introductory paragraph, state your expository thesis. Usually expository thesis statements, like the sample topics above, are expressed in the form of an opinion/claim. Yours should be stated in the form of an opinion/claim as well.

Feel free to e-mail me or meet with me to discuss your expository thesis.

2. Main Body Section: • In the main body of your essay, you must use 3-4 general examples. (Depending on your topic, you might also think of these general examples as “reasons”.) Each of these 3-4 general examples must be developed in a separate paragraph. Within each of these 3-4 paragraphs, employ the various types of specific, supportive examples discussed both in your textbook and in the class lecture (especially the one on paragraphs).

• Apply some organising principle (chronological, ascending or descending importance)

• Be sure that you constantly keep your expository thesis statement in mind, as that is the concept or opinion that you are trying to explain and illustrate to your audience.

3. Concluding Paragraph: Your concluding paragraph should clearly bring the essay to a close. You can use another anecdotal example, or you may use any other way to emphasise your main point in the essay. Remember not to simply restate your thesis statement.

• Page length: Your essay must be between 2 ½ and 3 typed, double-spaced pages. Remember to title your essay uniquely. Don’t call it the “Expository Essay Assignment”.

• Audience: your instructor, other college and university students. If you use any niche terms or particularly unusual examples you will need to explain them.

• Writing Mode: primarily expository; optional analysis.

• Purpose: to practise the skill of supporting claims with examples; to inform and explain.

• Style Guidelines: Remember, your paper must follow the basic conventions of standard Canadian written English (correct mechanics, usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure etc…) and MLA style if you do any referencing.

DRAFT DUE: September 29th

FINAL DRAFT DUE: October 22nd

NOTE: Your essays, of course, are to explain rather than obfuscate like Calvin's.

Lecture 2: Reading Review and Quick Write Activity

2009-09-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the class working hard on the quick writes and peer editing.

Lecture 2: Introduction to the Writing Process

2009-09-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Today's outline consists of:

Blog questions?
Content Review of “My Canada” by Anita Rau Badami
Content Review of Chapter 1 (especially pages 4-13) in Handbook for Writers
Writing Process
Homework
Questions?

HOMEWORK:

For Next Class: Read Chapter 2 (especially pages 26-30, 34-48) in Handbook for Writers.

PARTICIPATION:
To add to your participation marks, please comment on someone else's response to what Canada means.

Click the jump link to read more about what we did in class today including examples of the writing process (drafting, revising) and an example spider map.

You might find this template for a spider map useful for your own pre-writing.

Course Text Update

2009-09-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that some students are having difficulty getting a copy of Reader's Choice. In the meantime, there is an online version of "My Canada" by Anita Rau Badami.

You can read it here: http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-english/thisis/publications/2000q2/437mycanada.htm

I have included the story here too. Just click the link below to continue reading.

EARLY ONE MORNING in June last year, my family and I travelled from Vancouver to Tofino, a small town on the western coast of Vancouver Island. We had come in search of whales, particularly the magnificent orca. If we were lucky, we might even get to see a whole pod of them.
When I was growing up in India, nothing had seemed more remote and exotic to me than these great mammals. I had seen pictures of them in geography texts and wildlife magazines, but the depictions were extremely unsatisfactory. The creatures were generally obscured by water or captured as a dim submarine shape by an underwater camera – sometimes there was merely a spout of water shooting upwards from a brief arc of grey that might well have been the shoulder of a wave. By the time I left India for Canada, the orca had assumed mythical proportions, and a huge desire had ballooned in me to see this whale in its natural habitat.
The trip to Tofino had been inspired by an advertisement for whale-watching tours in a Vancouver paper. "Let’s go this weekend," I had said to my husband and son. After several telephone calls to book a room in a hotel, we were on our way.
It was a grey morning when we left to catch the ferry to Victoria. But nothing could keep my hopes down; we were going to see those whales no matter what. The intensity of my longing, I was convinced, would keep the rain away from Tofino. The crossing to Victoria was rough and cold, and by the time we had driven across the island and reached the small coastal town, we could barely see the way through the rain to our hotel. I had encountered rain like this only in India during the monsoons and had come to expect nothing more in this country than the gentle drizzle that was so characteristic of Vancouver. This wild downpour, accompanied by the roar of thunder and the crackle of lightning, was a glimpse of a Canada that I had never seen before – the country had been doing a slow dance for me over the nine years that I had lived here, showing me tantalizing little bits of itself every now and then.
That first day, we were trapped inside our hotel room with nothing to do but gaze at the Pacific Ocean, which was hurling itself furiously at the beach. But the next morning, to our delight, was bright and sunny, and we rushed down to the jetty where the whale-watching tours began. "Too rough to go out in the open sea," said the tour operator regretfully. "I can take you on calmer waters between islands." A lone orca had been spotted grazing in those channels, and if we were lucky, we might catch a glimpse of it. We drifted in and out of dark green fingers of water whose otherwise still surface was now pocked by the rain that had started again. We saw a black bear at the edge of a stand of pines on a tiny island, an eagle gliding on currents of air against the grey sky, otters and stellar seals, but not a single whale. We started our journey home disappointed but determined to come back the next year.
And then it happened. On the ferry from Victoria, a cry went up from the crowd of people strolling the decks. There, cleaving the steely, restless ocean, was a large pod of orca whales – bulls, cows, calves – rolling and diving, sending up plumes of water. I had hoped to see one of these creatures, and here I was being treated to a whole family when I least expected it.
Looking for the Canada that has gently seeped into my bloodstream is like looking for those whales. I find her at unexpected moments: in the sudden kindness of a stranger’s smile; in the graceful flight of a hundred snow geese; or in the cascading, iridescent shimmer of the aurora borealis lighting up the midnight sky. Several years ago, a friend asked me what I thought of this land of vast, empty spaces, of mountains and trees and snow and water, where almost every person claims ancestry in another culture, another land, and where a hundred different histories mingle to create a new set of memories. I had said that Canada reminded me of a beautiful, enigmatic woman who looks down demurely most of the time, but then surprises the watcher with a sudden glance from a pair of mischievous eyes. A shy coquette, I said, pleased at having found the words to describe a country with which I was just beginning a relationship.
In those early stages, I tried to define Canada in terms of other places, as a series of negatives: not as colourful and noisy as India, not as old as China, not as brash and individualistic as the United States. I would read all the Canadian newspapers and magazines and watch all the Canadian television shows I could (including curling tournaments, even though I am not a sports enthusiast and couldn’t see the point of a game that involved a teapotlike object and a broom). I travelled as much as possible into the mountains; breathed the moist air of ancient forests that held secrets of an unknowable past; wandered over the weird, moonlike surface of the Badlands at Drumheller, Alta., marvelling at the skeletal remains of dinosaurs that had roamed there aeons ago; tried skiing and ice-skating and rock climbing, ending up with little more than sore muscles. The more I looked, the less I seemed to see Canada. Until that afternoon on the deck of the ferry, when, as I watched the whales floating in the ocean, it came to me: there was no point in trying to find one fixed image of this land. It would always be an accumulation of events and experiences, smells, sights and sounds. I was, after all, seeing it through so many different lenses: a writer’s, a woman’s, an immigrant’s, a lover’s, a mother’s. It was at that moment that I began to think of Canada without reference to any other country, to love it on its own terms for what it was, rather than what it wasn’t.
We came to Canada from India a little more than nine years ago. My husband had woken up one morning and decided that he wanted to reinvent himself. He was tired of his engineering degree and his job in a vast, faceless corporation. Our relatives were alarmed by this sudden decision. They couldn’t understand why we wanted to leave good jobs (I was a newspaper journalist) and comfortable lives for an uncertain future. And why Canada of all places, they wanted to know. Wasn’t that somewhere near the North Pole? Horribly cold? With bears and wild animals that mauled people to death?
By September 1990, my husband had arrived in Canada and was taking a master’s degree in environmental studies at the University of Calgary. By March of the next year, I had cleaned out our flat in the bustling metropolitan city of Bangalore, sold all our furniture and packed most of our other belongings in boxes and trunks to store in my parents-in-law’s home. No point taking everything with us – we would be back in a few years, I told myself and everybody else, resenting this move and quite certain that I would never want to live in a country that I knew basically as a vague band of land between the United States of America and the North Pole. At school we had learned a huge amount about Britain and Europe, and at university, American literature was one of the areas I had opted to study in addition to the standard menu of Shakespeare, the Renaissance poets, Victorian fiction and Indo-Anglian writing (works written in English by Indians). But I had studied almost nothing about Canada and had certainly never heard of Canlit.
I had once seen a picture in a geography book of a vast, flat prairie with a grain elevator rising from its heart. Another time, in an ancient issue of Reader’s Digest, I had read about a forest fire in the Rockies. The article was accompanied by a lurid picture of dark stands of pines licked by flames against a red, yellow and orange sky. These, and the photographs of the aurora borealis and of a grizzly bear, were the sum of my experience of Canada, a country that had hitherto existed only in the outer edges of my imagination – until I found myself in the Calgary airport in March 1991, dressed in nothing warmer than a mohair sweater and a pair of canvas sneakers. My husband, who had already lived in the city for six months and had survived an extremely frigid winter, had buoyantly assured me that spring had come to Calgary. It was deliciously warm, there was joy in the air, all the trees were in bud, and I would love it. My four-year-old son and I emerged from the nearly empty airport to be hit by a blast of freezing air. I could see nothing for a fewmoments as my eyes and nose had started to water with the cold. My lungs had panicked and seized up. I was wheezing like an old pair of bellows. It was -15 Celsius, and we had just arrived from a city where the temperature had been hovering at 47 Celsius in the shade. In the week that followed, the desire to go back from whence I’d come became ever stronger. I missed the noise, the bustle of people, the smells and the circuslike atmosphere of Indian streets. What was I doing in this barren city where the sky covered everything like blue glass, where I could hear my own footsteps echoing on an empty street, and where I was frequently the only passenger on a bus? I wanted to go home.
Two months later, the lilacs were in bloom, filling the air with their scent. There were daffodils thrusting up from the earth, followed by tulips and irises and hundreds of other flowers. The trees had burst into bloom, and I was looking at a different world. I had spent all my life in a country where the seasons merge into one another. This drama of death and regeneration was something I had never witnessed. I was instantly captivated. I would stay another year, I told myself, if for nothing other than to see the seasons change. Four years slipped by, and I was still in Canada. By now I had worked in a variety of places, including a china store, a book shop and a library. A few months after I’d arrived, I had signed up for a creative writing course at the University of Calgary and then began a master’s degree in English literature. I’d had several stories published, and I’d begun to love the crisp winter mornings, the sudden excitement of a chinook, which seems to melt the snow in minutes and peel veils of cloud away from the distant snowcapped mountains. Now, every time I stepped out of my house, I bumped into a friend or someone I knew. It was a wonderful feeling to know so many people in the city. All my fears about leaving my writing career in India, about forgetting how to write, seemed ridiculous. I had also found my métier in fiction writing and had finished the first draft of a novel.
In 1995, my first novel was accepted for publication, and we moved to Vancouver. Once again I was filled with that wretched feeling of being torn from all that was familiar and beloved, of leaving home, except this time, home was Calgary, and what I yearned for was long silent streets and canola fields shimmering yellow under an endless blue sky.
In the years since I arrived here I have travelled the length and breadth of this land and collected many different images of it. Now if somebody asks me what I think or feel about Canada, I tell of all the people and places, sights and events that have woven a pattern in my heart. I tell stories about Shinya and Mayo, who had come here from Japan and shared with us a passion for spicy eggplant curry and Charlie Chaplin. And Carole, who arrived like a Santa in the middle of our first spring with a bag full of toys for our son, just, she explained cheerfully, to make him feel at home. I talk about Serena and Mike, our neighbours, with whom we watched dozens of late-night movies after shared dinners and delicious fruit flans created by Mike. Or about Grant, who took us on a trip to Waterton Lakes National Park in southwestern Alberta, rowed us out to the middle of one of the many lakes and handed the paddles to my husband and me. "If you want to be Canadian," he declared, grinning, "you will have to learn to row a boat." And who, after watching us quarrel for 20 minutes, during which time we managed to describe tighter and tighter circles in the centre of the lake, decided that there were safer ways of becoming Canadian.
There were all those evenings with Suni and Ravi and Mayura and Ratna, celebrating Indian festivals just as winter was beginning to take hold, nudging away those last warm fall days, and the many times that they took care of me while I tried to juggle work and school and home.
My Canada, I tell anyone who asks, is the driver who made sure that I was on the last bus out of Calgary’s North Hill Centre when I was working the late shift there, even if it meant delaying the bus an extra 10 minutes. And the members of my creative writing group, who gave me their undiluted comments and prepared me for a career as a novelist. "When your first book is out there being trashed by the reviewers," they told me, "you’ll thank us for your thick skin." My Canada includes all those people who made me feel like I belonged.
To my album of memories I will add an enchanted night spent lying on a sloping field in Calgary with a group of friends to watch a meteor shower streaking silver lines across the midnight sky. I will tell all who ask about the time I stood on Alberta’s Athabasca Glacier surrounded by mountains eternally capped by snow, and drank crystalline water from a deep spring so ancient that time itself had no measure for it; of the moon full and golden, floating up over the mountains surrounding Lake Louise, and a lynx’s eyes flaring green at us before the creature snarled and vanished into the darkness; of the flood of people on Main Street, Vancouver, celebrating the Sikh festival Baisakhi; of Chinatown, where a beautiful woman in a small, dark shop sold me exquisite paper and a stamp with a character that, she told me, meant "good luck"; of writers’ festivals all over the country, where a medley of voices from many cultures was heard; and of a café in a remote Yukon town where I met a man who believed that he was the reincarnation of Elvis Presley.
I visited India recently, the second time that I had gone back since 1991. When it was time to leave, I realized with a small jolt that I felt none of the regret that I had experienced on the previous trip. The needle of my emotional compass had swung around and set itself in a different direction. While I still cherished the brilliant colours of India, I was also beginning to recognize and appreciate the subtle tints and textures of the Canadian fabric. And I knew that even though a part of me would always look with love towards the land of my birth, and deep inside I would for ever straddle two continents, two realities (the East and the West), my home was now here, in Canada.
Photography by Kate Wiiliams; illustration by Ninon/Link

Fall Term Withdrawal

2009-09-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

The last day to withdraw from Fall term courses without academic penalty is Friday the 6th of November.

Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course

2009-09-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome all ENGL 111 students! I hope your new academic year is off to a great start and I wish you all the best for the coming term.

Today we will go over a few introductory issues. I'll tell you a bit about:

the course itself
the assignment
plagiarism and how to avoid it
the syllabus
the course text books:

Handbook for Writers by Lynn Troyka, published by Simon and Schuster, 5^th Canadian edition

Reader’s Choice edited by Flachmann et al, published by Pearson/Prentice Hall, 6^th Canadian edition

Note there has been a change to my office location and telephone number.
The correct details are:
Centre for the Arts 207, 780-497-4418

My office hour for this class will be on Tuesdays from 10:50-11:50 (right after this class). If you'd like to make an appointment to meet at another time, feel free to e-mail me: laccettij @ macewan.ca

***FOR NEXT CLASS***

Read “My Canada” by Anita Rau Badami, 137-142 in Reader’s Choice.
Read Chapter 1 (especially 4-13) in Handbook for Writers.

Blog Post 1: “What Canada Means to Me.”
Due before start of next class.

Read more about the assignment here.

Assignment 1: Introductory Blog Comment

2009-09-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Go to our class blog. Find the post I've written called "Assignment 1: Introductory Blog Comment" (that's this one). Click on the comment link at the bottom of this post to leave your assignment response.

Be sure to include the title in your blog comment Lecture 1: What Canada Means to Me, First Name and Surname.

In your comment address these ideas:
What does Canada mean to you? How is Canada or Alberta or Edmonton different from other cities, countries or places you have lived or visited. Were you born in Canada? Were your parents or guardians born in Canada? How would you describe Edmonton to someone who has never visited? Is there anything unique about Edmonton or Alberta? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Remember, in your blog post, to be aware of your grammar, punctuation, tone and diction (for more information on tone and diction, read page 7-12 in the Handbook for Writers). Although this is a reflective exercise, you’re writing for an academic purpose so keep your key audience (instructor and fellow students) in mind.