Agenda 2/13 Agenda Goals Homework Revise Thesis Statements Review Quiz Refine and revise Homework MLA Outline to Turnitin.com 2/15

Passive Voice About as good for your writing as passive aggressive behavior will be for your relationships. source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Discuss: What do you think PASSIVE VOICE is Discuss: What do you think PASSIVE VOICE is? Why might we need to talk about it now?

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. Who is doing the action in this sentence? The chicken is the one doing the action in this sentence, but the chicken is not in the spot where you would expect the grammatical subject to be. Instead, the road is the grammatical subject. The more familiar phrasing (why did the chicken cross the road?) puts the chicken (the actor/doer) in the subject position, the position of doing something—the chicken (the actor/doer) crosses the road (the object). Active: Why did the chicken cross the road? Passive: Why was the road crossed by the chicken?

Spotting Passive Constructions Look for a form of "to be" (is, are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being) followed by a past participle. The past participle is a form of the verb that typically, but not always, ends in "-ed." Some exceptions to the "-ed" rule are words like "paid" (not "payed") and "driven." (not "drived"). For example: The nation has been damaged by the totalitarian theocracy. The totalitarian theocracy damaged the city.

Discuss: Make these passive sentences active Discuss: Make these passive sentences active. You may need to add information to the sentence. 1. Minorities were marginalized. 2. African Americans were discriminated against. 3. Women were not treated as equals.

Why do we care about Passive Voice? The primary reason why your instructors frown on the passive voice is that they often have to guess what you mean. Like many passive constructions, this sentence lacks explicit reference to the actor—it doesn't tell the reader who or what took Offred’s passport. The active voice clarifies things: When her passport was taken, Offred had to escape quickly. After border guards took Offred’s passport, she had to escape quickly.

Compare the following two examples to see if you agree. (passive) A new system of laws controlling reproduction was set up. (By whom?) (active) The Republic of Gilead set up a new system of laws controlling reproduction. Avoid Passive voice to assure you’ve specified who or what is doing the action in your sentence.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the female characters are portrayed with little to no depth, whose entire purpose is to invoke an emotion or action from a male character, reflecting the standing of women at the time Mary Shelley wrote the book.

Discuss how to fix each claim: In Macbeth, the gender roles were reversed. The message being conveyed in this quote is that Lady Macbeth will do anything for power. Imagery of hands is also used to show that Lady Macbeth seeks to rid herself of guilt. The part of him full of guilt is shown when he hallucinates Banquo’s ghost. From the early scenes, blood imagery is shown to the reader. At the beginning of Macbeth, deception is used to gain the trust of King Duncan. The decisions Lady Macbeth and her husband make often are lamented.

Find the passive construction and revise. Frankenstein lost two years of his life as portrayed by the change of seasons. After the murder, Victor is proved innocent. Her absence indicates the lack of parental guidance being provided. Their views are pushed on the women. The submissive role being expressed shows his misogyny.

Add clarity with a dependent clause Some useful words for claims: since, while, although, even though, because, when, and until. Revise: In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the relationship between Victor and his monster to portray the responsibility of a creator, revealing Victor's accountability for the actions of his creation, the monster. Since Victor and his monster _________, Shelley portrays the responsibility of a creator to be ___________, revealing _______.

Agenda 2/14 Agenda Goals Homework Creating Claims Outline Create strong claims Homework MLA Outline to Turnitin.com 2/15 (10pm)

The cornerstone of a strong analysis Why do we need claims?

Discuss: Why do we need a strong claim to write a good analysis paper?

Discuss: Look at the “what” portion of your thesis Discuss: Look at the “what” portion of your thesis. Discuss who has a great “what” and why it’s great. Share with the class

Compare the following two examples to see if you agree. (summary) The monster is often introduced to Victor by a raging thunderstorm, violent rain, or in an alarming flash of lightning. (What does this do?) (Claim) As though recognized by nature as something to be feared, the monster’s presence is often introduced to Victor by a raging thunderstorm, violent rain, or in an alarming flash of lightning. The monster is often introduced to Victor by a raging thunderstorm, violent rain, or in an alarming flash of lightning to communicate that he is something to be feared. Avoid summary in your topic sentences (BTS). If it is obvious try thinking of “since” or “by doing this,____ happens” (using different diction of course).

More claims! Victor has a happy childhood that fosters in his heart love and virtue, but his outsized ambition causes his respectable character to decay. Although Victor’s monster does not enjoy the happy upbringing Victor experiences, he shows a predilection for human kindness. Victor does acknowledge he has a duty toward his creation, which is why he initially agrees to create a mate for him and thus create the potential for the monster’s happiness. Since the monster recognizes the duties of his creator and demands them of Victor, the monster points out the underlying failure of the scientific world.