Week 4: Introducing Essay 1

Introducing Essay 1 Let’s carefully read the Essay 1 Prompt together Highlight, make notes, and write down any questions you have about the essay assignment or requirements. Then, turn your prompt over and use the back to brainstorm an essay topic for at least 10 minutes. Don’t over think it! Write quickly. Freewrite, make idea clouds, just keep the ideas flowing.

Formatting in Academic Writing Use an accepted font. If you don’t know what fonts your teacher accepts, Times New Roman is almost always a safe choice Font size: Unless your professor says otherwise, always use size 12. Spacing: Always double space, unless you are told otherwise. Remove automatic formatting that adds extra spaces between paragraphs (each time you hit “enter”) [Show how to change] Margins: Always 1 inch on all sides, unless otherwise specified. [Show how to check margins]

Microsoft Word and the .doc format Microsoft Word is considered the standard word processing program, and most online class sites (like Moodle) will be set up to prefer this format. If you don’t have and can’t afford Microsoft Word, there are some options for you When you are ready to submit, click “Save As” instead of “Save” and choose .doc from the drop down menu. If your word processer does not allow this, you can download Open Office, which is a free alternative Microsoft Office AND will allow you to “Save As” .doc

Organizing Paragraphs: The Topic Sentence Your topic sentence introduces the main idea of your paragraph. A topic sentence has two parts: a topic an a controlling idea. Your topic is what the paragraph is about. Your controlling idea is the opinion or idea about the topic that the paragraph will explain.

Example Topic Sentences Let’s say that you were assigned to write an essay on Cell Phones and their impact on culture. There are many different ideas or opinions about cell phones that you could explore, so it’s important to pick just one per paragraph. You might write… Cell phones that can connect to the internet have changed the way people shop. Cell phones and texting should be banned during class time.

Supporting Your Topic Sentence When you have decided what your topic and your controlling idea will be, it is time to support your topic sentence. Primary support points are the major ideas that support your topic sentence. (They are usually general rather than specific.) Secondary support points are specific examples and details that back up your primary support.

Example Paragraph Outline Topic Sentence: Cell phones that can connect to the internet have changed the way people shop. Primary support 1: Able to check reviews online. Secondary support: Checked reviews for digital camera at Best Buy. Secondary support: Check reviews of new authors at amazon.com before buying at a bookstore Primary support 2: Able to compare prices at other stores while shopping. Compared prices on the new season of Burn Notice the first day it was out. Compared prices for new flash drive when I lost my old one. Primary support 3: Able to use coupons without ever printing them out. Used a 40% off coupon scanned off of my iPhone at World Market last week. Used an emailed coupon at a candle store last month.

Completed Paragraph Cell phones that can connect to the internet have changed the way people shop. First of all, customers can immediately check reviews online before making a decision. When I was shopping for a digital camera at Best Buy, I used an iPhone to see which brand had the most positive reviews. Also, when I buy a book by a new author at the bookstore, I sometimes check reviews of his or her books at amazon.com first. Second, customers can compare prices at other stores while they are out shopping. When the new Sherlock Holmes movie came out, I compared prices online and was surprised to find that Target had a better price than some online discount stores. I also compared prices using a cell phone when I lost my flash drive and had to buy a new one. Finally, customers are able to use in-store coupons without ever printing them out, which saves a lot of money, paper, and ink. Last week, I used a 40% off coupon scanned off of my room mate’s iPhone at Borders, and last month, I used a coupon that had been emailed to me at a candle store. In these ways, cell phones are making it easier for customers to find the best deals and make informed decisions.

Parallel: Structure of a Paragraph/Structure of an Essay Introduction: Main Thesis of the Essay Paragraph 1: Topic Sentence—supporting main thesis Support/Evidence/Examples Paragraph 2: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 4 and more: Conclusion: Reemphasize thesis and summarize contribution to the greater conversation on the topic/call to action or further thought.

Last Week’s Reading: Group Discussion “Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?” p.45-49 In Ali’s opinion, how did television enhance the image/stereotype of the “bad Arab”? How does this essay connect to our essay prompt?

Group Discussion: “Globalization vs Americanization” Do you agree with the author, Andrew Lam, when he states that it is hard for Americans to distinguish between Globalization and Americanization? Why do you think this is? What do you think the difference is?

Group Discussion: “100% Indian Hair” Many of the products you use and the fashions you wear originate in other cultures. How much thought have you given to this? When can this “borrowing” of a look or cultural symbol be problematic? How so? Can you think of an example besides the ones discussed in this essay? This essay brings up the especially problematic issue of one marginalized culture benefiting from the exploitation of another. Why should those outside both culture, especially those who belong to more powerful/mainstream cultural groups be very careful about thoughtlessly passing judgment in cases like these? Vocab Words: Problematic: containing an inherent problem or problems associated with the concept, also creating problems or issues. Marginalized: a more powerful group/person treating a concept, person, or group as insignificant, unimportant, or powerless.

Break Time! Please return in 20 minutes.

Including Detail and Personal Experience in Your Essay Include details and specific examples of the ideas you are talking about Camera Lens: Zoom In (Details) Zoom Out (Reflection, Context) If you choose to include personal experience and write about how pop culture has impacted YOUR identity, you will not simply be talking about the pop culture you love, but will discuss how your identity has been impacted by a particular aspect of pop culture, and how your personal experiences might shed light on certain realities in society.

Your Essay Needs to Include A focusing idea (or main point) that says something about how pop culture [a specific aspect of pop culture] can have an impact on identity [the specific culture you choose]. Details, Description and Specific Examples of the ideas, pop culture elements, subcultures, people, and events you are talking about Your Essay Might Also Include: Connections to outside texts that functions as “examples” of (or a contrast to) the observations you are making about your own life/identity/culture Personal Narrative Elements that illustrate how pop culture has had an impact on YOUR life.

Using Specific Details Wherever possible in your essay, use specific details instead of general ones. Refer to people who are important to the narrative by their names whenever possible. Refer to specific numbers, times, and places. Add facts and explanation to statements that might mean different things to different readers. Use examples to explain. Remember, you can draw from your experience. Make it unique to you.

Examples of Specific Details Not specific at all: “I eat some things some people I know consider weird.” “Things” is a very vague word. The same thing goes for “stuff” and “some.” Try to avoid these words in your essay. How could this sentence be improved?

Improved Sentence: Original Sentence: “I eat some things some people consider weird.” Improved: “I eat Sushi, Indian food, or Thai food at least once or twice a month, and some of my older relatives find this strange because it’s not what they are used to. My dad’s parents are both from the Midwest where the staples of a good dinner are steak and corn on the cob, and they are confused by the fact that their granddaughter loves raw fish, spicy curry, and slippery clear noodles.

A Word of Caution for Your Essay Part of being specific is having a specific topic. You can’t write this essay about ALL pop culture and the effect is has on ALL of America. You have to narrow it down to a specific TYPE of pop culture (the more specific the better) Example: Movies Disney Animated Movies The Disney Princess movies and the advertising/products connected to them and how they influence how young girls define what it means to be a girl.

Essay Development Questions from the Prompt Questions you must answer as a part of your essay development: What exactly is the connection you are claiming exists between pop culture and identity? Whose identities, specifically, are being influenced? Is this connection productive, destructive, or a little of both? What are some of the consequences, either good or bad, of culture influencing identity in this way?

Think, Pair, Share Find a Partner “Interview” each other about the upcoming essay. Ask your partner what ideas they are considering for topics, what aspect of pop culture and identity they will be focusing on Ask your partner what their main point/thesis might be Ask your partner what connections to outside sources they are thinking about making. Help each other brainstorm even more ideas. If we have time, switch partners. Repeat for more ideas and a stronger sense of your own plan.

Upcoming Essay Rough Draft Our Peer Review is next week. Your rough draft should be at least 2-3 full pages. Remember, topics for this paper are very flexible. You are writing about a specific aspect of pop culture in connection with the identity of a specific group of people (how that group defines themselves -OR- how other people see them) You can also make the essay a personal narrative—and focus on how an aspect of pop culture has influenced your own identity—how you define yourself and how you see the world around you.

Homework for Next Week Week 5 – Thursday, September 26 In Class: Post Modern Pop-Culture, and Peer Review Essay 1. Due: Rough Draft of Essay 1, print 4 copies for Peer Review. Reading MOA: “Modern Primitives” p. 160 and “Identity in a Virtual World” p.176” + Questions (this means choose one “Probing Content” question per reading, just like you did for your first homework assignment)