Composition 152 McHenry County College Instructor: Mark Andel Week One

Course Introduction Biography/Background Notes Syllabus Overview TEXT: Research Papers: A Guide and Workbook (ed. Arkin and Macheski) Folders (Portfolios) For class handouts

Course Introduction Syllabus (Overview) – “Angel” Expectations Providing “Tools” to become better writers Attendance (points) Handouts (portfolio folder) “Writer’s Workshop” method – “Here to assist”

Course Introduction Goal Cards – What do you expect and need to get out of this class? What career path are you on? How can having excellent writing and research skills improve your job? (Ten minutes)

Things to Consider Purpose Audience Form

What Is Research? Chapter One, p. 1 “Research is Much Like Solving a Mystery” We do research all the time.... Deciding on what kind of MP3 player to get Deciding what kind of jeans to buy Deciding where to go for the best pizza Deciding what movie to see Deciding how best to diaper a baby

Informal Poll What kind of music do you like? Pop Hip-Hop Rap Classic Rock and Roll Heavy Metal Country Rhythm and Blues Classical Blues

Informal Poll What do we do with this information? Separate by demographics Who might be interested in this information? Music producers, artists, reporters, analysts and “trend spotters” A “sought-after” demographic

Creating a “Research Journal” Notebook or piece of paper Keep notes as you read – ask questions Make “Annotations” in text Ask critical questions – involve yourself actively in the reading.... Arrive at “answers” or a feel for what you have read – form an argument

Lizzie Borden Research Journal Research Papers, Text. P. 1, p. 3 Read the facts of the case Take notes as you read Visit a web site regarding Lizzie Borden feature=related feature=related Write down a curious “factoid” you came across....

Lizzie Borden Research Journal Consider this letter....

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks. And when she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.

Little Willie William with a thirst for gore, Nailed the baby to the door. Mother said, with humor quaint: "Careful, Will, don't mar the paint." - Harry Graham

Little Willie Little Willie mean as hell, Threw his sister in the well! Said his mother when drawing water, “Sure is hard to raise a daughter." - Harry Graham

Lizzie Borden Mystery Share your findings.... Finally, the question is, what did Mr. Borden think of Lizzie? It would be natural for him to think of his youngest daughter as his "little girl" and treat her as the baby, but was there something else to their relationship? When his mutilated corpse was found, Lizzie's graduation ring was sill worn around his little finger. This happened several months after he beheaded all of Lizzie's pigeons in their barn -- the same barn in which Lizzie supposedly ate pears while his murder took place. Whatever Lizzie Borden was to all these people, she remains a cipher, the empty center to perhaps the most perplexing crime in American history.

Lizzie Borden Mystery Share your findings.... Old Andrew grew up poor and made his own wealth in his own way. According to one Fall River legend, "When he was an undertaker, he cut the feet off the corpses so that he could cram them into undersized coffins that he got cheap (Lincoln, 35)."

Lizzie Borden Mystery Share your findings.... Lizzie Borden had company and my aunt had a tabby cat and the cat was trained so that it would touch the latch -- you know, it was [sic] latches in those days -- she'd touch the latch and the door would open. So the cat went in where Lizzie was entertaining and she took it out and shut the door again, and came back so this is what she told Aunt Abby and Abby told my mother; Lizzie Borden finally excused herself and went downstairs -- took the cat downstairs -- and put the carcass on the chopping block and chopped its head off. My aunt for days wondered where that cat was -- all she talked about. Finally, Lizzie said, 'You go downstairs and you'll find your cat.' My aunt did (Sullivan, 23).

Lizzie Borden Mystery Share your findings.... The Trickey affair is a case in point. Edwin D. McHenry was a private detective who sold to a trusting young reporter named Trickey the big scoop: the names of the witnesses to be called in the grand jury hearing, along with the revelation that Lizzie Borden was -- pregnant! According to one witness, Andrew Borden had been heard shouting, "I will know the name of the man who got you in trouble (Lincoln, 222)!" The Boston Globe, upon McHenry's urging, published the news without checking the facts. In 24 hours, they were printing retractions. The names on the list that McHenry gave Trickey were fraudulent, and by implication the news of Lizzie's nascent motherhood was, too. Trickey ran across the Canadian border to escape prosecution and was promptly run over by a train.

Lizzie Borden Mystery Questions.. Who was Lizzie Borden? What were the names of her parents? What was the murder weapon? Where did the family live? What did Mr. Borden do for a living? What was used to kill Mr. and Mrs. Borden? Did Lizzie dine with her parents regularly? Was Lizzie ever charged with the crime? Was Lizzie convicted? Who killed the Bordens? Why would Lizzie want to kill her parents? How old was Lizzie when her parents were murdered? Why wasn’t Lizzie’s sister a suspect? Who else was suspected of committing the crime? Were many people interested in the crime? Did the Borden family love each other? Text, p. 5

Lizzie Borden Mystery Questions.. Who was Lizzie Borden? Unmarried 32-year-old woman living with her parents. What were the names of her parents? Andrew and Abby What was the murder weapon? Hatchet without a handle Where did the family live? Fall River, Massachusetts What did Mr. Borden do for a living? Wealthy businessman in furniture, landowner, and one time undertaker What was used to kill Mr. and Mrs. Borden? Hatchet head – the handle had broken off Did Lizzie dine with her parents regularly? Not at the time of the murders (RP, p.12) Was Lizzie ever charged with the crime? Yes Was Lizzie convicted? No Who killed the Bordens? Anyone’s guess – evidence certainly points to Lizzie Borden Why would Lizzie want to kill her parents? Speculation – money and revenge (sexual abuse?) How old was Lizzie when her parents were murdered? 32 Why wasn’t Lizzie’s sister a suspect? Alibi – she was away Who else was suspected of committing the crime? John Morse, visiting uncle Were many people interested in the crime? They sure were – the “OJ Simpson case of the century.” Did the Borden family love each other? Who’s to say? Text, p. 5

“What Made Lizzie Borden Kill?” Text, p. 6

“Laying Down the Law” by Ann Jones P. 13

The Menendez Brothers The Menendez Brothers, notorious killers of their parents truTV's Crime Library - Crime Library on truTV.com

Research the Menendez Bros. Use a search engine to uncover an interesting fact about the Menendez Brothers case – Share with class. Whatever became of the brothers? Where are they now?

Evaluation Paper Write a clear, concise, well-thought-out evaluation of a painting, a music CD, a restaurant, a college course, a film, a play, a television program, a job performance, or a web site. Use the criteria of evaluation, including an overall claim about what you are evaluating, a description, statistics to support your claim, testimony from a third party source, and examples. Look at the techniques for evaluation as described in our text, and make use of them. Your final paper should present a convincing, balanced, supported, fair evaluation that is backed up by more than opinion and personal biases. Format/Length considerations: Title (centered) Last name/page # in upper right-hand corner Stapled – upper left Keep margins at 1” default Double-spaced text Indented paragraphs Normal font, 12-point 2-5 pages, which means a minimum of 2 full pages