1. Kristin Harkins Instructor of English Nash Community College Rocky Mount, NC

2. “I utterly despise academic writing. I hate research papers. I dread recording findings of other people. I loathe taking a general concept and paraphrasing it into “my own words” because quite frankly, this can never be my idea alone. I do not enjoy having topics being put in front of me and being told to research and write about it.” – ENG 111 Student, Diagnostic 1

3. 1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling 2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier 4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell 5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck 6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou 7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz 8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman 9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle 10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Ala.org

4. SolutionsRhetorical Modes  Course theme  Banned books  Redesigned argument essay  Guided research process  Unit 1 ◦ Narrative ◦ Description ◦ Definition  Unit 2 ◦ Process Analysis ◦ Rhetorical Analysis ◦ Compare/Contrast  Unit 3 ◦ Argument ◦ Example ◦ Cause/Effect

5. Ala.org

7.  Topic selection and investment  Audience awareness  Critical reading  Original research

8. Even though Speak is centered on the fact that a young girl was raped, it can have a positive effect on many teens. Rape is a mature subject. Many parents don’t want their children reading about such a dreadful act; thus, they take action to have the book banned in their child’s school. Although rape is a subject many people avoid, it is not something that should be hidden from young adults and mature children. Since this book shows the effects of rape on a young girl, it should not be banned. It shows the mental state of the rape victim and how she overcomes what happened to her, which is something that adolescents should read about. This is something that should be read about by teens because there are many rape myths that exist. Rape myths are false statements that people tend to believe about the act of rape, the victim, and the perpetrator. These myths include things such as rape being a crime of passion, that rape happens because of what a woman is wearing and rapist only rape one time. Reading a book like this will likely broaden the views of the readers and give them more insight into what a rape victim feels and how they cope with their emotions. Furthermore, reading this book may cause teens to take a stand and take the necessary steps to inform the rest of their peers about rape. This could take the form of a program that could be installed in schools such as the one Karen E. Fay and Frederic J. Medway created based on Parrot’s work with college students. Fay and Medway implemented an acquaintance rape prevention program in a South Carolina community for freshmen in college and evaluated the results. The outcome was that “the program decreased students’ acceptance of rape myths compared with nonparticipating students” (Fay 223). If this sort of program was implemented in Melinda’s school, she may have been able to avoid what happened to her. Likewise if this kind of program is applied in schools the rape statistics may decrease. If Anderson’s book can cause this kind of progress in schools, it would be best if it was not banned. - ENG 111 Student Final Argumentative/Persuasive Proposal

9. In addition to issues of sexuality, students should not be exposed to books involving drug use because if they are not properly informed of all of the consequences, they may start experimenting with drugs themselves. One of the most memorable scenes in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is when Charlie is fed a weed filled brownie without realizing until afterwards. The only result is that he feels an intense craving for a milkshake. (Chbosky, 35) In another scene, a friend of Charlie’s named Bob gives Patrick “an eighth of marijuana with a Christmas card attached” (Chbosky, 65) as part of Secret Santa. Using weed is not exactly condoned in this book, but there are no consequences either besides Brad having to go to the rehabilitation center. This may lead students to believe that if they do not overuse drugs like Brad did, drug use should be acceptable. Students should be informed that drug use is never acceptable and that there are many long and short term consequences such as the death of brain cells and some forms of cancer. Katherine E. Watkins states “Substance use can interrupt brain development. Some changes in the brain and in functioning may be reversible when drug use stops, but other changes appear to be either permanent or very long lasting, leading to persistent deficits in memory and motor coordination.” (1) If books such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower incorporated facts such as this in their writing instead of misleading information, students would be less likely to involve their selves in drug use. - ENG 111 Final Argumentative/Persuasive Proposal

10.  LibGuide: ◦ nashcc.libguides.com/bannedbooks nashcc.libguides.com/bannedbooks

17. Britt, Suzanne. “Suzanne Britt on Writing.” The Brief Bedford Reader. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. 11 th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 229-230. Print. Chappell, Drew. “Banned Book Ethnographies: A Project with 8 th Graders.” Teaching Artist Journal 4.3 (2006): 182-189. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 March 2012. Maxwell, Marilyn and Marlene Berman. “To Ban or Not to Ban: Confronting the Issue of Censorship in the English Class.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 41.2 (1997): 92-96. ERIC. Web. 21 March 2012.