Time to Make Kevin Blush!

So, I think we should all give Mr. Kevin Battista a mighty pat on the back for getting his 4 Lokos investigative report published on Onward State. It was a stellar paper -- well-conceived, well-executed, well-structured. When he wins the Pulitzer Prize, we can all say we knew him. That will rock. For now, read his journalistic debut here.

Journal Twelve: Developing Ideas for Your Final Paper

Like I said in class, it's about that time to start writing the final paper for the course. In order to get you set up before you leave for Thanksgiving, I want you to start brainstorming possible topics for this paper, which is worth 25 percent of your grade. Nothing to sniff at, right? So might as well start strong and confident. For this journal assignment, I want you to quickly propose two different topics you might be interested in writing about. Give me a link to some reputable source that talks about the issue, just to be sure you are already aware of the larger discussion. Make sure it is something you are interested in, invested in -- something you truly want to learn more about. It can be something related to your possible major; an extension of something you already wrote about in this class; a reverse stance on the issue you wrote about for your argument paper; a well-researched proposal related to your investigative report; something relevant to your personal narrative; an academic/critical analysis of a film or a celebrity you wrote about for the evaluation. Or something entirely new. Whatever you want, really. You'll be using these topic ideas for our Topic Workshop on Wednesday. Hopefully you'll leave class knowing exactly what you'll need to start researching. Oh...did I mention this paper is worth 25 percent of your grade? Good luck!

Journal Eleven: Close Revision

For your 11th blog entry, I want you to pick one of the weakest paragraphs in your paper and revise it as best as you can. Your blog entry should include that paragraph in its original/weak form as well as its revision so I can see exactly how you revised your work. Make sure to fix all verb tense agreement issue. Include strong transitions if necessary. Get rid of sentence fragments and/or run-on sentences. Tidy up your word choice. Clarify language where needed. And make sure any citations or quotes are properly formatted (you can use MLA, APA, Chicago Style -- whatever you prefer, as long as you are consistent).

Journal Ten: Analyzing An Argument

For your tenth journal, you'll need to find an article that is relevant to your paper topic -- something you actually plan on citing or referencing for your final argument paper. Please use one of the databases we accessed in Monday's library session to do this -- Opposing Viewpoints, ProQuest, etc. You may also find an article on Google so long as it is from a reputable and reliable source. Include a link to this article in your blog entry as well as the proper MLA citation that you will use on your Works Cited page. Then, in 500 words:

- Give a brief synopsis of the piece, telling us exactly what the article's thesis statement or general argument may be.
- Discuss how the argument is constructed -- what evidence is used to support the author's viewpoint?
- Is this a convincing argument? How so?
- How will you use information from this article to support your own thesis statement? What information will you cite? What quote might you use and why? 

Journal Nine: Argument Topics

For this journal entry, I want you to find three different links to newspaper articles, each one focused on a different current issue that truly sparks your interest. For each link: I want you to give me a brief summary of the issue and then tell me what your stance on that issue is. This is meant to get you thinking about a topic for your fourth paper: Arguing a Position. It will be important that you pick a controversial, relevant, and timely topic for your paper. I do not want you arguing for the merits of using sunscreen -- that is obvious and not controversial at all. Controversy will be the heart of why your paper topic merit's a discussion. So think about this when finding possible topics for your paper.

Journal Eight: Keep It Simple

For this journal assignment, please take a look at the comparison made between Nabisco's Sugar Wafer and Fig Newton by Paul Goldberger, the architectural critic for the New York Times:

SUGAR WAFER (NABISCO) There is no attempt to imitate the ancient forms of traditional, individually

baked cookies here—this is a modern cookie through and through. Its simple rectangular form, clean and pure, just reeks of mass production and modern technological methods. The two wafers, held together by the sugar-cream filling, appear to float . . . this is a machine-age object.

FIG NEWTON (NABISCO) This, too, is a sandwich but different in every way from the Sugar Wafer. Here the imagery is more traditional, more sensual even; a rounded form of cookie dough arcs over the fig concoction inside, and the whole is soft and pliable. Like all good pieces of design, it has an appropriate form for its use, since the insides of Fig Newtons can ooze and would not be held in place by a more rigid form. The thing could have had a somewhat different shape, but the rounded tip is a comfortable, familiar image, and it’s easy to hold. Not a revolutionary object but an intelligent one.

Here, Goldberger focuses on the "architectural design" of the cookies for his compare/contrast exercise. I want you to do something similar. Find two objects that are equally interchangeable and write 200-300 words comparing and contrasting them using "design" as the only criteria for your evaluation. You might look at cell phones, the covers of two CDs from the same artist, toothbrushes. Have fun picking your objects. The only rule: KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Please include photos of the objects you are evaluating in your blog . When you are composing your new post, you'll see an image next to "Link" in the toolbar above your writing, below your title. Click on this image and then you'll receive instructions for how to paste images into your post. It's quite easy. 

NOTE: Despite what I said on Friday, this journal assignment is due by the beginning of class on Wednesday. That's right. You got yourselves a slight extension. 

Links to Presentation Readings

Here are links to the articles that you will be presenting on in class on Wednesday:

- Lauren Conrad: 
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2009/06/19/lauren_conrad/

- Social Network: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/10/04/101004crat_atlarge_denby

- James Ellroy: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Jacobs-t.html?_r=1&ref=bookreviews

- Ruth Reichl:
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/29/arts/restaurants-065093.html