ENGL 1302 El Centro College Strategies Employed in Class Essay Hey, this is an assignment where you shall point out two writing strategies the author used

ENGL 1302 El Centro College Strategies Employed in Class Essay Hey, this is an assignment where you shall point out two writing strategies the author used in the given reading and write an essay on it. All the instructions given by the professor are attached below. Please review the suggested outline and what’s needed carefully before you begin. You can ask me if you need help with anything or if anything is confusing to you. “Class in the Classroom” analytical essay
Write a formal, academic essay analyzing TWO writing strategies Halberstam used to
make the article an effective one. This assignment is not about the content of his chapter,
but rather an analysis his strategies, an analysis of the rhetoric. Consult the “What is
Rhetoric” handout for more examples of examining an author’s methods. Use proper
essay organization you learned in high school and/or English 1301: intro, body
paragraphs, concluding paragraph, work cited page.
The Details:
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Choose two rhetorical strategies to analyze.
Essay should begin with an introductory paragraph, including author’s full name,
title of article punctuated correctly, something about rhetorical strategies, and
thesis statement that answers the question of the assignment. (See box above.)
It should be about 2 pages.
It should refer back to the reading assignment.
It should be word processed. Consult “Paper Format Instructions.”
Review your notes for what constitutes academic writing.
It should end with a concluding paragraph that draws a conclusion.
Include any necessary parentheticals and a works cited page for Halberstam’s
article.
General Words of Advice: Mark Twain once said that the only people who could get
away with writing in first-person plural “we” were kings, editors, and people with very
large tapeworms. Similarly, avoid second-person “you” except when quoting
Halberstam.
FAQs
1. What 4 things did we need to include in the thesis statement?
2. How many paragraphs should this be?
3. How many strategies do I need to write about?
4. How long should it be?
5. If I quote the article, what goes in the parenthetical?
6. Where can I find the citation information for the works cited page?
Suggested Outline
I.
Intro paragraph
a. Author’s full name
b. “Article Title”
c. Reason for rhetorical strategies
d. Thesis statement: the two best rhetorical strategies used in Halberstam’s
article.
II.
First body paragraph
a. Topic sentence: the first strategy you mentioned in the thesis being one of
his best.
b. For example… examples from the article or explanation of that strategy.
c. Another example from the article or explanation of that strategy.
d. Explain why Halberstam thought that strategy would be helpful for his
readers.
e. Concluding sentence. Wrap up the paragraph.
III.
Second body paragraph
a. Topic sentence: the second strategy you mentioned in the thesis being one
of his best.
b. For example… examples from the article or explanation of that strategy.
c. Another example from the article of explanation of that strategy.
d. Explain why Halberstam thought that strategy would be helpful for his
readers.
e. Concluding sentence. Wrap up the paragraph.
IV.
Concluding paragraph
a. Reiterate the thesis
b. Draw a conclusion about why authors need rhetorical strategies.
c. What is it about human nature that causes us the need the extra support
provided by rhetorical strategies?
V.
Works Cited page
a. The citation for the article is at the top of the article.
Halberstam, Joshua. “Class in the Classroom.” Acing College. New York: Penguin, 1991.
2
“Class in the Classroom”
Does attendance really count?
What’s the best place to sit in the classroom?
Does class participation really matter?
The do’s and don’ts of classroom behavior
Kid knocks on my office door. He looks vaguely familiar. “My name is Scott,” he says. “I’m
in your logic class.” Yes, that’s why I recognize him; he’s the fellow who showed up a couple of
times at the beginning of the semester. Sat in the back, I think.
“So where have you been all term?” I ask with genuine curiosity. “Well,” the student fumbles,
“I’m taking this tough course in organic chemistry, and well, uh, like I got this lazy attitude, I
admit. Anyway, I’d like an extension on my term paper deadline. And would you reconsider my
midterm grade?”
I listen, but I don’t listen sympathetically. I’m certainly not inclined to reward this student for
his lack of interest in my class. It’s not a matter of an official policy — I don’t take
attendance. But I don’t have to do favors either, and I rarely do for students who don’t show up
to class.
“The most important thing in life is showing up,” says Woody Allen. That’s true, too, with
regard to your classes.
In this chapter we’ll discuss how to make the most of your time when you’re in class. But
these guidelines are useful only if you’re there to use them.
SHOWING UP
On any given school day, you could probably think of seven thousand more fun things to do
than go to class. One compelling alternative is to just stay in bed. In fact, staying in bed will
loom as one of the greatest temptations of college life.
I take it for granted that if you aren’t thoroughly dull or irrecoverably compulsive, you will
miss class on occasion. What does it take for you to decide “forget it, I’ll skip class”? A blah,
rainy day? A gorgeous, sunny day? Students’ cutting patterns get fixed pretty early in their
college career. The question is not whether you will miss class, but how often.
Some professors include attendance as part of their course requirements. These professors
usually carry out their threat. The more stringent ones will even fail the A student who has
accrued too many absences. Unfair? I agree. In fact, I find this outrageous. With few
exceptions (labs, for example), I favor abolishing all attendance requirements. College students
are adults and should decide for themselves whether or not they want to come to class. If you
never show up, you risk flunking your tests–but that’s your problem. On the other hand, if you
never show up and get A’s on your exams, you should receive an A for the course.
Why do professors require attendance? Many will tell you it’s because students need to attend
their lectures to understand the material. And they quickly emphasize the need for an
“attendance requirement” for those students who lack sufficient discipline to show up regularly
without this externally imposed threat.
Hogwash. Professors require attendance, in most cases, because they are insecure. They’re
afraid that if they don’t take attendance, no one will show up — and they’re usually right. Not
surprisingly, it’s most often the dull teachers who force their students to suffer through their
dreary lectures.
What can you do about these attendance requirements? Nothing. Maybe you can do
something later when you become the college president, but until then, if you have an attendance
requirement, show up. You have no choice.
But even if you don’t have an attendance requirement, it’s important to show up regularly.
If you want to ace your classes, cut out cutting. You might think your case is different. But I
can only assure you of what all my colleagues and I see: A students show up to class regularly,
and F students don’t. Here’s why.
Objectively
You’ll learn more. Nothing beats being there. When you study without having been to class,
you’re learning the material for the first time. When you study after you’ve been to class, you’re
reviewing. What a difference!
You learn what the professor considers essential. Professors test you on what they consider
important. What did the professor put on the blackboard? What did he emphasize? What did he
repeat?
You can’t get this information from another student’s notes, or even a tape recording. You
need to observe firsthand your professor’s delivery: you need to know not only what was said but
how it was said.
Subjectively
In the subjective realm of grading, attendance always counts. Professors respond
positively toward students who come to class regularly. Repeated absences will lose you the
benefit of the doubt when it comes to grading — and you might very well need that benefit.
College teachers are as sensitive as anyone else. Most people like to believe they are good at
what they do, and college teachers like to think of themselves as good teachers. Your consistent
cutting tells your teacher that you consider him a failure: he isn’t sufficiently interesting to get
you to come to class. And your teacher — at least on some level — will take it personally. He
might take it out on you personally.
Attendance is especially important in seminars, language, math, and science classes. The
smaller the class, the more your absences are noticed, so if you have to play hooky, cut a large
lecture class. The worst classes to skip are seminars where student participation is
expected. Cutting seminars undermines the whole class.
It’s also essential to show up regularly to math, science, and language classes. If you are facile
with words and know the tricks of extemporaneous writing, you might get by with absences in
some of your humanities and social science classes. Math, science, and language classes are
different: here, learning is cumulative, with each class building on the previous class. If you fall
behind, it becomes increasingly difficult to catch up.
If You Do Cut
Don’t make a big deal about it. Professors who require attendance might require a doctor’s
note or some other justification for your absence. Professors who don’t take attendance don’t
care why you were out.
I never could understand why students bother bringing me notes explaining why they missed a
class. I don’t read them and I suspect few professors do. (It’s another matter if you miss an
exam.) Nor do I understand why students bother to tell me they will miss the next class. Why
call attention to an absence?
DO THE READINGS
Prepare for class
I know this sounds like more obvious professor talk but believe me, preparation is far from
common.
All students are “rah rah” the first week of class. They do the assigned readings and come to
class rearing to go. Then the slack-off begins. By the end of the first month a sizable contingent
have stopped coming to class prepared. By the end of the second month, you can count on one
hand the number of students who read the material before coming to class. By the middle of the
third month, forget it; the student who still prepares is now a rarity.
Read the assignments all through the semester and consider yourself an extraordinary
phenomenon. College homework is a term-long affair. In high school you did your homework
only when it was assigned and when you expected it to get checked. In college, you have to rely
on your own schedule and discipline.
Figure it this way: you have to read the material eventually anyway, so you may as well read
it before class. It’s much more effective that way: Even boring classes are improved, and you
can contribute to the class.
The big hurdle is reading those stupefying assignments that seem to have been written as
prescriptions for sleeping pills. To get these assignments done, you’ve got to make class
preparation part of your daily routine.
But if You Don’t Prepare
You won’t always come to class prepared. Perhaps you have a test in another class. Or a
heavy date the night before. Or a heavy date coming up. What then?
Try not to walk into class totally oblivious of the assignment. Cultivate the art of intelligent
skimming; when you get good at it — and like everything else it’s a matter of practice — you can
pick up lots of information very quickly.
Okay, it was a very heavy date. Not only weren’t you able to scan the assigned material, you
can now barely keep your eyes open. In this situation, it isn’t your eyes that matter, it’s your
mouth. Keep it shut.
Few displays of student behavior are as annoying to teachers as students spouting about
subjects they know nothing about — but should, had they done the assigned reading. Don’t fool
yourself and make a fool of yourself in the process. If you haven’t read the article, you don’t
know it. And if you don’t know the assignment, don’t advertise that you don’t.
WHERE TO SIT
In some large lectures, your seating arrangement is alphabetically determined, so this isn’t an
issue. But in most classes you have a choice. Where should you sit? Which seat is most
conducive to getting the A?
Sit where the action is.
Writers on power often talk about “power centers” in a room. Every class has its
corresponding power center. It’s the section that carries the weight of the class.
Watch your teacher’s movements. (If your teacher is any good, you won’t find her sitting
behind her desk.) Speakers respond to the section of the audience that responds to them. If one
side of the class reacts more vocally to the teacher than the other side, before long, the teacher
will be addressing that part of the room more often. Move to that side.
Front or back? You can get an A or an F from the front or the back of the room, but in
general, front or toward the front is better. (Students inform me that some of their professors
look out above the first row into the class beyond, so a row or two up might be the best of all.)
Sitting up toward the front has two main advantages:
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Your professor notices you. Bad enough that you’re a nameless name in the crowd;
why be a faceless face in the crowd? Also, teachers tend to think — justifiably or not -that students who sit up front are more conscientious.
You insure your participation. Sitting in the professor’s eye-line forces you to
behave. Your absences are noticed, so you’ll make sure to show up to class. You are also
less likely to read, talk, or sleep during even the most boring class. If the class is
especially important or particularly dreary, sit up front. You’ll need all the help you can
get, and this helps.
The worst seat? It’s the back corner seat near the door. You seem uninvolved. If you are
stuck in the back, make sure to speak up in class.
A FEW NOTES ON TAKING NOTES
Unless you have a photographic memory, you need to take some notes. You certainly can’t
expect to remember during final exam week in May what your professor said back in March.
But don’t confuse taking notes with stenography. A good lecture gets you to reflect during
class. You can’t listen, think, and respond if you’re busy playing secretary.
Write down key phrases and ideas that will get you to remember what was discussed (in some
classes that will mean a lot of writing, in others very little writing).
Many study guides offer instruction on how to take notes effectively. These guides are a
waste of time. You take notes to help you review when preparing for exams; what helps you
might not help others.
A few of the more compulsive of these study guides recommend that students rewrite their
notes after each class. They also suggest that you write a summary at the end of each class,
restating the essential points of the lecture. Sure, and I recommend that you do a triathlon every
morning and read one play by Shakespeare with dinner every evening. Who are we kidding?
The Old Blackboard Reflex
When I feel mischievous in the middle of a lecture, I sometimes turn and write on the board a
word such as “ineluctable,” or the phrase “the cat’s meow,” or whatever comes to mind. I look
up at the class and, invariably, I see dozens of students earnestly copying my words into their
notebooks. The assumption: if it’s on the blackboard, it’s important.
Agreed, instructors do use the blackboard to highlight important points. But not everything on
the board merits special attention; professors will use the board gratuitously, as the whim strikes
them. Sometimes they use it just to show the correct spelling of some obscure word.
Remember, too, that much that isn’t on the board appears on the test. Use your judgment, not
your reflexes.
Other People’s Notes
If you missed class, it’s a good idea to borrow someone’s notes, especially in cumulative
classes, the kind where each class builds on the previous one.
Make sure, though, to borrow the notes immediately after the missed class. If you wait
until exam time, two things will happen. First, the notes lose their context, and you’ll have an
awful time trying to make sense of them. Second, getting the notes will be a battle. Your new
friends won’t eagerly part with them the night before the final.
Remember, too, not to trust completely in your classmate’s notes. She may have gotten it
down wrong. She might have been lost in a sweet fantasy just when the important stuff was
discussed. She might have that photographic memory and not bother with careful notes.
Private Ruminations
In a later chapter, I encourage you to keep a journal of your personal thoughts, a sort of
intellectual diary. You should also save a section in the back of your notebook for class-related
meditations. Something your professor or a classmate said might trigger an interesting idea. Jot
it down. These notes can become extremely helpful when you review for an exam.
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CLASS PARTICIPATION
Want to get an A? Participate.
As I’ve said, showing up to class is essential, and not showing up will hurt your grade. But
coming to class isn’t enough. According to a recent survey, only 20 percent of the average class
asks questions, and you should join this minority if you want to secure the A.
Professors seek, need, and appreciate student involvement in their class. We need applause,
and the applause of the classroom is animated discussion. Even the most thick-skinned professor
knows when he’s not setting his class on fire. Students who make professors feel successful are
rewarded with better grades.
Too Shy?
Are you uncomfortable speaking up in a group? What are you going to do about it? Resign
yourself to spending four years in silence, masquerading as part of the classroom furniture?
Perhaps you are reluctant to speak up because you don’t want to sound like those annoying
classmates who blabber inanities in class. You fear that you don’t have anything of substance to
add to the proceedings.
I know it’s difficult, but try not to worry about what your classmates think of you. They won’t
judge you: They’re too busy thinking about their own brilliant comments. Some people are too
self-conscious to dance on a crowded floor in a discotheque. There too, no one notices.
A tinge of nervousness before speaking in a group is perfectly normal. Just bear in mind that
making a comment in class is not major undertaking — your contribution counts as much as any
of your classmate’s. And rest assured, it gets easier with practice.
You will need to speak in public when you are out in the world. The college classroom
affords a wonderful opportunity to become good at it.
Don’t Lecture
About that blabbering classmate: every class has one. He thinks his classmates are paying
money to hear him, not the professor, lecture. He has opinions about everything and makes sure
everyone knows them. He considers himself provocative — but the only thing he provokes is a
conspiracy to lynch.
Typically, this student loves to argue; he argues for the sake of arguing. He’s not about the
courage of his convictions; he’s about contrariness: tell him it’s raining and he’ll say it’s snowing
and he’ll call it a beach day.
He believes belligerence is endearing, but everyone finds him immature, boring, and selfdefeating.
If you genuinely disagree with your professor — and if you aren’t catatonic, you’ll disagree
plenty of times — by all means, voice your objection. But challenging your professor’s
dominance for the sake of the challenge alone is a no-win strategy. The classroom is the
professor’s turf, his territorial imperative. Attempts to undercut his authority bring you only
one result: a lower grade.
Another, milder class nerd is the student who insists on treating the class to private, boring
anecdotes about his life. This clod isn’t interested in asserting his brilliance; he just considers his
personal life endlessly fascinating to everyone. So we have to listen to tales about how his
mother tortured him as a child, how his uncle became a Bedouin in the Sahara, how he stopped a
mugger on the subway, and how his roommate ripped off the telephone company. Somebody
should tell him that nobody …
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