Week 8

   “Doorknob: Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.”  –from          Alice in Wonderland



Good day, Class.

Tonight, as we have several works in progress I'll be reviewing your drafts and finished work.  Essay 4 should be completed and the first draft of essay 5 begun.  I will review the use of verbs by means of the paragraph and various handout exercises assigned (covering the various conjugations of regular and irregular forms).

Between now and the final there will be just one more essay assigned.  Typically, I show a film or assign a piece inspired by on ongoing essay project that can be viewed at the website thisibelieve.org.  Or I might have you profile each other by means of interview. We can talk tonight and decide then which to do.

Week 7

                                                           Chestnut Quail Thrush

Writing is easy:  all you have to do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.
                                      –Gene Fowler

Good evening. 

Today we will review work in progress,  the essay 4,  on P.M. Forni's several book chapters (distributed in class) and continue verb exercises,  covering the subjunctive mood and modal verbs, use of which will be required in work to follow.

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Essay 6 Prompts: If we were given the chance to rewrite some chapter in life, or to relive some moment now resigned to the past, what revisions would we make, or what insight would we bring to  the moment now?       If we could be for an hour, a day, a week, month, or year someone other than who  we are, step out of our own skin for a bit and see through the eyes of another . . . what might we learn?     If given a day, week, month, or year to live wherever and whenever and however,  what choices would we make? What lessons are there in wondering, what if . . . ?

The subjunctive mood expresses what is hypothetical, contrary to fact, a wish or desire:  I wish I were a child again.  I wish I had never grown up!  Or, had I known such and such a thing, I might never have done what I did.  The modal verbs–should could would ought may might must–and others indicate necessity, obligation, possibility, probability.  If you could do anything, what would you do now? 

Sometimes we rewrite the past with our inner voice, as a means of understanding what has worked and not worked for us, reshaping our thought and behavior as we move forward in life. What if we are stuck in outmoded ways of thinking and behaving? What if the possibility for personal change were to be taken from us? Transformation begins with our thoughts, and with the language we use to express ourselves. Thank goodness we can imagine possibilities beyond the given or present! 

Essay 6: In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario, something contrary to fact or actual experience:  

If I were given wings . . .  if I could change one thing, or if 
I could do it all again, relive the moment, catch a falling star! How might the past look then, how might today be different, and how might the future look?

This essay assignment provides good practice with verbs–past, present, future–and in using comparison and contrast mode. You will likely use the subjunctive mood and conditional (modal) tense forms as well as simple and perfect tenses.

For example, imagine that you had been born under or into circumstances other than those you were born into; say, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different gender (or species), and so on. Describe what your childhood was actually like, and what it might have been like (under changed circumstances); what your present life might be like (as opposed to what is actually happening); imagine your future, actually or hypothetically. Or look at any important decision you made or did not make and trace the consequences of having taken an opposite track. 

If we had the chance to do things differently, if we had superpowers, godlike omniscience, what would we do with these?  Of course, we must make do with what we have–but there are insights that reflection brings when we think of what might have been, or what might be if only . . .   

This "other" life is what Cheryl Strayed ("Sugar") refers to in the piece called "The Ghost Ship That Didn't Carry Us" (class handout).

You might start in one of the following ways: 

Had I been born an only child, instead of being born the fifth child of six,

I might have got more attention than I did.  I might have been spoiled!  My parents had little time for me, as it was, with so many to care for.

If I were sixty-five (you can fill in any future age) and to look back at my life, what would I want to see I had accomplished?

 If I could do one thing differently, rewrite the past, I would go back to the time when . . .

 If we were to walk, fly, or swim the proverbial mile in the life of (fill in whatever human, animal or insect subject interests you) we would discover . . .

If we were to travel to the ends of the earth and back, we would discover a great deal about life on this planet, including the fascinating  . . .

 If I were rich, free of all financial obligations, I would travel. 

Modern technology allows us to see the world in ways we could not without it.  Look at the short film here:  https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_hidden_miracles_of_the_natural_world

You could write about what is revealed by Schwartberg's camera eye, and your response to it.

If we had the power to examine a dragonfly's wings in slow motion, what would we discover? We now have the technology to make such an investigation possible, as the film reveals.

Checklist:

*Title the essay.

*Proofread to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support.

*Remember your audience and write on a matter of intrinsic or practical importance.

*Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness.

Note:

–The use of narration and description, with scene setting, vivid detail and action, will make readers see  and feel the particular experience(s) and ideas you have in mind. – Comparison/contrast mode will show the actual versus the imaginary, and make it clear that your  focus is hypothetical.

  

Week 6

                      Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait in Oil

    Good day, class.

This week we focus on using summary and description and direct quotation to present the contents of a book, several chapters of which I distributed last week.  You are to join in, so to speak, with conversation on the topic and ideas addressed by author P.M. Forni in his book Choosing Civility." Here he discusses the power our attitudes, words, tone of voice, and body language can have on others and ourselves, for better or worse. You are to introduce the subject text by author and title and use one or more examples of the text in direct quotation to illustrate and support your essay summary and response points. Title the essay with your own particular words.  Develop it in three paragraphs or more, 350 words or more (essay 4).

        The midterm (essay 5) will be returned today and rewrites will be due in two weeks.

         Essay 6, which we will start next week, continues with a focus on verb forms and use.  You will  describe in hypothetical terms a wish or desire or conditional situation that allows you to show use of the subjunctive verb mood and conditional verb tenses, those employing clauses such as if I had, if I were,  and the modal verb forms would, could, might, ought, and so on (see last week's post for the full discussion of the assignment).  We shall look at verb conjugations and use today for practice and homework.

                                                                          a Picasso

Week 5

Today we will review the narrative work you submitted last week (#3), practice on the Maya Angelou piece (link on week 3) and review punctuation guidelines.    There will be a short essay midterm (#4) today after break that ties into the Angelou piece and narrative structure.  So make sure to read the linked text "Champion of the World."

For next week (we will work on it in class, but read and take notes on the material):  Essay (#5)  Summary/Response and Quotation Work:  Read the photocopied chapters "Speak Kindly"  and the others from P.M. Forni's book Choosing Civility.  The chapter takes the form of both process (intructional) and cause/effect analysis.  Respond in summary form to the chapter ideas, the author's main idea and supporting points.   Use the format indicated right here in my instructions to introduce chapter title, book and author. Provide a sufficient and interesting review of his major points and means of support or illustration.   Relate experience of your own or provide commentary to  "talk to" the points he makes and your imagined audience.  Quote several line(s) or parts of lines that convey his ideas particularly well.  Punctuate them as direct quotations and see that they “fit” grammatically in the sentence and paragraph in which you have placed them or set them off.  

*You can review the guidelines for using quotation marks at the following URL:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/

Verb tense sequencing here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/1/ and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=39 and here:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/07/ Appositives:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/596/1/

Essay (#5): Due week 7:   Summary/Response and Quotation Work:  Read the  photocopied chapter(s)  from P.M. Forni's book Choosing Civility, which takes the form of both process (intructional) and cause/effect analysis.  Respond in summary form to the author's ideas, enough to give a clear sense of the chapter focus and to give a sufficient and interesting review of his major point and means of support or illustration.   Relate experience of your own or provide commentary to  "talk to" the points he makes and your imagined audience.  Quote one or more lines or parts of lines that convey his ideas particularly well.  Punctuate them as direct quotations and see that they “fit” grammatically in the sentence and paragraph in which you have placed them or set them off.  Bring the responses to class.

Week 4

Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day–like writing a poem or saying a prayer. What matters is that one be for a time inwardly attentive.   –Anne Morrow Lindbergh, b.1906

Good evening, to you all.  Hope you are well.

Today we will  start by looking at past work, last week's descriptive essays (all very good) and then continue with another narrative (#3).   We will review sentence structure, use of the apostrophe in possessive constructions, the grammar of verbs, and sentence punctuation.  We will get through as much as we can.  

 Over the next several weeks we will examine the narrative, process and cause/effect modes of organization and summary using various essays, including Maya Angelou's "Champion of the World" and, perhaps, "My Daughter Smokes," by Alice Walker.  As always, we will be busy.

In class next week a short midterm essay is planned. It will take little more than an hour.

--------------The Modes of Organization

There are modes of developing and arranging information, and we have looked closely at two thus far: narration and description.  Several other commonly used modes include illustration, process analysis, cause and effect analysis, definition, and comparison/contrast.  

We can use narration and description and example or illustration to show readers the world and the lives we lead in very particular ways.  We can also "explain" things to readers:  why we or others acted just so (what motivated or caused the actions) or the effects of specific human actions.  We may also explain the means by which something is done or made, the procedure, protocol, or specific method, detailing to some degree the sequential steps or stages in the process.  

     Cause and effect mode sets out to explore the probable reasons why certain events, actions, or manifestations occur or have occurred, and the effects or consequences of these happenings.  We may explore why we behave in a certain way or the effects of certain kinds of behavior on ourselves and others.  We may explore the sources of our satisfactions, for instance, as causes.  We may look at all manner of natural and social phenomena whose causes or effects interest us.  Why are flowers brightly colored?  Why do birds sing?  Why do young animals play?  Why do humans make war?  What effects do our lifestyle choices have on our environment? And what effects have the  decisions of policy makers (who decide whether, for instance, gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry) and powerful corporations (whose industry practices may harm or hurt us)?   Bear in mind, a short paper should be limited to either cause or effect, rather than both.  

Examples:         

   

      The fundamental pathology of Alzheimer's disease is the progressive degeneration and loss of vast numbers of nerve cells in those portions of the brain's cortex that are associated with the so-called higher functions, such as memory, learning, and judgment.  The severity and nature of the patient's dementia at any given time are proportional to the number and location of cells that have been affected.  The decrease in nerve-cell population is in itself sufficient to explain the memory loss and other cognitive disabilities, but there is another factor that seems to play a role as well–namely, a marked decrease in acetylcholine, the chemical used by these cells to transmit messages.

                — Sherwin B. Nuland, How We Die

     Contemplating our food for a few seconds before eating and eating in mindfulness can bring us much happiness.  In our practice centers, we use the Five Contemplations as a way of reminding ourselves where our food comes from and its purpose.

      The first contemplation is being aware that our food comes directly from the earth and the sky.   It is a gift of the earth and the sky, and also of the people who prepared it.  The second contemplation is about being worthy of the food we eat.  The way to be worthy of our food is to eat mindfully—to be aware of its presence and thankful for having it.  We cannot allow ourselves to get lost in our worries, fears, or anger over the past or the future.  We are there for the food because the food is there for us; it is only fair.  Eat in mindfulness, and you will be worthy of the earth and the sky.

     The third contemplation is about becoming aware of our negative tendencies and not allowing them to carry us away.  We need to learn how to eat in moderation, to eat the right amount of food.  The bowl that is used by a monk or a nun is referred to as the "instrument of appropriate measure."  It is very important not to overeat.  If you eat slowly and chew very carefully, you will get plenty of of nutrition.  The right amount of food is the amount that helps us to stay healthy.

     The fourth contemplation is about the quality of our food.  We are determined to ingest only food that has no toxins for our body and our consciousness, food that keeps us healthy and nourishes our compassion.  This is mindful eating.  The Buddha said that if you eat in such a way that compassion is destroyed in you, it is like eating the flesh of your children.  So practice eating in such a way that you can keep compassion alive in you.

    The fifth contemplation is being aware that we receive food in order to realize something.  Our lives should have meaning and that meaning is to help people suffer less, and help them to touch the joys of life.  When we have compassion in our hearts and know that we are able to help a person suffer less, life begins to have more meaning.  This is very important food for us and can bring us a lot of joy.  A single person is capable of helping may living beings.  And it is something we can do anywhere.

                                        —Thich Nhat Hanh, Happiness

There are few things humans are more dedicated to than unhappiness.  Had we been placed on earth by a malign creator for the exclusive purpose of suffering, we would have good reason to congratulate ourselves on our enthusiastic response to the task.  Reasons to be inconsolable abound:  the frailty of our bodies, the fickleness of love, the insincerities of social life, the compromises of friendship, the deadening effects of habit.  In the face of such persistent ills, we might naturally expect that no event would be awaited with greater anticipation than the moment of our own extinction.

                             —Alain De Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life

     The process mode of organization is used when explaining how a thing happens or is done or made.  It includes description of the steps, stages, or procedures involved in any natural occurrence or phenomenon, or in any that involve human endeavor.  Such writing addresses the question how?  For example, how do bees find their way to the hive, how does photosynthesis work, how does one change a tire on a steeply ascending road, make a cheesecake or keep houseplants alive and happy? 

     We all, to some degree, understand how things proceed, and can describe the procedures by which things get done or made. We have followed directions and read instructions from a young age and we have learned how to do a thing or two ourselves; in fact, there are certain skills we could actually teach: how to saddle a horse, how to sweep a floor, build a boat or house, sew a hem, design an advertisement, paint with oil colors.  There are certain life experiences we could coach others through; for example, we have all experienced pain, sadness, and loss and so have learned a thing or two about healing, happiness, getting along, starting over.  The stages or steps involved in bettering our health, our outlook, our lives in general always involve a specific method, a means, a process. Writing about such matters involves organizing your material into distinct steps or stages, whether as a "how to" instructional or no.

Examples:  

Wear loose and comfortable clothing when working out. Because a warmed muscle is believed to be more flexible and pliant, you will often see people wearing sweat suits and woolen socks. You should also be sure to position yourself as comfortably as possible to reduce the tension and make the stretching more enjoyable.                

                                                                       –from The Science of Stretching, by Michael Alter

For centuries, it was assumed that honey bees simply visited flowers and collected the honey ready-made, bringing it back to the hive and storing it there. The truth of the matter is that honey making is an elaborate and complicated process. The first step is the collection of floral nectar from the gullets of colorful and fragrant blossoms. Floral nectar starts out as sugar water enriched with a few amino acids, proteins, lipids, phenolics, and other chemicals. While it sits in floral ponds, waiting to be sampled by pollinators, the nectar takes on the aroma of the flowers that produced it. Though the scent of the nectar itself is faint, the aromas are intensified once it is concentrated into honey. Excess water is driven off and the complex volatile oils and other chemicals from the flower are magnified, becoming part of the honey and adding to its appeal. Single-source honeys reveal their characteristic aromas best at room temperature, especially when drizzled across a warm piece of toast.

                                                                                                    —from Secrets of the Bee

One holds the [surgical] knife as one holds the bow of a cello or a tulip–by the stem. Not palmed nor gripped nor grasped, but lightly, with the tips of the fingers. The knife is not for pressing. It is for drawing across the field of skin. Like a slender fish, it waits, at the ready, then, go! It darts, followed by a fine wake of red. The flesh parts, falling away to yellow globules of fat. Even now, after so many times, I still marvel at its power–cold, gleaming, silent. More, I am still struck with a kind of dread that it is I in whose hand the blade travels, that my hand is its vehicle, that yet again this terrible steel-bellied thing and I have conspired for a most unnatural purpose, the laying open of the body of a human being.

from "The Knife," by Richard Seltzer

When a farmer calls in a cheetah capture, it is CCF's job to retrieve the animal from a field trap, gather biological information, and then relocate or release it. Normally the work is done in the field and not in a farmer's kitchen. Until last night, there had not been a call in a month–proof that that farmers are learning to co-exist with cheetahs rather than to shoot first and ask questions later.

from "Blur: Cheetahs. Ranchers. Hope.," by Susan Zimmerman

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*You can review the guidelines for using quotation marks at the following URL:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/

Grammar Practice: Review the following exercise/practice work:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/2/22/49

Review the material on pronoun use here:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/01/

and here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/02/