GRIZZLY BEAR assignment

For Monday the 20th, COM121 students will debate whether the grizzly bear should or should not be taken off of the endangered species list. While this is an older assignment than the decision, there are reasons that this should or should not have been done AND that the decision could be reversed.

Bring your knowledge of wildlife to the class along with a notecard full of knowledge on the topic. We'll be doing a 40-point assignment in class!

You need to have this assignment with to get credit.
It can not be handed in late.

SAMPLE PERSUASIVE ESSAY for content as it does not include citations!!

THIS IS NOT ONLY A SAMPLE APA PERSUASIVE ESSAY, BUT YOU MAY ALSO USE IT FOR THE FINAL IF YOU CHOOSE TO ARGUE MY POINTS ON WHY SLASHER MOVIES SERVE NO PURPOSE AND SHOULD NOT BE MADE.

Visual entertainment has become the medium that it is today by its ability to express various ideas and images for the masses. However, in recent times, movies have pushed this art form in certain directions that have left behind the entertainment value while instead opting for shock value. Nowhere is this truer than in the genre of “slasher movies,” which have been pushed into a direction that serves to only foster an addiction to gore and an amoral expression of love for villains. Thus, it is clear that if the movie industry cannot police itself, then people need to stand up and give it a reason to stop making these unscrupulous movies.
A perfect example to explain the negativity of this phenomenon is Natural Born Killers, the Quentin Tarantino written film that he later disowned after Oliver Stone’s unauthorized changes. In this movie, a television crew follows Mickey and Mallory, a pair of serial killers, through their killings and into the world of just how much America loves the ultra-violent killers that fill its tabloids. Throughout the film, carnage ensues through the destruction of all that should be good and people even beg to be killed by their idol killers while the audience is inundated with a message of depravity packaged in a rock and roll soundtrack. At the end, the killers are still on the loose, justice hasn’t been served, and bodies are piled up with more deaths sure to follow since the “heroes” have escaped. Though this is not true slasher horror, it still allows the observer to look at the industry by using a film that offers offers a clear insight into how modern culture could embrace this love of violence in the way that it does.
While Natural Born Killers was finally released in 1994 after much negative press and discussion of whether it should be released at all, it acts as the end transition of 15 years of celluloid films that begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. If the progression of 15 years takes popular culture there, then it is easy to extrapolate where the 15 year anniversary of that movie will take pop culture. However, while there is an ultra and excessive violence in them, the problem with these movies and those that follow them as a whole lie not in the violence, but rather in the walk-away message. To understand this, it needs to be said that violence is not something to be hidden, but it is a part of society that most rational people would seek to avoid. At the most extreme moments, a sane and well-adjusted person will grasp that violence is necessary. The extremely pious St. Augustine even wrote of a theory for just wars. However, in these times, people are not always so religious, but our culture can still be moral. For example, if a country has to go to war against an enemy that it can side against, then violence seems necessary. Thus, in the national psyche, it’s easier to go to war against a Hitler or a Bin Laden than a Saddam Hussein, which in and of itself leads to questions of the moral nature of war and violence. In addition and in clear showing of the gray areas of violence, how much force should be used against criminals by their potential victims is debated in the right to carry and utilize concealed weapons. Even after society catches and convicts felons, in some circles, it still debates the death penalty against them as some savage use of an “eye for an eye” as hypocrisy in that it’s legalizing a government killing someone as punishment for killing or excessively hurting someone else. All the while, this society takes the moral high ground in these issues while it revels like a pig in the celluloid murk as it delights in the brutality of Saw, Scream, and Hostel.
In this necessity for violence, society does need to evaluate and leave itself to think about what violence means. As previously stated, the actual image of violence itself is not the issue. The questions that movies such as A History of Violence presents do seek to express things with a deeper sociological purpose. Without the expressions of violence within, A History of Violence’s expression of violence as a human genetic trait is pointless. The same can be said for the deeper historical significance of Saving Private Ryan. If the reader isn’t emotionally crushed in the barrage of gunfire that bookends the movie in a blanket of grainy and drab colors that are viciously coated in smatterings of red, it is not the movie that it was set to be. The artistic image could not be complete as if done in the trademark way that cartoons such as GI Joe use to make sure that no missile, bullet, or bomb actually takes a human life. It would also not be the same if it followed the style that was used in the TV shows of the 50’s when fake gunfire went off and people fell or clutched themselves to show that they were injured. It is needed to express the grim finality of war’s actual nature. For this, there needs to be a showing that there are no magic words spoken before death. All that exists is the cold finality of the moment and the loss of a human life. There is no other way to show that war is hell. However, a viewer delighting in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, be it the original or the remake, gets no heroism, no characterization, and just an excessive dose of entrails and blood.
While literature has used the antihero in artistic and humorous ways to focus on people with traits that would be without heroism, movies have transformed the genre in a completely different way by giving the viewer the chance to root for the villain. There is no other purpose for watching Michael Meyers, Freddie Krueger, or Jason than to see them kill helpless teenagers and adults in more and more grotesque ways. As a result, a true bloodlust is created and the viewer is desensitized to this shock and awe. Constant studies into violence prove this. Thus, it is necessary to make sure that while a person knows that violence is real and has many facets, society needs to ensure that people see violence in the right capacities.
One way that society does this is labeling movies as art. A perfect example of this is the Oscar winning film Silence of the Lambs. There is a true mystery here, but somehow, it gets lost from its original intent when it presents evil in a way that romanticizes the villain. Following this, Thomas Harris, the author, wrote his next book Hannibal and got diverted completely into shock value, obviously intrigued by the book’s sale potential, by leaving Hannibal Lecter, his maniacally evil doctor gone to the darkside, to be joined romantically by the former stabilization force that was detective Clarice Starling. This repulsed Jodie Foster, the star of the original movie, so much that she balked on returning for the follow-up role. All the same, the movie commenced without her, and viewers were still allowed their chance to see a character that was once considered art to be twisted into a further metamorphosis of un-necessary gruesome scenes. Clearly, one person’s protest wasn’t enough since society still has a thirst for gore.
In that, society has become so enthralled by this quest for the next great butchering that stars such as Paris Hilton will sign up to be killed in House of Wax. When the filming is done, they even market the film with the tagline that the viewer can “see Paris die.” As more and more movies and movie spoofs come out, the genre is a great way for former child actresses such as Michelle Trachtenberg and Beverly Mitchell to completely reinvent themselves in “unwholesome” ways with such blood-drenched fare as Black Christmas and Saw 2. In this, a new trend of society seems to take place when viewers are further allowed to fulfill some twisted nature where they can see the stars of their childhood terrorized by products of the world’s nightmares.
For this, the concept of fear and a feeling of terror are also not what offend the thinking movie viewer. For this, Aristotle made provisions with his rules for tragedy when he stated, “'Those who employ spectacular means to create a sense not of the terrible, but only of the monstrous, are strangers to the purpose of Tragedy.” Directors who follow these words from Poetics can still envision scenes of shock and terror and do so without the excessive gore that characterizes these other objectionable movies. Nowhere is this done better than in The Sixth Sense when the young boy, Cole, is trapped in a closet with the ghosts that are coming to him in an effort to be relieved of the burdens of their death. Of course, the reader doesn’t know this at the time. Instead, he is fixated on the plight of Cole. While the viewer helplessly watches on as hammering sounds pulsate from beyond the walls. Cole’s mother eventually gets to the protagonist, but not quickly enough to save him from his fright, and for this, the viewer is equally shaken up. In this sense, M. Night Shyamalan perfects the art of what Aristotle and a true artistic director, as opposed to a shock and gore director, would want from his movies.
Nevertheless, the quest for the next big opening weekend money movie goes on and on, but one can’t help but wonder if it should. When the genre lampoons itself with Scream or the lyrics of Camper Van Beethoven’s “Axe Murderer Song” say it all with the lines “Why do axe murderers only attack when you're partially nude or you're taking a bath,” there is nothing left that needs to be said by a new movie with new younger stars to rush to the limelight.
In the face of a culture that is gasping its own last breath of originality, it would seem that there is no corner that hasn’t been covered. Even on some questionably artistic level, the concept of the indestructibility of evil has been done with No Country for Old Men. There is simply no stone left unturned other than to keep promoting shock value and the evisceration of naked co-eds to tantalize its depraved viewers.
As a result, there is no need for another senseless celluloid serial killer to come into existence. If modern society is surely as advanced and civilized as it claims to be with its campaigns for human rights for suspected terrorists, then it can honor itself by just saying no to these films. If this truly is a society that values life, then it will refuse to reward meaningless death with its cash.
Who knows; if society refuses this carnage at one level, then maybe it can just say no to additional senseless violence that is promoted by “gangsta” culture and video games like Grand Theft Auto and Bully. Maybe by just making this one change in popular culture, it will force people to focus on the being happy and attaining the good things in life instead of glorifying the ultimate villains that plague our world with their deviance and criminal nature.

Stuff to turn in with your essay on Monday

which is due when we get INTO class.

If your essay won't print, send it as a .doc or .docx.

No excuses. No other formats.

What you know.
What you want to know.
Notes. (a sufficient amount BY MY STANDARDS)
PRINTED OUT URLS.
A rough draft that is typed and similar (though different) to the real essay.
The real essay.
An outline that works.

If you're missing stuff, you're giving up points.

Don't give up points.

Do what you have to do in order to pass this class.

You're brilliant (if you want to be).

I know you can be successful. Do you?

Under 75% gets a redo for 75% max.

Late gets no redo.

A B is a good grade on this paper.

Do what you have to do in order to kick butt.

Statistics Remedial Assignment

Students MUST get the concept of incorporating statistics and quotes.
You need to see the Angel Online PowerPoints entitled Making Statistics Say Something and Making Statistics Say Something More Exciting. These will help you incorporate, express meaning, and avoid the tendency to give factual information of WHAT (instead of what you can infer from the statistics as a larger meaning of WHY). If you want to do well on this research paper, you WILL DO THIS ASSIGNMENT AND TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

Really.

As a result, you will go here for 2 statistics (each 1 incorporated into ITS OWN paragraph that is typed). You will also take a quote and incorporate it into its own typed paragraph.

These can only be turned in during class on Monday morning.

21 things that I can infer from the statistics we took in class
in⋅fer
1. to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice.
2. (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to.
3. to guess; speculate; surmise.
4. to hint; imply; suggest.

de⋅duce

1. to derive as a conclusion from something known or assumed; infer: From the evidence the detective deduced that the gardener had done it.

1. The fact that 49% of people use Myspace compared to Facebook’s 70% shows that this is a dominant social networking site for people aged 18-24 because of its less childish appearance.
2. Despite its trendy status in many advertising markets, only a small percentage of college students (16%) seem interested in adding a new social networking site to their web-based activities.
3. The small percentage of students that venture into alternative social networking sites implies that very few (16%) students seem interested in finding friends online who share their specific interests (instead they prefer generalized and superficial communication on the mega social networks).
4. The web is truly a handy tool for a large percentage of people (62%) to find long lost friends, but more investigation is needed to find out if people keep these friends after finding them.
5. By a 9 to 1 measure, students tend to watch more videos on www.youtube.com than anywhere else, and even then, very few students watch other sites as a “protest” against you tube. This might come from the fact that few students could name another video site.
6. The most popular activities on the web are getting directions (76%), listening to the radio (73%), watching you tube (70%), and banking (67%). It might be determined that the reason that more people don’t bank online is because they don’t have bank accounts.
7. Since only 22% of the students that were surveyed watch Hulu, this suggests that watching television on a small screen is just not something that students have the interest in or the time to do.
8. One can also add to this the 41% of students that get their Internet fix on their cell phones where this option of watching television is not available.
9. An alarming number of students (22%) know someone who has been harassed online. Perhaps, this comes from the anonymous nature of the medium to allow thug-like behavior to occur "without" fear of repercussion.
10. The fact that www.yahoo.com is the primary e-mail of 13 students suggests that people’s use of service providers is fleeting and changes very often. Thus, people want to stick with a permanent address.
11. Of those students addressed, over ¾ (78%) of them wanted to see if they could find themselves online. However, we can't tell if they are looking to see if they were done wrong or to see if someone remembers them in a positive way.
12. In an era of having a social networking site to place all one’s pictures, only 25% of respondents wanted to use a professional print service to place their pictures for others to see and buy. This suggests that if people want pictures, it’s not as a piece of paper, but rather as a digital artifact.
13. Nearly 7/10 people (68%) have taken at least 1 other class online. This states that teachers are embracing the digital world to share assignments and communication with students; thus, students are forced to keep up or fail classes.
14. As time goes by, more and more people (22%) know someone who was busted for downloading online. Nevertheless, this deters very few people from downloading illegally.
15. On Limewire alone, 41% of students have used this site. Of the other sites, of which there were 10, 32% of students download with these sites. In comparison, only 19% of students use pay sites. All the same, some students pay to download for some things and download illegally for others. This suggests that some bands are determined to be more worthy of one’s hard earned cash than other bands.
16. The fact that so few students play fantasy sports (under 15%) suggests a lack of time commitment to something that lasts so long. However, of those that do play, most play multiple sports.
17. As more people go online to get their movies through Blockbuster and Netflix (27%), this suggests that people want a greater selection of videos than the store offers and are willing to wait for DVDs if it means not having to worry about driving to get them.
18. That over half of the students (57%) go to Ebay suggests that stores aren’t the only places that hold bargains and most people would prefer to at least take the opportunity to find things cheaper. However, with only 27% of students being a Paypal member, this suggests that while some people are looking to be in business with their own merchandise, it’s not an overwhelming desire for students to have this option to sell back text books or other unwanted merchandise. Other students may just be windowshoppers on these sites.
19. A solid majority of 54% of students have relied on reviews when buying a product or service. In addition, 27% of students have written their own reviews of products for others to see. This shows that people have an opinion that they feel matters when it comes to product use.
20. That so many students are active in the Internet suggests that businesses need to look into making themselves more online than they already are.
21. That so many statistics on the questionnaires were left blank in spots suggests that many students weren’t willing to take this survey seriously and that they are more active than this survey suggests.

BONUS

Which famous religious scholar determined through his reading of the Bible that the world was created on October 23rd, 4004BC, which just so happened to be a Sunday?

The exact time that the world was created according to him was 9am.

If you want the points, I need a name and a URL (That isn't wikipedia).

++++++

Ghost Adventurers are at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum on October 30th. If you're into paranormal stuff, you should check them out. Sure, they're probably the lamest of the TV ghost shows, but I was there, and the place is not only interesting for its "paranormal" history, but also for its psychological history. Back in the day, there were a lot of things that could land a person in an institution that just wouldn't happen today.

The World is Flat TAKE HOME Assignment and Global Warming Assignment (Liberal and Conservative Bias in the Media)

List 20 websites you go on. List the URL and what is there. You need both to get the points (all or nothing).

The World is Flat Assignment
1. List all 10 of the flatteners. They’re either in your notes or on the Angel site in my PowerPoint.
2. In a full 1.5 page journal (bare minimum), tell me WITH FACTS from class, the video, or the PowerPoint what the World is Flat means to you and why “you Americans are not ready” and what you must do to get ready for the flat world. Numbers 3+4 aren't a part of this section.
3. Incorporate 1 of your quotes into a cohesive paragraph that makes sense and answers the why of what your quotation means. Tell me the greater why.
4. Incorporate 2 of your stats / facts into cohesive paragraphs that make sense of what these statistics means. Tell me the greater why.
5. Use your amazing Internet powers to go on http://www.amazon.com/ and get the information for the World is Flat 3.0 by Thomas Friedman to create an MLA Works Cited Page citation for this book.
6. Go on http://www.youtube.com/ and get the MIT shareware for the World is Flat lecture that we read and create an MLA Works Cited Page citation for this website.
7. Find any technology / computer / business magazine (a real one not an electronic one) and get the information for an MLA Works Cited Page citation for this magazine. Either xerox the pages or bring the magazine on Monday
8. Using my statistics from the online survey we took in class (THESE WILL BE ON ANGEL ONLINE BY THIS AFTERNOON AT THE LATEST AND YOU WILL ALSO HAVE THE ORIGINAL SURVEY UPLOADED THAT YOU CAN REFERENCE), tell me what 8 of those numbers mean regarding the “flat world.” THESE DON'T HAVE TO BE FULL PARAGRAPHS - JUST EXPLAINED OUT. If 10 people use AOL e-mail, this means nothing in and of itself. Is this the most popular service? Is it the least popular service? Why do you think this is?

ALL OF YOUR NOTES MUST BE TURNED IN WITH THIS FOR FULL CREDIT.
REALLY.

Midterm Rules

Read chapters 5+6 from Where Men Win Glory. Your midterm focuses on the greater meaning of punishment contained within. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it. You may want to check out the book as well. It's excellent and as good as anything Jon Krakauer has done previously (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven).

There are 4 grades:
PASS (exceptional - no worries)
CLOSE to Pass (Pretty good as a whole - some things have to be worked out with your writing; it's good, but not good enough to get you out of part of the final).
CLOSE to Fail (In the words of the Germans, "nicht so gut." Quite simply, as the wind blows, you could pass or fail. I am very worried. Do what you have to do to get it together).
FAIL (Obvious - you have no reason to expect that you will pass this class. See me immediately).

If I don't say it in class enough, know that I am proud of you sticking it out when others take days off or don't do the work. Keep being great. Your enthusiasm makes me happy to teach you.

Really.

How to set up a final exam essay

“Simplify, simplify, simplify!” THOREAU
Pre-write
1. Clustering
2. Brainstorming
3. Freewriting
Outline – SET LIST!!
I, A, B, C, 1,2
Write

3-5 sentences.

For 5 years, America has been involved in a war that is unjust. As a result, over 4,000 Americans have been killed to support “Bush’s war against terror.” America needs to return home as soon as possible, which according to Obama’s estimates can be within 18 months while returning the rule of Iraq to Iraqis. This will not only end our occupation of this country, it will enable America to focus its tax dollars on domestic problems.

Whether it is just or unjust, America has become trapped in a situation in Iraq that forces this country to protect its domestic interests abroad. Thus, if we were to leave Iraq, we would be emboldening our enemy to hold out its attempts to destabilize this region until we leave. In addition, these terrorists would follow us home to kill us here. This culture of defeat would not only be problematic to our internal issues, but it would weaken our standing as the world’s leader in times of crisis.

John McCain and I agree on the issue of abortion since it is wrong to take a life. While I have issues with whether a woman who is raped or in danger of death should be forbidden to have an abortion, the idea of a throw away life society is morally repugnant to me. Thus, I agree with McCain and Palin when it comes to protecting the rights of the unborn.

Barack Obama recognizes the rights of the individual to be protected from a morally reckless government that would seek to prevent people from having an abortion based on someone else’s definition of what life is. Thus, it is very important to keep this personal and private medical decision out of legal chambers and within the private homes of those individuals who would be opting for this procedure. Thus, I agree with the fundamental right to privacy and personal choice that Barack Obama and the Democratic Party defend.

I am for Barack Obama’s stance on oil. This is because I do not feel that we should be getting cheap oil at the expense of our environment. As a result, I like where he stands, which is against drilling and nuclear power and standing for alternative energies such as wind power. If America looks to the future and gives tax credits to those programs that support a way out of Middle East oil dependency, we can also find ourselves creating new business and stimulating our economy.

I am in complete agreement with John McCain’s plan to drill for oil in the oceans off America. China is already doing this, and America is losing out on economical and job growth opportunities at the expense of what some people say is environmental damage. However, with the new clean methods of drilling, we could see ourselves move away from Middle East oil dependency while providing minimal harm to our natural resources.

Marcus Luttrell Assignment

Marcus Luttrell Assignment (this was to be in class, but it is now a take-home assignment since there's no point in watching you read an article that you have to summarize).
1. Read the WHOLE article. If I picked it out for you to read, there is a lesson to learn.
2. Then, assume that Luttrell has just spoken this whole article to you. Your job is to determine the following things: Thesis, 3 forecasats, and a conclusion.
3. Your job IS NOT to repeat the article to me. If I want to read it, I can read it.
4. Your job is to write a 5-paragraph essay (you don’t have to type it, but you can) that explains what Luttrell’s purpose was in writing this section of Lone Survivor (which is the best military book OF ALL TIME) according to why I wanted you to read this.
5. This is an extension of COM051’s article summaries, which are a good lead in to research, which starts Wednesday and finishes its introduction on Friday.
6. The last time that you can turn this in for any credit is Friday in class prior to me starting class.
7. By the way, if you can do this, then you can do the mid-term. If you can do the mid-term, you can do the final exam (if necessary).

SCHEDULE UNTIL ESSAY 2 (IF YOU HAVEN'T PRINTED IT OUT, WHICH YOU SHOULD HAVE).

September 28 – I will collect your essay IN CLASS (if it’s not here in class, then it’s late) and then I will warm up with Lone Survivor in class reading assignment. Finish with more grammar after I approve your topics. You can never have enough help with grammar. Really.
September 30 + October 2 – While you should have your book by day 1, if you don’t have it by today, you will be in a predicament as MLA is intensely explained in the Pocket Reference for Writers. Please carry your book with to class every day after this point. In class self and peer review of the essay. For Monday, you will need to have a typed first paragraph, 2 URLs, and a preliminary “rough” outline. Handwritten is the same as not done at all.
October 5+7 – First research paragraph check day. We will be putting these paragraphs on the board and they will be worth 25 points to go over. All students will be checked one of these days. Any student that doesn’t go Monday will go on Wednesday.
October 9 – We will do the creative / descriptive writing assignment today. As this is a pointed assignment, you need to be here to complete it. This is a personal file that I have created and is only available as an IN CLASS assignment.
October 12+14 – Thomas Friedman World is Flat video. Begin to discuss paraphrasing and making statistics say what we want them to. For homework, you need to list 20 URLs that you visit and tell me what is there. You will also have to go to www.rael.org and tell me what is there. This is worth 20 points. These are due at the next class. Look over Phishing and Internet Use handouts at home since I don’t have time to do them in class.
October 16 - Thomas Friedman World is Flat discussion day. We will be doing the quiz, the in-class group essay, and then the Power Point discussion. Everything will combine for a 50 point assignment. You must be here for this. You are given questions for the Global Warming assignment and told to have them done by Monday for in class discussion.
October 19+21 – Global Warming quiz, group project, and discussion on conservative and liberal bias in the media with additional discussion on subjective, objective, values neutral, and faith based writing.
October 23 - The David Sedaris article midterm. As long as you wouldn’t fail, you get the points for passing. While this is not the final determination of passing or failing this class, this is a solid indicator of where you stand. It is given today so that you know where you would be with regards to deciding to withdraw or stay in class. Please note that withdrawing may prevent an F, but it may affect your financial aid. Always see the good folks in Berks 107 before acting on something that could create a bill for you. Always see your teacher before deciding that you can’t do this class anymore. You may be surprised to find that your teacher sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
October 26 - I will be available for discussions regarding what your grade is so that you can decide whether to stay in class or to take a W. I will advise you honestly, but I won’t tell you what to do. Only you can do that. I will tell you what you can expect based on your progress up until this point. Since you have been working intently on your research, I will also be willing to meet up 1 on 1 to discuss this. Whether or not you choose to meet with me, you will be able to use this class to complete your Presidential Scavenger Hunt for Wednesday OR you can use it for research time.
October 28 – Go over all of the different ways that you researched on the Internet for the Presidential Scavenger Hunt and that you can research on the Internet to find answers to questions like the ones I made you hunt down. Trust me; being able to Google search is a great skill to have.
October 30 – Rehash of all that is MLA and research. Your essay is due in class on Monday. Students are told to have an APA persuasive topic for Monday.
November 1 - 12-8 Barnes and Nobles Day for all students. This is located at the Target plaza.
November 2 - All essays must be turned in on Monday to redo if you get less than a 75. If you do not turn in during our class on Monday (all excuses are equal), then you will not get a redo. If you do not turn this essay in by the following Monday, you cannot pass the class as the rules for my class specify doing all 3 essays at a minimum to pass the class. In class self and peer review of the essay. If you don’t have an essay, you will be marked late for class as we will be conducting the essay review ONLY with those that have an essay to hand in. Begin APA discussion. Also, we will approve topics for the persuasive essay.

Where things are in Angel

As I am going to upstate New York this weekend, I am currently in the process of re-organizing Angel online for you as I will be unavailable until Monday night.

What's Wrong With This Sentence PowerPoint (we'll do this Wednesday)
Values Neutral PowerPoint - The Meaning of Words
Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum picture (I mentioned that TAPS - ghost hunters - would be there October 30; I also referred to "hysteria" in connection with this).

Rather than have you search these out (they're in the APA persuasive essay section), the links I mentioned in class are here. Peruse them AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. They deal with free speech and hate speech as well as issues with wording in writing. I think you can figure out which 1 is which.

The Right Word is in the grammar section.
Issues in Your Paper (we did 22+23, you do the rest) is in The First Essay section.
If you have questions on any of these, YOU MUST ASK! DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. I GET PAID TO ANSWER. YOU PAY TO LEARN.

http://www.snopes.com/

http://www.factcheck.org/

http://www.apastyle.org/race.html

http://www.apastyle.org/sexuality.html

http://www.apastyle.org/disabilities.html

http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/menu.htm

http://www.judicialwatch.org/documents/2008/KFYI.McGregorLetter.pdf

http://www.billoreilly.com/blog;jsessionid=D871409678262997591B6B1DDE52AE56?action=viewBlog&blogID=88083313171143568

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/Compean-Ramos/Setting%20the%20Record%20Straight%204-25%202007.pdf

http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2006/08/06/msm-paints-a-false-picture-of-the-israel-hezbollah-war/

http://www.iwchildren.org/

http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~nunberg/redskin.html

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/platform.asp

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200805/cosby

http://www.patriotguard.org/

www.godhatesfags.com/

Final Exam Topics

Final Exam Questions.
If you passed the midterm, you must do one of the following as a 7 paragraph persuasive essay. If you had a score of close, you must do this as a 10 paragraph persuasive essay. You will have 2 days to do this.
You can use a note card for any of these topics. You may want to research various sites to gain enough information to write academically about any of these topics.
I will need prewriting, an outline, and an essay.
1. Many people read commercially popular magazines and believe that they too can hike into the remote places that are in them and not experience troubles DESPITE not having the ability to seriously hike or the understanding of the local terrain. This happened to Bryce Gillies at the Grand Canyon last week. Persuade your reader on what is the appropriate behavior for a hike of this kind.
2. In recent months, North Korea resumed its nuclear program, which included a 4th of July missile launch towards Hawaii (it didn’t quite get there). This has been going on for many years with stoppages in between when the US and the world paid them to not utilize nuclear weapons. Now, the US is faced with the same decision again as the North Koreans threaten massive retaliation against anyone that tries to stop them. As the world’s leader, what should Obama direct the US to do in this situation?
3. President Obama weighed in against the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police who arrested Henry Louis Gates, an African American professor at Harvard, when he was taken into custody after disorderly conduct that stemmed from him trying to “break into his own home.” The police who arrested Gates were alerted to the house by neighbors who saw 2 black men trying to enter the house. As a result, the police are being accused of racial profiling. Based on facts only, is this racial profiling, or is this the police doing their work to protect the homeowner? Persuade your reader of the dangers of racial profiling or tell your reader about the dangers of calling everything racial profiling. In addition, you can persuade Obama to stay out of affairs that he self-admittedly states that he knows nothing about. If you do that, it’s an essay all to itself.
4. Manuel Zelaya, the former leader of Honduras, was overthrown for corruption. Now, the socialist leaning leader is threatening to come back to the border of his home country in order to resume power. What should the United States do to support this situation?
5. Since the elections in Iran, there has been a lot of tension within the country. This is now escalating as the opposition is looking to mourn the victims of this crackdown with a memorial for slain activist Neda Sollani. Should the Iranian government allow this situation as a good will gesture or should they continue to ban it as a threat to the stability of their country?
6. Some parents (such as Christian Scientists) do not believe in the use of medicine to treat their ill children. In a recent case, a father decided to pray for the recovery of his 11-year old daughter instead of allowing her to get treatment. The daughter died, and he is facing charges that his actions killed her. In this, is it right for the state to weigh in against someone’s religious beliefs when they endanger a minor?
7. Iran, like North Korea, is seeking to create nuclear weapons, which it is feared that they would use on Israel, a country that they hate. Last month, it was reported by a Joe Biden mis-speech that the US would step back and allow Israel to protect itself (this was quickly “corrected” by the powers that be). As a result, Israel started to prepare for the strike on these nuclear facilities before they could become operational. Now, Iran has threatened to strike back at Israel’s nukes if they try to do anything to the Iranian facilities. What can be done to de-escalate this situation?
8. I told you that you could write a persuasive essay in defense of Octomom, but you can’t write one against her. If you want to do this, I am fine with telling me why she is being unfairly singled out for manipulating the welfare system with having 14 children that she can’t afford to take care of on her own.
9. In light of the Iranian Revolution (this final exam may as well be called what we are learning from Iran), which broadcasted everything live on the Internet as it was happening, what are the benefits or drawbacks of a 24/7 news service of anonymous comment from the people?
10. Should the use of Myspace and Facebook be held against potential employees and college students based on what they do legally in their own time? See the case of Stacy Snyder, the Myspace “drunken pirate.”
11. What should people be able to do if they are unfairly and anonymously “revenged” on the Internet with slanderous and unsubstantiated comments? As this is something that you all can and will face in your life, this is a good topic for you to ponder as you become leaders in the business world.
12. What should the U.S. do with the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay? Think of this in light of wear to try them, wear to hold them, and how to prevent them from returning to the battlefield.
13. Barack Obama is currently touting a new health care system in America that would provide GOVERNMENT health care as a right to all Americans. Is this the right way to fix America’s health care system or is giving people the right to a better privatized system a better way to fix the system?
14. As they are a country with a large Muslim population and no reason to help America in their war on terror, should the United States leverage Pakistan to further support American in our quest to root out the remaining Taliban and Al Qaeda elements that are based in their country?
15. Just over 101 years ago, the Tunguska Event occurred. This was an explosion over Siberia that has been claimed to be an alien spaceship crashing. In honor of this event, do you believe in aliens? Why or why not?
16. In honor of the most famous writer still living in Berks County (Charles Adams), do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not. Also, you can read this article and determine if the principal of the school district acted accordingly in not allowing Charles Adams to do his ghost story thing.
17. Many magazines that specialize in tabloid sales have complained about the media loving tendency of Kate (of Jon and Kate Plus Eight) while constantly making money from her antics and her estranged husband’s affairs. OR After Michael Jackson’s death, a largely forgotten pop star in the midst of a potential comeback was elevated to the status of Elvis with the mix of his music career’s influence, his weird life, and his early death. Looking at these celebrities, make a case that people should care more about the real news events that I have listed above instead of celebrity news.
18. You can argue against my position on banning slasher movies. You can’t argue for it.
19. Defend the censorship of any OTHER cultural medium or defend freedom of speech as an ABSOLUTE value that cannot be censored in any case.
20. After watching Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, EITHER attack outsourcing as unfair and economy crippling or defend it as a cost-cutting necessity that will strengthen our economy.
21. Should Americans pay tax dollars to help rebuild Gulf Coast cities after hurricanes?
22. Based on our discussion of Global Warming, is it a real situation that needs to be addressed immediately to prevent catastrophe, or is it a politically influenced hoax designed to forward liberal ideas?

MLA Handout

Researching the MLA paper - SQ3R is your friend. Really.
SURVEY What do you know about the topic?
QUESTION What do you need to know about the topic to complete the paper?
RULE #2: “YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO BE LAZY”
Remember, this means that you are not writing a book. You are writing about a single defined aspect of this topic. This has nothing to do with procrastination or a half-hearted attempt at writing a paper. That stuff is anathema.
READ Now find your research material and create either 50 note cards or 8-10 pages of handwritten research.
WHAT ARE SOME GOOD WEBSITES TO USE?
Sites that end in .edu or .gov are as absolute and perfect as they come. If your site is a .org, that means it could be good (if you know the organization), but it might be not so good if it belongs to people who are just looking to push their bizarre nature onto other people (http://www.rael.org/)
Also, be careful that you don’t use sites that are commercial (for instance, sell steroids). There are many sites like this online. Stick with the above the boards stuff.
MLA DOCUMENTATION All research (except common knowledge) is cited. Your paper is cited in MLA. While APA is also a way to cite, it’s not what we’re doing here. Don’t ask me what CMS is. I’ve never used. You most likely won’t either.
You can get directions in your Blair Handbook, or you can also go here:
http://www.studyguide.org/MLAdocumentation.htm
http://citationmachine.net/
You are required to have at least 5 sources. Two of these sources must be from the Internet. One must be in print (magazine, book, etc.). After that, you can use whatever you want. You may use more than 5 sources. You will have 1-2 primary sources (Main sources of information) and the rest will be secondary sources (1 to a few pieces of information that back up the claims of your primary source).
BOOK ONE AUTHOR
Gorman, Elizabeth. Prairie Women. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
CLASS NOTES
Smith, John. "Beowulf: Archetypal Hero." English 102 Class. Vestavia Hills High School, Vestavia Hills, AL. March 28, 2003.
MAGAZINE
Cannon, Angie. "Just Saying No to Tests." U.S. News & World Report. Oct. 1999: 34.
INTERVIEW
Whitehurst, Daniel, former mayor of Fresno. Personal interview. 5 Mar. 2003.
THE LIBRARY HAS INFORMATION FOR HOW TO CITE GALE NET AND EBSCO HOST – I don’t require their use, but if you use them, know how.
WEBSITES
Last Name, First Name. Title. Date Created. Date Accessed. URL.
While there are a million little ways that you may cite websites, this way will work for the purpose of this class. NOTE: You will not always have a date created (if you don’t have day, month, and year, you also don’t have a date), and you won’t always have an author, but you will have the other 3. Improvise accordingly.
I DO WANT ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION TO BE CURRENT. FOR EXAMPLE, STEROIDS AND SPACE MATERIAL IS TIME SENSITIVE WITH NEW INFORMATION AND CHANGES REGARDING NEW DISCOVERIES.
RECITE This is where you take your notes. You can underline handouts or printouts. You can copy notes (whatever it takes to get to your required amount of stuff). Just find the info.
REVIEW Organize and outline. Reassess your thesis and go back to the library or computer to research some more. Make sure you understand what you are researching. Just because you have the material doesn’t mean that it makes sense. Ask me!!
OH YEAH Send all of your URLs so that I can check their validity.
IN PARAGRAPH CITATIONS You must cite everything. Every fact, every name, number, bit of information or external opinion about the topic has to come from somewhere (except common knowledge stuff). This is 1 of the reasons that we do topics that I choose. Ever since I had a student know everything about Jeff Gordon and think that he didn’t have to cite his facts, I realized that it’s best to have students research teacher-acceptable topics.
As a result, this paper is here to help you.
QUOTES It is very important to understand your information in your own words. Some information can only come across in sentences written a certain way (“John Daniel. Glass Jr. was born on August 26, 1971”). It’s not plagiarism to take this information and use it the only way it really can be written. Most information (99.9999999999999%) must be put into your own words. In some instances (Comp and Lit papers), it becomes necessary to take big hunks of sentences and use them word for word in a book or really long paper.
YOU WILL NOT DO THIS IN THIS PAPER. THE LONGEST QUOTE YOU MAY USE IS A SINGLE SENTENCE, AND YOU MUST INCORPORATE IT INTO THE PAPER. IN THIS, WHILE YOU ARE “TECHNICALLY CORRECT” IN BEING ALLOWED TO USE IT, YOU MAY NOT USE IT. YOU MUST PARAPHRASE IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS. IF YOU DO THIS, I WILL CONSIDER YOUR PAPER SHORT DUE TO HEAVILY BORROWING FROM THE WORKS OF OTHER PEOPLE AND I WILL DEDUCT SENTENCE SENSE POINTS AS WELL FOR YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING YOUR RESEARCH. NO EXCEPTIONS.
FOR EXAMPLE (the quote is in black): Steroids have created a variety of new injuries. While the athletes pay the price, there is a different person who is doing the collecting: Dr. James Andrews, wonder surgeon to sports injuries. Noted sports columnist A. Cynic summarized Andrews multi-million dollar business by stating, “Andrews owes his homes, cars, and vacations to the fact that sports stars aren’t smart enough to realize when they aren’t exercising, but are tearing muscle off of the bones.” (Cynic)
THE ABOVE IS GOOD (incorporated).
THE BELOW IS BAD (no flow and should have been paraphrased).
Sports injuries are bad. They affect many players and teams. This year, they affected the Yankees. Carl Pavano is a perfect example of a bad sports injury. “The Pavano news is bad. He had been throwing on the side, and got up on the mound on Sunday, but though the team kept saying he was getting better, he didn't seem so optimistic. He is going to see Dr. James Andrews in Alabama and may, in fact, need Tommy John surgery, which would finish him for this season and probably next season, too, possibly ending is career.” (Amore)
PRINT SOURCES
(Author’s last name Page # (IF AVAILABLE))
(If no Author or you use the author multiple times, then switch to first important word of the title underlined or in quotes appropriately Page #)
NOTE: there is no comma between these items and there is no word “page”, “p.,” “para” or “paragraph” either.
If the paraphrase includes where the source is from (“In his book Now I Can Die in Peace, Bill Simmons expresses how Boston….”), then you can just use the page number. INTERNET SOURCES
(Author’s last name (IF AVAILABLE))
(First important word of title underlined or quoted appropriately (OTHERWISE))
WHEN IN DOUBT, SEE ME!! DON’T ASSUME!!!!!
IF YOU ASSUME OR DEVIATE FROM THESE RULES, THEN YOUR BAD GRADE IS YOUR FAULT. I DON’T CARE IF WE ARE USING CHANGES SINCE THE BLAIR HANDBOOK CAME OUT; YOU PAID $65 FOR THIS BOOK, SO WE’RE USING ITS RULES. IF YOU ARE USING RULES FROM BEFORE IT WAS PUBLISHED, THEN IT IS ALSO ON YOU. I DON’T MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR BEING GIVEN MISINFORMATION FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.
E-MAIL ME FOR SAMPLE ESSAYS!!