Week 11

Good evening.   Today is the last class meeting, and will be devoted to your writing a short essay of 450 -500 words.  The topic list, directions, and requirements will be presented in class.

All paperwork is due today.

  There is a class evaluation to be filled out at a URL sent to your email.  Please take the next few minutes to fill it out.

Have a great break!

Week 10

Good evening!

Today we will continue working on the final short report.   If you have not yet chosen a topic, today is the day to do it. 

     Review the stories in the various topical sections of a comprehensive daily news source or recent publications on a topic you have heard or know something about, get the facts, follow links and other associated articles and then tell the story, i.e. what makes the story or report important or interesting specifically, and the point above all that drives your interest and conclusions.  You must support a central point (thesis point) using the material you have gathered. Integrate the several sources in the essay body through summary, paraphrase and direct quotation, background and evidence for the point you seek to make.  Compose the short Works Cited list of those sources you have used and named in text (cited in the body of the essay). Edit.  Revise.  Put a title on it.  You are done!

     
I will take up the graded field reports and review work individually.

     Next week is the last week of class and a short essay assignment will be asked of you from a set of topics that require no research or prior readings. 

Extra Credit:  Go to the Modern Love column at the New York Times online.  Choose from the recent or archived essays one that appeals to you.  All are first-person narrative essays on the subject of romantic love.  Briefly describe (include title and author and post date) the content and then respond to the work by drawing out the associations and thoughts it gives rise to in you.  You may include a story of your own that serves as commentary or illustration of what you find interesting in the piece. 400-500 words, titled. 

Week 9

Jose Bedia (Miami-based artist)

Welcome back.

 It is week nine, which means of course that we have just two weeks to completion of the quarter.  Thus far you have been assigned a total of 5 essays;   your short research project (5), and the in-class final (6) remain.  The in-class final is to be done in class week 11, not at home.  The field reports are due today (#4).    We will look at the results of your scoutings from the field (*-*)  and then allow time for the short report work, review the MLA guidelines for source integration, direct quotation, and so on.   The essay should be finished by the end of class next week.

The in-class practice of week 9 using MLA in-text citations and Works Cited list:   Brief summary of the Room for Debate topic “Can Citizens Sue the Government Over Climate Change?” at the New York Times, with MLA Documentation.

Concern over the impact humans were having on the environment led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and major legislation such as the National Environmental Protection Act in the 1970s. Federal and state governments have a legal obligation to address threats to the environment as they impact human health and that of other species.  The Clean Air Act of 2011 established a precedent for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Citizen action helps to hold government accountable; thus it is heartening to read of the successful suit by one citizen group against the Massachusetts state government for failing to uphold laws limiting greenhouse gases, as noted by Eric Gay in his introduction to an issue debated at the nytimes.com, “Can Citizens Sue the Government Over Climate Change?”  Those who stand to be impacted most by the consequences of climate change must be allowed to make their case in court, including children, as recognized by the Oregon court (Chemerinsky).  In “We Are Witnessing a Societal Move Toward ‘Climate Justice,’” professor of law Carlton Mark Waterhouse writes, “Environmental degradation is a social injustice because it almost always falls more heavily on marginalized groups across the globe — the young, poor, racial and ethnic minorities and indigenous communities.”

Works Cited

Chemerinsky, Erwin.  “Citizens Have a Right to Sue for Climate Change Action.” 

        nytimes.com.  New York Times,  23 May 2016. Web. 29 May 2016.

Gay, Eric.  “Can Citizens Sue the Government Over Climate Change?” nytimes.com.  NewYork

       Times,  23 May 2016.  Web. 29 May 2016.

Waterhouse, Carlton Mark.  “We Are Witnessing a Societal Move Toward ‘Climate Justice.’” 

       nytimes.com.   New York Times, 23 May 2016. Web. 29 May 2016.

  

Essay 5:  Short research report with MLA Works Cited list:  in 500 words or more report on a topic or issue with contemporary relevance about which you can find timely, authoritative primary and secondary source material, as in recently published news, scientific reports or articles, reviews, books,  films or photos, etcetera.  Title the piece and double-space the lines.  Include in-text references to source material and a Works Cited list arranged in alphabetical order.

Your thesis should be clear early in the paper and provide you a means of knowing what material to include and what not.  Ask yourself : Does this source or material contribute to "proving" or elaborating my point? If so, include it; if not, don't.  Know your purpose and the direction you want to take readers by final draft.  Initial stages may feel like so much groping in the dark and that's fine, but by the end you should have learned where you want to go and what you want to say in certain terms.



Research Topics (only suggested)

1.  Environment, nature, conservation issues (think climate change, habitat loss, pollution, species "news", green trends).

2.   Technology  New Products. An individual, corporation, or industry to watch, making a difference, positive or negative, like say Tesla, started by Elon Musk.

3.  The economy/ best ways to stretch a dollar, money management.

4.  Diet, nutrition, health.

5..  Great food ideas/new trends in culinary arts and/ or agricultural practice/ the legal marijuana business.

6.  New media/new opportunities:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

7.  Culture review: fashion, film, art, celebrity life, sports.

8.  LGBT issues / women's reproductive rights/ marriage and family today/ you-name-it.

News and Editorial Sites:

npr.org

slate.com

truthdig.com

salon.com

theguardian.com

bloomberg.com

democracynow.org

nasa.gov

nytimes.com


  Rewrites and any outstanding assignments must be submitted by the last class.

                                                                        Jose Bedia
Again,  week 11 a  final essay of 400-500 words will assess key composition skills, including grammatical sentences, unified and well-developed paragraphs, support for your thesis, and sound use of references and direct quotation, if called for.  You will have a set of topics to choose from and perhaps a required reading.  The Internet may thus be a source of content.  This final must be done in class.