Honors Composition End of the Semester

Post any comment you need to make for the end of the semester. If you have any questions about assignments, tests, and about environmental issues, post it here.

Speech Fundamentals Midterm Assignments Due

You may email me any assignments that you still owe me at raphaelcompr@hotmail.com.

* two page Booker T. Washington debate summary (what did you do during the debate and how did you contribute to it? If you weren't present, argue for or against Booker T. Washington's views on race and relate your argument to his "Atlanta Exposition Address")
*two page Marcus Garvey Debate summary (what did you do during the debate and how did you contribute to it? If you weren't present, argue for or against Garvey's views on Africa.)
* persuasive speech (your persuasive speech must be five minutes in length, you must also demonstrate knowledge of the opposing argument and rebut the opposing side's views)
*in class essay exam on the first chapter of The Art of Public Speaking (midterm exam)

The Novel Midterm Grades

Your midterm grades will be based on the following assignments:
1) a five page paper on The Metamorphosis, written according to MLA format and revised;
2) an in-class essay on Saul Bellow's Seize the Day;
3) a class length PowerPoint presentation dealing with Bellow's Seize the Day

Assignments may be sent to me by email at raphaelcompr@hotmail.com.

Developmental English Midterm Grades and Assignments

Please post any questions that you have here about assignments that are due. Here is the list below:

Assignments due:
* Blog Comment on Writing: On the blog for our class, post a comment about you past history as a writer. What writing problems do you have? How do you hope to improve as a writer?
* Paragraph on trees article: Trees are disappearing on the West coast because of global warming. Write your opinion about what you learned from this article in a brief freewrite.
trees dying because of global warming
* Read the essay by Vaclav Havel in Reading the Environment. Write a paragraph on what you learned from Havel. Do you agree or disagree with his views?
* In class Havel quote (this may be posted as a comment on my blog): choose a quote by Havel and write about it
* In class, we revised four sentences students wrote. If you didn't complete this assignment, revise the first four sentences in the editing link under Spring 2009 course updates
* We wrote about the possibility of electric cars becoming popular. Do you think they will help resolve the global warming problem? link
* Write a paragraph about Obama's energy policies. We read an article about Obama's energy policies.
link
* Fill out the entire questionnaire at the beginning of the Reading the Environment project
* Write an in-class essay after watching the film Out of Balance

Honors Composition Midterm Assignments Due

Here is a complete list of all the assignments due:
LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS DUE
*completed questionnaire from the beginning of the Reading the Environment project
*one paragraph freewrite on Obama's energy plans, see the link in earlier link
*science panel: write your reaction to the language of the science panel on global warming. one page
* write one paragraph on the link concerning electric cars; do you think electric cars are a solution to the problem of global warming and pollution for fossil fuels?electric
* brainstorming: do a wheel with the words climate crisis or global warming in the center
* calculate your carbon footprint and post your carbon footprint on the blog calculator
* post a quote from Vaclav Havel's essay on the blog and respond to the quote (read the Havel essay in the Reading the Environment link)
* write a paragraph about global warming and state whether you think it is a danger or not
* write one page about whether you think polar bears should be placed on the endangered species list Should the polar bear be placed on the endangered species list?
* watch the youtube video on Al Gore (you may use some of the computers on the second floor of Russell Hall to watch these videos, see Mr. Macklin); write two pages on your response to his video (be specific about what you learned) Should the polar bear be placed on the endangered species list?
* do an editing assignment: Edit the paragraph under number 83 on the editing webpage--see the link to the editing page under Spring 2009 course updates
* do the assignment on the types of pronouns (give examples of demonstrative, reflexive, reciprocal, personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns)
* sign up for a presentation and have at least 10 slides (see topics above)
* write a one to two page paper on Out of Balance, the film we watched on Exxon Mobil and its profits off of fossil fuels that are polluting the planet. Do you think that we are headed towards a doomsday scenario?

African American Literature Midterm Grades

Post any comments you have about assignments here.
Here is a list of ALL the assignments due by the end of the midterm:
* (1) a two page paper on Within Our Gates. Discuss the problems of racism and sexism in the film. What do you think were the most disturbing scenes in the film? Be specific.
* (2) Revised: a one page essay on "Status Symbol" in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature
* (3) Revised: a one page essay on "I am A Black Woman" in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature
* (4) Revised: a two page essay on the international struggle against racism as described in "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature
* (5)a revised two page essay on two poems by Langston Hughes; include a quote from my book Poetry, Desire, and Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance
* (6) Revised: the quote from Malcolm X and a one to two page freewrite on the quote (see previous posts for the quote)
* (7) a three page essay on one of the following sketches in Jean Toomer's Cane: "Becky," "Fern," and "Karintha," along with quotes from my book on Cane (to be completed in class after we watch the film)
Please note that in all assignments, you must use appropriate documentation (MLA format) and support your argument with quotes from the text(s) that you are citing.
You may send these assignments to me at raphaelcompr@hotmail.com

Honors Composition II: Presentations and New Comments

Please post your new comments here. Thank you for all of your comments on the previous post. I would like you to let me know what the topic of your PowerPoint presentation will be for the midterm exam (you must do these around the first week of March). I would like everyone to limit the presentation to around 10-12 slides with a works cited list at the end. There are a lot of topics listed on the course update for this class. Feel free to discuss any other subject relevant to this class on this post.