English

you must discuss and cite according to MLA format information from the two articles as well as express your own ideas and present your analysis in standard expository essay format. The essay should have a clearly stated thesis in the introductory paragraph that is supported with unified, coherent, well-developed body paragraphs that cite evidence from the two articles, or readings using MLA format. Your final exam essay should demonstrate your ability to correctly summarize, paraphrase, quote, and use MLA in-text citation, plus use standard academic English with adequate control of grammar and mechanics to clearly communicate.     With the readings by Robert Putnam and Rajiv Vinnakota in mind, write an essay in which you discuss the issue of community building in the age of online social networks. What do the authors say about the challenges of generating social capital in our current day, and do you think that it is possible for people to maintain connections and create real communities in the age of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter?  In your essay, you must convey a clear understanding of the texts, either by integrating them into your argument or, at least, by summarizing them. Your essay should include no fewer than two citations, in MLA style, from each of the readings. Citations should include page numbers, not paragraph numbers.  Take some time at the beginning of the exam period to plan and organize your thoughts. Leave time at the end to proofread and make corrections. You may use a dictionary. Any time you use the exact words from the readings, you must use quotation marks. Any time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize, you must refer to the author by his or her last name.

The novel is made up of 4 parts (labeled in roman numeral). You will create 4 entries per story part for a total of 16 entries in your journal altogether.  (16 total–each made of a quote you pick in MLA citing, a connection of the quote to drama concepts/terms, and why you picked it) Part I–pages 1-108  (4 entries) Part II–pages 72-258  (4 entries) Part III–pages 259-355  (4 entries) Part IV–pages 357-403  (4 entries) Remember, you are not writing an essay for this unit, so your journal entries are important in that this is where you will use your writing thoughts to explore the novel and deepen your observations of narrative and hero’s journey and all of the many concepts we have discussed this semester.  Read and write and enjoy it.  Think of the characters, too, as you write your journals.  What are your thoughts about them?  Who resonates with you and why?  -CHARACTERS- Nao Yasutani – one of the protagonists of the novel, a 16-year-old native Nisei (second-generation Japanese American immigrant) Californian girl. Jiko Yasutani – Nao’s great-grandmother, who is a Zen Buddhist nun. An anarchist, feminist, and novelist, who was also a “new Woman of the Taisho era”. Haruki #1 – Nao’s great-uncle, a WWII soldier who supposedly died while carrying out a kamikaze mission over the pacific. Haruki #2 (or Harry Yasutani) – Nao’s father who had a prestigious job at Silicon Valley, but is fired from his job and loses most of his savings after the dot-com bubble burst, prompting him and his family to move to Tokyo. Ruth – the other protagonist of the novel. A novelist facing the problem of writer’s block. Oliver – Ruth’s husband, who is an environmental artist. Pest, or Pesto – Ruth and Oliver’s cat. As you know, EACH journal log entry should contain three parts: Part 1- Share a quote from the novel in MLA format with a parenthetical citation. Part 2-Connect the quote to the concepts of story (plot, climax, setting, character, theme, tone, symbol, etc.) Part 3-Explain why you picked it and/or what it means to you.  From A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

For this assignment you will learn how to create a Digital Story. Using the narrative summary that you wrote for the interview, you will search the Internet to find pictures that represent every one or two sentences. (You may further edit your summary if you feel that more or less information is needed for a good digital story). Each picture will be presented on EACH PowerPoint slide.  Instructions for learning to use PowerPoint can be found at http://culturequest.us/powerpoint.pdf  Once you have created the PowerPoint presentation using images (pictures) only…remember, no text on any slide except the title slide (No. 1) which will include the title and your name…you will then narrate your presentation….that is, for each picture (slide), you will narrate the few sentences that go along with that image (picture).  Your computer should have a “built-in” microphone.  (If you are using PowerPoint 2010, click “ insert” + audio to complete the narration (click “record audio” to get to the “narration” box and click the red button to start recording.. If you prefer, have to use MovieMaker, PhotoStory 2.0 or iMovie in place of PowerPoint.  If you don’t have access to any of these tools, use the computer at Lehman where you will find PowerPoint.   Here are the instructions for narrating your presentation using PowerPoint 2010: (If you are using PowerPoint 2010, find the record narration tool and narrate the story) If you are using a later edition of PowerPoint, you will find the “record” button at the top of PowerPoint. Contact me if you have questions.   To do this procedure, you’ll need a microphone.   1. On the top menu, click Slide Show menu, then click Record “Slide Show”.  Next Click “Start recoding from “beginning”. 2. If this is the first time you are recording, do the following: Click Set Microphone Level, and follow the directions to set your microphone level.   3. To begin recording, click OK.    4. Advance through the slide show, and add narration as you go. Click the SPACE BAR to advance to each new slide.   At the end of the show, a message appears. “The narrations have been saved with each slide. Do you want to save the slide timings”  5. To save the timings along with the narration, CLICK YES. A sound icon appears in the lower-right corner of each slide that has narration.   Notes   · When you run the slide show, the narration will automatically play with the show.   · Post your Digital Story in the Discussion Board area of Blackboard. Reflect on the experience of preparing the Digital Story. 

Assignment Content Imagine that you have been asked to design a client handout for a child and family services agency. The purpose of the handout is to inform clients about key policies behind the delivery of social welfare services, including SSI and SSDI. Design a 700- to 1,050-word handout, which includes the following information: The concepts and history of Social Security and public assistance An overview and the history of social welfare policies, including those related to: Aging Financial security Healthcare Political power Social Security Images to enhance your handout (use images produced by the government, which are in the public domain, or images with a Creative Commons license.) Select the software of your choosing to create your handout. If you use Microsoft® Word, review Word’s Secret Design Sizzle: Learn the Built-In Tools For Better-Looking Documents for some design tips. Acknowledge any sources you use in APA format. The rest of your handout does not need to follow APA page formatting; be creative with your format.

This option consists of two parts.  The first part asks you to write on your own 5-7 double-spaced pages of fan fiction based on a STAR TREK character or series.  Your fan fiction can be in any sub genre of science fiction (SF comedy, SF horror, SF mystery, etc.) as long as you are clearly writing about a recognizable STAR TREK character and you are working within the universe of STAR TREK as understood and described in the various episodes we are considering in this course.  In addition to writing your fan fiction, you should introduce it with a reflective memo (the second part of the assignment) of 3 double-spaced pages in which you describe why you chose the character you did and how you decided to concoct your story.  You should demonstrate in the memo how you thought through the conflict or situation your character(s) face, as well as how those conflicts and situations relate to one of the major course themes we have discussed.  Ideally, your fan fiction and your reflective memo will explore, expand, augment, or even challenge how STAR TREK as a narrative universe engages with one of our course themes on race, gender/sex, economics, or the environment.  One note: Please keep your fan fiction “PG-13” :

Near the end of Chapter 31, after Scout tells Atticus that Boo was ?“real he agrees with her in saying, ?“Most people are, Scout, when you finally see (Lee 296) Keeping this comment in mind, how is Lee telling the reader that the entire book is primarily based upon this theme? ?Be sure to discuss THREE characters or major events in the novel that display this theme and how each character learns from standing in someone else’s skin or how the events in nice,”?them.” Maycomb shaped the lives of those involved with those events?. IN YOUR TOPIC SENTENCES, YOU WILL NEED TO SAY DIRECTLY IN WHOSE SKIN YOUR CHARACTER WALKED. ?You may choose to write about whose shoes Scout walks in (Boo would be your second textual evidence), whose shoes Jem walks in (Scout or Tom—because of Jem’s broken arm—would be your second textual evidence), whose shoes Aunt Alexandria walks in (Scout would be your second textual evidence), whose shoes Atticus walks in….IF you choose to write about Atticus, he must be the last person about whom you write. There are MANY examples for each person. However, you will just need to discuss two.

Please use the following book as the source. Norton Anthology of American Literature : 1865 to the Present: Shorter Edition ISBN: 978-0-393-26451-7 Use the story, “The Swimmer” (p. 1183) in the book to write the essay. Need three or more quotations from these shot stories.

Chose ONE of the following topics and complete an essay which includes outside research of approximately 3 to 5 pages.  This is a formal essay, and formal essay writing techniques should be employed (MLA citations, no use of the first person, etc.)  Compare the Beowulf poet’s treatment of Grendel and the dragon. Do these monsters contribute to our understanding of the ethical or social values of Anglo-Saxon society? What purpose do the monsters serve in the poem? Do Grendel and the dragon represent different kinds of evil?

In “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying,” Adrienne Rich says “[w]hen a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her” (47).  How can sharing painful truths – about our society, and about ourselves – help us to resist oppressions such as capitalist exploitation, racism, or sexism?  What possible risks and potential rewards should we consider before deciding to share these painful truths?  How can we prepare to reduce these risks and improve our chances to achieve the rewards?

The Blithedale Romance is a work of literary art aimed at social criticism, but readers have differing ideas about just what is being critiqued in this complex novel. What do you think is most interesting about how we are being asked to think about (and question) the realities of “human nature” in this novel? do you think the novel is fair toward the utopian hopes of people (then and now) in actual experimental “cooperative” communities?