Tuesday, May 5th, 2015--6:30 pm

Greetings,
for your convenience, I have recorded below the Oral Presentation schedule for both classes.

ENGLISH 5, SECTION 19

Monday, May 11
Tyler S.
Kathryn
Jessica
Jasmine
Kyle
Shelby
Cerise
Sam
Charles
Adrian
Jordan
Andrew

Wednesday, May 13
Coledan
Marissa
Diana
Branden
Kira
Hailee
Julio
Asma
Sierra
Kaitlynn
Alica

ENGLISH 5, SECTION 5

Monday, May 11
Julia
Nicholas
Brian V.
Tyler Mah
Erika
Caitlynn
Hewut
Ryan
Lacey
Nancy Vang
Jordin
Bryan Herman

Wednesday, May 13
Manuel
Anthony
Jessica
Tristen
Nancy Soto
Manroop
Myron
McKayla
Tyler R.
Ajinae
Maleigha
Ulambayar
Stephanie

SECTION 5 STUDENTS, PLEASE READ ASAP. (Saturday, May 2, 2015--7:30 pm)

Class will be held on Monday, May 4th,  in Alpine 147.

This is ONLY for section 5 students at 11 am.

PLEASE READ ASAP-----Wednesday, April 29th--5:30 pm

GREETINGS,

As I mentioned in class today, there are only two weeks left of classes and below you will find a mini summary of what will be occurring during these weeks. Please refer to this summary now, and not your syllabus calendar.

(I received a phone call this afternoon from a colleague who is very ill and asked me if I could take her place in presenting a paper at a meeting of English professors throughout Northern California. The meeting is Friday morning, which means I will have to cancel class this Friday, May 1.)

WEEK 14--May 4-8
--sign up for oral presentations (Monday)
--view documentary film, Home (Monday)
--Discuss Packets 8 and 9 (Wednesday)
--Complete Prof. Fraga's Self-Designed Course Evaluation (Wednesday)
--Friday (no class)

WEEK 15--May 11-15
--oral presentations (Monday)
--oral presentations (Wednesday)
--BRING TO CLASS THE FOLLOWING: all graded work; your grade sheet filled out; a calculator;
any final revisions of essays, if applicable. (Friday)

FRIDAY, MAY 15TH, IS THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT REVISIONS.

ALSO, IF YOU NEVER SUBMITTED ANY OF THE OUT OF CLASS ESSAYS, YOU MUST SUBMIT BY FRIDAY, THE 15TH. REMEMBER, EVEN IF THE ESSAY HAS ALREADY EARNED A FAILING GRADE DUE TO LATENESS, YOU STILL MUST WRITE AND SUBMIT ALL THREE OUT OF CLASS ESSAYS IN ORDER TO PASS THE COURSE.
(see syllabus)

Tuesday, April 28th--5:40 pm

Greetings,

Below you will find a copy of the handout distributed in class on Monday. I will be completing the lecture on Wednesday in class.

Also, there were a very large number of absences on Monday. 

Not attending class because there is no activity that earns points is a lot like show students in high school view learning. I do not know for sure why there were so many absences, but I did not receive any explanations from anyone. When you miss class, you always miss something important. Education is not about how many points one earns toward a grade on a transcript. (okay, I am now finished with my mini-rant.  :)   )

How to Critically Read an Essay

Educated adults exist in a delusional state, thinking we can read.

In a most basic sense, we can.

However, odds are, some of us cannot read, at least not as well as we would like.

Too many college students are capable of only some types of reading and that becomes painfully clear when they read a difficult text and must respond critically about it.

Intelligence and a keen memory are excellent traits and most students have learned to read in a certain way that is only useful for extracting information. Thus, students are often fairly well skilled in providing summary.

However, the act of reading to extract information and to read critically are vastly different!

The current educational system in American primary schools (and many colleges) heavily emphasizes the first type of reading and de-emphasizes the latter.

In many ways, THIS MAKES SENSE.

Reading to extract information allows a student to absorb the raw materials of factual information as quickly as possible. It is a type of reading we all must engage in frequently.  However, each type of reading calls for different mental habits. If we do not learn to adjust from one type of reading to another when necessary, we cripple our intellectual abilities to read critically.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN READING TO EXTRACT INFORMATION AND READING CRITICALLY.

1. They have different goals.  When students read to extract information, usually they seek facts and presume the source is accurate.  No argument is required.  On the other hand, when students read critically, they try to determine the quality of the argument.  The reader must be open-minded and skeptical all at once, constantly adjusting the degree of personal belief in relation to the quality of the essay’s argument.
2. They require different types of discipline.  If students read to learn raw data, the most efficient way to learn is repetition.  If students read critically, the most effective technique may be to break the essay up into logical subdivisions and analyze each section’s argument, to restate the argument in other words, and then to expand upon or question the findings.
3. They require different mental activity.  If a student reads to gain information, a certain degree of absorption, memorization and passivity is necessary. If a student is engaged in reading critically, that student must be active!!! He or she must be prepared to pre-read the essay, then read it closely for content, and re-read it if it isn’t clear how the author is reaching the conclusion in the argument. 
4. They create different results.  Passive reading to absorb information can create a student who (if not precisely well read) has read a great many books. It creates what many call “book-smarts.”  However, critical reading involves original, innovative thinking.
5. They differ in the degree of understanding they require.  Reading for information is more basic, and reading critically is the more advanced of the two because only critical reading equates with full understanding.

ULTIMATELY, WHAT WE WANT IS THE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OF OUR READING SKILLS, SO WE CAN MOVE BACK AND FORTH AMIDST THE VARIOUS TYPES OF READING.

FIVE GENERAL STAGES OF READING

1.      Pre-Reading—examining the text and preparing to read it effectively (5 minutes)

2.      Interpretive Reading—understanding what the author argues, what the author concludes, and exactly how he or she reached that conclusion.

3.      Critical Reading—questioning, examining and expanding upon what the author says with your own arguments.  Skeptical reading does not mean doubting everything you read.

4.      Synoptic Reading—putting the author’s argument in a larger context by considering a synopsis of that reading or argument in conjunction with synopses of other readings or arguments.

5.      Post-Reading—ensuring that you won’t forget your new insights.

Please read ASAP--Wednesday, April 22--7 am

Unbelievable!
I awoke just now with some kind of stomach flu.
Ugh.

I apologize!

Tuesday April 21, 2015--8:30 pm

Hello,

there still seems to be some confusion about the due date for out of class essay 3.
As discussed last class session, and on the day I assigned the essay, the due date was moved from tomorrow to Friday.
Check the prompt.
I also, on the day I assigned essay 3, changed the due date on the syllabus posted on the blog.

:)

Please make an extra effort to attend class tomorrow because I need all in attendance to give the dept. course evaluation. Thanks so much.

Monday, April 20th, 2015--5:40 pm

Greetings,

just a reminder--that if you keep up with the blog, there should be  no confusion. For example, there is no reason why any student should not have known about the in class essay today, or the fact that Packet 7 was moved to Wednesday. It was posted on the blog on Friday, April 17th, as well as discussed in class.

Also, there was a bit of confusion about the link to "Why Marriages Fail." The link DOES have Chinese characters around the borders, but the reading IS in English. If you have any problems, please let me know as soon as possible.