Below you will find copies of all the handouts discussed and distributed in class today:
1. Out of Class Essay Assignment ##
2. The Importance of Being Specific in Essay Writing
3. Sample intro paragraph and first body paragraph for essay 3
English 5, Spring 2015
C. Fraga, Instructor
Course Theme: The Significance of
Home
Out of Class Essay Assignment #3
Assigned: Friday, April 3
Optional RD due: no later than
Friday, April 10
Final Draft due: Friday, April
24
TOPIC: What are the best ‘ingredients’
for a successful marriage?
A
successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same
person. (Mignon Mclaughlin)
Marriage
is not just spiritual communion, it is also remembering to take out the trash.
(Joyce Brothers)
To keep
your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong
admit it;
Whenever you're right shut up. (Ogden Nash)
Assignment: Even with the current high
divorce rate in the United States, couples continue to choose marriage as a way
of life. Most couples marry with the intention and confidence that their
marriage will be successful and will last forever.
Write an essay in which you explore
the ingredients (or elements) required for a marriage to be successful and long
lasting. Focus on a minimum of four
ingredients/elements.
Conduct research and talk/interview
those who you feel might have some helpful, interesting and relevant opinions
and experience with this topic.
The most important thing to
remember about this essay is that you will need to be very SPECIFIC. Avoid rambling and using mostly vague terms. Your
essay will benefit from specific examples from professionals as well as
interviewees.
Suggestions for people to
interview: your parents; your grandparents; relatives; siblings; teachers;
neighbors; marriage counselors; family friends, etc.
Information/opinions about what
constitutes a successful marriage is quite simple to locate. I spent only 20
minutes doing a cursory search on the CSUS library website and found many
intriguing articles.
Your Game Plan:
1. Research and read read read as much as you can about the topic.
2. Interview at least three people
about this topic.
3. From your research, reading and interviews,
select the four elements YOU feel are the MOST ideal and necessary ingredients
for a successful, lasting marriage.
4. Write your thesis statement—an
assertion based on your findings. UNDERLINE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT.
5. Plan the organization of your
essay.
6. Write your essay.
7. Proofread and edit very
carefully and thoroughly.
Reminders:
• Follow MLA format.
• Double space entire essay; 12
point font
• Must have in text citations and a
Works Cited page.
• Use at LEAST three academic,
professional resources and information
from at least three interviews. In other words, these six minimum resources
will be found on your Works Cited page as well as cited within your essay.
AS ALWAYS, NO WIKIPEDIA.
English 5
C. Fraga
Sample
introduction paragraph based on the prompt for Out of Class Essay #3
My
Uncle Bill was a very formidable man with a rather booming voice and a lust for
life. The thing I remember most about him is the way he acted whenever he was
near his wife, my Aunt Vangie. Although I was only a child, I could still see
how much he adored her; everyone noticed it. When he told a joke, he always
looked at her first to be sure she was laughing. He brought her a glass of
lemonade before he served anyone else. He complimented her about what she wore
and he held her hand when they walked together. When my oldest sister got
married, Uncle Bill toasted the couple at the wedding reception and announced
that the key to a lasting and happy marriage entailed just being nice to each
other.
Although
my Uncle Bill’s seemingly simple advice might appear too obvious, many couples
today might benefit from his instructive words. Currently, nearly half the
marriages in the United States end in divorce (Donaldson 2). Marriage counselors, TV talk show
hosts, married couples, divorced couples and religious leaders all seem to have
an opinion about what constitutes a successful marriage. After researching the
apparent secret to a successful marriage, four main ingredients, or elements,
seemed the most logical and sensible. The most important elements of a
lasting marriage are: respect,
kindness, communication, and devotion.
English 5
C. Fraga
THE KEY TO
INTERESTING AND COMPELLING WRITING
IS USING SPECIFICS!
Probably the most frequent advice from writing instructors
to their writing students is “be more specific.” Or perhaps, “needs more
development.”
Interestingly, being specific and developing our assertions
in writing is also the most challenging
task as a writer. Part of the reason for the difficulty is simply because most
of us are more comfortable with communicating verbally. When one communicates
verbally, there is rarely a need to use a lot of supportive details to make our
point and be easily understood by the listener.
However, writing is a completely different task than
communicating verbally, where we rely on voice inflection, tone, and body
language to heighten our communication.
Let’s look at a sample paragraph from a rough draft of essay 3. What
advice can we offer the writer for improvement?
The
third ingredient in having a successful marriage is commitment. This ingredient
is one that needs to be established from day one. The definition of commitment in a marriage is to pledge,
promise and show obligation to your spouse. When you take your vows, that is a proven statement that you
will stay committed to your husband or wife until the day you die. When this ingredient disappears your
entire life and marriage disappears because commitment is what marriage is all
about. In an interview with my
grandmother Marie who has been married for fifty years, she stated that, “When
you put that ring on your old life is over, and your new life as being one with
your husband started.” This quote
shows that in order to love and respect your spouse, you must be one hundred
percent committed to the marriage you are in. When you are fully committed there will be no secrets, or
affairs, but instead a love that is truly unbreakable.
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