1. What do the circled page numbers mean on my outline?

ANSWER: Nothing. I was just circling them when I was counting that you had three quotes. Don’t worry about these.

2. What is the log in information for Turnitin.com?

ANSWER: First, if you turned in your humor paper to Turnitin.com previously, you don’t have to do anyting except log in as normal. LA10 should be listed as one of your classes. If, however, you never submitted your humor paper or have forgotten your log in information, here  is what you need:

Class ID: 4524178

Enrollment Password: LA101112

These are case sensitive, so you must type them in exactly as they are here, including spacing and capitalization. Also, make sure you put the right code in the right box. I’m not sure what one it asks for first!

Need more review of Of Mice and Men than writing the paper? Try this quiz.

Parts of the exam will be set up like the ACT. For a practice English (meaning grammar and mechanics) ACT test click here.

To practice run-ons and fragments, click here.

Want to brush up on parts of speech for the grammar portion of the exam? Try this quiz. Or this one. Or even this one!

Can’t figure out those sentence structures? Well, you can practice here. Or here. (Choose the Flash quiz)

Most fun of all, you can get a tutorial on diagramming AND practice all at one cool site. You won’t be required to diagram for your final exan, but diagramming is just another way to understand grammar, especially if you are a more visual learner.

Oh, and don’t miss grammar’s greatest hits: All the Schoolhouse Rock grammar videos are linked on my LA10-Grammar page!

Good luck, everyone!

2. Improperly stated and documented. First, this oversimplifies a litte what the article actually says. But in addition, it takes an idea from the article that needs to be cited. So, at the very least, you would need (Boxer) at the end.

3. This is not stated anywhere in the article. It really isn’t a proper statement for the body of a researched paper. Maybe it is something that you could use in an introduction, but you usually want to avoid such sweeping generalizations. (Your hint that it is too broad: “Ever since television was created…” Really? Did you research that much?)

4. This is a misuse for two reasons. First, although it is a direct quote and properly cited, it is a floating quote. Related to this is the bigger issue. The writer provides no context for Boxer’s question, and, by placing it after the claim that “unscrupulous people will manipulate” television for “purposes of propaganda,” makes it seem as though that was Boxer’s point. But it wasn’t. This is a classic case of taking a quote out of context.

5. This is a logical conclusion to reach from Boxer’s article. Does it have to be cited? I would say that it is general enough that, no, it doesn’t. However, as soon as the writer starts to use specific examples to support the conclusion, he/she would have to cite those.

6. This is misuse of the article because the information in the article doesn’t support the first part of the statement. Boxer never says the weather reports are included because people are concerned about the escalation of war. That doesn’t even really make sense. As far as citing, this is a statement that, if I saw it in your research paper, I would probably comment asking what support you have. If you THEN tried to cite  Boxer or if you took part of her sentence about weather reports out of context and cited it to back up your statement, you would be improperly citing because you would be misrepresenting what she said.

7. The first part of this OK. But the second sentence is plagiarized. It is a direct quote, first of all, so it should be in quotations. And since it is a quotation–and quotations ALWAYS need to be cited–there should be parenthetical documentation after the quote. The “According the Sarah Boxer” in the preceding sentence does NOT “cover” the quote, too.

8. The first part of the sentence is OK. But everything after “such as” is plagiarized. Starting with “when,” the writer has used Boxer’s exact wording. Therefore, these must be in quotation marks AS WELL AS cited at the end.

MAKE SURE YOU READ THE RIGHT ONES ON THE RIGHT DAY!

Due to field trips, second hour will do debate topic 5 on Friday (Citizens United) and debate topic 4 on Monday (drug testing for Welfare). Third hour will do the debates in the regular order–debate topic 4 on Friday, debate topic 5 on Monday.

Debate #4 readings: AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION welfare drug testing sources (Second hour – MONDAY; Third hour – FRIDAY)

Debate #5 readings: AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION citizens united sources (Second hour – FRIDAY; Third hour – MONDAY)

Here are the sources for tomorrow’s debate/essay: ap language persuasive paper help.  Remember to read and print them–or copy and past parts and print those.

Also, good job to those who debated today!  The first debate is always a little tough, I know, but–hey–at least you’re done and don’t have to worry about it any more!

For both the debates and the essays, a few things to keep in mind:

• Remember emotional appeal! For the debates, the best place to put this in is in the intro, constructive, and conclusion–because you can plan those. For the essays, the intro and conclusion work well (although rhetorical questions can be very effective in the refutation).
• Speaking of the refutation, remember you most definitely need one in your essays! And for both the essays AND the debates, remember you should use evidence in your rebuttals! (This means you should be citing sources to support your rebuttal[s] as much as you would your constructive!)

As for a different (and slightly better than OWL) MLA format guide, try this one: MLA guide. If you can’t find one of the sources on-line, you may cite it this way:

Last name, First name. “Title.” Class hand out. date. (You actually write “Class hand out” in the entry!)

Also, don’t forget to orally CITE your sources during the debate. You only need to do it the FIRST time you use a source, but it is very important, so don’t forget!

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. day and I’ll see  you tomorrow!

Also, some people are struggling a little with their attention-getter. I am looking for a SPECIFIC technique, such as a quote, an anecdote, an interesting fact/statistic, figurative language, etc. If you need a refresher on what some of those techniques are, here’s a link. And here’s another. Some of these are more elementary rather than college level, but they will give you an idea.

Whatever you do, DO NOT start with a generality or sweeping statement. That’s the worst way to start an essay. Also, don’t forget your hook has to relate to the quote and the thesis–and YOU have to make that connection clear.

Also, transitions continue to be a problem. I will talk about these in class tomorrow, but, in the meantime, here’s a  link to smooth transitions.

Finally, several people are writing cause-effect body paragraphs, especially those who are writing on MLK’s “injustice” quote. Please understand it is NOT enough just to state that there is a cause-effect relationship. You have to PROVE the cause-effect. This takes some time to do, so be sure to be thorough with your examples and explanations!