English 1101 - Assignments for Monday, Feb 16

Quick recap of where we are in the expository essay process:

By now, you have:

1. Read the Investigating and Explaining chapters on Blackboard.
2. Gone through the questions WHAT, HOW and WHY and looked at examples of how each is answered in various texts
3. Discussed in class the Anorexia & Alcoholism essays in class.
4. Discussed how an introduction and thesis "maps" the essay to follow.
5. Paid close attention to how the authors cite their sources in-text in the essays we've read and begun thinking how you'll use similar statements in your work. (For example, using phrases like ... "According to Malcolm Campbell, instructor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, most students find writing a worthwhile exercise. "Often students begin the semester believing themselves to be awful writers but then they realize they're far better than they thought," Campbell says.)

Most of you have your topics, know what questions you plan to answer, and understand that you're on the journey toward research. As I shared, research will almost always help you narrow/refine (and sometimes change altogether) your topic.

SO, now you're onto researching your essay topic. On Blackboard, you will find a new folder & document with good research suggestions. It's called, "Good 1101 Weblinks for Research & Writing." It includes numerous places to go for how to research a topic. (My two suggestions are the UNCC link and the OWL at Purdue link.)

I've also directed you to visit the REFERENCE LIBRARIANS and to explain that you're writing an expository essay about (insert your topic) and can they please help you locate some good academic source information. (Take your assignment sheet with you.) Another excellent place to visit is the WRITING CENTER in Fretwell. Take your assignment sheet with you and an individual will sit down with you to help you shape your topic and create a research plan.

Your sources must be credible research sources - scholarly journals, reputable magazines (Time, Newsweek, etc.), or reliable websites. You cannot use Wikipedia or About.com or similar websites. Please e-mail if you have any questions about the reliability of your sources.

For Monday, please prepare a FOCUS STATEMENT about your topic. This will help you begin to shape your essay's content. I've pasted a couple links to previous Blog Posts from last semester to help you determine what a focus statement is.

http://unccwriting.blogspot.com/2008/09/sample-focus-statement-expository-essay.html#links

Here's a link to a good question someone asked about topic coverage:

http://unccwriting.blogspot.com/2008/09/good-topic-question.html

Last, here are to links related to UNCC's Writing Center (which is FREE!!!). The first is a blog post I did on what it's there for. And the second is a link to the actual center for hours, phone number, etc.

http://unccwriting.blogspot.com/2008/12/writing-center-consultations.html

http://www.uncc.edu/writing/wrcindex.html

This is a long post, but I hope it helps clarify what you should be up to about now. Feel free to write with any questions. I'll be out of town this weekend without e-mail but will get back to you next week.

Thanks

Malcolm