English IV: Sentenced to Sentence Purgatory?

Click here to read an article written by an author who teaches his first college writing course. Then, answer the questions that follow.

1. First, offer a concise explanation as to what the flaw is in each of the egregious sentences cited by Mr. Laser. Then, rewrite each one.

• Neglecting to recognize the horrors those people endure allow people to go to war more easily.
• The money in the household shared between Nora and Torvald contrast the idea of a happy marriage.
• The similarities among the speakers and their author are illustrated differently through their speaker’s separate tones.
• The conflict between Sammy and Lengel are mainly about teenage rebellion.

2. Do you find the author's generalizations about your generation accurate? Why/why not? If teachers are indeed witnessing the degradation of students' grasp of linguistics and grammar, what do you think has caused it? What's the solution?

Journalism: Sentenced to Sentence Purgatory?

Click here to read an article written by an author who teaches his first college writing course. Then, answer the questions that follow.

1. First, offer a concise explanation as to what the flaw is in each of the egregious sentences cited by Mr. Laser. Then, rewrite each one.

• Neglecting to recognize the horrors those people endure allow people to go to war more easily.
• The money in the household shared between Nora and Torvald contrast the idea of a happy marriage.
• The similarities among the speakers and their author are illustrated differently through their speaker’s separate tones.
• The conflict between Sammy and Lengel are mainly about teenage rebellion.

2. Do you find the author's generalizations about your generation accurate? Why/why not? If teachers are indeed witnessing the degradation of students' grasp of linguistics and grammar, what do you think has caused it? What's the solution?

Journalism: Bias Exercise

After reviewing the partial list of biases, select 5 forms of bias that may be found in works of journalism. Then, find pieces of existing journalism that demonstrate these biases. For each example, include the following annotations: citation; bias; explanation; supportive excerpts. Post your work as a comment to your blog by the end of our class time on Tuesday. 

Journalism: Photo Essay Assignment

Photograph by John Tlumacki

In preparation for your own photo essay, I'm asking you to peruse and learn from existing exemplars. One such model is Boston's own The Big Picture. Another is the National Geographic Photography Awards.

1. Select at least 7 different Big Picture photo essays to view and read. Browse through and read the National Geographic photos as well.
2. Select your 3 favorites from each source and discuss their strengths in the context of our rubric's expectations.
3. Publish your synopses as a post to your blog. Title it Photojournalism Review.
4. If you'd like, you can check out Dr. Kefor's photo blog here.