Online exercises: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers, Tues., Oct. 18.
Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View (HW)    Parallelism, Spelling, Subject-Verb Agreement (HW), Tues., Oct. 23.

Online exercises:  Commas, Apostrophes, Quotation Marks, Underlining, and Italics, and
Other Punctuation (Period, Question Mark, Exclamation Mark, Semicolon, Colon), Tues., Nov. 6

 Online exercises:   FOR ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE:

SEE:   Getting an A on an English Paper" as well as the Essay Outline and Revising and Editing Checklist for additional assistance.

  Please refer to the following as well:

   Formatting and Style Guide (Purdue Online Writing Lab)

   Incorporating Sources (class handout)

   Class Plagiarism Policy (on syllabus), as well as the English Department’s Statement on Plagiarism (.pdf, also distributed in class).

You might also find the following additional resources useful:

   Works Cited page (Instructions & Sample) (Microsoft Word document)

   Avoiding Plagiarism (Houghton-Mifflin website)

   Practice Incorporating Sources into Your Work (Houghton-Mifflin website)

   MLA format (Purdue University's Online Writing Lab)

Also, one would think that this would not even need to be stated, but read the essay or essays about which you are writing, and read them carefully! Do not rely upon your general impressions based on what you think was said in class, or on what you read online. There is no reason for your essays to contain factual errors about the works.

 Please feel free to communicate any concerns or questions to me before the essays are due; I will be available to meet with any student who needs assistance or additional instruction. Please speak to me before or after class or e-mail me at cfaproductions@comcast.net to set up an appointment.

Select one of the following broad topics. These topics need to be further restricted, so narrow and focus the topic yourself; then, compose your assertive thesis statement, as above.

I.   Race or Gender:

        Affirmative Action

        Gender or racial biases in American education or in a specific industry

II.  Marriage and Family in America:

        Gay Marriage

        Rights of Domestic Partners

        Are Families Dangerous?

        Alternative or Non-Traditional Family Structures

III.  Science and Technology:

        Social Networking

        Cyber Harassment/Bullying

        Climate Change (i.e., the Climate Change "Debate")

        Alternative Energy (i.e., pro or con one form)

IV. Education:

        Economic, gender, or racial biases in American education

        School voucher programs

        Teaching Intelligent Design in public schools

V. Society, Individual Rights, and Obedience to Authority:

        Compulsory military (or alternate) service

        Government "wire-tapping"

        Social Pressure and "Social Media"

        "Group-Think " and Mob Behavior

VI.  A debatable topic of your own, developed in consultation with the instructor, but not Abortion, the Death Penalty, Animal Experimentation, or any other subject that has been done to death. Note: students must obtain prior approval for independent topics; speak to me before or after class or set up an appointment.

  You must submit an  annotated preliminary bibliography with a minimum of five to seven sources, correctly cited according to MLA style. This may include up to three primary sources and a minimum of three to five secondary sources; secondary sources must be scholarly criticism or analysis, not summaries, reviews, or "analysis" from sites such as Wikipedia, 123HelpMe, or Gradesaver.com; instead, use the library (CUNY Plus) or the available databases such as Academic Search Complete or LexisNexis to locate appropriate sources. In addition to a correct citation for each source, you must include a description or summary of the source, at least one paragraph long, and an explanation of how you foresee incorporating it into your essay. For additional information on Annotated Bibliographies, see the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)’s Annotated Bibliographies, as well as "Sample Annotated Bibliography" and Ebel, Kimberly, "Class and Gender in Cinderella: Annotated Bibliography."

Due Tues., Oct. 16:  Annotated Preliminary Bibliography

Research Paper: Revision: Due Tues., Oct. 23
A revised research essay must be submitted, in its folder with all supporting materials: photocopies or printouts of all sources, preliminary thesis, preliminary bibliography, outline—if you have completed one—and peer-reviewed draft. Failure to bring the required essay will result in a zero for the assignment, without opportunity for revisions  Compose a clear, well-written, properly documented (MLA format) argumentative essay of at least 1500 words (roughly six pages minimum), with a clear, explicit, and assertive thesis statement, on the topic you previously selected, utilizing the thesis statement and sources from the preliminary annotated bibliography already submitted (see above). Essays must use a minimum of three to five reputable critical or scholarly sources, and these references should be used to support your assertions and be properly documented (utilizing MLA format). You must bring a typed, finished draft of your research essay in class for peer review. Failure to bring the required essay will result in a zero for the assignment, without opportunity for revisions. See also, Research Paper checklist.

Due Dec. 4-FINAL DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER