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The Fire Gift!. Seminar 6 CM 107 . Goals. In Unit 2, we learned about “elixirs” and “amulets” (powerful objects that protect heroes)—not as literal objects, but as symbols of protection. Campbell says the elixir is a prescription for all mankind, which is brought to us by heroes.
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The Fire Gift! Seminar 6 CM 107
Goals • In Unit 2, we learned about “elixirs” and “amulets” (powerful objects that protect heroes)—not as literal objects, but as symbols of protection. • Campbell says the elixir is a prescription for all mankind, which is brought to us by heroes. • However, the hero must first identify what is needed to make life better before he or she can share his or her fire. • What is the problem, and what would cure it?
Today’s Fire Gift • Fire-theft was a mythological cause, bestowing on people the effect of fire—light and cooked food. • In the Prometheus myth, the fire was real. • However, for CM 107, we explore some of the things that fire and light represent. • We find the modern causes that lead to the effects of freedom and self-improvement. • To write a good CM 107 paper, you need to be enthusiastic about your topic and have sufficient background to understand how to reform the world. • Also, as we learned last week, we need to understand the people we are trying to help, so we really “help” them.
DB • Part 1: identify someone who is a fire-giver. • Think big this time! Don’t pick someone so obscure your classmates would not know who he or she is. • Many people have brought light, health, knowledge, joy, and enlightenment to the world through their ideas and actions. • Part 2: building on the idea of contribution, share your ideas about the relationship between the writing process and your career. • How will someone with effective writing skills be a better contributor at work?
Unit 6 PROJECT • Create a script of a conversation between 2 people—a dialogue—write a scene for a movie or TV show. • Use characters from your favorite movies, TV shows, and books, make up your characters, or use people you know (family, friends, co-workers, etc.). • The better you know your characters, the more “natural” you can write a realistic conversation between them. • Describe a social problem. • One character is part of the problem—the cause—and the other is part of a solution, the “cure.” • Have 1 character lead the other through a discussion to get the problem solved.
Unit 6 Project: Topics • world and US poverty, hunger, and homelessness • multiple economic scandals that rocked the world and the US for the last several years • foreclosures and unemployment forcing American families into poverty • US obsession with junk food snacks and fast food, high-calorie diets • growing problem of childhood obesity • intolerance of differences among people • failure of the US education system (foreign students score higher in international competitions) • high costs of paying for a college education • impact of technology (computers, video games, texting, social networking) on children’s health • world and US drug trafficking
Unit 6 Project: Topics • 1. ignorance • 2. bad driving • 3. unfairness • 4. not recycling • 5. gossiping • 6. abuse of children and the elderly • 7. illiteracy
Unit 6 PROJECT • Create a thesis that justifies why your “cure” is important. • Post the thesis statement at the beginning of your script. • This is cause and effect writing called problem-solution writing. • Identify the problem and suggest the cure (solution). • What should you cover in your “script”? • 1. What are at least 3 causes of this problem? • 2. How does this problem affect everyone’s daily life (yours and others)? Mention at least 3 effects. • Label the causes and effects. • Length: 500 words or longer.
Final Project (Unit 9) • The Final Project is an expository essay. • Chapter 21 in the KU Guide explains what this means; be sure to study this chapter carefully. • Expository writing is factual and informative, often using definition, process analysis, cause-effect, and comparison-contrast as the methods used to develop the ideas. • It is analytical (academic), and relies heavily on solid evidence (facts and figures, statistics, dollar amounts, details, expert quotes, etc.) from outside research.
Final Project (Unit 9) • Research is always helpful in college-level writing. • Academics respect what experts say, so building a paper on ideas from experts looks good to teachers. • Find facts, statistics, and direct quotes; find results of scientific studies, dollar amounts, real life examples, etc. • APA readers expect up-to-date information, so find mostly 2011 sources (maybe going back as far as 2006 – 5 years old).
Final Project (Unit 9) • Use a broad spectrum of source types—articles, e-books, web sites, scholarly journals, TV documentaries, interviews, surveys / polls / questionnaires, etc. • APA readers are impressed by well-read writers. • Search the “deep,” “invisible,” or “hidden” web through our Online Library or Google Scholar. • Get your information from multiple databases; for example, if everything comes from ProQuest, APA readers doubt the writer’s scholarship abilities.
Final Project (Unit 9) • A good college essay starts with a catchy title and a general introduction that grabs the average reader’s attention and interest. • Do not write to Sara or your classmates; we know what you’re doing, and why. Instead, write to someone who doesn’t take CM 107 but would be interested in your topic. • Supply a lot of concrete information. • Include a variety of sources to “showcase” varying opinions. Limited sources make you look biased and narrow-minded. APA readers will not be impressed.
Final Project • Pre-writing strategies to organize your thoughts; there are many ways to do this; for example: • Free-writing (5-10 minutes, write as fast as you can go, without consulting any notes – just “off the top of your head”) • Listing (as opposed to outlining, make a list of sub-topics that you can then organize) • Clustering (put thesis in center of page; build ideas around it that lock into it; there are many patterns to do this – we will look at a few in just a minute)
Pre-Writing Activities • You would never build a house without first designing it. Outlines and other pre-writing activities are like preliminary blueprints. • “According to the researcher [Christine Barabas, 1990, cited in Oliu, Brusaw, & Alred, 2007, p. 27], more than three times the number of good writers as compared with poor writers use a written outline. In fact, 36% of the poor writers said they never use an outline or plan, either written or mental.” • Somehow--either written or mental; get organized. • The end result is what counts, and just "starting" to write with no plan in mind, waiting to switch things around until after you draft, works fairly well with computer copy-and-paste strategies and for shorter papers, but may prevent you from making your best judgments.
Pre-Writing • Classical outlines "shape" drafts, but often don't help writers wrestle with particular ideas. • For example, you know you need 3 points to support your thesis, but what are they? • In the classical linear outline, you aren’t sure if the 3 items you picked out are co-equal. • Mind-maps differ from outlines because we arrange ideas in visual relationships rather than in printed lines in various levels of subordination (like formal outlines do). • Tree diagrams are a popular type of mind map also called a systematic diagram, tree analysis, analytical tree, or hierarchy diagram. • Ideas lay out horizontally, making comparisons among the paper’s sections much easier.
Final Project (Unit 9) • Revision Questions: • Is my essay informative? • Did my quotes and data give the essay more depth and credibility? • Did the lead paragraph capture readers and make them want to read more? • Does the information flow logically? • Are requirements met?
Final Project (Unit 9) • More Revision Strategies: • Send the draft to the Writing Center for analysis and feedback. • During that time, take a break so that when you return, you have “fresh eyes.” • Read the draft out loud. • Ask someone to read it and give you their honest opinion. • Change the line length so words appear differently; this “shocks” the eye, and we see mistakes we were overlooking before.
Cause-Effect Analysis • Why did something happen? Can we pinpoint the actual cause? • How can we cause something to happen? Can we engineer the change we want to see? • How can we prevent something from happening? If there are unsatisfactory circumstances, what can we do to improve them? • Cause-effect is a daily thought process – multiple times per day. • The “trick” is to link the right cause with the right effect. • Don’t jump to obvious or easy conclusions; there are a few logical fallacies dealing with this common tendency.
Cause-Effect Trial: What do you suggest? • The average American carries a $5,000 credit card total, with interest rates running as high as 29.9%. • What causes Americans to buy on credit (or take out a loan with essentially “loan shark” rates)? • How can we get Americans to stop using credit cards? • Are ad agencies to blame, for making us think we have to have the next new thing (more toys)?
Cause-Effect Trial:What do you suggest? • The average American child watches 28 hours of TV per week, car-pools to school and extra-curricular events, plays video games, and spends hours surfing the net, social networking, or texting. • What causes children to shun outdoor activities in favor of electronic “fun”? • How can we re-balance children’s lives so they get more exercise?
Cause-Effect Trial:What do you suggest? • In the United States today, estimates vary, but approximately 49% of marriages end in divorce. • What causes so many divorces nowadays, whereas just 50 years ago, divorce was much less common? • What can we do to lower the divorce rate? • Can we force couples to take a marriage class before they marry?
Cause-Effect Trial:What do you suggest? • The Hershey Company produces 20,000,000 kisses / day using 133 square miles of aluminum to wrap them; this material is recyclable, but most ends up in the trash rather than the recycle bin. • Why isn’t the average American more environmentally friendly? • What can we do to increase recycling awareness? • Would it be realistic to fine people who don’t recycle?
Cause-Effect Trial: What do you suggest? • Public 4-year colleges charge, on average, $7,605 / year in tuition and fees for in-state students. The average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students at these institutions is $11,990. • Why does it cost so much to attend college? • How could we lower that cost, to make a college degree more accessible? • Should the federal government subsidize education?
