Final exam essays and prompt

Final Exam Essays

Up Against Wal-Mart by Karen Olsson

Watching TV Makes You Smarter by Steven Johnson

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting by Nancy Gibbs

Is There Hope for the American Marriage? by Caitlin Flanagan

Ban on Fast Food TV Advertising

The Antidepressant Generation by Doris Iarovici

Final Exam Prompt

For this exam, you need to write an essay about the article you have chosen to work with. To do this, you need to read the article, formulate an argument, and be prepared to use examples from the text to support your claim. Make sure to use all the skills we have worked on this semester: your essay should have a solid intro and thesis, some summary and evaluation of the article, quotes and examples to support your argument, and a good conclusion that restates your main point. You may agree with the article, disagree with the article, or both agree and disagree with the article. There is no minimum page requirement, but it should be apparent from the length of your essay that you have written for most of the exam period.

Your essay should include:

➮ An intro and thesis statement that clearly tells the reader the main point of your essay.

➮ A brief summary of the article.

➮ Some evaluation of the article.

➮ Quotes and examples from the article to support your thesis.

➮ A conclusion that restates your main points and ties in to your thesis.

*If you type your essay on a laptop, you may email it to me at emilywhitby1@weber.edu.  Check with me before you leave to make sure I’ve received it.

"And They Lived Happily Ever After ... If They Married" by Carson Tueller

Here's a great illustration to jump start our conversation on Tueller's essay about Disney princesses! Do you agree with Tueller's arguments? Ultimately, do you feel that the stereotypes perpetuated by Disney are damaging to young girls and women? 

"Video Games and Aggression: A Link to Violence?" by Viet Nguyen

According to Nguyen's essay, the main problem with the argument that video games cause violence is that the research is flawed and inconclusive. Do you agree? Can you think of a better way to conduct research on the link between games and violence?

"Video Game Playing: Friend or Foe?" and "Are Virtual Games a Virtual Problem?"

How do these two articles approach the issue of video game playing? What are their similarities and differences? Did Jane McGonigal's Ted Talk make you think about these articles differently?

"How Many Eggs Should We Place in the Student Evaluation Basket?" and "The Fate and Future of Food"

You may discover as you read these essays that the thesis statements don't appear for several paragraphs. Do you see any problem with this? Or is it an effective way to begin an article?

What else could the authors have improved in these essays? What did they do well?

A Few Suggested Articles for Essay #2--More to Come!

Here are just a few persuasive articles, any of which would fit the criteria for the Essay #2 assignment.  The first article is from 1977 and contains one of the examples in our rhetorical appeals handout.  The rest are from the opinion pages of the websites I've suggested. Skim through the articles and see if they spark your interest; if not, let the articles lead you to other articles on their pages. At the end if this post I've also included websites for you to search.

"The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood" by Terry Martin Hekker

"Why I am Pro-Life" by Thomas L. Friedman

"Mugging Our Descendants" by George F. Will

"It's Time to Allow Doping in Sport" by Ellis Cashmore

"Should Doping Be Allowed?" Room for Debate Forum

"Who Says There Is No Solution to Bullying?" by Becky Cohn-Vargas

"Don't Blame the Eater" by David Zinczenko

"Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood"

"The Scary New Evidence on BPA-Free Plastics"

cnn.com
nytimes.com
washingtonpost.com
motherjones.com
huffingtonpost.com
salon.com
sltrib.com
deseretnews.com
standard.net

A Portfolio of TV Advertisements

Here are the links for the TV advertisements.  Click on the links and watch each ad, and keep in mind the 15 Advertising Appeals as you watch them.  Which appeals are used? Are the ads effective? Why or why not?

Volkswagon: Snowplow
Union Carbide: Chick
Alka Seltzer: Spicy Meatball
Quaker Oats: Mikey
Coca-Cola: Mean Joe Green
Federal Express: Fast Talker
Pepsi Cola: Archaeology
Levi's: Launderette
Jeep: Snow Covered
Energizer: Darth Vader
Got Milk?: Aaron Burr
The Gap: Pardon Our Dust
Honda: Physics
Sony Bravia: Bunnies
Dove: Onslaught
Tide to Go: Interview
Planters Peanuts: Perfume

Selling Happiness: Two Pitches from Mad Men

The following links will take you to YouTube clips of the popular AMC series, Mad Men.

The first clip   is from the very first episode of the series, and shows Don Draper making a pitch for Lucky Strike Cigarettes: "Mad Men: It's Toasted."

The second shows a pitch for the Kodak Carousel: "Mad Men: Carousel."

As you watch the clips, consider how the use of a single word, or the choice of one word over another, can increase the persuasive appeal of an advertisement.

"Advertising's 15 Basic Appeals"

Here is the link to the article by Jib Fowles, "Advertising's 15 Basic Appeals." Although the article is pretty dated (it was first published in the journal Etc. in 1982), the information is still sound. Do you agree with the items in this list? Can you think of any appeals that could be added to the list? Do any of them overlap to the point that they could be combined or removed?

"A Portfolio of Advertisements"

Take a look at each of these print advertisements and be prepared to talk about them in class on Friday. What is the advertisement trying to sell? What kinds of tactics do they use to make their product look appealing?

Article Suggestions for Essay #1

Article Suggestions for Essay #1

"Why E-Reading With Your Kid Can Impede Learning"

"A Focus on Distraction"

"Does Great Literature Make Us Better?"

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (I have a copy of this text you could borrow; it is also available in the Stewart Library. You will want to focus on a single chapter, not the entire book).

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains by Nicholas Carr

"The Rx for Technology"  (This is the podcast of a Radio West interview of David Strayer by Doug Fabrizio).

"The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In"

"What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" (Youtube Video)

"Reading Study Shows Remarkable Decline in U.S." (This is the transcript of an interview conducted on NPR. You can either listen to or read the interview.)

"Fiction Reading Increases for Adults"

"Decline of American Reading Culture: Literature’s Struggle in Face of Pop Culture"

"Young Adult Lit Comes of Age"

"Adults Are Devouring Kids' Books For Good Reason"

"The Real Effects of Technology on Your Health"

"Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards"

"How Green is My iPad?"

"Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say"

"Set Students Free With Technology in Schools"

"The Problem With Technology in Schools"

"Learning in the Digital Age" from Scientific American (I have a hard copy in my office)

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle: Whether or not we agree with Turkle's assessment of the problems with technology, I think she raises some important issues and questions that we need to ask ourselves as we move ahead. What are some of the most significant questions that you think have been raised as we've discussed articles this semester? Have your ideas or habits changed as a result?

"What's the Matter With Kids Today?" and "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"

Here is the post for your comments on Amy Goldwasser's "What's the Matter With Kids Today?"

We tend to focus sometimes on the negative effects of technology on kids. What are some positive uses of technology that teens (or young adults) engage in?

And here is the second article of Matt Richtel's that we will be reading, "Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction." How does this article compare to or complement the other article by Richtel that we read for Friday?

Also, my nephew posted this on Facebook the other day.  I think it's a pretty good illustration of the distractions on the Internet--what do you think?

"Mind Over Mass Media" and "Outdoors and Out of Reach"

Here is Steven Pinker's op-ed article from The New York Times, "Mind Over Mass Media," and here is the link to Matt Richtel's "Outdoors and Out of Reach." These two articles seem to be written from opposing viewpoints. Which one, in your opinion, builds the strongest case in its discussion of technology and the brain?

You can post comments on both articles below.

"How do E-Books Change the Reading Experience?"

Here is the link to the New York Times article, "How Do E-Books Change the Reading Experience?" What does this article have to offer on the e-reader issue that is different from "The ABCs of E-Reading"? Also, if you have time, read some of the comments, because sometimes the comments on this site are as insightful as the article itself.  Are there any particularly interesting comments that stood out to you?

Also, I found an interesting statistic as I was browsing a student technology survey from 2013 here at Weber State, regarding dedicated e-readers. When asked if they owned a dedicated e-reader, 76.5% said no, and that they didn't plan to purchase one. Another 3.3% stated they planned to purchase one, and 20.2% said that they currently own one. What conclusions can we draw in considering this research?

"The ABCs of E-Reading"

Here is the link for "The ABCs of E-Reading" by Fowler and Baca.  How many of you own Kindles or read e-books on your iPod or tablet? How do you prefer to experience books, now that so many options are available?

Also, to supplement our discussion about e-readers, here is a New York Times article that compares the environmental impact of books vs. E-readers. It's not an assigned reading, but it's an interesting text to compare to the one by Fowler and Baca:
"How Green is My iPad?" by Daniel Coleman and Gregory Norris

And finally, this graphic sums up how I feel about real books! Is anyone else as nerdy as I am??

"

"The Power of Young Adult Fiction"

For Wednesday's assignment, we will be reading "The Power of Young Adult Fiction" from The New York Times' Room for Debate forum.  In this forum, you will find a short introduction to the issue and then links to different authors' commentary on the issue.  There are seven different authors, so make sure to click on each one and read each article, or click on the individual links here:

Patricia McCormick
Joel Stein
Emma Allison
Sharon G. Flake
Lev Grossman
Matt De la Pena
Beth Yoke

Each of these authors has a unique perspective on young adult fiction.  Which author did you find most interesting or compelling? Why?

And finally, just for fun, here is a little e-card for Joel Stein :)

"The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction"

Here is the link to "The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction" by Annie Murphy Paul. What did you find most interesting in this article? Did you learn anything new? Is there anything in this article that might change the way you think about fiction?

Also, here is an article that supplement's Paul's article, just for fun....if reading articles about the brain and fiction is your idea of fun: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201401/reading-fiction-improves-brain-connectivity-and-function

And here is a link to the original research from Emory University on brain connectivity:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3868356/

Welcome to English 1010!

Welcome to Spring Semester! This blog is the place for you to access online readings and post your discussion comments and questions.  Links to the readings are in the sidebar.

To post a comment, click on the link at the bottom of the post where it says "No Comments" or "1 Comment" and it will open a text box for you to type your comment or question. Then you will need to select a profile to "Comment As." You may select Google or other profile, but you can also simply select "Anonymous"--just make sure to type your first name and last initial at the end of your comment so I know who wrote it. Then click "Publish," and it should appear in the comments section.

If you are having trouble getting your comment to post, try using a different browser.  If it still doesn't work, talk to me in class and we will figure something out.

Okay....to start us off, here is the link to your first reading, "Twilight of the Books" by Caleb Crain. Please read it and come prepared to write about it and discuss in class! Enjoy!