English 2307: Week Three
*Tuesday
The Jungle: Chapter 13-19; RWAL:
Chapter 3 and pages 53-56
Homework Due Today
Read pages 53-56 from Reading and Writing
About Literature. I have made copies of these
pages and attached them in the “Readings and
Homework” tab on the course blog. Based on the
reading you completed in RWAL, write a response
for The Jungle, chapters 13-19. As the book
suggests, responses should include two things:
your personal response to the reading as well as
an explanation as to why you had this reaction.
Choose one or two significant thoughts or
reactions you had while reading and explore that
in depth. Your response should be at least 200
words.
Free Write
Think about your personal experience writing
essays for your high school or college classes.
• What kind of essays have you written? Think
types and topics.
• What should an essay include? Think about
the basic elements.
• How many paragraphs should an essay be?
• What is the easiest part of writing an essay?
• What is the hardest part of writing an essay?
• What questions do you have about writing
essays in this class?
RWAL: Chapter Three
1. Prewriting
• Choosing a topic
• Developing an argument
• The thesis
• Gathering support for your thesis
• Organizing your paper
2. Drafting the Paper
• Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitions
3. Revising and Editing
• Global revision
• Local revision
• Editing and Proofreading
Essay 1
Instructions:
Answer one of the following prompts in a 500-word argumentative
essay, based around a clearly articulated thesis statement and
making explicit references to the primary text. You must provide
proper in-text citation for quotations, paraphrasing, and summary.
You must also provide a bibliography of your sources. Your essay
should not exceed 750-words.
• Although The Jungle does not take place in an actual jungle, Upton
Sinclair does create a jungle-like atmosphere. Review the definition
or characteristics that describe symbols or symbolism in Reading
and Writing About Literature. Identify and analyze at least two
specific examples of symbolism from the text that could relate to
characters, setting, or events in the story. Ultimately, did you think
The Jungle was an appropriate title for the novel? Why or why not?
• Critics argue Upton Sinclair suggests socialism is the answer to the
problems of the United States in the 1900s. How does socialism
help Jurgis or his family in The Jungle? Identify and analyze at least
two specific examples from the text. Ultimately, did you think
Sinclair's arguments about the validity of socialism were
convincing? Why or why not?
Group Work: Reading Responses
Small Group Work Instructions:
1. Divide into groups of three
2. Briefly share your reading responses to each other. Each student
should take 2-3 minutes to hit the highlights of their response.
3. Talk about the most “important” moment(s) or incident(s) that
took place within these chapters. How is this moment going to
affect the rest of the story? You should speculate on these ideas.
Large Group Work Instructions:
1. As a class, discuss the general timeline of these chapters.
• A reading response requires you to do two things: describe your
personal response to a particular reading assignment and to
explain why you had this reaction.
• What incident within these chapters was the most significant in
terms of its long term impact to the characters or story? Explain
and defend your reasoning.
Homework
READING:
• The Jungle: Chapter 20-23; RWAL:
pages 56-59
WRITING:
• HQ4
*This homework assignment will be
slightly different than other assignments.
You will be given a specific passage from
the chapters to explicate. Look to blog
later today for more details.
English 2307: Week Three
*Thursday
The Jungle: Chapter 20-23;
RWAL: pages 56-59
Homework Due Today
Read pages 56-59 from Reading and Writing
About Literature. I have made copies of these
pages and attached them in the “Readings
and Homework” tab on the course blog.
Based on the reading you completed in
RWAL, write an explication or close reading
for The Jungle, Chapter 22. I am assigning a
specific passage from the chapter,
particularly the exchange between Jurgis and
the farmer on page 155-156 of the assigned
edition.
Important Classroom Reminders
• Purchase the English 2307: Immigration and Migration
Workbook — *you must purchase this from the Texas Tech
Union Plaza Copy/Mail location in Suite 100. This suite is
across from the SUB. The cost is $12.00. This workbook is
mandatory and includes all supplementary readings, and
cannot be found anywhere else.
• We will be using this on Thursday of next week!
• Purchase Sui Sin Far, Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings
(ISBN-13: 978-0252064197)
• We will be starting this book in two weeks, so order early!
• Make your appointments with the Writing Center, because they
are quickly filling up days in advance! This will help with your
Essay 1, and provide you with extra credit points!
• Turn in all of the HQ assignments. These points will drop your
grade significantly even if you only miss a handful.
Free Write: Brainstorming
1.
Although The Jungle does not take place in an actual jungle, Upton Sinclair does create a junglelike atmosphere. Review the definition or characteristics that describe symbols or symbolism in
Reading and Writing About Literature. Identify and analyze at least two specific examples of
symbolism from the text that could relate to characters, setting, or events in the story. Ultimately,
did you think The Jungle was an appropriate title for the novel? Why or why not?
• Define symbolism. Look at RWAL page 74.
• Make a list of symbols you remember from the text. Write down as many as
you can come up with. Consult the text if necessary.
• Put a “star” next to the most significant symbols.
• Pick one symbol, and start writing about it.
2.
Critics argue Upton Sinclair suggests socialism is the answer to the problems of the United States in the
1900s. How does socialism help Jurgis or his family in The Jungle? Identify and analyze at least two
specific examples from the text. Ultimately, did you think Sinclair's arguments about the validity of
socialism were convincing? Why or why not?
• Define socialism. You can look up a definition or characteristics on your
phone.
• What position would you take regarding this question? Overall, does
Sinclair make a good case for socialism? Explain.
• What are some examples of socialism helping Jurgis or his family? Write
out as many as you can remember. Consult the text if necessary.
• Pick one example of socialism, and start writing about it.
Homework/Quiz Discussion
A FEW GENERAL COMMENTS:
1. Use your resources to help you answer the questions.
Use the information from RWAL to help you formulate
your discussion.
2. Complete the entire assignment. And hit the word
count. This is how you will earn partial or no points.
3. Unless I tell you otherwise, you should write your
homework assignments like mini essays. Use complete
sentences and proper MLA intext citation.
• The novel provides countless details to describe the
stockyards. The area is described as “a dingy building
with innumerable windows in it, and immense volumes
of smoke pouring from the chimneys, darkening the air
above and making filthy the earth beneath” (Sinclair 19).
• What questions do you have? Can you read my
handwriting?
Explication/Close Reading
• Explication or close reading implies that a reader takes what is
implicit or subtle in a work of literature and makes it explicit and
clear.
• Literary language tends to be deeply packed with meaning, and
you job as you explicate is to unfold that meaning and lay it out for
the reader.
• Pay special attention to elements of the language such as sentence
structure, style, imagery, figurative language, word choice or even
perhaps grammar and punctuation
• In groups of three, discuss your explication assignment. Page 155156
1.
2.
3.
4.
What did you discuss or highlight?
What moments or phrases were significant?
What was confusing about the idea of a “close reading”?
Consider where you see the following elements playing an important
role in this passage: sentence structure, style, imagery, figurative
language, word choice or even perhaps grammar and punctuation
Homework Due Tuesday
READ:
The Jungle: Chapter 24-27;
RWAL: pages 59-63
WRITING:
HQ5