ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE COURSE
Explanation of Specific Assignments
FORMAL WRITING
V.
THREE TIMED IN-CLASS ESSAYS
You are required to write three timed in-class essays (a one-shot essay to be written in class and timed). You will be
given the text to respond to. Make sure you read the instructions carefully before writing the essay.
A.
Introduction
To fulfill the requirements for passing this course, you are expected to write these essays, which will be based on
discussions and readings that we will do in the course of the semester.
B.
The Assignment
1. Essay# 1:
I will give you the text for this essay at the appropriate time in class. Your essay must have two parts: a
SUMMARY (to help you establish the context for the essay) and the ESSAY itself (in which you state claims
and support them with evidence).
NOTE: If you fail to write the summary part, you will lose half the total mark for this assignment.
2. Essay# 2:
Based on Matt Groening’s cartoon images (“Life in School”), pages 152–153 of John Alberti’s book, The
Working Life: Choose one of Binky’s “secret” answers that you most agree or disagree with and WRITE an
essay not less than three pages long. You are to include issues bordering on either the personal experiences or
information from sources (other people or your own readings) that have led you to feel the way you do about
the particular “secret” answers that you select for this assignment.
Your essay must have two parts: a SUMMARY (to help you establish the context for the essay) and the
ESSAY itself (in which you state claims and support them with evidence).
NOTE: If you fail to write the summary part, you will lose half the total mark for this assignment.
You are required to base your essay on a particular theme and to use the cartoon piece to support. In other
words, don’t just interpret the text in the bubble. Write an essay that will be based on a particular them and use
the cartoon piece to reinforce your own ideas.
3. Essay #3:
Based on Bertolt Brecht’s poem (“Questions from a Worker Who Reads”), pages 209–211 of John Alberti’s
book, The Working Life:
Here are some issues to consider:
i.
Theme: Brecht’s poem asks us to think about the relationship between ideas about work, literacy, and
education.
ii.
iii.
Rhetorical Maneuvers: Brecht’s poem is composed of a series of rhetorical questions, or questions that
imply their own answers. What answers does Brecht assume we will understand in his poem? How
could you force them into a coherent statement about the relationships among work, social class, and
how history is written?
Audience: How do you understand the title of the poem, especially the reference to a “worker who reads”?
How ironic or sarcastic do you see Brecht as being in this description? Who do you think he includes
and excludes in this category of “worker” and why?
What do you think he is saying about the reading habits of workers, and what of the assumptions made
by others of those they think of as “workers”? Who do you think Brecht sees as his potential readers?
Who might be in on the joke, and whom do you think is meant to be criticized? How do you see
yourself in relation to the audience for the poem?
WRITE an essay not less than three pages. You are to include issues bordering on either the personal
experiences or information from sources (other people or your own readings) that have led you to feel
the way you do about the particular “secret” answers that you select for this assignment.
Your essay must have two parts: a SUMMARY (to help you establish the context for the essay) and
the ESSAY itself (in which you state claims and support them with evidence).
NOTE: If you fail to write the summary part, you will lose half the total mark for this assignment.
C. Format for these Essays
At least, three pages long. Do not leave any blank line between paragraphs in the answer booklet. Let’s see
your essay as an organic whole. I will collect your essays by the end of the class period.
Refer to the Schedule of Weekly Activities to know when the various essays will be written.