Some Sample Assignments:

Interview/Essay: "Are Your Feet Too Big?"
For this project interview two or three classmates or friends about the use of energy in their lives and describe the ecological footprint concept to them. If they are willing, take them through the ecological footprint quiz and give them the results. Hopefully, this will enable a discussion about our energy use, our individual responsilbility for energy consumption, and the ongoing problem of climate change.
After you do the interviews, briefly describe the inverview process, and summarize your discussions. Then write a well organized essay about what you learned. For example, is the ecological footprint a good device for increasing awareness of environmental issues? Do you think that people are open to changing their living patterns? Are they resistant? Are people's atitudes changing?
So you will need to prepare two documents for this assignment:
1. A memo-like description of your interviews, &
2. A finished essay.
We will discuss this project in class, and please share your ideas about interview questions...
dc

For both English 100 sections, May, Spring 07

for Jimmy Santiago Baca's, A Place to Stand:

Make a journal of your reading of A Place to Stand: For each section of each chapter (separated by the diamond symbols), choose a short passage that you think summarizes the emotion or realization that the narrator feels at that time.

For MWF Spring 07 Engl 100AE

Two Conflicts/ Two Monuments
(750-1000 words)

Topic: the design, styles, intentions, and messages, of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.
Texts: Maya Lin's essay, "Between Art and Architecture;" Lin's descriptive essay for her proposal; your research about the Lincoln Memorial; Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" ....
Think about the purposes and styles of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. How are these monuments different? What details of the design and construction of these monuments are important to their messages? How do they reflect the times when they were built? Present your thoughts about these questions in a well planned essay with a clear thesis and logical support.
Please include your prewriting assignments - your summary of Lin's essay and your paraphrase of the Gettysburg Address - with your paper. Stay with MLA style, and don't forget to consult with me during office hours. dc 11/3/04

Essay assignment: 3 Strikes and Proposition 66
Due Tuesday, October 12 - annotated bibliography and topic proposal
Paper due October 19
The November ballot contains a multitutde of propositions and initiatives. Among the more important of these is Proposition 66 which would change California’s existing 3 Strikes law. There are many issues and concerns about the 3 strikes law, and your assignment is to define a topic about it, do some serious research on the law and the proposition, and write a well organized research / argumentative paper on the subject.
Your paper should be as precise as possible. Don’t try to discuss everything about the question - narrow the topic enough so that you can do a thorough job of researching and discussing one issue. We will discuss some of these issues in class, and write some sample topic proposals.
Your paper should be about 1,000 words.

Fall 2004:
Essay assignment #1: “The Lone Ranger and Tonto” due September 9, 2004
The Text
One of Sherman Alexie’s short stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
The Topic
The themes of Alexie’s story.

The Assignment:
Describe the most important themes of the story.
In order to do this assignment well, you will need a clear idea of what “theme” means. You may want to look at a glossary of literary terms for some definitions and ideas about themes of literary works. Also, you must base your paper on a very close reading of the story. The more detail you bring to your paper, the better. Be careful not to make generalizations about Alexie or his work -- stay focused on the one story. We will discuss some of the stories in class, and we will do some exercises which should help you gather ideas and opinions about these marvelous texts.
You will be evaluated on how well you do the assignment, your clarity and style, and your careful proofreading.
750-1,000 words
MLA form
I hope that you enjoy Alexie’s stories as much as I do.
dc 8/31/04
Spring 2004 assignments:
Essay assignment #3: “Dividing Lines” Due April 8

Your textbook argues that many of the dividing lines that we take for granted - i.e. those of gender, and race - are, in fact, not hard and fast divisions, but that these categories are cultural constructs. Other divisions, such as those of politics, social affiliation, and religion, are obviously constructs,but also have huge importance in our lives. Thinking about the lines which divide us (or which seem to divide us) can be a useful tool for investigating questions of ethics, law, cultural conflicts, personal issues, and much more. Write about one of the sections of the “Dividing Lines” chapter in your Convergences text. Your selection may not be an essay. Use the concept of dividing lines to examine your selection.
Your essay should be an argument, not a personal statement or a narrative. You may want to answer questions such as, “what is the origin of this dividing line?” “What human need does it serve?” “Who gains from maintaining this division?” Do some creative thinking about the material you choose.

Pre-writing assignment: due April 6
What dividing lines are present in your selection? (What are “dividing lines”, anyway?)
Prepare a short, informal, expanded list of these dividing lines. Your paper should be no more than two pages, and not in standard essay form. Be creative with the shape of your paper! Please share this list with me, and hand it in with with your essay.
You will be evaluated on your organization, clarity, originality, and proofreading.
Please see me during office hours for help with your rough drafts and your pre-writing assignment.
(750-1000 words)

Cañada College
English 836 & English 100
Instructor: Clay
March 2004Research and Discussion topics for Bowling For Columbine group presentations.
Choose one of these topics for your group presentation. Do some research and prepare a ten to fifteen minute presentation on your topic. Each member of your group should do some research and participate in the presentation. Bring in visual aids if you wish. Be sure to fill out your Group Presentation Worksheet and hand it in at the time of your class presentation. List your research sources in a bibliography and hand that in also (one bibliography for your whole group.) Your goal is to present new information to the class, and to stimulate thinking and discussion. You will be evaluated on your research and how well you frame questions for us to think about. (You may count your meeting time toward the hours by arrangement requirement for the class.)
1. Moore uses various editing styles throughout the film (dramatic, humorous, shocking, satirical, etc.) to convey his messages. Describe and explain as many of them as you can. What point is the filmmaker trying to make? How/why are these effective or not in your view?
2. What about the National Rifle Association? What does it advocate? How powerful is it? Has it changed during its history?
3. What is the Ku Klux Klan? Why was it created? How many deaths was the klan responsible for? Is it still active?
4. Was Marilyn Manson responsible for Columbine? What is his music like? Does he advocate or glorify violence in his music?
5. What is the Brady Bill? Why and when was it made into law?
6. What is the militia movement? Do the militia members in the film present an accurate picture of themselves?
7. What kind of gun control exists in other countries? How is gun control different in different states and cities of the United States?
8. Bowling For Columbine makes a connection between the United States’ international support of violence and violence within our country. The following topics are from the film. You can find more details about some of them in the “library” section of the Bowling For Columbine web page. Discuss 3 or 4 of these pieces of United States history and think about what this history says about how the United States uses violence in international relations. Do you think that our behavior in other countries has an effect on violence in the United States?
1. 1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mossadegh of Iran. U.S. installs the Shah as dictator.
2. 1954: U.S. overthrows democratically elected President Arbenez of Guatemala. 20,000 civilians are killed.
3. 1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem.
4. 1963-1975: U.S. military kills 4 million people in Southeast Asia.
5. September 11, 1973: U.S. stages a military coup in Chile. Democratically elected president Salvador Allende is assassinated. Dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet is installed. 5,000 Chileans are murdered.
6. 1977: U.S. backs military rulers of El Salvador. 7,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns are killed.
7. 1980s: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow Muslim terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
8. 1981: Reagan administration trains and funds "Contras" to fight government. 30,000 Nicaraguans die.
9.1982: U.S. provides billions in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
10. 1983: The White House secretly gives Iran weapons to kill Iraqis.
11. 1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as president of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega.
12. 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
13. 1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
14. 1998: U.S. bombs "weapons factory" in Sudan. The factory turns out to be making aspirin.
15. 1991-making of the film: U.S. planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. The United Nations estimates that 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
16. 2000-2001: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid."

Cañada College
English 100 Clay
Essay #2: The News: Is it Good For You?
Due March 9, 2004
Discuss the content of one local TV news broadcast. Watch a local news program - not a network show - and make a list of all the items that the program covers. (It will help if you can record the program.) How many of the news items are about accidents or violence? Do you think that the program attempts to get attention by sensationalizing bloody or scary situations? How many of the news items deal seriously with political or social issues? What are your conclusions about this one program? Put your ideas together in a well organized essay, and distill your conclusions into a persuasive thesis.
Introduce your essay carefully. Be sure to say exactly which broadcast you watched - or recorded - what time it was on, what channel, and the name of the program. Be as specific as possible about what you saw. Present your conclusion in a thesis sentence in your first paragraph.500-750 words
proofread!
show your rough draft to your tutor
consult with me during office hours

Cañada College
English 100 (Clay,Spring 2004)
Essay #1: Monuments and Memorials (750-1000 words)
Essay due February 12

Topic: the styles, intentions, messages, and materials of the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Materials: Maya Lin's essay in Convergences, the photographs of the Vietnam Memorial, your research about the Lincoln Memorial ....

Think about the purposes and styles of the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. How are these monuments different? How do they reflect the times when they were built? What details of the design and construction of these monuments are important to their messages? Your well planned essay should present your thoughts about these questions with a clear thesis and logical support.

We will be doing some preliminary assignments before the 12th. Please hand these in with your finished essay. Also, be sure that your list of works cited is complete and accurate.

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