Grade Consultations!

Congratulations everyone! You are fully done with the semester! I am still in the process of grading 823 & 838 papers and finals but I'm pretty much done with 882 class!! I just want to remind everyone that we will have grade consultations week starting this Friday, June 6th. If you want to know your grade for the semester and get your research paper and final back, you must come in on the day designated for each class! We will not have a full 2 or 3 hour class of course. It will be a short session of 45 minutes-1 hour at the most. In addition to getting your grade back, you will also have the opportunity to submit a 12-line poem (sonnet) to me and then recite it to class in with which you will gain 5 extra points on your final exam! I look forward to seeing you all soon!


Also, keep in mind that the last day I will check your blogs/blog comments will be a day before your consultation grade day. So make sure you email me your blog link if you haven't done so already! And remember, even 1 or 2 blog entries is better than nothing! This could be the difference between passing and failing the class. So keep that in mind please!

Grade Consultations Schedule:

English 102.0882>Friday, June 6th (10:30 am-11:30 am)

English 102.0823>Wednesday, June 11th (8:00 am-9:00 am)

English 102:0838>Wednesday, June 11th (10:30-11:30 am)

Keep in mind that we may stay longer than an hour if the students' recitations take longer. So keep your schedule open for the full length of the class just in case!

Best of luck in all your other exams and hope to see you soon!

-Salamat

About Wednesday, Your Last Day.

English 102.0823 & 102.0838 Classes:

This is your last week of classes! On Wednesday this week, June 4th, everyone must submit their research papers in hard copy in class. If for any reason you are unable to print it out and bring it to class, note, that it is absolutely your responsibility to find me and hand in the essay. I am absolutely not accepting anyone to put it in my mailbox. So the best thing to do is to print it out and bring it to your own class. 

As for the final, make sure you bring either your textbook or printed copies of all the short stories we have read and discussed in class together. I will not allow any sort of technology use like ipad or smartphones for this test. Make sure you bring a pen or pencil and you are on time with your research papers handy! 

If you submitted me a research paper draft as of today, keep in mind that I do have a lot of papers to grade already so I will not be able to fully read and respond to your essays. This is the time where all of you must visit the writing center to sit with a tutor and check that research paper rubric and make sure you have all you need! 

Good luck everyone! And hope to see all of you on Wednesday, June 4th!

-Salamat

Emailing Revisions....

Everyone in the 823 & 838 section who have emailed me revisions or are still waiting for my feedback, please wait a little longer. I've been getting a lot of emails since yesterday. So by tomorrow morning you should get your essay back with my comments! So hang in there! Have a good night!

-Salamat

Resources to help you with the research paper!!

Here are the resources/websites that you can use for the research paper:

Perdue Owl: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

http://library.laguardia.edu/home/index.php?/research/database/subject/english_and_world_literature/

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Transitions.html

http://www.loyno.edu/wac/quotations-using-signal-phrases

http://myenglishta.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/how-to-write-a-research-paper-using-literary-criticism/

Sample essay: http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Lars-MLA.pdf

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If there are more resources that you have been using to help you with your research paper & would like to share with the class, please do go ahead and share it with the rest of us by posting a comment to this blog entry!

-Salamat

Research Paper Rubric

This is how you will be graded on your research paper. Study it CAREFULLY please!

Research Paper Rubric

Also, if you have emailed me a revision of your 3rd essay, just wait. I will email it back to you in a couple of hours at the latest.

-Salamat

About Revisions This Week!

Hey everyone!

So I have already mentioned this to everyone who already came for their individual conferences for 823 & 838 section classes and also to the 882 class but I want to mention it again so everyone knows. First of all for the 823/838 classes (Mon/Wed classes):
Because this week we are off on Monday & we have a short class on Wednesday, I am allowing everyone to "email" me revisions/late papers etc (of course this would be third essay only; I'm not accepting any more 1st & 2nd essays!). I have already given back a couple of essay threes with feedback so if you want to email me a revision sooner than Monday (June 2nd when it is officially due) you can definitely do so! In fact, I'm encouraging everyone to do so because if I have commented in your essay that your "thesis" is unclear & needs to be revised OR if you did not at all or properly use the literary criticism essay from the book, then you really should make sure first that you get an "OK" from me on your third essay first before moving on to do your research papers. Remember, you will not be able to "revise" your research papers and it is 20% of your grade. So get started on it asap by first correcting your third essay & then, of course, you can always send me "drafts" of your research paper so I can email you feedback on those.

As for the Friday/882 class: we have a shortage of classes in general due to the way the semester is scheduled so, if you haven't yet submitted a revision of your THIRD ESSAY, I'm allowing you to do so by emailing me the revision & taking a pic/scanning your original essay with my comments on it, by MONDAY MAY 26 at the latest for a GRADE change for your third essay! After Monday, if you didn't get a chance to send me a revision or if you did and you changed something within your essay or if you're not sure that you're going in the right direction for the research paper, you can still email me drafts/sections of your essay & I will still try to email back some comments though I would not be able to change your third essay grade at that point. Since your research papers are due on this upcoming Friday, May 30th, you would want to email me drafts/revisions/questions etc BEFORE Thursday! Since Monday is off, I will not have my office hours then but if you need help for anything, please contact me for an appointment another day so I can schedule my time accordingly.

Also, I'm going to post your research paper Rubrics later on today. So please keep that in mind as this is how you will be graded on your research papers!

Have a good extended weekend guys!

-Salamat

The Yellow Wallpaper

In " The Yellow Wallpaper " by Charlotte Perkins Gilman , I expected this story to be a love story about a couple moving into a  new home .  What I liked most about this story  is how the narrator is trapped in this room  and the outcome of her turning insane. What I liked least is how her husband did not  really take her seriously. I  do recommend this story to a friend because its a great story and its very interesting.

MLA Citation Help Offered on Campus!!

Note:

The Library is offering drop-in workshops for students on both MLA/APA.  These sessions are designed to provide informal one-on-one assistance to students who are in the process of compiling their Works Cited lists.
Please announce in your classes. 

WHEN:   Students can drop in anytime during these 2 hour sessions:

- Thursday, May 22nd     10:00-12:00 PM

- Tuesday,  May 27th       2:00-4:00 PM

- Tuesday, May 27th       5:00-7:00 PM

WHERE: Library Classroom (E101-E)

Please take advantage of these workshops to help you with in-text citation and works cited page for the research paper!!

-Salamat

Research Paper

Congratulations to everyone on completing the writing of three literary analysis essays in the English 102 classes! You should be, as I am, very proud of each and every one of you. You have all truly improved your writing from the very first week of classes and it's quite an accomplishment. You have also already concluded your midterms. Now, it is time to turn to writing your research papers and getting prepared for the Final written Exam which will be taken in class in a 2-hour period.

I have typed up the assignment description of the Research Paper. I will go over it in your classes this week and just remember, the deadline for submitting the research paper will be the last day of your class when you will take the final. There are no revisions for this paper either. You must instead try to (as some of you have already been doing) write and rewrite and revise and re-revise your third essays which is really what is to be expanded to become your research essays.

Although I will administer a session in class on how to research the LAGCC library databases for literary criticisms, if you have any questions you must direct them to the library staff itself or email me or ask me in class. Even if you do not have your third essays along with my feedback back yet, you should still start the research process as you need to be able to find at least 2 sources to use in your paper. The sooner you complete your research essays, the sooner you can consider yourself "done" with this class!!

Best of luck and hope to see all of you soon,
M. Salamat

823 & 838 Sections, IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY, IMPORTANT TO READ!

If you missed today's class session, you were unable to choose a time slot to come in for individual conferences. Again, I'm holding individual conferences this upcoming Wednesday May 21 & next Wednesday May 28! Here are the time slots still available for both classes; make sure you leave a comment to this blog post or email me the time you would like to choose to come in and asap!

823 Section:
Wed-May 21
     8:42-8:49am
     8:49-8:56am
     9:24-9:31am
Wed-May 28
     8:00-8:07am
     8:07-8:14am

838 Section:
Wed-May 28
    10:30-10:37am
    10:44-10:51am
    10:51-10:58am
    10:58-11:05am
    11:12-11:26am


Remember, if you sign up for the Wed-May 28 session, you are DO NOT have class this week for English 102! If you sign up for the Wed-May 21 session, you will come in next week still on May 28th but only during the second half of the class (the second hour).

See you all soon!

Extra Credit # 2

Hey everyone,

I hope you've been enjoying your weekend thus far! Here is, as promised, the description for the second opportunity you can have for extra credit in this class:

You must compose a sonnet (a poem consisted of only 12 lines) with the theme of "Identity" in mind, type it, submit it, and recite it in front of the class. There may be other attendees in that particular class. The day you will recite & submit it to me will be no later than the following dates for each class section:

English 102.0882: June 6th
English 102.0823: June 11th
English 102.0838: June 11th

Keep in mind that you must also recite the poem in front of the class, not just submit it on paper to me to be able to get extra credit.

Once you have successfully completed this "extra credit" assignment, you will receive 5 bonus points on your Final Exam that you will have written in class the week before reciting your poem. Remember, you will be graded based on a rubric (like your midterm) in which points are added to make up 100% so if let's say your final exam comes out to a 74% based on the points you received for each category, you will automatically get a 79% which will bring your grade up from a C to a C+.

I hope to hear from all of you!

"A poet is before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." --W.H. Auden

-Salamat

Attention English 102.0882 Class!!!!

Hey guys,

So I just wanted to remind everyone that we do NOT have a full class tomorrow! You are just to come in each for a total of 7 minutes to meet individually with me to discuss your class progress and grades etc. Some people were absent last class and scheduled their times by emailing me but there are still a couple of people who have NOT signed up for any class so if you have not, please leave a comment for THIS POST and choose one of these sessions:

12:25-12:32
12:32-12:39
12:39-12:46
12:46-12:53
12:53-1:00
1:00-1:07


See you all tomorrow!


-Salamat

Critical Essays from "An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama & Writing" Text Book 7th Edition

Dear English 102 classes,

Due to the fact that some people may have different versions of the textbook, I have scanned all the critical essays from the 7th Edition of the book and uploaded them on google docs. You can either download & print these out or read and use it from the screen itself. Here are the links to the critics for each story:

The Yellow Wallpaper

Oedipus the King

Friday Class (882) Reading Change!

This message is for Eng 102.0882 Class that meets on Fridays only:

I'm changing the reading assignment due this upcoming Friday, May 9. The reason for this is that I would like to do a lesson on composition and in revising your essays for this class along with the research paper and its databases (if time permits us). Also, keep in mind that I will pass out the sign-in sheet for the following Friday when we will have the Individual Conferences. The reading is "The Cuban Swimmer" by Milcha Sanchez-Scott on page 1225 of the 7th Edition of the book. It is a much shorter play so I hope that everybody gets a chance to read it. We will also have a short quiz/writing activity in the beginning of class about the play.

Also, keep in mind that your third essay is also due this Friday!

-Salamat

Essay 3

Here is the description for your third essay:

Essay 3

Sections 823 & 838: MUST BRING 2 COPIES OF ESSAYS ON WEDNESDAY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PEER REVIEW! IF YOU DO NOT BRING TWO COPIES, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS!

Changes to the Syllabi!!

Dear English 102 Classes,

I hope you have enjoyed your spring break thus far and are ready to get back to business! I, myself have been away and at times hard to reach--sorry about that! I am going to write down the changes I have made and make explicit what the rest of the semester beholds for our classes! Please read changed syllabus CAREFULLY according to your class section. There will be two syllabi. One is for the 2 classes that meet Mondays & Wednesdays & the other is for the class that just meets on Fridays.

Class Schedule for the rest of the semester> 823 & 838:

Week 7 (April 23)>Myth & Narrative/Discussing “The Times they are’ changing”, “Medusa” & “Transforming Fairy Tales. HW for next week: Read chapter 24 

Week 8 (April 28 & 30th) > Discuss poems & have mid-term on Wed. HW for next week: “Oedipus the King”

Week 9 (May 5 & 7) > Introducing Drama, Critical Casebook: Sophocles + Discuss Oedipus the King & the third essay & writing literary criticisms HW for next week: Complete Essay 3

Week 10 (May 12 & 14) > Continue discussion of Oedipus the King & literary criticism. On Wed, May 14>Essay 3 is due. Discussion of Critical Casebook: Shakespeare/Modern Theater.

Week 11 (May 19 & 21) > Return essays & discuss writing a research paper. All of class on Wed, we will have individual conferences.

Week12 (May 26 & 28) > All of class on Monday, we will have individual conferences. Wed is the last day to submit revision of essay 3/will meet in the computer lab (possibly, must check course blog for updates). HW for next week: Must complete Research paper by next week

Week13 (June 2 & 4) > Monday-> Research Paper/Final Exam Preparation. Wednesday-> Research essay is due & we have in-class final.

Finals Week> June 11> Grade Consultations/End of the semester party/Read poetry to class for extra credit if desired (Information will be handed out after the mid-term).

Class Schedule for the rest of the semester> 882:

Week7> April 25>do peer review of paper2, go over poems & introduce mid-term & give mid-term to students to do at home to bring to class on Friday May 2. HW: Read Oedipus the King the play.

Week8> May2> Must hand-in Midterms. Not accepting late papers!!! If late, a 0 will be given to the midterm! Introduce Drama , critical casebooks etc of Oedipus the King & what is a literary criticism? discuss for 3rd paper purposes. HW: Complete Essay 3 + Read "Fences"

Week9>May9> Essay 3 Due; Discussing "Fences" + Group Work

Week10>May 16>  Individual Conferences

Week11>May 23> Working on Research Papers/Last day to submit revision of Essay 3 (might meet in the computer lab; check blog for verification.

Week12>May 30> Research Essay Due/Final Exam in Class

June 6 (Finals Week) > Grade Consultations/End of the semester party/Read poetry to class for Extra Credit if desired.

Essay 2

Here is the description for the second essay due next week:

Essay 2 Assignment Sheet

-Salamat

Course Blog vs. Individual Blogs

English 102 Classes,

I would like to make an announcement about the blogs and remind you that this course blog is a platform for all students from the 3 different sections to get in contact with each other outside of class. However, you must not post your weekly blog entries here! Note that I will NOT accept it if it is here. Also, this is a place for me to get in contact with you to post information that may have changed in the syllabus or in the homework and post assignment information etc. By the end of Sunday, I will delete all the weekly blog entries that you have posted here! Make sure you copy/paste the info in your own blogs as I will delete it in order to free up space to be able to have access to the important information/announcements for the classes!

Thank you,

Salamat

Student Blog Links

For the extra credit opportunity you have, you may comment on any of the blog links of your classmates. Keep in mind that each blog comment must be placed within a different week (one comment per week)! Each comment should be at least 4-5 sentences and in depth!
Here are the links to the student blogs I have received from you in emails for all three sections of the English 102 Class:

http://amyfurey.blogspot.com http://yone809.blogspot.com/ http://sammylin1.blogspot.com/ jairomacancela.blogspot.com http://martina102-0823.blogspot.com/ janethmayorga3.blogspot.com lizetteramirez86.blogspot.com http://zulianiburgosenglish102.blogspot.com http://dyoungweeklyblog.blogspot.com/ http://glorimiv14.blogspot.com/ mdahabib.blogspot.com http://azailejan.blogspot.com http://sukhmeetkaur26.blogspot.com/ http://richardjruiz.blogspot.com/ http://eng102-luanromo.blogspot.com/ http://derekayala.blogspot.com/ http://editheg.blogspot.com/ http://johngonzalezsection0882.blogspot.com/ http://selbritt.blogspot.com/ http://jingjingl234.blogspot.com/ http://english10456.blogspot.com/ If you do not find your blog link here, please post a comment to this blog to do so. In the comment box, write your full name, class section, and the link to your blog. Best Wishes, Salamat

Reading Changes for Weeks 4 + 5!!

English 102 Classes,

Here are some changes I've made to the course schedule beginning this upcoming Monday (Mar. 24):

Reading assignment for this week: "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman p.345
Week 4
Sections 823 & 838:
Monday-Mar. 24>We will continue going over the readings from last week & I will return the essays.

Wednesday-Mar. 26>You must make sure you finish "The Yellow Wallpaper" before class as I will conduct a quiz on it during the 2 hours. This is the only reading you have for this week so please make sure you do it. We will then discuss the story. In addition, we will go over the essays.

Section 882:
Friday-Mar. 28
We will continue going over the readings from last week, I will return the essays, and I will conduct a quiz on "The Yellow Wallpaper". This is the only reading you have for this week so please make sure you complete it. We will also go over the essays.

Week 5(Mar. 31-April 4)
Sections 823 & 838 & 882:
I'm taking out "Araby" from the reading assignments. We will begin to focus solely on poetry from this week on.


Best Wishes,
Salamat

Change of Syllabus/Homework for Week 3 (March 17-21)!!

Hey everyone,

I hope you have been enjoying your weekend so far. There has been a change in your syllabus for the readings that are due this week. Your syllabus states that for this upcoming week, you must read "Young Goodman Brown", "The Storm", and "The Metamorphosis". However, I would like to take out "The Metamorphosis" and instead add "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury on page 135 of your textbooks.

Also, this week your first essays are due! For sections 0823 and 0838, you must hand in your papers on Wednesday and for section 0882, you must hand in your papers on Friday in class. Please check an earlier entry in this blog for more information about your papers. Keep in mind that you can also email me a draft for comments.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!


-Salamat

Cathedral Analysis (Opinion)

After reading Cathedral by Raymond Carver a piece of Carver's symbolism of the Cathedral and the Blind man opened my eyes to look further than possible. Because we see it doesn't mean we understand. For one to truly appreciate what one see, the person must look beyond the obvious. A Cathedral is a building that we know. But what does a Cathedral symbolize?, what does the building consists of? Why must it be so enormous in size? Why are there monsters outside the Cathedral? I love this short story i'll admit in the beginning of the story I felt envious towards the blind man because everything seemed to focus around him but in all actuality the old man symbolized what we take for granted.

Essay One Assignment Sheet

I am posting the description for your first essay here. You can view the google doc by clicking HERE.

NOTE: Pay attention to the due date based on your section as it may be different from the syllabus.

How to Create a Blog on Blogger - 2013 [part 1]

Syllabi

Welcome English 102 Classes!

As you know already, this is your blog--a blog that will keep the class, all three sections that I'm teaching, connected outside of the classroom.

I have uploaded all your syllabi so please click on the link for your syllabus based on the section you are registered for; save the link.

Everyone will be invited to this blog to be able to post or comment on anything from discussions pertaining to our class or other school events you want to share with the rest of the students in these three sections! In addition, I will send you the link to this blog so that you can get access to it even if you cannot necessarily post something here.

I will make a post shortly showing you the steps to make your individual blogs to begin posting as soon as you wish to do so. During the weekend, I will also post the description for your first essays so that you can have access to it and start thinking about it before the deadline.

Let's have an awesome semester together! :)

Sincerely,
Salamat

Syllabi:

English 102.0882

English 102.0823

English 102.0838