Midterm Presentations

 

ENG 106: Composition 2

Midterm Presentations
Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2002

Objectives

At this point in the semester, you should be able to achieve each of the following objectives, which come from our first six lessons, without consulting notes or other resources:

  • Plan a writing project.
  • Generate ideas for a writing project.
  • Write a clear thesis statement.
  • Organize material in an outline.
  • Write effective topic sentences.
  • Write clear sentences.
  • Write unified, well-organized, and thorough paragraphs.
  • Improve an essay through revision.
  • Use proofreading strategies to remove lapses in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics from a draft.
  • Identify strengths and weaknesses in arguments.
  • Write an effective claim.
  • Assemble support for a claim. 
  • Establish a set of criteria for evaluating something.
  • Construct an evaluation.
  • Identify problems or obstacles that call for action.
  • Construct a proposal that addresses these problems or obstacles.
  • Dissect an argument by identifying and assessing its claim, evidence, and agenda.
  • Distinguish between facts and interpretation.
  • Evaluate a source’s credibility.
  • Summarize material from a source.
  • Paraphrase sentences effectively.
  • Use, punctuate, and integrate full and partial quotations.
  • Identify sources through attributive phrases and parenthetical citations.
  • Compile a list of works cited.
  • Define relevant terms.

Assignments

Please complete the following assignment before 8 a.m. Monday, September 30:

Publish your portfolio on the World Wide Web.  This portfolio should consist of your evaluation and proposal.  Since I will grade the proposal and assign it a grade worth 10 percent of your final grade, you should do all that you can to make sure that it fulfills the criteria on the syllabus.

Activities

We will not meet as a class this week.  Instead, each of you will meet with me in my office (Dial 118) and give a 10-minute presentation.  See “Presentation 1” on the syllabus for details.  A schedule of presentations appears below:

 

Tuesday, October 1

8 a.m.: Shereka

8:10: Ashley

8:20: Lee

8:30: Jennifer

8:40: Carrie

8:50: Marie

9 a.m.: Melissa

9:10: Coral

 

9:30: Terry

9:40: Abigail

9:50: Paul

10 a.m.: Mamie

10:10: Dartanian

10:20: Cherokee

10:30: Laurie

10:40: Toderick

10:50: Simonee

 

Thursday, October 3

8 a.m.: Pierre

8:10: Ryan

8:20: Kim

8:30: Rob

8:40: Brandi

9 a.m.: Mandi

9:10: Matt

9:20: George

 

9:30: Justin

9:40: Daniel

9:50: Candy

10 a.m.: David

10:10: Jerry

10:20: Lauren

10:30: Kristen

10:40: Jessica

Terms

Make sure you know the meaning and significance of each of the following terms:

  • rhetoric
  • essay
  • paragraph
  • levels of generality
  • sentence
  • content
  • clarity
  • style
  • integrity
  • prewriting
  • writing
  • revision
  • invention
  • notes
  • freewriting
  • clustering
  • listing
  • notes
  • outline
  • proofreading
  • writer’s block
  • speed draft
  • Aristotle
  • ad hominem
  • begging the question
  • claim
  • ethos
  • evidence
  • false dilemma
  • logical fallacy
  • logos
  • pathos
  • post hoc
  • red herring
  • evaluation
  • criteria
  • proposal
  • problem
  • obstacles
  • solution
  • attributive phrase
  • bias
  • credibility
  • fact
  • interpretation
  • objectivity
  • subjectivity
  • tone
  • full quotation
  • MLA style
  • Paraphrase
  • parenthetical citation
  • partial quotation
  • plagiarism
  • quotation marks
  • source
  • summary
  • syntax
  • works cited

Updated September 26, 2002
© Mark Canada, 2002
mark.canada@uncp.edu
 

Introduction

You have two assignments due this week.  First, your proposal is due at 8 a.m. on Monday, September 30.  Please post it, along with your evaluation, on your online portfolio.  As described on the syllabus, this proposal is worth 10 points, or 10 percent of your final grade.  Second, you will give your first presentation.  Please come to my office (Dial 118) at the time listed under “Schedule” in the box at the left.  Please note that you have only 10 minutes at the time assigned.  If you arrive late or fail to arrive at all without adequate advance notice, your grade may suffer.  The material below is designed to help you succeed on both of these assignments.

Discussion

Proposal

Use the following checklist to revise your proposal.  Do not consider your proposal complete until you can check off each of these items.

 

__  My essay contains a clear, contestable, precise, and substantive proposal claim.

__  My essay describes a problem or some obstacles that my proposal will help to overcome.

__  My essay contains abundant, relevant, and credible evidence drawn from at least three primary sources from Early American Writing. 

__  I have successfully incorporated source material into my essay through effective use of attribution, parenthetical citation, and some combination of summaries, paraphrases, or quotations.  I have included an entry in my list of works cited for each source that I cited in my essay.

__  The writing in my essay is well-organized, clear, and engaging.  In particular, I have made effective use of topic sentences, transitions, and strategies for organizing paragraphs.

__  My essay contains no glaring errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or mechanics.

__  My essay contains no instances of plagiarism.

Presentation 1

Drawing on the material in your evaluation, you will make a presentation arguing for the midterm grade you believe your performance thus far in the course merits.  Like the written evaluation, this presentation should state a clear claim and support it with evidence drawn from at least five sources, including your written evaluation and proposal, this syllabus, the department guidelines for ENG 106, and at least one of the text books for this course.  You also must use at least one visual aid to make your case.  Because you have only five minutes to make this argument, you will want to be extremely concise.  After you make you oral argument, I will ask you a few questions about terms and concepts we have covered in the course.  Again, you will  have only five minutes; be concise.

 

Use the following checklist to prepare for this presentation:

 

__  I have hard copies of all of my assignments, along with rough drafts, notes, and photocopies of sources with quoted or paraphrased passages highlighted.  I will bring these materials to my presentation and will be prepared to discuss how I used sources and otherwise wrote my essays.

__  I have a clear idea of the quality of my writing and can make a clear, organized, and engaging presentation in which I orally argue for a specific grade that I believe my work merits.

__  I have a visual aid, such as a handout or a PowerPoint display, to supplement my oral remarks during the presentation.

__  I have achieved all of the objectives listed in the box at the left.

__  I can define all of the terms listed in the box at the left.

__  I have practiced my oral argument, and I believe that it fulfills the requirements and criteria listed on the syllabus.

Conclusion

By the end of this week, you will have completed the first three assignments of the course: the evaluation, the proposal, and your first presentation.  In our next lesson, we will begin working on your next assignment, the definition.