Generating and Structuring Content

This essay will be more varied and idiosyncratic than our academic analysis.  In other words, instead of following a rigid structure of introduction (with hook, context, and thesis), body paragraphs (with topic sentences and integration of research), and conclusion, you will be freer to follow your own path.  This can be both exhilarating and a bit frightening.  Where should I begin?  What should I write about?  How am I going to write four pages on the topic of getting/being lost?

One way of brainstorming and structuring information is to use the rhetorical modes, which are methods for presenting information.  The nine rhetorical modes are as follows: definition, description, exemplification, narration, cause/effect, compare/contrast, division/classification, process analysis, and argument.

Definition refers to the essential qualities or details that comprise a thing or idea.  For this essay, you may choose to define "loss" or "lost."  This definition alone could comprise anywhere from one sentence to a few pages.  Most students immediately turn to a dictionary for definitions and then just quote from Webster's; however, the most effective definitions are the ones you come up with on your own.  Feel free to use a dictionary to help you shape your definition (and even quote from one if you'd like), but be sure that the heart of your definition (and its explanation) comes from you.

Description refers to details associated with the object or idea.  These details can be literal, sensory details (how a thing looks, sounds, feels, smells, and tastes) or can be rhetorical, figurative comparisons (using a metaphor or simile).  For this essay, you could describe what being lost feels like (using the first-person "I" or second-person "you") or what a person who is lost looks like (using the third-person "he" or "she").

Exemplification refers to giving examples that illustrate your idea or claim.  For this essay, you could give examples of times you've been lost or historical examples of famous people who have been lost (such as Amelia Earnhardt or Christopher Columbus).

Narration refers to using a story to illustrate an idea or claim.  All stories require three components: characters, setting, and plot.  For this essay, you could narrate a time you were lost (or found), a time you lost something, or a time you were lost in a moment.  For narrative to be effective, remember, there must be a clearly developed plot, setting, and characters.

Cause/Effect refers to an explanation or exploration of causal relationships.  For this essay, you could explore what leads a person to become lost (or found), or you could discuss the effects of being lost (or found).

Compare/Contrast refers to an explanation or exploration of the similarities and/or differences between objects or ideas.  For this essay, you could compare/contrast different times you were lost, or you could compare/contrast different ways of being lost.

Division/Classification refers to an explanation or exploration of the various types or categories of an object or idea.  For this essay, you could divide and classify the different types of being lost, the different methods of being found, or the various types of loss.

Process Analysis refers to an explanation or exploration of the steps involved in a process.  For this essay, you could analyze the steps involved in getting lost (or found).

Argument refers to presenting a claim that you then develop through logical reasoning and evidence.  For this essay, you could argue that being lost is an essential component of being human.

These examples are but a few of the possible ideas you could explore with these rhetorical modes; for example, there are many more arguments you could make regarding the idea of being lost.  A successful essay does not have to use each and every one of these rhetorical modes, but a successful essay will develop the rhetorical modes it does use with specific detail and effective exploration.  For this blog post, list which rhetorical modes you plan on using for your essay (and you can always change your mind later), and provide a brief explanation of how you will use those modes.

Lost in a Moment

And now to take a more positive tone.

Watch the short film below and describe (in a short paragraph or two) one time you were lost in the moment.

Losing It

Our culture traffics in idioms, one such expression being, "I'm losing it" or "I've lost it."

For this post, describe (in a paragraph or two) one time you "lost it."

Two More "Lost" Articles

This assignment has two parts.

1.  Read Colson Whitehead's "The Way We Live Now," and explain (in a short paragraph) how Whitehead uses symbolism to develop the essay's theme.  (To refresh, a symbol is when a concrete image represents an abstract idea, in the way that a bird can symbolize freedom or a road can symbolize travel).

2. Read Robin Kellner's "Zoe's Story," and pay close attention to how Kellner's structures her essay: both with the use of five large sections broken by dashes and with the various lengths of paragraphs, some only one sentence long and others more developed.  Choose one of these sections or paragraphs, and explain how the structure of the paragraph itself helps to convey the impact of the section's meaning.  (In other words, how does putting a certain idea into a shorter or longer section/paragraph make it more or less emphatic?).

Using Sources in a Personal Essay

The academic research paper is not the only form of writing that uses research.  Personal essays also use research to set a tone or provide background information.

For an effective example of this, read Molly Minturn's "Knight of the Swan," and notice how she incorporates material from conversations/interviews along with an article from Discover Magazine, a fairy tale, and song out of pop culture.  

For your blog post, explain (in a few sentences) how one of these references/sources contributes to the overall theme of Minturn's essay.

Three Photographs

Hello All,

For your Academic Analysis essay, you need to use at least three photographs: one from a fellow student in the class (which you can see in the earlier post) and two from the Getty Exhibit titled "Where We Live."  Again, you need to use a minimum of three photographs in your analysis, so feel free to use more than that if you'd like.

For this entry, specify the photographs you will use in your analysis.

Introductions to Academic Analysis

For this entry, you will post the introduction to your Academic Analysis.  When you are writing a formal essay, your introduction should have three components: hook, context, and thesis.

The hook (also known as the "lead" or the "attention-grabber") is used to intrigue your audience and begin your essay in a way that makes the reader want to continue reading.  Some forms of the hook include the use of a direct quote, a question, a surprising fact or statistic, or anecdote (a brief story).  You could also begin by using a definition or a description, by comparing and contrasting two things, or by dividing and classifying the types of a thing.  The key to writing an effective hook is to be interesting, original, and consistent with both topic and tone.

The context is where the writer introduces the main ideas of the essay.  The writer needs to provide the broad outlines of the different subjects so that the thesis will be effective; to do this, the writer will need to explain those ideas with definitions and other essential information.

Finally, the introduction will end with the thesis statement.  This is the specific argument the writer is making about the topic.  This thesis should be clear, concise, and insightful.

Because you are writing an academic analysis, you should avoid using any reference to yourself.  The one exception would be if you were to use an anecdote as your hook; in that case, you could use the first-person "I" to tell your opening narrative.  However, there should be no "I" in your thesis statement.

For your essay, you should respond to the following question: "What is a photograph, and how and why do people use photography?"  Consider the various contexts in which we take and present our photographs.  Your essay will use individual photographs as examples, but you should not refer to these examples in your introduction.

For this entry, post the introduction to your academic analysis.  It should be no less than three sentences and no longer than twelve or so.  

Getting Started with the Academic Analysis

How can a photograph be both an eternal, unchanging work of art and a document of change and the passage of time?

Post a quick paragraph in which you provide an answer to this seeming paradox.  Within this paragraph, use at least one direct quote from an article posted to Blackboard (by Sontag, Kracauer, Barthes, or Bazin).  Be sure to properly introduce and cite the direct quote; review the files in Blackboard titled "Using Source Material" in the "Academic Analysis" tab.

Kracauer's "On Photography"

For this post, read Kracauer's "On Photography" (available on Blackboard).

Then watch this video by Feist.



Finally, find one quote from Kracauer's essay that helps answer one of the questions from the "Questions to Consider" post. Provide the quote, and write a brief explanation as to its significance/meaning. Be sure to give the page number of the quote as well.

Susan Sontag's "The Image World"

Hello All,

For this post, read Susan Sontag's "The Image World," which you can find on the class Blackboard page.  Then find one quote that provides an answer to one of the questions from the list on the previous post.  Finally, provide a brief explanation (a couple of sentences) of why you found that quote meaningful.

Note: Do not repeat a quote someone has already posted; you must find a new quote to discuss if "your" quote is taken.

Questions to Consider for Your First Essay

Hello All,

This is a list of questions that will help you brainstorm for your first essay.  There is no need to respond to this post; this will just be a list that you can return to when you are reading the photography essays or constructing your first essay.

What is Art?  What are the qualities that would elevate a given object to the status of "art"?
Why do people create art?
Why do audiences want to experience art?
Does art require context?  In other words, does an artwork lose anything out of context?  Is a Picasso painting the same in person as it is as an image we might use as the screensaver on our desktop computer?

Can photography be art?
How is photography different from other forms of art (like literature and painting)?
How is it similar?
What qualities would a photograph need to possess to be elevated to the status of art?

Why do people take photographs?
What function/purpose/utility do photographs serve for us as individuals?  For us as members of a family or community?  For anonymous/unknown audiences?

Finally, if anyone is interested, the Bakersfield Museum of Art is hosting an exhibit titled "Photography in Mexico," with some fantastic photographs, including my all-time favorite: "Mujer Angel" by Graciela Iturbide.

Class Photographs

J.R. Brownlow's "Farm Life"

M. Munoz's "Skyscape"

P. Kaur's "Sunset Horizon"

V. Villalpando's "Newport Harbor"

Z. McCarthy's "Dog Drama"

V. Rivera's "Three L Door"

E. Chavez's "High School Football"

W. Bishop's "Food and Friends"

L.M. Rountree's "Cousins"

R. Jacobo's "Weekend Escape"

V. Camacho's "Window on Europe"

F. Salahud-din's "Home"

N. DiMaggio's "Happy Pig"

J. Torres's "White Cat on White Fence"

S. Avalos's "Celebrity Stalkers"

S. Ali's "My Precious Boy"

R. Hough's "Nephews"

P. Lopez's "Rose of Life"

M. Lumpkin's "End of Summer"

B. Rhodes's "Sibling Bonding"

C. Correa's "Tule River"

L. Tinajero's "Summer Reading List"

M. Cueto's "Central Coast"

S. Summers's "Pink Flamingos"

P. Castillo's "Before Sunrise, Venice Beach"

A. Gonzalez's "Missing Gammy"

B. Leonard's "Desert Eye"

Post #2: The Syllabus

For this post, read the syllabus, and post one question you have about the class (the syllabus, the assignments, etc).  I will not be reading the syllabus out loud on Saturday, but I will be answering all of your questions . . .

Fall 2014, Post #1

Hello All,

My name is Matthew Woodman, and I will be your instructor for English 305.  For this first post, to which you should post a comment/response by September 20, provide a brief introduction of yourself: your major, current job, career goals, what you hope to learn in this course, and any additional trivia about your life.

Here's a bit about me: I have been teaching at CSUB for fourteen years and have spent most of my life here in the central valley.  In addition to English 305, I also teach the freshmen writing course (110), another upper-division GWAR course (310), Advanced Technical Writing (ADM 510), Introduction to Literature (101), and the first-year-experience course (CSUB 101).  When I am not teaching, I am writing poetry; you can see some of my work here and here.  When I am not writing, I am probably reading a book (I'm in the middle of Catherine Lacey's Nobody Is Ever Missing, which is great) or working on my garden of California native plants (which you can follow here).  In terms of this course, I hope to help you improve all aspects of your writing, from development and organization to depth and insight.  Along the way, my goal is to make writing a skill that you will enjoy improving.