Vocabulary Test Lists 10-12

Grammar Quiz Today

Vocabulary Test Tomorrow

Writing Exercise #8

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

The following appeared in a memorandum issued by a large city’s council on the arts:

“In a recent citywide poll, 15 percent more residents said that they watch television programs about the visual arts than was the case in a poll conducted five years ago. During these past five years, the number of people visiting our city’s art museums has increased by a similar percentage. Since the corporate funding that supports public television, where most of the visual arts programs appear, is now being threatened with severe cuts, we can expect that attendance at our city’s art museums will also start to decrease. Thus some of the city’s funds for supporting the arts should be reallocated to public television.”

Today we practiced identifying sentence types with a worksheet.  If you were absent today, complete the page for practice.  The second page has the answers so that you can check your work.

Here's an online grammar game to practice identifying clauses & phrases.

Grammar Quiz tomorrow.

You should be able to identify the difference between clauses and phrases.  I will give you sentences with clauses & phrases underlined, and you will have to identify whether the underlined portion is an independent or dependent clause or a phrase.  Then, you will need to identify whether the entire sentence is simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.  STUDY!!!

Writing Exercise #7

Take a look at last week's top rated TV programming according to the Nielsen ratings:

Nielsen Ratings week of January 14, 2013

Based on that list and yesterday's TED talk, write a well-developed paragraph in which you discuss what current popular television reveals about our society's values.

Organization Strategy:  Division and Classification

Before you begin writing, decide what "categories" you would create to group the different types of programs.

Don't forget about vocabulary.  You have 5 sentences due Thursday and a quiz.

Next Tuesday, February 5th you will have a vocabulary test on lists 10, 11, and 12.  Here are the Flashcards for the combined lists in case you want to begin preparing for the test already.

Continue collecting data from the "Focus on Television" selections on p. 767-787 for Friday's draft.  You should have all your quotes ready on Wednesday, January 30th.  Check Friday's post for specific instructions if you were absent.

Writing Exercise #6

We watched Lauren Zalaznick's Ted Talk, "The Conscience of Television."

Answer the following question based on your personal observations, experience, and/or information from the video or other sources we've read in class:

Does the television industry have a moral responsibility to produce TV shows that guide society?

Make a claim of value that answers yes or no.  Write a well-developed paragraph in which you explain how or why?

Don't forget:

Vocabulary Writing Exercises for List 12 are due Thursday.  Again, write five sentences using the words correctly with context clues and following the same patterns assigned last week.  

Vocabulary Quiz for list 12 Thursday.  Here are the Flashcards.

Homework due today:  # 4 p. 776  (two columns, counterargument & refutation)

Today we began collecting evidence from the selections on p. 767-787 on the "Focus on Television" series in the Language of Composition.

The prompt for the rough draft you will develop is #1 on p. 787:  "Write an essay explaining whether television is beneficial or detrimental to society."   You will write the rough draft on Friday, February 1st.  With this assignment, you are prepping for Friday's draft.

Set up your quotes in a two column chart.   "Beneficial" on the left;  "Detrimental" on the right.  Your magic number is 9 quotes for each side.  You should gather quotes from all 5 of the selections in that unit, not just one or two, including the poster.

Also, begin shaping your introduction for Friday's draft.  Your intro should include the following:

A.  Background on topic

B.  Narration (interesting story or anecdote)

C.  Claim (your thesis)

A and B are interchangeable, but your claim must be the last statement of your intro.

Vocabulary Quiz List 11 Today.

If you missed today's quiz, it is your responsibility to make it up.

Today we finalized the claim of policies and solutions argument "cheat sheet."  I expect you not only to memorize these points but also to trace the logic as it applies to every debatable topic you encounter and to articulate this logic in your written arguments.

Here's the link to those  notes if you missed them.

Writing Exercise #5

"American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping. By the age of 70 they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives watching TV."
-- The Kaiser Family Foundation

Should there be limits to the amount of television parents allow their children to watch?

Homework:  Due Friday 1/25

Answer question #4 found on p. 776 in The Language of Composition.  Respond by setting up two columns.  On the left write "Counterargument"; on the right write "Refutation."  List at list four examples of the writer's counterargument and refutation.  You can quote directly (word for word with quotation marks) or indirectly (paraphrased; in your own words; no quotation marks).

For tomorrow, don't forget:

Vocabulary Quiz List 11.  Here are the Flashcards.

If you did not turn in yesterday's writing exercise (#4;  check the post), turn it in along with #5.

Finish reading the 4 shorter selections found on pages 777-787 in your textbook.