Category: English

Margaret Mata
ENG 1301
Spring 2024
Final Exam Essay (5% of final grade)
Due: 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 12th
– NO LATE FINALS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Purpose:
To reflect on your growth as a writer and student throughout your time in 1301
Assignment:
Write a multi-paragraph essay in which you use metacognition to consider the writing, reading, and
other work you have done in this course.
Your finished essay must include the following sections:
INTRODUCTION
• What kind of writer are you?
BODY PARAGRAPHS
• What is one thing you have learned in this course? This can be something you learned
about writing or something you learned from one of your research sources.
• What is one thing (related to this course) that you’re proud of?
CONCLUSION
• How will you use writing in the future?
Research:
You will use your own experiences in this course as your primary source material. You may not use
external sources for this essay.
Constraints:
The essay should be roughly 2 pages long (about 500 words), typed and double-spaced. You will
submit your finished essay as a Word document in D2L.
Grading Criteria:
See attached rubric.

Instructions: You will write a ONE page response to one of the below themes. Please organize your writing with proper paragraph structure including topic sentences, evidence, explanations, transitions, concluding sentences etc. 
Using specific examples from the film, discuss what Tron Legacy is trying to convey regarding one of these themes.  Next explain whether you agree or disagree with the message and explain why using real world examples.

Present a design of a house or an apartment building.
Students’ names: ______________________________________________
Date: _______________________
Unit Assignment: Prepare a presentation about a new trend in clothing, technology or food.
20 points = Presentation element was completely successful (at least 90% of the time).
15 points = Presentation element was mostly successful (at least 70% of the time).
10 points = Presentation element was partially successful (at least 50% of the time).
0 points = Presentation element was not successful.

Touchstone 2: Deliver an Informative Speech
SCENARIO: You are a manager at Squidwork, Inc., which is a lucrative online boutique (e-commerce company) that has gone through massive growth in a short amount of time. Over the past two years, there has been an increase in revenue, the team has expanded significantly, and additional leadership has been added to each department. It is the hope of the company to go into the new fiscal year more efficient, structured, and equipped to continuously meet the demands of the modern-day consumer.
A mass communication with more details will be shared across the company.
ASSIGNMENT: In this assignment, as the manager, you will give a 3-5 minute informative speech to your team on the overall status of the company going into the new year. An informative speech is intended to deliver information. No call to action is required for this type of speech.
You will emphasize how the company is doing financially (growth and revenue), how the company has expanded, and address any areas of focus in the upcoming year. In your speech, you must emphasize the following key notes:
Financial status: Emphasize how the company is doing financially (growth and revenue)
Significant increase in orders
Two-year revenue climb
Consistent improvement in orders and revenues in the past four quarters
Expansion: Mention the number of team members associated with the company and how the company has expanded
Hired 115 new employees over several departments
Total of 265 full-time employees
Hired new COO
New supervisory and managerial leadership in the following departments: Purchasing, Receiving, Merchandising/Channel Management, Listing, Customer Service, Picking, Packing/Shipping/Quality Control.
Areas of focus: Address the company goal to “become more efficient, structured, and equipped as a team to continue to meet the demands of the consumer.”
Focus on collaboration across departments
Invest in updated technology
Monitor performance and adjust strategies as needed
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
Step 1. Create a Speech Based on the Scenario Provided
Consider the audience and purpose and create your speech utilizing the five main parts of any speech:
Main Parts of a Speech Description
1. Attention statement Greet and address your audience with an attention statement that draws their focus to you and your speech.
2. Introduction Clearly state the purpose of your speech, while engaging the audience and establishing credibility.
3. Body Identify key areas that need to be addressed in your speech:
Financial status: Emphasize how the company is doing financially (growth and revenue)
Significant increase in orders
Two-year revenue climb
Consistent improvement in orders and revenues in the past four quarters
Expansion: Mention the number of team members associated with the company and how the company has expanded
Hired 115 new employees over several departments
Total of 265 full-time employees
Hired new COO
New supervisory and managerial leadership in the following departments: Purchasing, Receiving, Merchandising/Channel Management, Listing, Customer Service, Picking, Packing/Shipping/Quality Control.
Areas of focus: Address the company goal to “become more efficient, structured, and equipped as a team to continue to meet the demands of the consumer.”
Focus on collaboration across departments
Invest in updated technology
Monitor performance and adjust strategies as needed
4: Conclusion Summarize your speech by relating the key notes in the body to the overall topic.
5: Residual message Leave a lasting impression on your audience by closing the speech in a memorable manner.

This assignment rests entirely with your ability to discuss Paul from the 
vantage point of Rodriguez’s expanded Scholarship Boy model. You’ll 
want to take into account as well how race/ethnicity, social class, 
assimilation, and language work their ways into Paul’s plight, as he 
attempts to escape his social position, similar to how Rodriguez 
described in his own educational autobiography. And assume your 
reader is familiar with the works in order to avoid unnecessary summary 
in your body paragraphs. The focus, then, is the Scholarship Boy model 
and how Paul represents it

Choose two scholarly/peer reviewed articles and evaluate them using the criteria (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose) . 
After evaluating both articles, compare your results. Would both articles be suitable for use in a research paper about your specific topic? Is one article more helpful than the other in terms of currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose for your topic? Explain.
Your paper should be 500 to 1000 words in length (2 to 4 pages). Provide citation information for both articles. You will do a deeper dive into citations in the next module, but for now be sure to include any important information (title, author(s), publication date, publication name, and a link if possible) so that your mentor can locate the articles.]

Re-read the article What to Do With Kids This Summer? Put ‘Em to Work.” by Ben Sasse.
Re-read The Work You Do, the Person You Are by Toni Morrison.
Re-read Drowning in Dishes, but Finding a Home by Danial Adkison.
Carefully consider all of Sasse’s points as well as the opinions put forth by Morrison and Adkison. 
Compose a thesis statement for your essay that provides YOUR opinion on whether or not teenagers should get summer jobs.
Write the topic sentence for each of your three body paragraphs
Write an introductory paragraph that incorporates a quote that relates to your thesis statement.  DO NOT use a quote from any of the three articles provided. You will need to find one of your own. 
Make sure the quote is integrated into the paragraph using the three part source integration discussed in the fall.  
Put the Introductory paragraph and the topic sentences for the three body paragraphs in the correct order and format them using MLA formatting.
9. You are only required to do the introductory paragraph, follower with the 3 topic sentences as an outline for the next 3 paragraphs
Prompt:
You just read about how Ben Sasse feels teenagers should spend their summer vacations. As a teenager, what is your reaction to Sasse’s recommendations? How do you feel about his suggestions and assumptions? Do you mostly agree, mostly disagree, or agree with some parts but disagree with others? Over the next few days you will compose an introductory paragraph, thesis statements and topic sentences for an argument essay that defends challenges, or qualifies Sasse’s overall claim that summer employment is the best way to build self-reliance among teenagers. Your position should be based on evidence from personal experience, and evidence from all three essays.

My topic is this “The Idol” (these are the sources to watch)









Please watch the video and read the arcticle 
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

Generation Like

Essay #5-Academic Research Paper:  Pop Culture and Society
Length: 6-8 pages. Worth 150 pts.
Write an essay that examines an aspect of today’s popular culture (movies, music, television, etc.) through the lens of society (race, culture, class, sexuality, gender, etc.), and create an argument about how you believe that area of pop culture has an effect on reality. The essay must incorporate ideas presented by the Merchants of Cool and/or the Generation Like videos seen in class and must include at least four outside sources (not including the information from the video). Choose an aspect which interests you or that you perhaps know a certain amount about.
Sources
You must quote, paraphrase, refer to, or summarize ideas from at least 4 sources in your essay, and you must use MLA style documentation.  Of these 4 or more sources, do not cite general encyclopedias (especially Wikipedia!).  You may use specialized encyclopedias sparingly (like The Encyclopedia of Psychology.) At least two of your sources must be peer reviewed academic journal sources (for instance The Journal of Popular Film and Television or any other such sources). 
Even more so with this essay, I encourage you not to use too many sources from the Internet.
Use sources to back up or explain your own ideas. Do not rely too heavily on one or two sources, simply regurgitating what they’ve told you. Rather, you must characterize your concept in an original way and use other people’s facts/opinions to lend authority to your idea. In general, paraphrasing other people’s ideas is preferable to quoting too much. Remember, your thesis should be your own. 
Choosing a Topic/Argument
To begin, move towards an area of popular culture that you find most interesting. For instance, if you are a music buff, you might want to analyze a genre of music or perhaps the body of work of an artist; if you are known for your great knowledge of movies, gravitate around a particular movie or movies, a director’s work, or a cinema genre, etc. You’ll need to focus on a specific example or two within the pop culture area you choose to focus your analysis carefully. Your focus must also be on CURRENT pop culture (of at least the last twenty years or so) – analyzing, for instance,  movies of the 1950’s is interesting, but unless you are doing it in lesser contrast to current movies, it does not apply to this paper. I’m more interested in your appraisal of current society and pop culture.
After finding your area of pop culture analysis, next look closely at it and choose the societal viewpoint(s) that you wish to analyze it from. How is an area of society represented in your pop culture example(s)? Try to limit your viewpoints – a paper looking at the cultural, sexual, racial, and class structure aspects of Keeping Up With the Kardashians is definitely trying to do too much. Limit your analysis to one (or at MOST two) of the cultural viewpoints. We will talk more about this in class. 
Finally, craft a specific argument related to the last two elements. Explain how you believe your area of popular culture reflects some area of society, but also discuss those effects and how far-reaching they are, either positive or negative (or both?). For instance, discussing the racial aspects of a movie like Get Out and identifying how the movie discusses race is one thing, but you must go further and talk about how the movie connects to society and how it might go “beyond the screen” to the viewing audience. In what measureable way does your topic relate to, affect, or influence reality? Does the media make a statement or present a specific message about society, either purposefully or otherwise? How or why?
You must view the Merchants of Cool and Generation Like videos to help understand this essay! Your research should be varied and you must incorporate terms or ideas presented by the video – even if you disagree with them. We will discuss these in class after viewing.
This paper should not be autobiographical!  Don’t fall into the trap of retelling your own encounters with racial or gender prejudice – you are analyzing popular culture in general. You can talk about how you fit into society personally, but it shouldn’t go further than that.
Successful papers will:
Have a limited enough scope (both in terms of choice of subject and analysis) to be thorough
Offer a thoughtful analysis of the pop culture aspect and attempt to bring something new to the table
Craft a specific argument covering your area of pop culture, related to how your area of society within your area of pop culture is discussed/presented and explain how it has an effect on the real world
Utilize your detailed research information to lend credibility and specifics to your existing argument
The worst papers…
…don’t focus carefully enough. Be sure you are confident with your thesis before diving in 
…only focus on a basic concept –  Be sure you get your topic approved – this is a multi-dimensional paper.
…merely regurgitate a superficial website or other such source.  Websites are often written by nonexperts or simply offer very introductory, superficial information.  They’re a good place to find introductory material and references, but unless the website is accredited or highly specialized, it’s likely not a good source to rely upon.
Grading Breakdown
100 points for the essay.  
As always, your writing is graded for thesis, thoughtfulness, organization, and sentence-level excellence.  You must meet the minimum page count requirement to get a “C”. 
25 points for evidence of intelligent research.  
Remember 4 sources is a minimum; more helps.  However, finding a few excellent sources that are particularly relevant to your topic is better than finding 20 silly, superficial references. At least 2 of your sources must be from peer reviewed journals related to your topic and/or argument. Think outside of the bulls eye of your argument and find some sources that allow you to bring new connections or ideas to your topic! I grade research based on evidence of the following:
o Depth:  excellent, meticulous research on one subject, drawing from cutting edge, sophisticated  sources such as the latest research journals.  How far beyond superficial facts did you get?  
o Creativity:  resourceful and innovative research; perhaps even information from unusual sources including interviews, local experts, podcasts, documentaries…?
o Scope:  research that’s impressive for its sheer volume of appropriately used sources. If you gather  material from far and wide, that’s an impressive display of research scope. However, if your research all comes from Time magazine, for instance, that’s not very impressive.
25 points for correct use of MLA style.  
Be meticulous about following the CURRENT MLA guidelines for both in-text references and in your Works Cited page. Open your textbook and copy the format exactly. Plan to spend a couple of hours on this.  Most students do not cite sources enough. ANY idea that is not “general knowledge” must be cited; any wording you borrow you must quote and cite. Even your paraphrased material MUST be cited. Every page in your paper will probably have several in-text citations. As before, PLEASE come to me with any questions on this!

Cause and Effect Essay (100 points)
Cause and Effect Essay
Write a 500-750 word essay using cause and effect as a method of development.
Use your own thoughts, observations, and/or experiences as the sources for this essay. Research is NOT required or expected for this essay.
Writing Approach
Determine exactly what point you are going to make and write it down in precise terms. Remember, you are going to be writing about the causes that lead up to a specific event or situation. Think about why you want to make this point. Develop a thesis statement. Then choose examples and details that count for something, those that move the reader toward some goal. Your details about the events that take place should ultimately lead up to the effect or the end result.
Writing Assignment
Purpose: to inform
Method of Development: cause and effect
Choose your own topic, but make sure that the topic allows you to be able to state the causes that effected the end situation or event. You can choose to talk about:
the effect of being a workaholic
the effect of cyberbullying
cause and effect of choosing your major
You are welcome to choose a different topic. If you have something in mind but you are unsure if it will work as a cause and effect essay, please send me a message through the Messages link for assistance. 
Reminders
Brainstorm for topics.
Organize your ideas.
Check the Syllabus for due dates.
Important: Your paper will be checked for plagiarism using SafeAssign or similar third parties to review and evaluate for originality and intellectual integrity. Plagiarized papers, whether intentional or simply due to ignorance will receive a total grade of zero. Read the following information on plagiarism.
The MLA (Modern Language Association) style format is used for college courses in the humanities and liberal arts to include ENGL 1301. The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) is an excellent resource for using the MLA style. You can access Purdue OWL by copying this link into your browser: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.html. 
Submission Instructions
Please use Microsoft Word and save your essay and outline in a single document as a .docx file (MS Word default file format) using this file name format:
Lastname Firstname ENGL1301 Cause-Effect Essay.docx
Submit your assignment by selecting the “Cause and Effect Essay” title link above, browsing to, and attaching your saved file. Make sure to select SUBMIT. You should view your posting both on this page and under My Grades to ensure you have submitted your intended essay document file.
Submitting your essay in this manner ensures that Blackboard and SafeAssign will be able to process your document. If you cannot preview your essay after uploading it, then I will not be able to read and grade it. Do not email your essays to me. I cannot accept assignments that are emailed to me because I cannot gain access to your student account and insert materials in your name without your login credentials. Do not share your login credentials with anyone.
Tip: Write and submit your first draft early in the week, then use PROWL to help you identify and correct shortfalls for a revision. You can submit an unlimited number of attempts during the lesson week. Do not ask for an extension during the weekend that this assignment is due. Assignments marked LATE by the Blackboard system will not be scored.

For this workshop assignment, which should be a minimum of two paragraphs of five to eight sentences each, provide essential background information on your topic, such as when the problem started, how it has since evolved, what the current state is, and what the likely consequences are of leaving the matter unresolved. Then, provide your working thesis. The thesis should be a complete sentence that states your claim and the main supporting points (minimum of three) that you will discuss in the body of your paper.