WR115 Spring 2007 Michael Dembrow, Instructor

SCHEDULE (II)

Assignments are either from The Mercury Reader or from the LB Brief. If the latter, the page reference will be followed by (LB).

Week III

Mon., April 16 The Writing Process, Including Revision

A Look at an Essay or Two

Subject/Verb Agreement

Discussion of Essays

This I Believe: Nancy Yucius

Homework for Wednesday:

READ “A Homemade Education,” 111-120

PREPARE for In-Class Essay #2 (on “A Homemade

Education”)

Wed., Apr. 18 In-Class Essay #2

Topic Sentences: Building Your Paragraphs

“What Is Poverty?”

Apostrophes

Homework for Next Monday:

REVISE Essay #1

READ and SUMMARIZE “Mother Tongue,” 149-55

“My Father’s Life,” 42-50

ANSWER Questions on the Other Side of this Page

Week IV

Mon., Apr. 23 Turn in Final Draft, Essay #1

Discussion of Essays

Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” 143

Presentation of Essay #2 Topic

This I Believe: Tony Hawk

Homework for Wednesday:

READ and SUMMARIZE “Those Winter Sundays” 80-81

BRAINSTORM essay #2

Wed., Apr. 25 Setting Up Essay #2

Using Quotes

Definitions Supported by Examples

Avoiding Sentence Fragments

Homework for Next Monday:

WRITE Draft, Essay #2

READ and Summarize “Once More to the Lake,” 165-71

READ and SUMMARIZE “Looking for Work” (handout)

“My Mother’s Tongue”

1. What does Tan mean when she talks about her “different Englishes”?

2. What are some of the ways in which Tan’s mother used to rely on her to be her public voice?

3. Do you think that Tan’s story is typical of the experience that immigrants have in this country? How so?

“My Father’s Life”

1. Alcohol seems to play an ongoing role in Carver’s father’s ongoing decline. Give some examples of this.

2. Contrast Carver’s father with his mother. Give some examples.

3. How do you think Carver feels about his father in the end? What do we learn from the poem that he writes about this father?

“Once More to the Lake”

1. Like “The Return to Rainy Mountain,” this essay tells of a man who goes back to place that he used to know. What is it that motivates him to go back to the lake with his son?

2. What do you think White means by the final reference to death at the end of the essay?

3. This is an essay that is famous for its use of imagery. What would you consider to be some of the best descriptions? Choose three.

“Looking for Work”

1. What is the influence that television has on the young Soto?

2. How do you think Soto feels about being classified as one of the “Stupids”? What makes you say that?

3. What does “looking for work” represent to the young Soto?

RETURN to WR115 Page.