The Trolley Odyssey - University of Houston–Downtown



Fall 2002 1301 Writing Assignment Guide

Merrilee Cunningham / Ruth Robbins / Steve Casburn

Outcomes for English 1301

1.Demonstrate critical reading strategies by responding effectively to texts through identification and comprehension of a writer's stance and major claims; employment of effective annotating strategies;

production of accurate summaries of academic texts.

2. Produce an organized, sustained, and developed argumentative essay that has a clear thesis, a well-established introduction, and developed paragraphs that support their claims.

3. Addresses a specific purpose and audience using appropriate appeals and evidence

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4. Appropriately integrates source material from one or two texts. This may include leading into the source material with appropriate signals; accurately representing the meaning of the source material; tying the source to the point it is intended to support; practicing the above strategies without plagiarizing.

5. Develop a writing process that recursively utilizes open and flexible strategies such as prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading.

6. In successive edited drafts, control sentence boundaries, use a variety of sentence patterns, and avoid wordy or garbled sentences. Few major usage errors -- incorrect verb tense, subject/verb disagreement, pronoun disagreement, the misuse of plurals and possessives-- will appear.

7. Employ the conventions required by an academic audience, including appropriate levels of formality, voice, and diction.

8. Under timed conditions, compose five to six hundred word essays that exhibit the conventions of academic writing.

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These are our goals. A rationale for those goals will follow shortly.

(The purpose for giving you a look at all the assignments that you have in this class at once is organizational. You can refer to any previous assignment should for some reason you fall behind in the course or not understand an assignment. A secondary motive is to let you see that the assignments have a kind of cumulative nature. In some ways, the successful completion of assignment 1 will help you gain the skills that you will need in assignment 2. That is the idea anyway. You be the judge how successful the instructor has been in helping you learn skills which will incrementally move you towards your skills goals for the end of the course. )

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Essay #1: Personal Narrative the Life-Map

In the life-map you will be using a personal history combined with what you want and how you plan to get it in the future. A map represents objects, usually places and points of interest, in relation to each other. Significant events, values, important people, stories, memories, changes, all of these, may be points on your life map. Your life-map will look like a road map, bur rather than streets, you will have people, events, or places. We will use the life-map as a looping and cubing exercise to get reading to write our personal narrative essay on where we have been, where we are going and how we plan to get there. The present will be the place we are between where we have been and where we are going. Thus our life-map is both a record or history and a creative tool for envisioning and perhaps revisiting the future.

You are the cartologist (But you could be the cartographer)

. Along the way that you draw, there will be stations, points, maybe steep rocky paths, swamps, mountains. Sometimes we speed along and other times we may fall back some. Memory and imagination will be required for this assignment. Whereas in other assignments we will have Steve Casburn's help, here we are without a librarian. Your paper is a chronological guide. Maybe the defining structure is your life, and the paths which it takes and will take. Maybe it has been a straight line. You be the judge. You can put in dots for roads not taken if you want. You can use pictures to denote important points. A broken heart or storm clouds, a house, a mountain or bridge or door can represent something for you.

Write your own Story

So you are the author of your own life in this essay. Only part of your story can be your past. Some of it has to be your future. Is your life a great adventure? What secret quest are you on? Are you trying to earn a degree, pay your bills, raise a family, start a business, adjust to a major life change brought about by illness or job loss? Remember that this is a map so it maps a journey. Tell your own story. What challenges have you met?

Your Hopes, Dreams, Setbacks, Successes; Steps backward and forward

1.

2.

3.

4.

In this space draw your map:

Essay #2 Descriptive Essay The Trolley Odyssey

You are out shopping for a topic for essay #2 and that topic is a building to profile. We will look at many buildings in downtown Houston and you are free to choose the one that you find the most interesting, the one that is easiest to research, or the one that you want to learn more about. Whatever, by the end of the week you will need to be reading to announce to the class the building that you will be writing about. There are so many areas of interest. For instance, if you like the Bank of America Building or Pennzoil Tower then you can learn about one of America's greatest architects, Phillip Johnson and his neo-historical style. . If you find the Chase Bank Building interesting then you will be looking at arte deco. If you select one of the churches we pass, you could be writing about Norman and Gothic architecture or French Provencal style.

1. Alpha Station - Ithaca the University of Houston Downtown (Built in 1929-1930 as The M & M Building).

a. Go to the center doors on the east side of One Main Street. Walk South on the West side of the street to the bus sign that notes that Trolley C passes here.

b. As you get on the trolley note the wooden benches, the comfortable, air-conditioned journey across the bayou and the bridge. Which way is the bayou running? How many sets of railroad tracks do you see?

c. As the bayou flows passed you, can you see any remains of the Allison storm? Any evidence of Allison at all?

d. Why do the walking paths look impassable?

e. As we go down Commerce St., what is the building on the Southwest corner used for?

f. As you pass Allen's Landing, what do you know about it? Who were the Allen Brothers? What did they have a lady ask Sam Houston at that famous dinner party?

2. Harris County Courthouse on Fannin

a. When was the courthouse built?

b. What is the style of architecture?

c. Is there a dome on top of the building?

Can you see the Pilot building with its caved in wall? Did you know that it is the second oldest extant building in Houston?

3. Christ Church Cathedral

a. When was the parish founded?

b. Is it true that Texas Avenue was the road that cattle were driven down to market?

c. Is there a Tiffany window in this building?

d. When we turn off Fannin we will pass a sign that says Deans and the Kiam Building. What century was the Kiam Building made in?

3. Enron Field

a. Enron Field is the home of what great baseball team?

b. Enron Field has the world's first retractable dome?

c. Who is the best baseball player to ever play there? (Answer: Moises Alou)

3. The Rice Lofts

a. Is this the old Rice Hotel, renovated by Randall Davis?

b. What makes the building so attractive?

c. Why is it famous?

d. Who was Randall Davis when he got the sucker's bid for the Rice Hotel renovation?

3. Turn off Fannin and onto Main and cross Main headed for The Bank of America Building and The Pennzoil Building, both designed by the great architect, Philip Johnson in neo-historical style.

4. Charles Schwab -- This may one day be your stock broker. Where is he located in downtown Houston? (Don't do it; Vanguard is better).

8 Julia Esperson Library Building - This building is famous for its Mediterranean or Hispanic style. Can you see why from a distance? See the beautiful red tile roof and the neo-Roman details?

9. El Paso Energy Building - Do we know these people? What is surprising about this building?

Should we tell them thank you while we are here?

10. Travis Place What stands out about this building?

11. Neils Esperson Building - This is a very famous building architecturally. How can you tell we are in Texas? What detail tipped you off?

12. Exxon Building - What is unique about this one? What was Exxon originally called?

13. Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral This Cathedral's fame rests with its external statuary, which makes it resemble churches in France. What is the architectural style? How many statues are on the front of the building? Who are they of? How many statues are on the back of the building?

13. St. Joseph's Hospital - Is it true that one in seven native Houstonians were born in this building? Were you born there?

14. First United Methodist Church - Travis Tower

a. How old is this church?

b. Is there any statuary?

12. Main Building

13. Foley's

a. Are they having a sale?

b. What kind?

c. How long have they been in business at this location?

d. Can you see the new tennis shoes and athletic shoes in the window when you are at the stop here?

12. What are they building at the next stop? How big is the whole? How many machines are in the whole? Are they hiring at this site?

13. Commerce Building

14. Chase Bank Building (Old Texas Commerce Building)_ We will get off the Trolley here.

a. The real name of this bank is Chase Manhattan or Chase/J.P. Morgan. Why do you think they don't call themselves Chase Manhattan here?

b. This is classic art deco architecture. How can you tell from the details that you are looking at arte deco?

c. What is beautiful about the detailing of this building? Is the interior of this building Dr. Cunningham's favorite interior in Houston?

12. The Houston Club - You will have to make lots of money to join this fancy downtown club. The rooms are lined with beautiful rich woods. And the food is good too.

13. The Rice Hotel but from the other side and closer. Is the first floor ceiling done with stained glass? What is the Ballroom like?

There are chandeliers and murals and one of the murals has Randall Davis's two daughters in it.

14. Citizens Bank - in the neo-classical Greek revival style. Who owes it? Does he still play basketball?

15. Majestic Metro - completely renovated vaudeville-like theatre. For a time, this theater was for African-American Houstonians only. Closed in 1975 and reopened just 4 years ago. Did Dr. Cunningham see Claudine in this theatre many years ago?

16. Is the Spaghetti Warehouse an example of warehouse conversion?

Does it have a ghost? Who says? Have you seen the staircase inside?

What is it like?

16. Bayou Lofts, The Jailhouse; the Art Lofts; J.J. 's Home Cooking. - Can you see the bayou look like Huck Finn's river? Where? This whole area of warehouses has been recently renovated and changed into lofts and artists' rooms. Do you find this new secret part of downtown Houston interesting? Can you imagine having a gallery here? Do you know where The Last Concert Restaurant is over here? Have you seen any Constables over here?

17. The University of Houston Downtown - You could select this fascinating arte deco building, which was once a Confederate prison, once had a brewery on the premises, and ones had a potter making pottery.

Like Odysseus, we have left home (base) and been many places on our ship with our kind pilot. We have seen many things and learned many things. Are we the same? We are in the same place, but how are we different. Is all space measured by home (base)? Get off this trolley right this minute.

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Library Guide to the Trolley Odyssey Assignment

Written by Steve Casburn

The library Home Page



The library catalog:



You can easily search the catalog by: keywords, title, journal title, author, author/title, or subject.

Books on Reserve:

What follows are a selection of books that are held on reserve at the UHD library circulation desk which are, wholly or in part, about the history of Houston architecture. You can check out the book for two hours by giving the clerk at the reserve desk the name of the book, the name of your course, and the name of your instructor.

Fox, Stephen, Houston Architectural Guide. Houston: Herring, 1990. Provides pictures and paragraph-long descriptions of every major downtown building s well as of buildings throughout Houston. A newer edition of this book is kept in the reference section.

Fuermann, George. The Face of Houston. (Unknown) Premier, 1963. A history of Houston, with some historical pictures.

Fuermann, George, Houston: The Once and Future City. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971. A pictorial history of Houston.

Gilbert, Charles E., Jr. Houston Today and Tomorrow: The Story of Its Exceptional Progress. Houston:

Self-published 1969. Most of the book deals with buildings outside of the downtown area, but there are some pictures and descriptions of downtown buildings as well.

Wilson, Ann Quin. Native Houstonian: A Collective Portrait. Houston

Houston Baptist University, 1982. A pictorial history of Houston.

Reference Books

What follows is a section of books in the reference section of the UHD library which could help you study

The history of Houston architecture. You can find a book in the reference section by using its call number. These books can be read in the library, but not checked out.

Christian, Garna L. 40,000 Window Panes: The Story of the Merchants and Manufacturers Building , Houston: University of Houston Press, 1983. Provides a history of what is now the One Main building on the UHD campus.

Ref. NA 6233.H68 M44 1983

Fox, Stephen. Houston Architectural Guide. Houston: Herring 1999. Provides pictures and paragraph-long descriptions of every major downtown building as well as of buildings throughout Houston.

Ref. NA 735 .H68 F. 68 1999

Harris, Phyllis. Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Presents Houston's Gallery of Architecture: A Walking Tour of Downtown Houston. Houston (unknown) 1984. Provides pictures and brief descriptions of many downtown buildings.

Ref A .H87 H37 1984

Houston Post Index, 1976 - 1995 Houston: Houston Post, 1977 - 95. 20 vols. An index of stories which appeared in the Houston Post from 1976 to 1995.

Ref. Al 21 .H68 H 68

Office Houston: Guide to Office Buildings Houston: Greater Houston partnership. 1998. Pages 31-35 list basic information about downtown office buildings, and Page 18 gives a guide to the listing.

Ref. HD 1393.55 . 0365 1998

Books in the stacks:

What follows is a list of books that you can check out of the UHD library:

Johnson, Philip and John Burgee. Philip Johnson/John Burgee: Architecture 1979-1985. New York: Rizzoli, 1985. Discusses the Transco Tower(Williams Building), the Bank of America(formerly Republic Bank and then Nations Bank) building and the UH College of Architecture. includes a useful bibliography.

Oversize NA 737. J6 P55 1985

Miller. Nory, Johnson/Burgee: Architecture. New York: Random House, 1979. Discusses Pennzoil Place and Post Oak Central.

Oversize NA 737 .J6 A4 1979

Sources for newspaper articles:



Academic Universe -- newspaper articles, 1980 - present

Business Source Premier -- articles about businesses and commerce

Houston Chronicle -- the full-text of Chronicle articles, 1985 - present

Off-campus access to newspaper articles sources:



Print Journals:

You might want to browse through the magazine Texas Architect, which the UHD library has in print from 1973 to the present in our "Bound Periodicals" section south side of the library. Even if you don't fine information about your particular building, you will find a great deal of information about the architectural atmosphere, in which that building was built, which would help you write a better paper.

Information from the Web:

Questions to ask before using a Web site for information:

Who created it?

Is the creator a reliable and/or authoritative source?

Does the creator have a particular slant or agenda?

Is the website up-to-date?

UHD library search engine page:



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Paper # 3: Arguing a Position; Argumentation and Persuasion

English 1301

Dr. Cunningham

Essay Topic: Find three commercials that represent the diversity of American society and present your observations as you evaluate the commercials' effectiveness, fair-mindedness, and success. Part of your evidence will surely need to be descriptions of the commercials that you analyze. You may use TV., radio, billboard, magazine or newspaper ads.

The next paper assignment will be so easy compared to what you have already been through with your building. I know that the Trolley Odyssey was hard to research, but now you have worked with primary and secondary research and this next assignment should be a piece of cake in comparison. Remember Nietzche noted that what does not absolutely kill us makes us stronger.

Also, since within reason, you are able to choose your topic, write your own thesis sentence and gather your own proofs for your argument, then I believe that this should be much easier than the last paper, or at least I hope that it will. The only tricky part is that we were not able to write a paper on definition as argument, so be sure that you carefully define your terms in your argument paper, since if you do not you are vulnerable to others defining them for you.

Remember that you will have various appeals. Since this will be a fact-based argument, (you may want to look up fact-based arguments in your textbook's index), you will need to order your proofs appropriately. See if you can trace your argument to the values that the argument are based upon. Remember that for claims you will need more than just assertions. You will need proofs.

Proof section: The best way to write a proof section is collect proofs, each on a different index card. So for Tuesday, please bring the index cards that I handed out in class to class so that we can organize the proofs sections together. Remember that Aristotle said that a rhetorically correct paper must have a beginning, middle and an end. There are clearly delineated parts in an argument paper:

i. Introduction and assertion

ii. Proofs that support your claims

iii. Counter-arguments

iv. More proofs that support your claims

v. Conclusion that convinces and persuades, perhaps with a call to action or "now that you are convinced, what are you going to do about it" section.

One of the things that we might want to do is address stereotyping in "About Men" and "Taco Bell and Latino Stereotypes." We could write a paper arguing that stereotyping keeps you from actually getting to know someone; it makes you think that you know more about them than you really do and therefore it encourages personal laziness, and it hurts people's self image or inflates self-image and moves one away from the reality. It insults people in several different ways. What do we use these kinds of stereotyping for? Do you approve of the use of racial profiling and what is its relationship to stereotyping? What are some of the economic dangers in stereotyping? Can people be kept out of jobs, neighborhoods, and organizations because of stereotyping of this sort?

Counter-arguments:

It will; be your responsibility to bring up counter-arguments and to defeat them. One argument would be that if we get on a plane, we might hope that the security agents checked people who belong to groups that may want to blow up the plane. There may be other counter-arguments and it is your responsibility to discover some of those counter-arguments and move towards dismissing their rationale.

Warrants:

As your book suggests, the warrant is the connection, often unstated and assumed, between your claim and your supporting reasons, the glue that holds them together. Thus you will begin with a claim and go to reason. After reason, you will go to warrant and return to claim. The warrant is the assumption or presupposition that makes the claim seem plausible. Remember the "don't eat the mushroom"diagram on page 96. The warrant allows you to test the claim.

Representing American ethnic groups in advertising is difficult and dangerous, and one of the reasonable questions here is was Taco Bell doomed from the start, given the fact that their food just isn't all that good or all that acceptable to us anyway.

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Steve Casburn's Library Section: Stereotypes in ads

Books and Videos on Reserve:

What follows is a selection of books (and a video) that are held on reserve at the UHD library circulation desk which are, wholly or in part, about stereotypes in advertising . You can check out a book for two hours by giving the clerk at the reserve desk the name of the books, the name of your course, and the name of your instructor.

Advertising Age. Minority Marketing. Chicago: Crain, 1980. Outdated in many ways, but still an interesting look at how white advertisers and marketers try to appeal to (or at least not alienate) blacks and Hispanics.

Cortese, Anthony J. Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising. Lanham, MD.: Rowman & Littlefield. 1999. An often densely written academic look at how women and non-white Americans are portrayed in advertising.

Kern-Foxworth, Marylyn. Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1994. A history of how blacks have been portrayed in American advertising during the last 150 years.

Kilbourne, Jean. Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising, New York: Free Press, 1999. An analysis of the pernicious power that advertising can have on the self-image and expectations of women and girls.

McLuhan, Marshall. The Mechanical Bride. New York: Vanguard, 1951. Fifty years old, but still the classic must-read book about how to interpret print advertisements.

Niefeld, Jaye S. The Making of an Advertising Campaign. Englewood Cliffs, N.J..: Prentice-Hall, 1989. A case study of how an adverting campaign is created.

Sivuka, Juliann. Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes. Belmont, Calif.: Thomson, 1998. A textbook-style history of American advertising. Pages 316-328 might be of particular interest.

Books in the stacks:

If you want to learn more about advertising, you can browse the advertising section of the stacks. This section is in shelf range 131 (a map is available at the circulation desk or the reference d3esk), and includes books in the call number range HF 5801 to HF 6182. These books can be checked out.

Article databases:

Two of the library's articles databases might be useful for your research:

Academic Universe -- newspaper articles

One possible search: "advertising" as your keyword and "Hispanic AND stereotype" as your additional terms.

Business Source Premier -- the business point-of-view

One possible search: select the "Guided Search" button on the green bar, and type "Hispanic" in the first box and "advertising" in the second.

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Argumentative Essay Checklist

Before you turn in your first draft, you may want to just quickly go through this check list to see if you have done the following:

I. Is the thesis reasonable and debatable?

II. Are the reasons clearly related to the thesis?

III. Are the reasons well supported with evidence?

IV. Are counter-arguments included?

V. Are at least two sources included? Are they quoted and/or paraphrased correctly?

VI. What are you making appeals to? Logic? Emotions? Credibility?

VII. Are paragraphs unified and developed?

VIII. Is your conclusion strong with an appeal to action?

IX. Are you happy with your sentence construction?

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Portfolio Review

The time that we have all been waiting for has come. We are ready to put our latest drafts of all our papers into the beautiful blue folder that our instructor has purchased for us and submit the entire portfolio. You are welcome to write an letter of transmittal defending your work, explaining what you feel that you still need to learn, and generally communicating with your freshman English teacher. Now is the time and this is the place to tell her what you haven't understood, haven't learned, and need to know quickly.

Submit your portfolio with the three essays the next time that we meet. Remember that you need to check your latest drafts with special consideration of grammar issues on a sentence level, rhetorical issues, sentence combining issues and sentence variety, paragraphing issues, including appropriate elements of the introductory paragraph, a thesis, topic sentences, proofs in the middle paragraphs and an appropriate concluding paragraph. Refer to your syllabus and the first handout that I gave you for my grading practices in the portfolio review.

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Assignment # 4: Definition and Argumentation The Hero

This assignment was suggested by a student in our class when I asked what you might like to write about because there were some justified complaints that my assignments tend to be a bit boring and the stuff that I like, but not necessarily the things that you like. So here goes with an assignment that you made yourself having to do with the hero and the nature of heroism. I will put my favorite book on that subject on reserve and that is Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. You are going to be making a strong claim and that is that the person that you suggest is a hero has the traditional elements, or at least some traditional elements of the hero. How are you going to prove that claim? Campbell defines the hero as someone who considers the good of others, the tribe, clan, even family or state above his or her own biological continuance. I will be bring a section from Campbell's book to class, but there are other resources available in our library on the hero. Remember that your next paper is The Matrix assignment as it relates to concepts of the hero. But for now, I want you to define heroism more personally., You may want to look at Justifying an Evaluation in our Book on Page 135 of Lunsford. Do not choose someone you know. Choose someone that you admire for what they have stood for. Learn more about them. Also learn more about the nature of the trials of the hero. You may want to think about several different potential topics.

Library Guide

This guide tells you about two different kinds of books available in the library: Books about heroes, and books about heroism. The books about heroes will be available at the reserve desk; the books about heroism will be available for you to check out of the library.

Also, once you've chosen a person to write about, please be sure to look at the end of the guide for tips about how to find information about that person.

Books about heroes:

Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. A series of profiles of

American politicians who have shown political heroism during their careers.

Munson, Sammye. Today's Tejano Heroes. Austin, Tx. Eakin. 2000. A series of profiles of prominent

Tejanos.

Smith, Jessie Carney, ed., Black Heroes of the 20th. Century. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1997. An

encyclopaedia that lists 150 prominent African-Americans of the last 100 years.

Books about heroism:

Adam, Julie. Versions of Heroism in Modern American Drama. London: Macmillan, 1991. Uses literary

criticism to examine the ways in which heroism is depicted in 20th. Century American Drama.

PS 336.T7 A3 1991b

Adams, Stephen. The Homosexual as Hero in Contemporary Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1980.

PS 374. H63 A3 1980

Bongco, Mila. Reading Comics: Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic Books

. New York: Garland 2000. An academic look at how the portrayal of superheroes has changed over the

last 60 years.

PN 6714 .B66 2000

Edelstein, Alan. Everybody is Sitting on the Curb: How and Why America's Heroes Disappear. Westport,

Cobb,L Oraegerm 1996. An explanation of why many Americans no longer have heroes, and the

Effect on American culture of this lack of heroes.

E 169.1 .E28 1996

Elley, Derek. The Epic Film: Myth and History. London: Routledge, 1984. In part, an examination of

Heroism as depicted on film.

PN 1995.9. . H5 E4 1984

Fishwick, Marshall. The Hero: American Style. New York: Van Rees, 1969. A somewhat cynical study

of how heroic figures are created in the United States. A good companion to the Wecter book below.

E 176 .F535

Gross, Theodore L. The Heroic Ideal in American Literature. New York: The Free Press, 1971. An

Examination of what major American authors -- including Emerson, Whitman, Baldwin,

Hemingway, Salinger, and others -- considered in their fiction to be their heroic ideals.

PS 169 .H4 G7

Jones, Dudley and Tony Watkins., eds. A Necessary Fantasy? The Heroic Figure in Children's Popular

Culture. New York: Garland, 2000. A collection of academic essays about the characteristics of

Heroes in children's stories.

P 94.5 . C55 N43 2000

Kreyling, Michael. Figures of the Hero in Southern Narrative. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State

University. An academic examination of how heroes are portrayed in the works of several major

white Southern authors.

PS 261 .K74 1987

Pearson, Carol and Katherine Pope. The Female Hero in American and British Literature. New York:

R. R. Bowker, 1981. An analysis of heroic behavior by female characters in American and

British literature.

PS 1969 .H4 .P4

Pickett, Roy. The Theme of the Hero. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1969. Provides examples of

how heroes have been portrayed in essays, fiction, and poetry.

PE 1122 .P5

Reynolds, Richard. Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology. Jackson , Miss.: University of Mississippi, `

1992. An examination of the superhero in American comic books.

PN 6725 .R48 1998

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Assignment # 5: Critical Analysis The Matrix

By now you have received Prof. Ross's brilliant on-line analysis of The Matrix and Platonic dualism. Without plagiarizing, use this as a guide to further studies on the movie. Since this is a linked class between your Computer Information System's class with Miss Cooper and your Freshman English Class with Miss Prism, the subject of your essay is to define the theories of the future of computers as seen in this intellectually ground-breaking futuristic film. Both of your professors have studied this movie and are ready to help you focus you paper. Obviously, you will need a thesis statement and I will need to review your thesis statement. Thus I have created the following document as a kind of insurance policy that you are headed in the right direction. Fill out this document and conference with me about the thesis before you begin your rough draft in our computer lab. : Steve Casburn is ready and willing to help you in the library, but the entire team believes that you are now ready to do your own research so we will not insult your intelligence with a bibliography on the subject even though Steve has one ready at his disposal should

you panic. You will need to focus your paper on their computer theories behind the science of The Matrix.

Steve does suggest that the UHD library does have a few dozen books in the "Computers and Civilization" section and these books will have call numbers that begin with QA 76.9.C66. This is where the books on the current and future social implications of computers are shelved. His best advice is to browse the books in that area, and check out any which interest you. We are changing our practices here and are not putting these books on 1-day reserve so it is every woman for herself here, a Darwinian library jungle red in tooth and claw. So much for our teams. Steve does suggest that you limit your checking out to one or two of the books so that everyone has a change to get something. Suit yourself. There is also a robotics sections, call humbers start with TJ211. While the "Computers and Civilization" area has 12 to 15 books that might be helpful, the robotics section has five or six.

Make sure that you use your note cards for proofs of your assertions. One card for each proof. I will be happy to check these if you want me to. Otherwise, I will just look at your rough draft on Thursday after our computer class. Remember that you will be graded for rhetorical sophistication, grammatical correctness, idea density, integration of research into argument, the audience's perception of your understanding of the future of computer science, and the strength of your introduction, conclusion and body paragraphs.

The Matrix Paper Topic: A Critical Analysis of Computer Science in the Matrix: -------------------

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The Matrix Paper Thesis Statement: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Beginning Bibliography

1.

2.

3.

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Final Portfolio Review:

This will be the last time that I see your portfolio. And it is the official review upon which your grade in this class is based. Follow all the advice that I gave you for preparing your work for the first portfolio review but make sure that your portfolio looks professional. Now is the time to put on the window dressing that you learned from your linked CIS course. You are a much better writer than you used to be and you have many skills and talents that you need to show me in the portfolio. Use those semicolons and colons to show me that you are sure that they are being correctly used. Show off some of your fancy sentence patternings that you have learned such as parallel constructions and balanced sentences. This is the time to make it inevitable for you to do well in here. I want to know that I am sending a student into 1302 who will succeed in this very demanding course. Make me know for sure, beyond a reasonable doubt, that I will not have to hear how badly you are doing in 1302 from one of my colleagues. Revise your paper for clarity.

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Assignment # 6: The Travel Paper

The travel paper consists of several section, only one of which is a paper. The narrative section of this assignment requires that you explain your philosophy of why you are going to the places that are listed on your itinerary. So critical analysis of your particular places of interest, why you want to go there, what you want to see why these sites are particularly interesting to you is as important as the itinerary itself and the budget. Remember you have to pay for everything with your $2,000. That means your airfare, hotel, food, travel by land once you get to England and France, travel from England to France, and even the things you buy to bring back to your Aunt Gertrude need to fall into this budget.

One of the ways that I would begin this paper would be by starting with the cities that I wanted to visit. Then I would look at other people's trips, what they wanted to see and ask myself what about their trips do I like or not like. For instance, do I want to go to both the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum when I am in London? Am I interested in the Louve in Paris? Do I want to go to cathedrals and churches, or would I rather take a ride down the rivers that run through these two cities? Am I interested in food? Do I want to see what French food is like or am I just interested in finding the nearest McDonald's and spending my time and money on others things?

Clearly, this is a paper about choices -- where you want to go, what you want to experience and learn and what you plan to do to enjoy yourself. I will take the paper in its own folder and I need it divided into parts. Each part will be integrated with every other part. Thus the budget and additional material such as the itinerary will be part of the package and will be explained in the narrative that goes with these two items.

A word of advice on how to do well on this assignment: Since you have been in a linked class between the Dept. of English and the Dept. of Computer Information Systems, it is time for you to show what you have learned to do in these two classes. I expect you to come up with hotel bargains, know why you have decided to stay in a hotel in a particular neighborhood, what are the advantages and disadvantages, and how you can save money. You might take a look at what the books London for Less and Paris for Less can do for your budget while you are at it. While our library will be helpful and Steve Casburn is unfailingly helpful, remember that the best library for travel books is still the McKinney Street Library 3rd. floor collection of annual travel books. It just can't be beat. So that should be a stop if you have a Power Card. One last piece of advice is to break this assignment into pieces and work on one piece at a time.

Let's review the three parts of this assignment:

1. Narrative and Philosophy of the Trip

2. Itinerary

3. Budget

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