Week 4: Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

This week we turn our attention to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers (2008). Outliers will be the last text that we read for our first paper. It will also serve as the basis for our midterm and, in part, our second paper. Outliers is a book that seeks to understand why some people are successful and other people are not. Simply put, Gladwell understands success as a combination of historical opportunities, cultural legacies, and personal motivation. As we read Outliers in light of our first paper you should begin to think about how Gladwell's ideas apply to creating an ideal learning environment. 

We will also turn to constructing a strong thesis and revising our papers. Both of these topics will be covered in Rules for Writers. In addition to this reading, I want you to look at two pages on this website that address how to construct a thesis and how to proofread and edit. Remember, a thesis is the central argument of your essay. Revision means to see again; it entails re-conceptualizing your paper and that really means re-writing. Editing and proofreading imply small changes. See teh following links for more information:

1. How to Write a Strong Thesis
2. Proofreading and Editing Advice 

Monday:
Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success, 3-34
Rules for Writers, 27-32
Double Entry Reflection Journal
Exercise 2-1 in Rules for Writers

Wednesday:
Gladwell, Outliers, 35-68
Rules for Writers, 33-49
Invention Exercises Due (see essay prompt) 

Week 3: The Writing Process

This week we will begin to discuss the writing process. The cornerstones of college composition is that "writing is a process" and that "writing is revision." In high school you most likely wrote essays and you most likely wrote them in a single sitting. If drafting or revising were required of you, you probably fixed a comma or a run on sentence. College writing will require more of you than just these simple edits. In this class you will be required to provide the following in your final portfolio: a copy of your invention exercises; a polished working draft; peer review; revision activities; an editing log; and a writer's memo. Wednesday's reading from Rules for Writers explains this writing process in much more detail.

In addition to this, we will also be finishing the chapter on schooling and working on how to summarize.

Monday:
No class. Labor Day. Kiss a worker in celebration! Use the extra day to get ahead on your Wednesday reading. Don't save it for Tuesday night.

Wednesday:
Robert Putnam, Our Kids, 158-90
Rules for Writers, 1-17, 19-22, 76-77
Check your COC e-mail account

Friday:
First TLC Workshop/GLA must be completed. 

Wednesday Study Questions:

DIRECTIONS (READ ME): Throughout our term, I will assign you study questions. These questions are due at the beginning of class and must be typed with a proper header. You must be prepared to hand these in at the beginning of class. In other words, answers handwritten during class will not be accepted. Unless I state otherwise, your answers should be about a paragraph long. When dealing with primary texts, you should quote directly from the text using MLA standards. Our discussions in class will stem from your answers to these questions. You need only to write one paragraph in response to these questions and you should formulate it in the "paraburger" format outlined in "How to Write a Successful Paper."

1. According to Rules for Writers, what makes for a good summary? 

2. Explain the writing process in your own words. 

3. Summarize today's reading from Our Kids in a single paragraph. Think about what details to include and which to exclude. What would a reader unfamiliar with the text need to know?  Whatever you do, don't be like this kid.