Megan Lynch 2/28

Last night we handed in our outlines for our research paper. With in those outlines we focused on what points we were actually trying to get across with our writing. Today, we discussed counter claims. We started off class by answering two questions. The first was what is a counter claim? As a class we said it was a claim that goes against your argument. This claim has to already exist in your argument as well. For example, for my research paper I'm arguing that a plant based diet is the ultimate diet for humans, if I were to say "every person can receive all the nutrients they need from plants" a counter argument could be that plants don't have vitamin d or as much protein as animals. The next question we had to answer was, how should you use a counter claim in your paper? It should be used to refute. Going back to my previous example, I could refute that by saying "humans do not need mass amounts of either of those nutrients, vitamin d can easily be gotten by 15 minutes in the sun, and mass amounts of protein is not healthy and can't always be easily digested, but there are plenty of plant foods, such as soy, with lots of protein in it." Next in class we referred back to "Bowling for Columbine" to get practice with counter claims. We looked at the argument made by the opposition, that Marilyn Manson through his music has created a violent culture and is the reason for school shootings. This argument got refuted with real evidence and logic, with the director of the movie and Marilyn Manson bringing u other issues going on during that time that would make more sense to effect violence. After this we began an assignment on logical fallacies. This assignment will be worked on Wednesday in class as well. Each group of tables got assigned a row of words from a website linked on the Google classroom. Together the groups defined these words in their own words on the assignment, and then separately picked one fallacy to relate to a counter claim and claim for their research paper.


An illustration representing a logical fallacy

Katie McGuckin's Blog Post

Katie McGuckin                                                                                                                            2/27/17

            Blog Post

            Last week and today's class revolved around our research paper and creating and revising the outline for it. Previously, we had learned to distinguish the difference between an effective and ineffective outline and the components that make up a successful one. A good outline should be clear and organized to allow readers to understand the writer's thought process and be easier to use in the final paper, which can be done through the use of various tools. Examples of tools that can be used to enhance the content in an outline, are highlighters and underlining and italicizing words. Highlighters are not only visually appealing, but can sort information together to create a better flow of ideas through color coding information. Italicizing, underlining, and making a letter bold, also make facts and analyses more visible and emphasize the difference between them and their importance to the essay.
              While creating our outlines for the research paper it is important to remember other details that should be included in the thesis statement, body paragraphs, and organization. The class notes that we took on February 21 offered help and refreshed us on these and taught us that the thesis statement needs to be specific (but not overly), establish a claim that is being argued, and be able to fit any of the body paragraphs into it. Another thing that was discussed was the two types of thesis statements: multi-point and non-multi-point. Multi-point is a style which describes three points that would be elaborated later in the essay, but not recommended for a 6-7 body paragraph paper, and a non-multi-point thesis would focus more on the overall picture rather than naming points. In class we also talked about how a body paragraph needs to include topic sentences, film and text evidence, and analyses on the quotes chosen. A topic sentence should stem from your thesis statement and be able to unify each body paragraph, evidence, and analyses, and help prove your argument by only incorporating information that was touched upon in the the thesis.
                 Today, I continued to evaluate my outline and the many flaws found in my body paragraphs' film and text quotes and how I could change them to better match my thesis statement and the points mentioned in it. For example, I was really struggling with my 6th body paragraph's part of my outline because I realized the topic sentence was underdeveloped because the way I said it didn't follow what my thesis had summarized, had little text evidence that supported it, and a weak analysis. I was considering starting the body paragraph from scratch since most of the information wouldn't be beneficial to me and what I had written wasn't very good, but the evidence I had from the documentary was probably one of the best quotes in the outline and I needed to use it. Since I spent the majority of the period explaining my problem to Mr. Rivers and only had 10 minutes left, I decided to begin writing my blog post for the night because I know I would need all the time I could get to finish my outline at a semi-reasonable time tonight.

Megan Lynch 2/24

Our main focus in class today was working on our outlines. And more specifically, using evidence in the outlines. The outlines are posing as a first rough draft to kickstart the paper. The outlines should be a general version of what will be said in the essay. There are some things to remember while drafting the outline that we went over in class. If a body paragraph has seven quotes included in it it is probably best to split that up into different body paragraphs so there is more analysis and not a paragraph of all quotes. Another important thing to not is to use interrogatives. An interrogative poses a question to bring together the subject. This can be used to help keep the outline topics on track, and provide the best information. After we were done talking about reminders for the class period we got back to the notecards. First we were given back rubrics for our note cards with comments to help keep us organized. The class was then reminded that the evidence in the essay doesn't only have to be from the notecards and that they can keep doing research. Then, we began to work on our outlines for the remainder of the period.

Kurz 2/24

Today in class we worked on our outline rough drafts for our research paper. We continued to work on our thesis statement and topic sentences along with integrating evidence and providing an analysis for each piece. If we had any questions during class we were able to clarify anything we needed with both our classmates and mr rivers. In the beginning of class we briefly discussed what we accomplished during yesterday's class period while mr rivers was out. We sculpted and detailed our essay with our prior research and data. I personally took time to ask mr rivers to help me distinguish between two paragraphs under the same topic but they both were different at the same time. To form a topic sentence you also have to use The Who what when why where and how questions to specify. I also talked to him about my thesis feeling cluttered and he suggested using more specific verbs and detailing words to make my thesis specific but also not to lengthy or cluttered. To help specify try and use larger verbs and more detailed wording. The order of the topics is also important. You want to try and use a good order of the topics to make bother the beginning and end have strong evidence as the paper is argumentative and you want the reader to actually think about what had happened and what they could do to help change this.  Mr rivers was really helpful to try and make my sentences and claims the best they could possibly be.

Jake Zerillo

Today in class we first talked about making a draft and revision is very important. You have to revise based on the evidence and the thesis statement. Also how you want to be as specific and clear as possible when you revise. And using things like, who, what, when, where, why which will make it more specific and clear. Then we talked about how every topic sentence should have something to do with your thesis but in detail and more specific. You need to make sure that each topic sentence helps to prove your argument. And how the body paragraphs should be in the order that makes more sense. Then you want to revise your thesis, make sure you include all the important points. We talked about when you make a claim use the evidence from you articles and documentary. And how a claim isn't something that is just a piece of evidence or a fact, it is something that actually needs evidence. It also needs to be worded so that it creates a way for you to go on with it in the body paragraph and use your evidence from the documentary and articles. Last we talked about how if your thesis is very specific the better you will be because it will then give you more topic sentences to work with. And you want to revise just to make sure that everything works with your topic sentence. This picture makes you think that whatever you do make sure you revise it. Therefore your work is the best of your ability and there are no silly mistakes.

Skylar WInberry--> February 23, 2017

Today in class we talked more about outlining our research papers. Yesterday we spoke about thesis statements and the creation of them. But today we focused on topic sentences. One of the most import parts about crafting topic sentences is drafting. Revision is very important when writing anything. We said to: base topic sentences on your evidence and thesis statement, revise for specificity, revise for clarity, and always consider location. Another idea that was emphasized was that topic sentences are based off of your thesis statements. This is because it guarantees organization/unity and can help prove your argument. If a topic sentence doesn't fit with your original thesis, go back and revise the thesis. The last point made about topic sentences today was that claims need to be created from film and article research. Claims need to be supported by evidence and they create the path for integrating evidence.
After discussing what a good topic sentence is, Mr. Rivers let us work on our own outlines.

Kelli Vogel

Today is February 22, 2017, in class we discussed what a good thesis statement consists of. There are many steps in created a thesis statement, the following are the steps and keys to writing a perfect one.
Draft→ Revision is key!
    Revise to specify (ADD details through interrogatives)
    Revise to clarify (REMOVE clutter and emphasize strong verbs.)
    Argument should be clear (Right? Wrong? Dangerous? Necessary? Should? Shouldn’t?)
    Your plan- the HOW of your essay (it will keep evolving)
Multipoint or big picture?
    Multi-point for is fine for 3-point thesis, but for 5/6/7 body paragraphs…?
    Topic sentences should specify, but how specific do you want to get in the beginning?
    Always PUSH specificity.
After typing/ writing these notes we then started working on our outlines for the research paper. The first thing that I did was think of a thesis sentence then I began thinking about my intro.

This picture helps you understand that a thesis sentence is working thesis which means it's not your final so you can adjust it to fit in. Or to make it stronger.

Wednesday 2/22 Nadir Hassan

Nadir Hassan
Mr. Rivers/Ms. Dalia

English CP 11

22 February 2017

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today we started class off by taking some notes on thesis statements. Thesis statements are a major portion of our outline grade (10 points) so it is essential to do it right. Some key notes on thesis statements are revising thesis always, revise for specification and clarification. You should find the balance between specificity and clarity. Specific enough to include all detail but also clear enough to not jumble up words and go on a run on. In addition, a thesis statement should allow your arguments to be shown clearly and efficiently so the reader can understand where you stand on the topic. The thesis will also answer the question of “How?” you will be able to prove your argument. In doing so, it will make your job easier when writing your research paper and will make it sound more sophisticated to the reader. We also discussed two main types of thesis statements; multipoint and big picture. Multipoint is usually written for essays with three paragraphs but for our research paper we should mainly focus on a big picture thesis statement. It is not a bad idea to have a multipoint thesis because REVISION IS KEY.  By creating a multipoint thesis, it will allow you to revise and create it into a big picture thesis, sophisticated and neat. We also talked about topic sentences and talked about how important they are. When talking about topic sentences, it is always important to push for specificity over anything else! The rest of the period was spent on creating our own outlines. Good luck and don’t be hesitant to ask questions!

Friday 2/17 Nadir Hassan

Nadir Hassan

Mr. Rivers/Ms. Dalia

English CP 11

17 February 2017

Friday, Friday, Friday!

On Friday, February 17th, we dove into the world of creating a successful outline for the research paper that is slowly being created. Due date is not the wednesday we come back. We will work on our outline next week. On the post posted on google classroom, here we can see the formula for creating an amazing outline! If an outline is used so well, it will often be frequently referenced back to in order to create the best research paper as possible. Outlines will provide a logical connection and choosing where to begin in terms of introducing your argument. Since this outline is a 100 point formative, it is crucial to follow these steps! Be consistent with font and spacing and organize your thoughts by showing that your indented text supports the headline above. We then went on to review the strengths and weaknesses of each outline. In Outline A, some strengths were the thesis is clear and consistent, the overall format is consistent using the same font and spacing, and finally everything is labelled and organized, allowing for easy following. Some weaknesses were being too general in the thesis and the spacing is off. Overall, this is the best outline of the four! Upon grading this outline, it received a 93-95 range because while it may not be perfect, it is working overtime! After reviewing Outline B, it was horrendous. The weaknesses heavily outweighed the strengths. The consistency was off, the thesis was not specific and clear, the spacing, font, and size was various and the layout was just awful. No structure, no function→ cruel grade→ terrible paper.  The overall grade was not great to say the least. Do not follow this outline.  See the document for more details. Have an awesome four day weekend!

Kayla Edwards 2/16

Today in class we celebrated National read out loud day. We first started by coming up with reasons why it is important to read out loud to children. What we came up with was that it is important for them to hear the pronunciation of words, because they may not be able to read but they still know the meaning of spoken words, for fun, and to help teach them to read and educate them. Mr. Rivers then read out loud to us from B.J. Novak's book, One More Thing. BJ Novak is also known as Ryan from the Office. The section Mr. Rivers read was about a rematch between the tortoise and the hare. In the rematch, the hare obviously wins to prove that slow and steady does not always win the race. I recommend you read it, or have someone else read it aloud to you because it's very funny. Next, we assigned each other roles from the play, "12 Angry Men". This play is about 12 jurors who have to decide to give a man accused of murdering his father by stabbing him in the chest with a knife the death sentence. We didn't get very far, but so far, all but one juror has voted to give him death sentence and they are all arguing why he should be put to death with juror eight, who believes he's innocent. My part was Juror two who is timid and shouldn't be on the jury because he couldn't even provide reasoning for why the man should be given the death sentence besides that he thought he did it.

2/16/17

Shannon Kehoe
2/16/17
p.8




                It's national read aloud day! So to go along with that Mr.Rivers read us a short story about a spoof on the children's novel The Turtoise and The Hare  by B.J. Novak, who is one of the writers on the office. In the beginning of class we answered a google classroom question which was "Why do we read to children?" My response to that was because it helps them focus when they are trying to fall asleep or when they are just trying to focus on what the book or reader is saying. The next and last thing that we did to celebrate national read aloud day was to read part of the famous play 12 Angry Men. We gave out parts for each of the jurors, judge, and foreman and we read most of the first act of the play.

Jess Esso
February 15, 2017

Today in class we started off by talking about the new modification to the MLA citing format.  Mr. Rivers went over how to format them, and the order everything should go in.  but also about what information you should and don't need to include in your citing. 

we then went on to continue what we have been working on for the past week and a half.  we went to work on our quote not cards.  these notecards are supposed to be able to direct us through our essays.  the papers we write have to be supported with evidence to support our argument.  the 25 note cards that we produce by 11:59 pm tonight consists of quotes from our documentaries of choice, and 3 other data bases that we have chosen ourselves.  the quotes that we create our notecards with will be the quotes that we should be using within our essays.  depending on the topic you have chosen will determine what your quotes and essay will be about.  but also depending on your topic will determine what you concentrate on.  given the opportunity, you can choose to concentrate on smaller details within your very broad topic.  I have decided to do my essay on the black lives matter movement.  but concentrating on the corrupt racial judicial system in America.  so with that I have chosen the documentary 13th, by Ava DuVernay. 

 

Sarah Haag 2/10/17

Today in class, we discussed about having one big argument where you can oppose or be for the document that you have watched. Also you could have multiple claims and can either refute of be for them. Then we continued to work on our note cards and get quotes and put a valued notes.

2/9/17 Hannah Newbold blog

2/9/17


SNOW DAY NO SCHOOL

Hello, it is Dalton again for the second day in a row to tell you what we did in class today. Today, Mrs. Valleau from guidance came in to talk about scheduling and told us a little bit about the many different classes that are available to us next year. She also showed us a video about the AP Capstone. This is a program designed for students that do not consider themselves to be "traditionally AP students" to get a chance at getting AP credits and it is a two year program. It sounds like a very interesting program for any student who wants to receive AP without taking an actual AP class. We also received our scheduling papers to pick our classes for next year. So, for anyone that was absent, it would be wise for you to go to guidance and get a paper for yourself. Besides this, our research note cards for our documentaries are still due Monday, so I advise anyone who needs to work on theirs to start them. I also personally recommend to use Ebsco Host to find any academic quotes, as this has been my favorite to use. Tomorrow, we will not be having school, so that is great for anyone who needs to catch up on their note cards for their documentary essay. So, to recap for anyone who missed school today and is reading this amazing blog, make sure to continue working on your note cards and to go to guidance as soon as possible to get your scheduling papers. Enjoy your day off tomorrow, class. Dalton out.

Lauren Zanetakos

02/07/17

Period 8

Today in class we started off by looking at the new blog schedule and saw that this marking period was going to be different in the way that instead of blogging in alphabetical order, we signed up for the days we wanted After Mr.Rivers explained the blogs and what was expected of us for the rest of the year, we all got started on working on our notecards for the research paper. For the notecard formative We need to have 5-10 cards with quotes and evidence from our documentary  and 3+ from outside databases.  

My documentary is “The US vs John Lennon” and the film is about John Lennon's transformation from a clean cut  Beatle to an “extreme” activist who in some people’s eyes was push out and bullied by the United States’ government. One quote that i found was “. The fingerprint card from his 1976 U.S. citizenship application was being displayed when the FBI nabbed it. Lennon,..was investigated by the FBI for anti-Vietnam war activities, but Peter Siegel, running the auction, confessed to bewilderment. 'This is not a national threat,' he said. But the FBI, 30 years after Lennon's death, isn't convinced.”. This quote shows how far the government will go to protect their image against those they feel are a threat to what they stand for.

2/7 Dalton schroepfer blog

Today, it is a national holiday : Mr. Rivers’ birthday! We started off the class by being shown to our new blog schedule, and we were told to schedule our own blog dates. Then, we were shown to our new personal research note card slides. Mr. Rivers then told us to get cracking with our work and that is what we did. Then we all began to work on our note cards. I found out some pretty good information about my topic in particular. My documentary was “Blackfish”, and my topic is animals in captivity. To find out my information, I used the ebsco host databases and found several articles about the mistreatment of animals in captivity. One quote that I found about whales in captivity was, “Confined to unnatural social groups for the convenience of their owners, bored and restless, forced to perform tricks for food that trainers withheld as punishment, they occasionally slipped, he writes, "into the dark side."” This quote that I found helps me support my argument that animals do not belong in captivity by showing how mistreated they are. I believe I got a fairly good amount of research done today in class, especially with the databases provided to me. I was able to find some very good articles with the ebsco host database. Towards the end of the period, Mr. Rivers reminded the class that tomorrow the guidance department will be in our class to talk to us about scheduling (Hopefully not Mrs. Valleau)