Final Classes: Family Meeting Schedule

For Wednesday, December 7 in USC 245

4:30pm Pookie Pairs

4:45pm Costal Coasters

5pm SeaMonks

5:30pm Tongue Twisters

5:45pm Costal Writing

6pm Honeybuns

The final informal writing (no research required) 

IW #8: Reflect back on the whole of this semester. Decide what significant things you have learned (not just in my class, but please include my class in some capacity). Reflect on how you've changed and grown. In the spring, what will you change? What will you retain?

Final paper and informal writing portfolios shared with me on Google (joseph.costal@stockton.edu)\
Everything due Monday, December 12th @ 11:59pm.

FINAL CLASSES: Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The Costal Final Paper Test: 

Portfolio & Final Paper MUST BE SHARED & Properly labeled TO joseph.costal@stockton.edu by 11:59pm, Monday, December 12th.

Answer the following with the preface: Does your final paper: 

1. ...have approx seven pages of body work (Not including formatting pages)? If not, how can you add length without adding fluff?

2. ...have proper formatting (12-point, double-spaced, one-inch margins, Hacker approved APA-style?)

3. ...have an interesting, original, and relevant title?

4. ...have an effective, divisive attention-grabbing introduction that provides necessary background
information and establishes the controversy surrounding the issue? Does it accomplish this through the use of personal anecdote? Is the introduction adequate in length (no more than 1 page)?

5. ...have a specific and explicit/implicit thesis statement that evinces the main issue and the writer’s position? Is it argumentative? Does it contain a subordinate clause to drive complexity?

6. ...have logical development? Does each paragraph flow into the next, using the thesis as a road map to "fulfill the reader's anticipation?"

7. ...have sufficient supporting evidence? Does the paper employ strong ethos such as facts, statistics, examples, and expert opinions?  Is this support connected to the thesis in a meaningful way? In other words, is it  relevant, accurate, and representative?

Reminder: Costal Class is canceled today, November 30, 2016.

Class #21: Monday& Wednesday, November 30, 2016: The Final Paper Prompt

Final Essay #6: 

Gender/Sex Issues. We have experienced & read a variety of gender issues (from sex to inequality) this semester.  We read several articles on redefining sexual predation in our own communities. We read one devastating piece of fiction about violence toward women. We read about a woman who gets her family killed through her own visions of matriarchy. We heard celebrity women join forces to defend women in media. We have viewed a call to arms against objectification. We have read fiction that tackles marriage, online dating, abortion and statutory rape. Most prominently, we have read about revolutionary legislation on college campuses to curb victimization of women. We have seen this legislation wind its way to the Garden State.

I have shared my belief that yours is a generation experiencing some degradation in terms of gender or sexual roles. Women are overly valued aesthetically but undervalued as leaders, professionals and artists. Women are succeeding ten times more than men in academia, but they still play second-fiddle to men in the world's most powerful professional positions.

CLASS #21: Monday & Wednesday, November 30, 2016: FAMILY CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS

PHASE ONE OF FINAL PAPER DUE @ Family Conference, Wednesday, December 7, 2016

(final paper and portfolio due at 11:59pm, Monday, December 12th) 

Come to class next week with the following prepared:

Conference Assignment: Please have the following information ready for submission during our conferences. All components must be typed and professionally presented:

1. Working Outline
2. Working Thesis
3. Annotated Bibliography 

1. The working outline is a very important first step that serves as a guide for your entire paper. Follow any form you feel most comfortable with (See Hacker for a variety of outlining methods if confused). The outline should give me an idea of how you plan your paper…point by point at least…example by example if you wish. There should be a bullet-ed component for each paragraph. Keep in mind that this is the mode by which you will also present your research. Remember that good development "systematically fulfills the reader's expectation."

Class #20: Monday, November 21, 2016

In-Class:

Robert Hayden "Those Winter Sundays"

Class #20: Something to ponder as you write Skube paper & Assignments

The entire multibillion-dollar, 2,000-campus American college system—with its armies of salaried professors, administrators, librarians, bursars, secretaries, admissions officers, alumni liaisons, development-office workers, coaches, groundskeepers, janitors, maintenance workers, psychologists, nurses, trainers, technology-support staffers, residence-life personnel, cafeteria workers, diversity-compliance officers, the whole shebang—depends overwhelmingly for its very existence on one resource: an ever-renewing supply of fee-paying undergraduates. It could never attract hundreds of thousands of them each year—many of them woefully unprepared for the experience, a staggering number (some 40 percent) destined never to get a degree, more than 60 percent of them saddled with student loans that they very well may carry with them to their deathbeds—if the experience were not accurately marketed as a blast. They show up on campus lugging enormous Bed Bath & Beyond bags crammed with “essentials,” and with new laptop computers, on which they will surf Facebook and Tumblr while some coot down at the lectern bangs on about Maslow’s hierarchy and tries to make his PowerPoint slides appear right side up. Many of these consumer goods have been purchased with money from the very student loans that will haunt them for so long, but no matter: it’s college; any cost can be justified. The kids arrive eager to hurl themselves upon the pasta bars and the climbing walls, to splash into the 12-person Jacuzzis and lounge around the outdoor fire pits, all of which have been constructed in a blatant effort to woo them away from competitors. They swipe prepaid cards in dormitory vending machines to acquire whatever tanning wipes or earbuds or condoms or lube or energy drinks the occasion seems to require. And every moment of the experience is sweetened by the general understanding that with each kegger and rager, each lazy afternoon spent snoozing on the quad (a forgotten highlighter slowly drying out on the open pages of Introduction to Economics, a Coke Zero sweating beside it), they are actively engaged in the most significant act of self-improvement available to an American young person: college!

Class #19: Family Writing Project Continues

Costal's IDEA form. 

The link to the Google Doc for our project here.

Don't forget, no class next Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Informal Writing #8: Another NY Times debate. I am interested in your approach for this. After reading the arguments presented, choose a side to defend. Write a thesis. Defend it using evidence from the article and at least one piece of evidence from another source.

I am interested in ways your approach to this has changed, so be ready to discuss that Monday (or at least be asked repeatedly and ignore me).

Family Essay due complete on Monday. 

First draft of Formal #5 due tonight. 

Class #18: Monday, November 14, 2016: ASSIGNMENT: Skube Persuasion Letter ROUGH DRAFT

For Wednesday, come to class with a digital rough draft of this paper (at least two pages and at least two sources). 

DO: 

Read Michael Skube article...grab it here!

Formal Writing Essay #5: PERSUASION LETTER: Michael Skube provides his e-mail on the bottom of his scathing rebuke of today's college student. Write a letter to him either agreeing or disagreeing with his thesis.

Either way, make sure you back up your claim with specific evidence from not only his text, but also at least two other sources. At least one source must be ACADEMIC, PEER REVIEWED.

Here are some additional sources. The first from Philadelphia magazine about Temple University's admission requirements. 

The other from the Philadelphia Inquirer is a bit closer to home.

Use any of these sources that interest you, but you must find at least two additional sources on your own (at least one must be

Class #18: Monday, November 14, 2016: READING ASSIGNMENT: Writing for a Hostile Audience

READING: Writing for a Hostile Audience:

Consider some words of wisdom by reading the following excerpt (courtesy of The Writing Process by Steven D. Krause, with edits and modifications by yours truly)

Whenever you are trying to develop a clearer understanding of your writing, think about the kinds of audiences who may disagree with you. Think about the opposition and alternatives to your main idea or thesis because these are what a hostile audience might think about while reading your work.

Sometimes, potential readers are hostile to a particular working thesis because of ideals, values, or affiliations they hold. These values may be at odds with the point being advocated. For example, people who identify themselves as being “pro-choice” on the issue of abortion would certainly be hostile to an argument for laws that restrict access to abortions; people who identify themselves as being “pro-life” on the issue of abortion would certainly be hostile to an argument for laws that provide access to abortion.

At other times, audiences are hostile to an argument because of more crass and transparent reasons. For example, the pharmaceutical industry disagrees with the premise of the working thesis “Drug companies should not be allowed to advertise prescription drugs on TV” because they stand to lose billions of dollars in sales. Advertising companies and television broadcasters would also be against this working thesis because they too would lose money. You can probably easily imagine some potentially hostile audience members who have similarly selfish reasons to oppose your point of view.


Since crass or transparent reasons may be more easily defended, a writer may address such opposition directly, while working around other, more salient arguments.

Good writers use a combination of evidence and claims to support a controversial arguments (See "Rhetorical Triangle" handout from class).

Class #17: Wednesday, November 9, 2016: IN-CLASS CLASS IN B11 TONIGHT!!!!

The Anchor literature: As we have done before, let's begin with some opinion from the NY Times. 
(10 minutes) 

Family Concept Challenge: Research/Thesis


1. We will begin with consensus. Can Trump be a good president of the United States? A great president? Was last night as bad as it feels to some Americans? Is America about to be great again? Your family will need to fight this out. Come to agreement however you see fit, just do it. (10 mins)

2. Your family will develop a well-written, argumentative and specific thesis (strive to use subordination for a more nuanced effect) that reflects the agreed-upon stance on last night's election. You will submit to Google Docs on the document I shared last time (10 mins)

3. Your family will find ONE solid source to back your thesis. Place an APA style citation for it on the doc. (15 mins)

4. You will take the class through the levels of credibility for your source. (all six, all family members must speak during the presentation).

Class #16: Monday, November 7, 2016: CLASS

"No ideas but in things."

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

Objective Correlative: The person, place or thing that carries the emotional burden of a piece of art.

Found in all art; a special relevance in non-fiction writing.  

Informal Writing #7: You were given two essays in class. Using one or both, do the following: Identify the objective correlative. How does the author use it effectively? Consider the emotion that it might be standing in for. How might the objective correlative be "taking the burden?" How does it add to the richness of the prose? How does it heighten the writing.

The essays (hard copies given in class): The Wig by Brady Udall & The Sock by Lydia Davis

Class #15: Assignment for Monday

We did peer editing and discussed the papers in class. The class agreed upon the following due dates (kinda):

FE #3 revisions are cut off Friday, November 4th at 11:59pm

FE#4 first draft is due on Sunday, November 6th at 4:15pm

Class #15: Wednesday, November 2, 2016: ASSIGNMENT

 Informal Essay 6#: Using the David Wright, Furman University article on rhetorical appeals (I gave you a hard copy a few weeks back, but if you do not remember, grab it here), consider these three popular infomercials. Consider how these commercials manipulate viewers by combining the use of appeals. Now, you will find your own example of these appeals at play in the media of your choice (anything---visual, written, social). In one typed page, discuss how dissecting your medium using these appeals helps you understand the rhetoric. Use at least one direct example from your medium and try to properly cite it (APA style, use Hacker).

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Costal's Rhet Comp Class in B11 (regularly scheduled room) tomorrow night!!!

COSTAL'S CLASS CANCELED ON HALLOWEEN

All of the following assignments will be due when we meet again on Wednesday, November 2nd in USC 245

1. Read the chapter on Credibility of Sources (previous post)

2. Check your Google drive for an update to Formal Essay #3. I will either post a grade OR I will ask for a second revision by Sunday, October 30th at 11:59pm. If I ask you to revise your essay, the revision will be due by Monday, October 31st at 11:59pm. I will provide a grade with each request for revision. If you do not revise, you will receive the posted grade.

3. Bring a hard copy of your narrative re-write for credit.

4. Formal Essay #4: Literary Analysis Paper: 3 -5 pages. Have HARD COPY & digital copy available for class Wednesday night (November 2nd).

BEFORE beginning this paper, please read these two sources on writing literary analysis. The first is from Harvard. The second is just a "self-help" website. Both are valid.

Also, check out these info-graphics for some perspective on the ubiquity of sexual assault.

I will provide your thesis for this paper:

Though the circumstances are much different, both the narrator of Heels and the protagonist of The Rhett Butlers embody traits common to victims of sexual assault.


In a well-developed, well-researched (at least two sources, one scholarly) paper, analyze some commonalities among these victims. Use textual references to both stories to draw your comparisons. Then take those comparisons, and use them to draw broader connections to real life circumstances of sexual assault. Think outside the box. Draw comparisons and connections. Do research that enlightens this often shrouded topic. E-mail me if you have questions.

Class #14: Wednesday, October 26, 2016: READING

Evaluating the Credibility of Your Sources

Remember, your use of sources is a means of supporting the argument you make. This means that the sources you reference need to be credible and authoritative. How do you know that your sources are of value? Ask yourself the following questions:

Class #13: ASSIGNMENTS: Monday, October 24, 2016

READ & ANNOTATE (due Wednesday)

Apprentice Writer at Susquehanna University story called Heels. 

The Atlantic: The Rhett Butlers by @Katherine_Heiny (story is linked here).

ANNOTATE all of this reading (fiction & non-fiction) in preparation of writing a literary analysis paper. Also, read the following text book chapter that will help you better understand and prepare for the writing assignment.

Extra Credit Twitter/online commentary Assignments: Craft a tweet that pronounces some analysis of Tell Them You Had a Mole Removed by Julie Hensley (hard copy here, link to the audio). Try to tweet something that provokes or responds to an argument over the thematic importance (purpose) of the piece (in other words, something that illustrates a solid, level 2-3 reading). Use our common hash tag (#costrhet) so that the Tweets are more of a discussion than a series of individual posts. In other words, I am interested in your engaging one another. Please mention one another and build on thematic threads presented by classmates. Discuss things we brought up in class. Make specific reference to the work. This works best when it is handled as a virtual discussion. All tweets should be made @joecostal. If you have the room in your tweet, add @southern_review (but ALWAYS to me & #costrhet). 

I had an article published last week on The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Extra credit for anyone who engages in a thoughtful, content-driven comment on the piece in the comments section of the Quirk Books website. 

NEW ESSAY PROTOCOL: 

Fowler Formal Essay #3 COSTAL

Fowler Formal Essay #3.1

Class #12: ASSIGNMENTS

After our writing lab in USC 245 on Wednesday, we decided to complete the "Affirmative Consent" paper for Monday. The papers are in Google drive. Costal completed an edit for everyone who submitted a paper by 4pm, 10/21.

All the papers should be edited in drive by the end of class Monday.

12 pt Times New Roman, 3 - 5 pages, works cited with at least two sources (one must be academic).

Email or tweet at me with any additional questions.

Class #11: Monday, October 17, 2016: CLASS & ASSIGNMENT

Tonight...punctuation challenge & thesis workshop. Woo-Hoo.

ASSIGNMENT: The thesis and anchor article. Write one base evidence (or body) paragraph.

Class #10: Wednesday, October 12, 2016: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR ASSIGNMENT

WATCH: These videos to reinforce last class (especially if you missed last class)

Class #10: Wednesday, October 12, 2016: CLASS ACTIVITY & ASSIGNMENTS

Family Activity: (30 mins)

In the spirit of equal time...I did memes for both! I know...I know...FAIRNESS!

Using today's handout from Read, Think, Write,; the NPR Fact Checker site & your Informal Writing  #2, complete the following: 

1. Each family member should identify the issue from the debates discussed in each essay. Why did she chose it? What is the "exposition?" 

2. Using the handout, decide if the candidate was using "argument," "persuasion," or "propaganda" to make his or/her point. How do you know? How does that change your perception of the original issue?

3. Then, together, as a family, using the NPR link above, you will fact check each other's issues. How do the facts interact with the opinion? Why is it important to the overall issue? Does it change your perception of the issue in any significant way?

Class #9: Monday, October 10, 2016

CLASS: my story, cite vs. attribute, Fact and Opinion/Quality Evaluation lectures, Informal #4 review & discussion, Stanford rape




BRING: all your notes/writing for both the debates and today's informal essay with you to class. Wednesday class will be held in USC 245. Please be prompt.

STUDY: Hacker Clarity section beginning on page 125.

WRITE: Watch these videos from Cage the Elephant & Modest Mouse (respectively). See how the videos' directors (Issac Rentz & Chris Milk) uses visual language to communicate theme. In many ways, "visual rhetoric" works the same as "compositional rhetoric."

Choose one of the two videos to work with. Or, choose a common element found in each and consider both as comparison/contrast.

Informal Writing #5 will be an ANALYSIS PAPER. First, begin by analyzing the theme or central idea of the piece. How is this communicated in both broad and subtle ways? How, specifically, is metaphor used? How do the visuals work with the song itself (lyrics available online). Consider an "exemplary moment" and "horizon of expectation."

Use direct reference to either the song or visuals in the video. APA citations for the videos are provided for you below the videos. No other sources are required for this assignment, but if you would like to use one, be sure to cite and attribute. 

Rentz, Issac. [CageTheElephantVEVO]. (2011, January 20). Shake Me Down. [Video File].        Retrieved from https://youtu.be/v27TRan1SBI

Milk, Chris. [ModestMouseVEVO]. (2009, October 3). Ocean Breathes Salty. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/TPhnOKmhbBw

Class #8: Wednesday, October 5, 2016: ASSIGNMENTS

READ: A recently published story of mine, for your humble commentary and approval. No writing. Just be ready to respond, React. Reveal your own feelings in context. Question me, my motives, my characters. Pit your horizon of expectations against my intention. Make a case for an exemplary moment, and see if I agree. Please feel welcomed to comment on Pif's site, share, recommend in any way. These types of things always help writers...always...no matter what they tell you : )

Class #8: Wednesday, October 5, 2016: CLASS SCHEDULE

CLASS: 
1. Narrative Recaps & Discussion

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3

2. Pete Wells discussion
3. Ausubel /Eiseley - testing out our theories for reading analysis
4. Facts vs Fiction - lecture/discussion
5. NPR Fact Checker & The Debates
6. Review Assignments & Let's Go Mets!!!

Class # 8: Monday, October 3, 2016: READ: Some More Good Advice on Introductions

What follows is an explanation of each of these patterns with examples from real magazine articles to illustrate the explanations.

1 Historical review: Some topics are better understood if a brief historical review of the topic is presented to lead into the discussion of the moment. Such topics might include "a biographical sketch of a war hero," "an upcoming execution of a convicted criminal," or "drugs and the younger generation." Obviously there are many, many more topics that could be introduced by reviewing the history of the topic before the writer gets down to the nitty gritty of his paper. It is important that the historical review be brief so that it does not take over the paper.
from "Integration Turns 40" by Juan Williams in Modern Maturity, April/May, 1994.

The victory brought pure elation and joy. It was May 1954, just days after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. At NAACP headquarters in New York the mood was euphoric. Telegrams of congratulations poured in from around the world; reporters and well-wishers crowded the halls.

[After reaching back forty years ago to bring up the landmark Supreme Court decision that started school desegregation, this article discusses school segregation in the present time.]

Class #7, Wednesday, September 28, 2016: NOTES: Costal's Cays to Writing

Costal's Cays to Writing: 

Class #7: Wednesday, September 28, 2016: ASSIGNMENT: Informal Writing #3

ASSIGNMENT: 

Read & annotate "You Can Find Love Now" by Ramona Ausubel. Respond to the short story in writing as Informal Writing #3.

Focus on one or more of the following questions. Do not attempt to answer them all. Include direct reference to the story. Find an APA citation for the story below. But, don't just CITE, ALSO ATTRIBUTE. Consider using a better method for introduction. Be aware of a thesis statement. Allow the questions you are answering to drive your thesis:

1. What was your "horizon of expectation?" How did it affect your enjoyment, understanding, 

2. What is the story's exemplary moment? Why? How did you know? How did it drive the story's overall purpose?

3. What rhetorical devices does the author use? How do they accentuate the story. 

If you read The Odyssey in high school, how did this story accentuate or otherwise widen your view of the original piece? 

4. Did the format of the piece (the back and forth between the voice of the Cyclops and the voice of the computer program) accentuate how you related to the theme? If so, how specifically? 

Class #6: SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTE: Monday, September 26, 2016

WEDNESDAY ASSIGNMENT NOTE (STUFF DUE MONDAY): 

Narratives were to be delivered to Google Classroom. 

Revisions of Formal Essay #1 to be turned in via hard copy in class. 

IN-CLASS:

Usage Quiz

Rhetorical Device Scavenger Hunt Group Challenge 

1. Get in your families.

2. Use the remainder of class to find, identify, define and illustrate the importance of the rhetorical devices listed below:

SPECIAL NOTE-- CLASS MOVED TO D018 for WEDNESDAY, September 21, 2016

Google classroom code necessary for class: o497gz

Today's lesson. Basic rhetorical functions. 

Class #4: THE NARRATIVE: Monday, September 19, 2016

Today's poem. 

READ article, "How to Mark a Book" by Mortimer Adler

WRITE: 

Writing a Personal Narrative

A narrative is a story. In writing a narrative essay, you share with the reader some personal experience of your own in order to make a point or convey a larger message. A great narrative, for example might be how your grandfather influenced your desire to become an orthodontist, or perhaps you’ll relate the story of the time you didn’t make the cut for the basketball team. Whatever the story, a good narrative relays a higher purpose or meaning.

Narrative effect is the main point of your story—the moral, the message, the insight you offer. Without a specific narrative effect, your essay is merely a series of unconnected events. If you are unsure what your main point is, you might ask yourself, “Why am I telling this story? Why should someone else be interested in reading about my experience?” In addition, you must decide whether to reveal your point explicitly (stated directly) or implicitly (suggested but not stated).

Class #3: Wednesday, September 14, 2016: Reading Quiz: Shoeless Joe

Reading Quiz #1: 

Discuss the three things Ray loves (as outlined and illustrated in Chapter One). Number them, and write at least three sentences for each one you mention describing how and why you know of Ray's love. You have ten minutes. 

Class #3: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY: Wednesday, September 12, 2016: Excerpt from George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"

OPENING ACTIVITY: The 5 minute personality test, Get into your group, discuss relevance.

Be prepared to share with the group 5 specific, concrete examples of how 5 different (if possible) members of your group evince the traits common to your species of animal.

LESSON:
Reading Quiz

The three levels of reading/analyzing

When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick–one never does when a shot goes home–but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd. In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the
elephant. He neither stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered. He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralysed him without knocking him down. At last, after what seemed a long time–it might have been five seconds, I dare say–he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth slobbered. An enormous senility seemed to have settled upon him. One could have imagined him thousands of years old. I fired again into the same spot. At the second shot he did not collapse but climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright, with legs sagging and head drooping. I fired a third time. That was the shot that did for him. You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.

NPR...The power of love to transform and heal. 

Points to Remember: 

1. SHOW, don't TELL (specific & concrete details, avoid abstraction) 
2. Word choice: strong writing = strong verbs
3. The power of three
4. Start at the last possible moment


ASSIGNMENTS: 

READ another great resource to use while writing a narrative (it's coming)!

READ this New Yorker article by James Stewart re-printed to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of 9/1
WRITE: Informal Essay #1: Attempt a level 3 analysis of this article. First identify the theme and purpose of the piece. Consider the title and time-period it is written in. Then, discuss the unconventional methods the author uses to convey these themes through this article (all informal essays are 1.5 types pages, double spaced, times new roman font 12)

READ this narrative by David Sedaris (listen to the author read the narrative below). As you read, consider the discussion we had in class today. Be prepared for Wednesday, to further discuss the quality of this piece and "how" it evinces the tenets of good narrative.

EDIT out to be from Formal Essay #1. 

Class #2: Monday, September 12, 2016

Great teachers are not necessarily systematic thinkers. The very act of teaching is against us - Theodore Roethke

Do not forget to hand-in formal writing #1. 

In Class Activity #1: INTRODUCTIONS

1. Exchange and read one another's questionnaires. No speaking. No discussion. No qualifying. (3 MINS)
2. Star your six favorite, most interesting answers. Again, no discussing or qualifying (this is important) from your partner's questionnaire (5 MIN).
3. Now, discuss the answers you chose (5 MIN)
3. From those, choose three of the most interesting things about your partner to introduce to the class.
4. Add your partner's name (duh), hometown and major. Then switch (5 MIN).

Rhetoric & Composition: FIRST CLASS: Class #1 September 7, 2016: DO THIS STUFF HERE

DO:

1. Post my blog in your favorites. Subscribe to follow, so you get e-mail notifications when I post. Follow me on Twitter. Some assignments will be done on Twitter. See me with issues/concerns.

@joecostal (If Twitter, no problem, we'll discuss later).

You don't need to, but if you sign up for the blog you can communicate with our class through the comments section.

2. Download and thoroughly read your syllabus. This is an extremely important document. Read it, but like, for real. 

3. Complete this questionnaire. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper, and make sure you bring the completed questionnaire to class with you on Monday.

READ:

Read the Purdue OWL's guide to writing narratives. I will take questions on this Wednesday.

Chapter One of Shoeless Joe by WP Kinsella Be prepared to discuss (quiz).

The Usage Section of your Rules for Writers book.

WRITE:

Formal Writing #1: 

The New York Times has a "Room For Debate" section of their paper. 

In the section, four writers argue their perception of a given topic.

Read the prompt and ALL FOUR debater responses on the issue described here. 

How I Met Your Mother -- Part 1 (Re-posted with updated pic by request)

Hi, kids.

You have yet to ask about how your mother and I met. This is probably because you are of an age in which you think your mother and I are relatives. That we have always been together, and therefore destined, or forced through some bizarre ritual, to marry (which fits since Charlie and Finn often argue over who will marry Mommy and who will marry Tt).

But kids, this won't always be the case. Sometime, in the not too distant future, possibly as you face your own burgeoning adolescence, you will begin to wonder. You will wonder things like, "What makes me special?" "Where do babies come from?" "Why does the Incredible Hulk's shirt always rip to shreds, but his pants stay on?" or "Why doesn't Star stop playing so coy and just make a move on Nina already, I'm mean he sleeps over like every night, but he's totally stuck in the 'friend zone' now, right Dad?" Yes. Yes he is.

So, in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary. I decided to prepare for that one special night, some time during the winter of 2022, maybe. Maybe the electricity will have gone out. Maybe we'll be camping under the stars. Maybe we'll be holed up in a small cabinet trying to avoid the inevitable and systematic government extermination of all public school teachers. But, whatever the circumstances, kids, one of you, or all of you, in that perfect falsetto harmonizing your mother and I have been training you to perfect, will turn to me and ask , "Dad, how did you meet Mommy?" I shall draw long and slow from my corn-cob pipe, tug thoughtfully at my Rasputin beard, press my finger firmly into my neck goiter and regale you with the following tale:

The first time I laid eyes on your mother was in the Evergreen Hall lounge on the Southern side of Rowan's campus. I had been running, which even in those days was more commonly a function of being late or being chased, than of exercise. I was ten or so minutes late for my first Peer Referral and Orientation Staff (PROS, as it was called) meeting of the year. You see kids, in those bygone days, public education was well-funded, and there existed a thriving, hearty middle class able to send its off-spring off to moderately priced, state colleges. Rowan held an over-night orientation to acclimate freshmen to the campus.

They played games, ate, registered for classes, all under the watchful eye of the campus community. The liasions of this foray into the college experience were the PROS, advertised as a group of diverse, academically smart, extracurricularly involved young people, who, were, for the most part, also mostly the same, Greek-letter wearing, college partiers. Most of them, like your mother, were also very easy on the eyes. Yes kids, that was no accident. "Welcome to Rowan, here's some eye candy...oh, and don't forget to pay your housing deposit."

Oh, and kids, they also occasionally hired funny chubby guys. Accounting for me...and most of the people on staff I hung around with. Ok. All the people.

One of the many quirky traditions of that group was that returning "PROS" got to sit on couches outlying the lounge, while the "rookies," or new staff members, sat on the floor. Though I was only a sophomore, I had "made PROS" my freshmen year, and so, stepping through a valley of fifty or so "rookies," took a couch seat next to my buddy Pat MacCauley.

"Fire at the Haunted Castle" originally published 2005, Haunted Attractions Magazine (Reposted by Request)

I am posting this article because the original presence on the web has been removed or archived by the magazine. Thanks to the good people at http://www.darkinthepark.com/ for saving this digital copy. I don't know who deserves credit for the photo, but I am pretty sure it is the photo that accompanied my article in the magazine.

Fire at the Haunted Castle

Joe Costal

Kathy Ziprik had only been out of college for a few years. Attaining a master's degree in public relations from Rowan University, she was hired right into middle management at Six Flags Great Adventure (GA), a 1,700-acre theme park in Jackson, New Jersey. In 1984, "PR," as a business concept, was in its infancy. Many park employees had little idea what her title, assistant public relations director, actually meant. Few knew her job description. But Ziprick hit the ground running as a young professional at the park. She trained employees on communication, preached information management and "chain of command." She even wrote an emergency management plan. A document that instructed all employees -- the suits down to the ticket-takers -- how to handle communicating with the public in the case of an emergency. On May 11, 1984, at 6:41p.m., that document was sitting on a secretary's desk, waiting to be typed, copied, collated. This task would wait until Monday morning. No one could have predicted how badly it wold be needed that Friday evening.

Ziprick had just gotten home from work. She had barely removed her shoes when the phone rang. On the other end was the park’s on-duty security officer. She was glad he called. He was following the chain of command. "There's a small fire at the Haunted Castle attraction," he said. "No big deal, though." He told Ziprick that everything was under control, but she put her shoes back on, anyway. Her boss was away, so she wanted to make doubly sure everything would be all right. Ziprick never liked the Haunted Castle; frankly it gave her the creeps. Five minutes later, the phone rang again, this time it was a different park security officer. His question would ring in Kathy’s ears for the rest of her life. “There’s a fire at the Haunted Castle. Where can the ABC News helicopter land?”

Class #18: Monday, April 25, 2016: READING ASSIGNMENT: Research Help Reading #2: Paraphrasing/Summarizing (from the Writing Center)

Write a Draft of the Paper--and Acknowledge Sources Correctly.  As you start to write your first draft of your paper, be mindful of the proper ways to use and acknowledge sources.  Here at Stockton, the Office of the Provost puts out a brochure entitled, “Academic Honesty at Stockton.”  The information contained in the brochure is intended to alert students to the seriousness of plagiarism, and most important, help them steer clear of the charge in the first place.  Students can easily avoid suspicion if they are rigorous and pay attention to the correct methods of documentation.  All borrowed information (facts, ideas, direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries) needs to be clearly documented.  The traditional system of footnotes or endnotes has given way to a more efficient method of in-test citations, which identify the source in parentheses within the text and refer the reader to a Works Cited or References page at the end of the paper.  The two most common systems currently in use are from the Modern Language Association (MLA), which is used in English and the humanities, and the American Psychological Association (APA), which is often preferred by social scientists.  Scholars in other disciplines, especially the sciences, often use style manuals specific to their individual disciplines.  If your professor has not stipulated which style she prefers, ask her, and make sure you follow the guidelines carefully.

Class #18: Using Your Sources: CLASS RESOURCES

Watch this video on The Scene.

Wikipedia

CLASS #17: Monday, April 4, 2015: Argumentation follow-up

TODAY: The parallelism from Hacker



Argument Paper #1: Share it & Shut it

• Costal will give you a partner. 
• Quietly read your partner's paper once through in its entirety. Do not stop to make edits...you just want a "sense" of it. 
• Now, let's edit for EVIDENCE… EVIDENCE. Should be "credible validation" of the reason that drives the claim!
• When I read research papers, I always start with the works cited page. You will also do so now. Read the works cited page. 
• On the back of your partner's paper, do the following: 
• 1. Look at each source in your partner's works cited page. Is each credible? If not, which ones do you question? Is there at least one scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic source? If not, say so. 
• 2. Now look at the introduction paragraph. Is it anecdotal? Either way does it stay specific and interesting? Does it preview the tone of the paper? Does it lead logically to the the is? In three to five sentences, comment on these aspects of opening paragraph. 
• 3. Now let's look at the thesis. Is it clearly worded, understandable and/or argumentative? Does the paper prove the thesis ultimately? In three to five sentences, comment on these aspects of opening paragraph.
• 4. Look at the body paragraph. Do they focus on providing credible, specific EVIDENCE to support the thesis? Is research cited? Is it attributed? Is it used logically? Do the sources converge to support the point of the paper. 
• YOU will be graded as an editor when I grade these papers. So make sure you write at least a few sentences for each question and fully answer each. 

WEDNESDAY: REVISIONS w/ these originals attached. 

Class #16: Stop & Frisk Assignment Specs

Stop & Frisk Assignment Spec

1. Two page minimum
2. Use theses discussed in class.
3. Remember: Make point, support point
4. Use at least two sources, one of which MUST be peer-reviewed or academic
5. Typed, standard format
6. Make sure both parenthetical documentation and works cited are in proper APA format.

Class #15: Monday, March 28, 2016: Welcome Back from Spring Break (Catch-Up Class) MOVED BACK FROM LAST WEEK

Class Schedule: Evaluating Credibility: Discuss Reading & Class Activities

Annotated Bibliography Assignment: "Stop & Frisk" law in Philadelphia

Resources: WHYY NewsWorks Story 

Annotated Bibliography/Literature Review Assignment (Informal Writing #5): Following the tenets and structure of an annotated bibliography learned in class, we will each create our own. Remember: summarize, assess, reflect (what is it about? Is it useful? How (or why not)?

Five citations per student. Typed, please.

Police respond to allegations of bias in stop and frisk

Police respond to allegations of bias in stop and frisk: Philadelphia Police Department reforms are ongoing and so will some form of stop–and–frisk, Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Tuesday.

Class #14: Spring Break Catch Up Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Evaluating Source Credibility assignment: 


Apply the six key questions of source credibility to the article given in class.

1. Answers must be typed.

2. Must answer each of the six questions (on the blog, listed at the bottom of the "Evaluating Credibility" post) reviewed in class.

3. Write at least four sentences to answer each question. Provide one direct quotation from the article that answers each question.

Costal Rhet & Comp Canceled Monday, March 21st

Bad stomach bug hit me hard...no class tonight. We'll pick up with post-break activities come Wednesday.

Class #11: ASSIGNMENT: Informal Esay #4: Sex Crimes Lit Analysis

Notes from class: 

PROMPT: How does each short story exhibit the nature of "power" or "authority" as it pertains to sexual crime? What does that reveal about the connections between authority and victimization? In your paper, you should cite both stories and at one other source.

THESIS: Both Katherine Heiney and Nicole Acheampong reveal the role power plays in their portrayals of sexual assault. It is all too common today, that sexual victims fall prey to those with explicit or implicit authority or power over them.

STRATEGY:
1. write a divisive opening paragraph (P1)
2. Provide evidence of thesis from the short stories. Be sure to cite your evidence and connect it back to the thesis (P2 - P4)
3. Provide evidence from one or two sources you find on your own. Be sure to cite your evidence and connect it back to the thesis (P3 - P7)

Essay should be approximately four to eight paragraphs long.

PLEASE BE SURE TO HAVE A DRAFT OF THIS ASSIGNMENT IN CLASS MONDAY, so we can work with the drafts. 

Class #9: Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Another resource from ABC News could be found here. 

Formal Writing #3: You will write from one side of the "bikini barista" controversy. You can choose one of the following assignments based on your perspective.

#1. You are co-owner of a "bikini barista" spot. Business is good. Real good. In fact, you would like to open two more locations throughout the county. Considering the controversy and resistance from the current town council, you don't foresee getting the business permits considering the number of citizens complaining at municipal meetings. You are charged with writing a letter than someone will read aloud at an upcoming town council meeting. The expectation is that angry members of the town will be present.

#2. Read #1. You are a member of the town chamber of commerce. You own a small convenience store in town. You are also a parent and tax-paying town citizen. You agree that the "bikini barista" shop is an eye sore and blight on the town. A group of concerned business owners and citizens has asked you to write a short piece for the local paper condemning the shop.

Paper will be at least two pages. You must directly cite one piece of evidence from the two video pieces. Plus use them and any subsequent source you use in a works cited page. Try to find another viable source for your paper. The videos are cited in APA format below:

Karlinsky, N. (2014, May 7). Sex Sells...Coffee? ABC News. Retrieved from          
     abcnews.go.com/business.

Zagat. (2016, January 14). Bikini Baristas: Coffee and Controversy in Washington State. [video file].
     Retrieved from youtube.com/watch?V=OlyFh97z

***Please also provide FINAL COPY of Formal Writing #1. 

Class #8: Intro Writing & Reading for Writing Workshop

Class Schedule:

1. Recap Wednesday lecture.
2. New notes on how to deal with cumbersome, long or otherwise difficult text.
3. Difficult text group activity.
4. Introduction round table discussion.
5. Homework Reading synthesis.

ASSIGNMENT: Read and annotate this short story by Nicole Acheampong: Heels. 

Class #6: READING QUIZ, Or…What happens when we don't have discussions

1. Will Cyclops find love? Why or Why not? Explain it to me in a way that proves you read the short story by Ramona Ausubel. Do it in no fewer than five sentences.

2. In a strong, well-developed paragraph, use one of our three examples of "alternative rhetoric" Use the graphic novel excerpt, Serial or the Cage the Elephant video to explain how the tenets of rhetorical device are used in an alternative medium.

IN-CLASS: 

1. Quiz
2. Narrative Discussion & Read
3. Reading Lecture (using Peter Murphy article)

Class #6: QUIZ: Wednesday, February 10, 2016

CW READING QUIZ #2: When Mortimer Adler describes "owning a book," what does he mean? What purpose does it speak to? Write at least five sentences evincing the "message" of his article. 

Class #4: ASSIGNMENTS, Wednesday, February 3, 2016

READ: And by read...I mean read & annotate, of course...

READ article, "How to Mark a Book" by Mortimer Adler

WRITE: 

Writing a Personal Narrative

A narrative is a story. In writing a narrative essay, you share with the reader some personal experience of your own in order to make a point or convey a larger message. A great narrative, for example might be how your grandfather influenced your desire to become an orthodontist, or perhaps you’ll relate the story of the time you didn’t make the cut for the basketball team. Whatever the story, a good narrative relays a higher purpose or meaning.

Narrative effect is the main point of your story—the moral, the message, the insight you offer. Without a specific narrative effect, your essay is merely a series of unconnected events. If you are unsure what your main point is, you might ask yourself, “Why am I telling this story? Why should someone else be interested in reading about my experience?” In addition, you must decide whether to reveal your point explicitly (stated directly) or implicitly (suggested but not stated).

Formal Essay #2: The Descriptive Narrative: Your narrative will be a story that evinces LOVE...not necessarily the LOVE of a human being. It could be the love of an item (your favorite chair) or an activity (knitting, spelunking, 40 man squash tournaments, full-contact origami). The catch is that the narrative must provide its description through the telling of a specific story. So you can't simply DESCRIBE your chair, you must tell me the story of how you got it, or a time when it provided you solace. You can't tell me about your boyfriend, you have to tell me about a particular memorable date. 

The narrative MUST tell a story, and the story must illustrate the love you feel for the thing. 

You may NOT write about: your family, a sport you played in high school or Disney World! Sorry, just plain tired of reading those.  

Two pages double spaced, default or 1" margins. DRAFT ONE, DUE MONDAY. February 8th. 

Class #4: February 3, 2016: ASSIGNMENTS: Informal Writing #1

Informal #1: Examine the "alternative" forms of narrative presented in class today. You can read "Fun Home" by Allison Bechdel. Or, you can listen to episode one of Serial right here.

Please read/listen to both pieces. 

After experiences both pieces, please respond in writing to one of them. Your Informal #1 writing piece (a page and a half typed) will discuss each in terms of the "narrative." By that, I mean how do they succeed in telling the story. Your analysis can be as easy as answering:

1. What do you like about the piece?
2. What intrigued you? Why?

You can also use the writing assignment to make sense of the piece. What does it mean? Why do the very different stories explored here NEED to be told?

Also, rewrite Informal #1 based on today's assignment.