Irene Maksymjuk

Welcome to our class wiki! You can check here for what’s been going on in class. And you should check if you’ve missed class, so you can come prepared for the next one.

Friday, July 6th:

If you have not yet signed up for a conference and would like one, please go to our regular Friday classroom (CGS 113) at 11:30. I hope everyone will make sure they have a conference appointment. If you have already signed up, please arrive 10 minutes early (all but the 9:00 appointment). Thank you.

Tuesday, July 3rd:

HW and Reminders for Friday, 6-29:

1. Meet Friday morning at 9:30 outside Park Street station to go on the Black Heritage Trail guided walk. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your student ID and an umbrella if it is cloudy. PLEASE BE ON TIME!

2. Complete vocabulary exercises from page 50 to the top of page 53.

3. Remember that you will have tests on Monday for both vocabulary and Outliers.

4. REMEMBER ALSO THAT YOUR OUTLIER PRESENTATIONS ARE DUE ON MONDAY. I will bring a laptop computer for those who intend to make Power Point presentations.

Tuesday, 6/26:

Noblesse Oblige or Success Brings Obligations (Michael Lewis at Princeton U. commencement, 2012): Listening & discussion;

Guide to Citing Web and Internet Sources — guidelines to be used with the listening above and the Outliers reviews below:

HW for Wed., 6-27:

1. Bring your Outliers presentation materials (notes, essay draft, notecards) to class on Wed.

2. Read ALL of the M. Gladwell article Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted. Mark the text for vocabulary, questions, and main points.

Friday, 6/22:

1. Avoiding/Repairing Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences, pp. 245 – 261, especially editing the paragraphs on 260-61.

2. Apply Gladwell’s thesis to analyze a success story: Review the various components of Gladwell’s thesis and use that

framework for listening, note-taking and analyzing the story of Charlie Hill, a Native American comic (npr listening link).

3. Reminder: Essay #1 revision is due today; essay comparing the situations, experiences and opportunities of 2 outliers from Gladwell is due Tuesday (see below!)

Reminder of Writing Assignments Due!

1. Thursday, 6/21: Your choice of outlier for the Capstone Project: Who is the extraordinarily successful person whose life and success you’re analyzing using Gladwell’s thesis? Explain his/her success and why you’ve chosen him/her. 1 page w/references (see original assignment)

2. Friday, 6/22: Revision of Essay #1 (“Taking Stock of Gladwell and Your Perspective on his Thesis”), attached to the draft that was returned to you last week.

3. Tuesday, 6/26: Essay comparing 2 outliers from Gladwell in terms of how their situations and experiences prepared or didn’t prepare them to take advantage of the opportunities of their time and place (see 6/14 assignment).

HW for Mon., 6-25:

1. Read to the end of chapter 7 in Outliers.

2. Complete pages 46 and 47 in chapter 7 of the vocabulary book.

3. Continue to work on your Outliers project.

HW for Wed., 6-20:

1. Review chapter 6 (and chapters 2-5 if necessary) for vocabulary quiz tomorrow.

2. Read Outliers to page 198. Look up unfamiliar words that block your comprehension as you read.

3. Please remember to bring Give Us Your Geniuses (article) to class. I promise we will read it tomorrow!

HW for Tues., 6-19:

1. Look up the etymology (word history) of your assigned word and bring the information tomorrow to present to the class. The recommended website to do this on is: www.etymonline.com.

2. Read up to page 186 in Outliers, chapter 7.

3. As necessary, begin to review for a vocabulary quiz on Wed., which will be drawn directly from chapter 6 in your vocabulary book (a review of chapters 1-5).

4. Keep working on your research writing for the Outliers capstone project.

HW for Monday, 6-18:

1. Read all of chapter 6 in Outliers. Mark unfamiliar vocabulary as you read, but try to look up only words that block your meaning.

2. Journal writing: Write for about 20 minutes on this prompt related to chapter 6: How does Malcolm Gladwell connect the psychology experiments at the University of Michigan to the “culture of honor” in Harlan, Kentucky? Please type and double space.

3. Vocabulary: Chapter 5: Complete the exercises on pages 32-34 about word parts.

Enjoy the sunny weekend!

Homework for Fri., 6-15:

1. Finish reading chapter 5 (through page 157) in Outliers. Make a note of unfamiliar vocabulary that blocks your meaning.

2. Vocabulary: Complete the exercises from page 27 to the middle of page 29 (chapter 4).

3. Review for the vocabulary test (chapters 1-4) on Friday. You should be able to write a context clue for each word.

Thursday, 6.14:

1. Editing for Sentence Structure: Editing book, pp. 32-33; p.36 Task E; also review pp.38-39; pp.41-46; DO editing exercises on pp. 48-51, as well as #1, 5 and 12, pp.300-305. The 2 paragraphs on pp.50-51 + the 3 on pp.300-305 need to typed into one document (save, print and hand-in).

2. Homework for Thursday, 6. 21:Writing — Gladwell gives numerous examples of outliers who succeed because they are able to take advantage of the opportunities of their time (and/or place). Discuss 2 and the different abilities and experiences that prepared those 2 people to take advantage of those opportunities. (min. 250 words)

Homework for Wed., 6-13:

1. Read from page 116 to the top of page 139 in Chapter 5 (The Three Lessons of Joe Flom) of Outliers.

2. You will have a reading comprehension quiz on this reading on Wed.

3. You will also have other class activities that you will only be able to participate in if you have read this material.

Reminder: Please catch up on ALL the reading in Outliers for Wed.

COURSE CAPSTONE PROJECT:How does Outliers Explain the Success of Your Chosen Outlier?

• Start Tuesday, June 12th with Library Orientation and Research, 9:15 am Mugar Library, room #503 (771 Commonwealth Ave, next to George Sherman Union; take the North elevator, next to the circulation desk, to the 5th floor)
• Detailed assignment, with steps and due dates: 045CapstoneAssignment
• Example of applying Gladwell’s thesis/argument to an “outlier” — NPR story on Scott O’Neill’s Big Idea(listening/reading/video; discussion and analysis done in class, 6.12.12)

Homework for Monday, 6-11:

1. Finish reading chapter 4 in Outliers. You will have a reading comprehension quiz on this chapter on Monday.

2. Reading journal topic: Respond in writing to this quote from chapter 4: “It was a fact. He’d [Chris Langan] had to make his way alone, and no one – not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses – ever makes it alone.”

3. Vocabulary, chapter 3: Complete exercises from page 20 to the top of page 23.

Thursday 6.7:

Take this survey and then, using a different mark, predict how most Americans would respond to the same questions:A Brief Survey

If you’re interested in further exploring this survey, here’s the full report (with links to more detailed data).

Essay1Start drafting this essay in the MLL, and complete it by Tuesday.

Hard copy (be sure to double space lines) is due in class, Tuesday morning.

NOTE:Think About Editing has arrived at the bookstore! If you haven’t already ordered it online, please be sure to buy it and bring to class on Tuesday.

Homework for Friday, 6-8:

1. Finish reading Chapter 3, pages 77-90. If you are behind in the reading, please catch up!

2. Reading Journal Entry: Do you agree or disagree with this quote, and why? “There is nothing about an individual as important as his IQ, except possibly his morals.” — Lewis Terman (Outliers, p. 75)

3. Vocabulary: Complete page 18 in Chapter 2 vocabulary and review the 10 words (on page 19) for a quiz. You will need to know definitions and be able to write sentences with context clues. We will also play a vocabulary game in class before the quiz so that you have another chance to review the words.

Reminders:

• Everyone should have Outliers and the vocabulary book by now. You need to bring both books to every class on MWF.
• Please make every effort to get to class on time.
• Always bring your journal entries to both Kathryn and Irene’s classes.

Tuesday, 6-7:

Malcolm Gladwell on Solving Modern Problems: Genius vs. Stubbornness (link to video); Use the attached document to listen, take notes and answer questions:

EditingForAgreement PLEASE BE SURE TO ORDER Think About Editing by Allen Ascher, Thomson/Wadsworth 2004 as soon as possible (on Amazon or B&N.com).

Freewriting (10 minutes): How effectively or efficiently do you think your country or society is capitalizing on the potential of its people? (potential in relation to solving modern problems, as Gladwell discusses).

Think further about this question, which we will address in more formal writing.

Homework due Wed., 6-6:

1. Vocabulary book (now available in store): Chapter 2, pages 14 through the top of page 17.

2. Outliers: Finish reading Chapter 2, and read to page 77 in Chapter 3.

3. Reading journal prompt: Why is Gladwell interested in the 75 richest people in human history? Why is he particularly interested in the year in which they were born? This relates to Chapter 2. Write at least one-half page on this topic; please try to type and double space.

Reminders:

• Buy vocabulary book!
• Outliers is not on our shelf in the book store, but is sold in another part of Barnes and Noble. It is also available at other book stores. Please look for it and buy it for Wed.’s class.
• Please bring Monday’s (today’s) journal writing to class on Wed. too. The prompt was: What is the 10,000-hour rule? What would you be willing to devote that much time to?