Here are the instructions for this week's test, for those of you who missed class last week. For possible topics, please scroll down and choose a topic for YOUR SECTION. You are expected to do some basic background research so you have some idea what you are talking about. GOOD LUCK! (LOL! That sounds kinda sarcastic! Sorry, it's not!)
MSFP 261
FINAL WRITING TEST: OPINION PIECE April 21st or 23rd
Worth 10% of your final mark.
TOPICS:
PLEASE SEE THE SPECIFIC TOPICS FOR YOUR SECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
The questions relating to these topics will be given on the day of the test.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. This is a CLOSED BOOK test; any research you use must be memorized. It does not have to be formally cited in MLA format, but you must acknowledge the author and source in the body of your essay.
2. Spend 5 minutes planning your answer. Please hand the plan in with your essay.
3. Your THESIS/OPINION should ANSWER the question.
4. Write your essay (in FIRST PERSON) then PRINT it.
5. After you have printed it: PROOF IT!
6. Make corrections and hand in a clean copy.
You will be marked 50% on Grammar. A mark will be taken out of 25 for every grammar error:
1. Sentence construction faults such as run-ons, fragments and comma splices.
2. Misplaced and dangling modifiers.
3. Misuse of punctuation—commas, semicolons, capital letters, periods, apostrophes.
4. Paragraphs not tabbed.
5. Spelling errors, misused words, informal usage.
6. Incorrect tense.
7. Faulty agreement.
8. Incorrect format: should be double-spaced, wide margin, 12pt font
9. Titles not italicized.
SECTION ONE TOPICS
-3D Movies
-News and manipulation
-Closing of Toronto Humane Society
-Canadian dollar at par
-Music piracy and copyright
-Marval vs D.C.
-Legalization of drgus
-Tattoos and workplace discrimination
-The hypersexualization of young women
-Privacy vs marketing
-The economy/The recession
SECTION TWO TOPICS
-Media Foundations
-The Vatican and pedophile Priests
-Kids in violent movies
-Social Neworking
-Graphic sex and violence in art
-3-D Movies and Movie Technology
-US conservative movements such as the recent ideas to support the idea of confederacy
-Politicians and corruption
--Public Transportation in Toronto or the GTA
-Casual Game Market
SECTION THREE TOPICS
-Dancehall music
-Punk is dead
-Urban biking
-Canadian dollar at par
-Child labour
-American healthcare reform
-NHL Playoffs/Maple Leafs
-The Vatican and pedophile Priests
-Influence of religion on the media
-Animals in captivity
SECTION FOUR TOPICS
-Body contact in hockey
-Social services in Toronto
-Canadian dollar at par with US
-Medicinal marijuana
-TTC and customer service
-Toronto Maple Leafs
-3-D Films
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
DUE NEXT WEEK APRIL 7th and 9th
ASSIGNMENT (5%):
ON APRIL 7th/9th please hand in to me your reading list and a formal outline (the format is given below—obviously, you must fill in the details according to your own project). The reading list does not have to be in MLA format, but when you attach it to your final paper as "Works Cited" it does.
KEEP A COPY you will need to be able to work from it as you write your paper.
Sample Formal Outline
Topic: Canadian Film maker
Limit: Atom Egoyan . . . “What has been Atom Egoyan’s biggest contribution to Canadian film?”
Thesis: Atom Egoyan is a film maker who best represents the Canadian psyche in both story and cinematography. In the Sweet Hereafter, particularly, the white and silent Canadian landscape is used as a metaphor for alienation and isolation.
I. Major Point [Story]
A. Minor Point
1. Evidence (paraphrase idea of writer A)
2. Evidence (my analysis of AE movie)
B. Minor Point
1. Evidence (my analysis of AE movie)
2. Evidence (quote from writer B)
II. Major Point [Cinematography]
A. Minor point
1. Evidence (my analysis)
2. Evidence (writer C)
3. Evidence (my analysis)
B. Minor point
1. Evidence (writer D)
2. Evidence (my analysis)
Conclusion:
Note: headings should make specific points, not simply introduce vague ideas; you can then turn these into paragraph topic sentences.
ON APRIL 7th/9th please hand in to me your reading list and a formal outline (the format is given below—obviously, you must fill in the details according to your own project). The reading list does not have to be in MLA format, but when you attach it to your final paper as "Works Cited" it does.
KEEP A COPY you will need to be able to work from it as you write your paper.
Sample Formal Outline
Topic: Canadian Film maker
Limit: Atom Egoyan . . . “What has been Atom Egoyan’s biggest contribution to Canadian film?”
Thesis: Atom Egoyan is a film maker who best represents the Canadian psyche in both story and cinematography. In the Sweet Hereafter, particularly, the white and silent Canadian landscape is used as a metaphor for alienation and isolation.
I. Major Point [Story]
A. Minor Point
1. Evidence (paraphrase idea of writer A)
2. Evidence (my analysis of AE movie)
B. Minor Point
1. Evidence (my analysis of AE movie)
2. Evidence (quote from writer B)
II. Major Point [Cinematography]
A. Minor point
1. Evidence (my analysis)
2. Evidence (writer C)
3. Evidence (my analysis)
B. Minor point
1. Evidence (writer D)
2. Evidence (my analysis)
Conclusion:
Note: headings should make specific points, not simply introduce vague ideas; you can then turn these into paragraph topic sentences.
Monday, March 22, 2010
MAKE UP TEST
MSFP 261: Make-up Citation test
You must return the test to me on Wednesday, March 24th.
Please create a Works Cited page in MLA format for the following materials. (They should all be mixed up; don’t keep the books, magazine, newspapers separate). (3.5%)
Two books by single authors:
Author: Michael Lewis
Title: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Publisher: WW Norton
Date: 2010-03-22
Author: Diane Francis
Title: Who Owns Canada Now? Old Money, New Money and the Future of Canadian Business
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Date: 2008
Two magazine articles in print:
Title: As Brazil Rises, Mexico Tries to Amp Up Its Own Clout
Author: Tim Pagett
Magazine: Time Magazine
Date: March 20, 2010
Pages: 6-9
Title: To Cut Pasta Traditionally, Play the Chittarra
Author: Hank Shaw
Magazine: The Atlantic Monthly
Date: March 22, 2010
Pages: 17-18
Two online newspaper articles:
Title: How I was humiliated by a grade-school chess prodigy
Author: Cathal Kelly
Newspaper: The Toronto Star
Date: March 22nd, 2010
URL: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/783269--how-i-was-humiliated-by-a-grade-school-chess-prodigy?bn=1
Title: Conservative MP apologizes for tequila tantrum
Author: Gloria Galloway
Newspaper: The Globe and Mail
Date: March 22nd, 2010
URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/conservative-mp-apologizes-for-tequila-tantrum/article1506581/
Please PARAPHRASE the following paragraph: (1.5%)
The key to building a global economy that can sustain economic progress is the creation of an honest market, one that tells the ecological truth. The market is an incredible institution, allocating resources with an efficiency that no central planning body can match. It easily balances supply and demand, and it sets prices that readily reflect both scarcity and abundance. The market does, however, have some fundamental weaknesses. It does not incorporate into prices the indirect costs of providing goods or services into prices, it does not value nature’s services properly, and it does not respect the sustainable-yield thresholds of natural systems. It also favors the near term over the long term, showing little concern for future generations. Throughout most of recorded history, the indirect costs of economic activity were so small that they were rarely an issue and, even then, only at the local level. But with the sevenfold global economic expansion since 1950, the failure to address these market shortcomings and the irrational economic distortions they create could be fatal.
From Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Lester R. Brown. http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/books/pb2/pb2ch12_intro; Earth Policy Institute.
You must return the test to me on Wednesday, March 24th.
Please create a Works Cited page in MLA format for the following materials. (They should all be mixed up; don’t keep the books, magazine, newspapers separate). (3.5%)
Two books by single authors:
Author: Michael Lewis
Title: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Publisher: WW Norton
Date: 2010-03-22
Author: Diane Francis
Title: Who Owns Canada Now? Old Money, New Money and the Future of Canadian Business
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Date: 2008
Two magazine articles in print:
Title: As Brazil Rises, Mexico Tries to Amp Up Its Own Clout
Author: Tim Pagett
Magazine: Time Magazine
Date: March 20, 2010
Pages: 6-9
Title: To Cut Pasta Traditionally, Play the Chittarra
Author: Hank Shaw
Magazine: The Atlantic Monthly
Date: March 22, 2010
Pages: 17-18
Two online newspaper articles:
Title: How I was humiliated by a grade-school chess prodigy
Author: Cathal Kelly
Newspaper: The Toronto Star
Date: March 22nd, 2010
URL: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/783269--how-i-was-humiliated-by-a-grade-school-chess-prodigy?bn=1
Title: Conservative MP apologizes for tequila tantrum
Author: Gloria Galloway
Newspaper: The Globe and Mail
Date: March 22nd, 2010
URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/conservative-mp-apologizes-for-tequila-tantrum/article1506581/
Please PARAPHRASE the following paragraph: (1.5%)
The key to building a global economy that can sustain economic progress is the creation of an honest market, one that tells the ecological truth. The market is an incredible institution, allocating resources with an efficiency that no central planning body can match. It easily balances supply and demand, and it sets prices that readily reflect both scarcity and abundance. The market does, however, have some fundamental weaknesses. It does not incorporate into prices the indirect costs of providing goods or services into prices, it does not value nature’s services properly, and it does not respect the sustainable-yield thresholds of natural systems. It also favors the near term over the long term, showing little concern for future generations. Throughout most of recorded history, the indirect costs of economic activity were so small that they were rarely an issue and, even then, only at the local level. But with the sevenfold global economic expansion since 1950, the failure to address these market shortcomings and the irrational economic distortions they create could be fatal.
From Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Lester R. Brown. http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/books/pb2/pb2ch12_intro; Earth Policy Institute.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
RESEARCH FOR RESEARCH PAPER
RESEARCH PAPER SCHEDULE:
When you create a research paper you should take the following steps. DO NOT leave it until the last minute; it will be impossible.
1. Choose topic.
2. Create reading list
3. Read and take notes: make sure you get COMPLETE citation information for
everything you read.
4. Decide on thesis.
5. Plan
6. Write paper
7. Create works cited page
March 17th-March 31st: STEPS 1, 2 and 3. (March 19th-April 2nd for Friday Class)
Over the next two weeks you must choose your research topic; create a reading list and read as much of it as you can.
March 31st-April 7th (Friday Class: April 2nd-April 9th) STEPS 4 and 5: Copy of Plan and Reading List due April 7th (5%)
April 7th-April 14th (Friday Class: April 9th-April 16th): STEPS 6 and 7: PAPER is DUE APRIL 14th/16th (15%)
NO EXTENSIONS
This paper is worth 20% of your overall mark; you have been given fair warning of the schedule and I will not give an extension without a very good reason.
Please choose one of the following topics for your paper:
1. Viral marketing and online communities.
2. A Canadian photographer or artist.
3. A Canadian film maker.
4. The development of Canadian design.
5. Gaming and violence.
6. The role of the media in political change.
7. Ethics and the media in Canada.
8. SUGGEST A TOPIC TO ME: it must be Media related, and I must approve it.
RESEARCH PAPER REQUIREMENTS:
Reading List: At least SIX essays, articles or books from LEGITIMATE sources (NOT Wikipedia). Remember that some of this material may be background information; not everything has to be exactly on your topic.
Length: 750-1000 words.
Format: double-spaced 12 pt font; cover sheet with your name and name of course and my name; STAPLED. Citations in MLA format (with “Works Cited” page, as per MLA).
DUE DATES: Reading list and plan April 7th (or 9th for Friday class)
Final paper April 14th (or 16th for Friday class).
Grading: Plan and Reading List 5%
Final Essay 15%; broken down as follows:
Clarity of Thesis 5%
Research 15%
Citations/Quotations/Format 5%
Structure 25%
Grammar 25%
Argument/Style 25%
When you create a research paper you should take the following steps. DO NOT leave it until the last minute; it will be impossible.
1. Choose topic.
2. Create reading list
3. Read and take notes: make sure you get COMPLETE citation information for
everything you read.
4. Decide on thesis.
5. Plan
6. Write paper
7. Create works cited page
March 17th-March 31st: STEPS 1, 2 and 3. (March 19th-April 2nd for Friday Class)
Over the next two weeks you must choose your research topic; create a reading list and read as much of it as you can.
March 31st-April 7th (Friday Class: April 2nd-April 9th) STEPS 4 and 5: Copy of Plan and Reading List due April 7th (5%)
April 7th-April 14th (Friday Class: April 9th-April 16th): STEPS 6 and 7: PAPER is DUE APRIL 14th/16th (15%)
NO EXTENSIONS
This paper is worth 20% of your overall mark; you have been given fair warning of the schedule and I will not give an extension without a very good reason.
Please choose one of the following topics for your paper:
1. Viral marketing and online communities.
2. A Canadian photographer or artist.
3. A Canadian film maker.
4. The development of Canadian design.
5. Gaming and violence.
6. The role of the media in political change.
7. Ethics and the media in Canada.
8. SUGGEST A TOPIC TO ME: it must be Media related, and I must approve it.
RESEARCH PAPER REQUIREMENTS:
Reading List: At least SIX essays, articles or books from LEGITIMATE sources (NOT Wikipedia). Remember that some of this material may be background information; not everything has to be exactly on your topic.
Length: 750-1000 words.
Format: double-spaced 12 pt font; cover sheet with your name and name of course and my name; STAPLED. Citations in MLA format (with “Works Cited” page, as per MLA).
DUE DATES: Reading list and plan April 7th (or 9th for Friday class)
Final paper April 14th (or 16th for Friday class).
Grading: Plan and Reading List 5%
Final Essay 15%; broken down as follows:
Clarity of Thesis 5%
Research 15%
Citations/Quotations/Format 5%
Structure 25%
Grammar 25%
Argument/Style 25%
REVEIW ASSIGNMENT (2--this is NOT the analysis)
Due next week (March 24th and 26th):
500-7000 word review of a book, magazine, newspaper, game, tv season (or something else, media related, NOT a movie, and only with my permission). The thing your review should have been produced within the last two years.
Follow the basic structure we talked about in class; if you were not in class . . . ask one of your classmates, please.
500-7000 word review of a book, magazine, newspaper, game, tv season (or something else, media related, NOT a movie, and only with my permission). The thing your review should have been produced within the last two years.
Follow the basic structure we talked about in class; if you were not in class . . . ask one of your classmates, please.
WEIRDNESS RE EASTER
I don't know why I got my Good Friday dates mixed up, because, as you know I NEVER, EVER make mistakes (if you missed the sarcasm, it's because you don't come to my class often enough to know that I am the Queen of the Screw Up).
IN any case: Friday is April 2nd! Grace kindly called and told me tonight . . . and yes, she is indeed correct. HOWEVER Sections 1, 2, and 3, there is still NO CLASS next week!!!!! But, as I told you in class, I will be in my office all day to help you one on one--particularly with your research for your research paper (if you need me to!!). Or, indeed, anything else at all.
Section 4, I will see you as usual, but not on Good Friday . . .
IN any case: Friday is April 2nd! Grace kindly called and told me tonight . . . and yes, she is indeed correct. HOWEVER Sections 1, 2, and 3, there is still NO CLASS next week!!!!! But, as I told you in class, I will be in my office all day to help you one on one--particularly with your research for your research paper (if you need me to!!). Or, indeed, anything else at all.
Section 4, I will see you as usual, but not on Good Friday . . .
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Assignments for this week
MONOLOGUE ASSIGNMENT PART 2: 5%
DUE DATE: MARCH 17th/March 19th
Edit your best monologue, following comments from me and classmates, where necessary. Briefly explain how you would show this monologue on screen. You will use this to help you when you pitch to Bob/Arthur.
Next week you will hand back to me: the original marked monologue; your final monologue; your suggested screen treatment.
Marks will be removed for grammatical and proofing errors.
REVIEW ANALYSES: 8%
DUE DATE: MARCH 17th/March 19th
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6766
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/apr/12/television.media
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-farmers-daughter-by-jim-harrison/article1491237/
Read the three reviews above, and answer the following questions, providing one or two sentences for each review, or by point form:
a. Briefly describe the audience of each review:
b. What do you think is the intended purpose of each review?
c. Outline the basic structure of each review (in point form):
d. Which review do you think is the most successful? Why?
DUE DATE: MARCH 17th/March 19th
Edit your best monologue, following comments from me and classmates, where necessary. Briefly explain how you would show this monologue on screen. You will use this to help you when you pitch to Bob/Arthur.
Next week you will hand back to me: the original marked monologue; your final monologue; your suggested screen treatment.
Marks will be removed for grammatical and proofing errors.
REVIEW ANALYSES: 8%
DUE DATE: MARCH 17th/March 19th
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6766
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/apr/12/television.media
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-farmers-daughter-by-jim-harrison/article1491237/
Read the three reviews above, and answer the following questions, providing one or two sentences for each review, or by point form:
a. Briefly describe the audience of each review:
b. What do you think is the intended purpose of each review?
c. Outline the basic structure of each review (in point form):
d. Which review do you think is the most successful? Why?
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