Discussion, “In education, you can choose to remake yourself — or be made by others”

Watch this interview with writer Tara Westover from the
 PBS Newshour and answer the discussion questions thoughtfully.
https://youtu.be/PfWuFCGV19g

Remember to explain your answers, both with evidence from the text (in this case, the video) and from your own critical analysis. 

Read the discussion board policies here 
before you begin this assignment, as those policies can greatly impact your grade.

Please number your answers and write in complete sentences. Explain your answers fully. 

Once you watch the video and are ready to answer the questions, click REPLY to type your answers and post them.  Do not post your answers as an attachment.  

1. Why did Tara Westover ask her college professor to define “holocaust?” Why would most people find her question surprising? 

2. In 4-6 sentences and in your own words, describe Westover’s “unlikely path” to an education.(HINT: I’m looking for specific detail from the video in your answer. How did she get an education, and what obstacles did she face?) 

3. Westover says that “an education is not the same thing as a school.”  (a) How does she explain the difference?  (b) Do you agree with this explanation?  (c) Why or why not? (Answer all three parts to receive full credit.) 

4. “An education is the remaking of a person. You can submit to that remaking passively, or you can take an active part.” (a) What is the difference between “passive” and “active?”  (b) Do you like Westover’s definition of education as “the remaking of a person?” (c) Why or why not? (Answer all three parts to receive full credit.) 

5. Westover’s first efforts to educate herself can be described as “self-directed learning.”  Think about that term.  Without googling it, (a) what do you think “self-directed learning” might mean?  (b) What would be some of the benefits of self-directed learning?  (c) What would be hard or challenging about self-directed learning?

6. This course could be considered an example of self-directed learning. What do you think you will need to do in order to be successful?  What obstacles could pop up?  Can you give an example of self-directed learning from your own life?

Go to your Back to the Lake textbook and navigate to Ch. 8.   Click the Table of Contents icon in the upper left-hand side of the window to see the essays included in Ch. 8. Click “All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale,” read the essay, and then answer these questions. Remember put some thought into your answers! 

1.  Read the blurb before the essay on p. 269.  (a) What kind of a website is The Onion?  (Hint: It is NOT a real newspaper!) 

( b) What is satire? What purposes can satire serve?  

2.  (a) What is being satirized in this essay?  In other words, who or what is the target of the author’s criticism?

(b) What is the point the essay is trying to make?  

(c) Who is the intended audience?  (Do not say “the reader.” There is always a specific audience the author is trying to reach.) 

3.  Exemplification uses specific examples to make abstract concepts more concrete. 
(Links to an external site.See p. 245, “Why Do We Cite Examples?”
)Links to an external site. For instance, if I want to explain the abstract concept of “karma,” I might say, “It’s when good things happen to good people. For example, I mowed my Grandma’s lawn last week before she even had to ask. The next day, I won $50 on a scratch-off ticket!”

Give an example of exemplification in action in this essay.  In other words, what is one of the abstract concepts listed in the essay, and how does the essay make it more concrete? (Hint: There are seven of them!) 

4.  Give a synonym for each of the following words: avarice, sloth, gluttony, and wrath.  (Feel free to look these up online!) 

5.  Another word for “pride” is “hubris.”  (a) What is the difference between the two, according to the dictionary? (b) Give an example of each that shows the difference. 

6.  Choose any one of the sample thesis statements listed on p. 249 (look for the green highlighting) and list at least three examples that could be used for support. Feel free to make up examples that would fit the thesis statement; remember to use specific, interesting examples. 

Part of the humor in the satirical article “All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale” comes from the irony of juxtaposing as evil as the seven deadly sins against a wholesome backdrop, like a church bake sale. The article “reports” specific sins committed by specific people in the style of a serious newspaper article. That’s where the exemplification comes from: The concepts of the seven deadly sins are illustrated with specific examples being committed by the churchgoers. 

As a creative writing exercise, write a paragraph about the seven deadly sins being committed in a different locale. For example, imagine the seven deadly sins being committed in a nursing home, a daycare center, or the BPCC campus! Include specific details like names and descriptions, similar to the way The Onion did. You don’t have to get all seven deadly sins into your paragraph; try for at least three. 

This should be a formal paragraph, so start with a topic sentence, use transitional phrases to introduce each sin, and keep it organized. I recommend doing some prewriting on a scratch sheet of paper before you begin. 

Week 1 Lecture and Notes: First assignments and MLA format

Let’s get started! 

This week we will read about our first rhetorical mode, exemplification, and write our first essay. 

Exemplification simply means to use specific, interesting examples to support the point we are making. 

It’s very important to read the 

David Sedaris essay “Your English is So Good” 


 Download David Sedaris essay “Your English is So Good”

and answer the discussion questions right away. Essay #1 will build upon the Sedaris essay. 

Read the instructions for Essay #1 as soon as you finish reading the Sedaris essay. 

For this first essay, we will write a sketch outline, a rough draft, and a peer review. This moves this quickly, I expect everyone to already know the basics of essay writing. For a refresher, check out the notes on the next page. 

For a refresher on writing introduction paragraphs and writing a first-person essay, take the quiz called after reading the notes on the page called 

Week 1 Lecture and Notes (cont.), Essay Writing (AND QUIZ!) 
. This is more of a refresher than a quiz, so you get two chances to make a perfect score. 

The last section is about how to format your essay. We will submit all of our essays in MLA format, and part of your grade comes from formatting. Read through the notes, look at the MLA sample first page, and watch the video before you get started writing Essay #1. Don’t lose points on formatting! 

In short, please read everything in this module, watch the videos, and look over the PowerPoints. Get started right away. 

Required Reading

This week we will start by reading two chapters in the ebook textbook.  Chapter 1 will introduce us to the course and explain why reading is so important in a writing course. 

Next, 
read Ch. 9: Example, which will introduce us to our first rhetorical mode: exemplification. The first essay we write will be an exemplification essay, following the lead of David Sedaris in his essay, 

“Your English Is So Good.” 


 Download “Your English Is So Good.” 

Third, read 

“Your English is So Good” by David Sedaris 


 Download “Your English is So Good” by David Sedaris

and answer the discussion questions. 

Fourth, read 
Ch. 4: The Writing Process in 
Back to the Lake. 

Reading List, Week 1: 

Back to the Lake,  Chapter 1: Good Writers Are Good Readers

Back to the Lake,  Chapter 9: Example

David Sedaris, “Your English Is So Good” (The essay is not in the textbook; 

click this link to open a PDF copy


 Download click this link to open a PDF copy

.)

Back to the Lake,  Chapter 4: The Writing Process

In addition to your reading assignments, you must complete three discussion boards. These are an opportunity to “talk” about what you’ve read.

Next, read through the first essay assignment and start thinking about your essay. All of our essays in the course will be formatted in MLA format. For this first essay, since there’s no research, MLA format is pretty simple! 

Read the notes below and examine the sample first page below. 
 The first page of your essay should look exactly like the sample. 

Each week in this notes section, I will include which of these three learning objectives that the week’s assignments will move us toward.  For this week, we are working on: 

A. use rhetorical modes to develop ideas;

B. compose multi-paragraph essays using recognized patterns of development

At the end of this course, you should be able to do three things: 

A. use rhetorical modes to develop ideas;

B. compose multi-paragraph essays using recognized patterns of development; and

C. demonstrate library research skills.

MLA Notes

All of your essays in the course must be typed and in MLA format.  You can find a sample essay with MLA guidelines starting in the 
Little Seagull Handbook. (Note: You do not need a title page for any of your essays.)  I have also included a checklist in the module that lists MLA guidelines, and you can easily find online resources that give you even more examples.  Here are some guidelines and a sample first page:  

Go to the Little Seagull Handbook. Under the Table of Contents in the left-hand side of the page, click “MLA Style,” then “MLA-e Sample Research Paper.” Your first page should look exactly like this first page!  

General Guidelines

· Type your paper on a computer using a program such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. 

· Double-space the text of your paper, and use Times New Roman or Calibri font. The font size should be 12 pt.  (Do not try and use a bigger font size to make your essay longer!)  

· Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.

· Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. (This should be the default.) 

· Indent each of your paragraphs, including the introduction paragraph, by hitting the TAB key once. 

· Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. 

· Use italics when necessary, but never use
 bold font or ALL CAPS. 

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

· Do not make a title page for your essay.

· In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. This information must be in this order. 

· Double space again and center the title. Do not skip any extra lines between the heading and the title, or between the title and the body of the essay.  Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.

· Double space between the title and the first line of the text, but do not skip any additional lines. 

· Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

image1.jpeg