Week 6

Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day–like writing a poem or saying a prayer. What matters is that one be for a time inwardly attentive.

–Anne Morrow Lindbergh, b.1906

Good morning. I hope you are feeling well, happy, and eager to get on with things. You had a long weekend, and I hope, too, that you enjoyed yourself.

Today we have several things to do. We will review verb tense use and go on to address some matters of pronoun use. We will also look at an article for the purposes of learning to summarize textual material. Finally, I will have you write a short essay in class on one of the topics listed below.

The following URL will provide content for a short exercise in summarizing a written text: http:/michaelpollan.com/write.php.

The idea of the exercise is simple: You report summarily on the contents of the article; that is, you will boil the article contents down to the main or thesis idea and the supporting topic ideas, and the few examples and details that can be fit into the piece. You will want to use one or two direct quotations, as well. The author is Michael Pollan, and the title article “Six Rules For Eating Wisely.”

You will introduce the piece by title and author and post date in a sentence that also leads into the subject matter. To summarize means to restate in condensed form the original contents. The length of a summary varies. For our purposes, between 170-200 words is sufficient. We'll go over the article together to make sure we understand what it says, and then proceed to restate in short form and in our own words the main ideas of the article. Analyze the article in terms of its major idea and supporting points and include these, as well as how the author starts develops, and finishes the piece. I don't want you to respond with an opinion in this exercise; just the facts, mam, as they say. Don't use "I" at all. Use third person: In an article appearing in the LATimes titled . . . David Sarno reports that . . . . In this way, briefly describe what the article has to say. Save your document for my commentary or review. I have a handout prepared to guide you on this exercise. The summary will be due in draft form next week.

Directions: Summarize in 200 words or so Michael Pollan’s article “Six Rules For Eating Wisely.” Use two to three quotations to illustrate and support your summary claims. Do not include your opinions of the material or his ideas. Access the article at michaelpollan.com under Writings; from there scroll down to the Time 2006 article. See handout for outline.

The second half of the class period is to be spent in composing a one-paragraph essay of about 200 words. The main idea or topic sentence should be clear. If it is stated directly in the essay I want you to underline it. If it is implicit (i.e. not stated anywhere but clearly implied from all you've written), I want you to write the topic sentence of the composition below the finished essay. The bulk of the paragraph should develop the topic idea by means of description, specific details and examples, brief narration, commentary and observation (your thoughts on the matter), and so on. The opening sentence should provide a smooth lead-in and/or statement of the essay's central idea (topic idea). The final sentences should be winding up the discussion to provide some sense of finish or conclusion.

Title the essay.

Here are the prompts for the essay, with the final one open to your own inclinations. Again, you will have one major point to make, follow one point, building the essay around this point (topic or thesis).

1. Walking Home–description and narration.

2. An unwelcome guest–description and narration.

3. A challenging moment–description and narration.

4. A healthy diet–what that means.

5. Going out on limb–the risks and rewards.

6. The beach or the mountains or . . . you fill in with the subject of your choice.

7. An inspiring person or idea.

8. Any topic you would like to explore in this one-paragraph essay.

I will collect the papers at the end of the class. Do not use the Internet for content in this essay.