Week 8

Who, being loved, is poor?
                     –Oscar Wilde



Good morning.  I hope you are well and getting on in school.  I'll be looking for work from you all today, and to discuss the short research assignment due week 10.

To review, you must explore an idea in this 1000-word length essay and put across a claim, your thesis, supported or made persuasive, made credible, by virtue of the accompanying facts, expert opinion, testimonials, logical inquiry, and emotional appeals to the reader's values.

   Our ideas are rooted in traditional areas of study reflecting the history of human thought, values, attitudes, and tastes, and conduct.  These study areas include philosophy, religion, nature, aesthetics, science, ethics, education, etcetera.  Our most closely held beliefs and attitudes reflect very often our unexamined ideas about the nature of love, faith, trust, loss, betrayal, goodness and evil, freedom, sanctity, the very meaning of life.  Whether we focus on Washington and the shenanigans that make the nightly news, bioengineering, Facebook, legal injustices, or the most recent individual or "hero" making  a positive difference in the world, our beliefs, associated ideas, and feelings define us as human beings.  In choosing a research topic you will tap into some subject about which you feel strongly and have clear enough knowledge to put across a cogent argument or position, as supported also by fact and opinion gathered from your reading of available literature.


We will start the morning with a free writing and then on to a roundup of news items, with some documentation included, to help you clarify and focus on the short research work.


Roundup Assignment (#6):  In 400-500 words, introduce by title and article three or four articles published in today's New York Times.  Summarize each and provide commentary and an overarching thematic link between the articles you have chosen.  This is an informal piece in which you can simply discuss some of the most interesting headlines, as you see it, and why they interest you.  Include an alphabetical listing of the works discussed, in the MLA format displayed at the OWL writing site (the link is here, at this blog's link list).