Requirement English Composition :: essays research papers

Few Americans can understand the elaborate and superlative language of the Constitution or Declaration of Independence. This results from a lack in English education in all academic tiers. Dropping English composition from the requirements for Associate degrees would further decimate the form and lexicon of our verbal and written language by removing a critical exposure to language development. An erosion of complexity in language would result, affecting every level of existence. A diluted language would destroy critical thinking and remove the tools that allow people to intellectually express themselves. Thus, society would take another step towards approximating ignoramuses. We can hardly suffer anymore erosion of our language before it becomes entirely consumed by four letter words and contractions. Composition is a cure to this disease. When a student witnesses the impotence of their writing they can perceive the need to improve their writing abilities. It forces students to purify their thoughts and therefore use more elaborate yet succinct words. Without a medium to see their weakness there is no incentive to change and empowerment does not occur. The process of putting words to paper gives students a concrete example of their thoughts. They are allowed to analyze their views with an outside perspective. This facilitates a critical thinking state of mind in which the student can better develop their thoughts. Critical thinking enables students to move away from colloquialisms and clichà ©s as they struggle to improve and clarify their writing. Thus, critical thinking necessitates advancement in the ability to express complex ideas. This reinforces the demand for the student to develop a manifold and potent vocabulary. It will be a tragic day when Americans cannot understand the

Sociological Imagination Essay

The blackboard website will be unavailable between 7PM to midnight on June 29th for maintenance, so please make sure you upload it before 7 PM. Do not wait till last minute. Late assignments will result point deduction or even a zero essay grade. Format: Please submit an electronic word file named â€Å"your full name essay 1†, such as â€Å"JohnSmithessay1†, through blackboard on time. This essay should be 3-4 pages in total, double spaced, 11 point font. Do not directly copy and paste your assignment on blackboard! Choose to attach your assignment word file. Late assignments are not going to be accepted. â€Å"The sociological imagination enables individuals to see the intimate relationship between the events of history as they occur in human societies and the events of an individual’s or family’s biography.† wrote C. Wright Mills. In this assignment, you are to write up an Essay explaining the connections between your family biography and historical events over the past 50 years. Choose one family members of yours to focus on, such as your grandparents, you parents, your brothers and sisters, or you. Reflect on his or her life and think about how his/her life trajectory is intertwined with the historical changes in the country that you are from. The purpose of this assignment is to for you to apply the sociological imagination to analyze the profound influence that historical and societal contexts have on lives of individuals. Please make sure that you fulfill the following requirements: Clearly state what the personal events are. Explain how these personal events in your family are related to or affected by some of the historical events you listed. Explain in your own words what the sociological imagination is and whether/how it has helped you to better understand the life experiences of your family members. You can refer to the first assigned reading to answer these questions. Before you start your essay, you can do the following exercise on a piece of paper. Please do not include the time line drawing in your essay! It is just used for you to better conceptualize your essay. Draw a time line that begins in the 1960 and ends at the 2013. Above the line you are to identify in chronological order three significant events and/or transitions in the life of you or your family members (such events or transitions are like births, graduations, marriages, divorces, employment changes, income changes, geographic mobility, employment changes, or other changes you can think of). Next, think about the historical and social contexts underlying this particular individual’s life trajectory. What historical or societal events have affected his/her path or life? What historical or societal factors have influenced the important decisions he/she made in his/her life? Below the line identify in chronological order some of these important historical events. Write down the historical events and the time period it occurred or lasted. Such events in the United States include, are not limited to, World War II, the â€Å"Cold War†, the Korean War, the Civil Rights and Women’s movements, the Vietnam War, the recession of the 1980s, and etc. Please do not be limited by the events I list here. You are free to choose some historical events that are less well known (such as the development of colon technology, tea party movement and etc.) but you think are influential in your life or the life of the family member that you chose. After you have decided which family member and life events to focus on, write an essay on the relationships between these personal events and some the important historical events in your country. Please note: I am not asking you to write what you or your family were thinking or doing on the day of 911 or the inauguration day of president Obama. You are supposed to write about how these historical events substantially shaped the life trajectory of the particular individual you chose. Your essay will be graded based on how well you answered each question and the overall quality of your assignment. I strongly recommend you read the grading rubric in the appendix carefully before you start. Please organize your thoughts and arguments, present them in a logical manner and explain them in detail. Please proof read papers for typographical and grammatical errors. Appendix 1: excerpts of other students’ assignments as example The following are some examples from other students’ assignments. Please learn from them how to apply the sociological perspective to your own life events but do not be constrained by them. (1) During World War II my family underwent some great changes. My grandmother took a second job, working in the woolen mills making army blankets. My grandfather joined the marines and moved his whole family from Ohio to California†¦ It was during this time that my grandparents divorced. Divorces are higher during any period of dramatic economic change. Although I’m sure my grandparents blamed themselves, their divorce was a product of the economy and society. The same theory holds true for my parents. When they divorced, they blamed themselves, wondering what each had done wrong, as I did. When I look at what was happening in the economy, the similarities [with my grandparents] are easy to see. The nation- wide divorce rate was up dramatically and the economy was beginning to take a terrible turn for the worse. (2)When people ask me why I enrolled in college a year ago, I usually answered that I enrolled because I wanted to. I realize now that my answer cannot be quite that simple. Because my family doctor believed that the â€Å"pill† was finally proven safe in 1963, I was able to plan my family. In doing so, my son and daughter are nearly raised and I am still young enough to pursue a second career. More than any other factor, though, the women’s movement probably was the greatest influence on my decision. The successes of the movement in social equality have given me the necessary courage and confidence to attempt to be more than a mere shadow of my husband’s social position. Appendix 2: grading rubric Sociological Understanding (40%) The essay should apply key sociological concepts, ideas, theories learned in class correctly and properly to analyze related topics. Assertions in the essay must be supported by evidence (from texts or from data) that is logically related to the thesis. Coverage (30%) The essay must be clearly based on readings and topics related to the course. Essays that are simple summaries of sources are adequate, but will not get the highest grades. The essay should answer all the required questions in the essay guideline. If you fail to answer any questions, some points will be deducted. However, you should organize the essay in a way that it flows smoothly. Do not just list your answers to each question. Originality (10%) The essay should be original. Originality does not mean that you must be the first to think or write something, but that you take different sources and write about them using your point of view. Originality is entailed in taking your sources and forging them into an essay in your voice. Summarizing sources will be adequate, but not very original. Papers written by you and previously submitted to other courses are not original for this course. Such recycled papers will get a failing grade. Copying directly from internet without citing properly is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade. What is plagiarism? Writing Quality (10%) Words and constructions should be chosen with care. Statements should be direct and clear.w The essay should contain no errors of sentence structure, spelling, word choice, or punctuation. If you have difficulty writing or English is your second language you should tell me at the beginning of the semester. I’m not a writing teacher, but I will do what I can to help you become a better writer. You should also seek help at the Writing Center. Every paper must have a title and the author’s name, either at the top of the first page or on a separate title page. All citations and references must be in ASA, APA or MLA format. The general tone of the essay should be academic and professional. Good writing often â€Å"sounds† like well-organized thoughtful conversation. I do not want you to imitate the turgid academic writing found in some sociology journals. I want you to write with a level of sophistication appropriate for well-educated college stu dents.

Word Order in a Noun Phrase and English Anaphors

WORD ORDER IN NP AND ENGLISH ANAPHORS Tereza Stifnerova The purpose of this essay is firstly to show the word order of a noun phrase (NP) and how the head noun of the NP can be post- and pre-modified, and secondly to focus on meaning of some examples of English anaphors and the distinctions between them and their Czech translations. The first part is going to aim on the internal structure of NPs. Complex nominal phrase consists of the pre-modifying elements, the head noun and the post-modifying elements.The so-called pre-modifiers can be divided into two groups: determiners and prenominals. We have to say that „determiners are obligatory and uniqueâ€Å" (Veselovska:86), and they have a specific place in the noun phrase – they are at the beginning. Among determiners we arrange also the possesives (my, your, etc. ). These two (determiners and possesives) are shown in (1). (1) a/the/my/mum’s mug Prenominals are the adjectives and secondary adjectives between the de terminers and the head noun.They are optional, which means they do not have to be in the NP, and they are recursive – it means they are not lined up in a very strict order, but there are some semantic features which affect the order. (2) a. the small old blue wooden box b. ? the wooden blue old small box c. small the old blue wooden box Post-modifiers, or postnominals, can also have a fixed or a relatively free order. Among elements of these category belong multiple prepositional phrases (3-4), verbs with infinitive or in the –ing form (5-6), clauses (relative clause) (7), complex adjectival phrases (8) and of-phrases (9). 3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) the gift for Jane from Peter ? the gift from Peter to Jane a girl to watch the lector teaching history the gift which you gave me a girl [AP more beautiful than me ] the student of philology Except the last one, the others can be lined up after the head noun in a relatively free order. (10) a book of fairytales tied with a blue ribbon for my daughter As I said, the of-phrase has a fixed place in a word order of a NP – it has to follow the head noun immediately because it is adjacent to the noun. 11) a. an office of the teacher with the white door b. * an office with the white door of the teacher In the second part I am going to translate some examples of English anaphors into Czech and then discuss the meanings of them and I will also try to show the distinctions between English and Czech forms. Here are the examples in English: (a1) Theyi killed themk. (b1) Theyi killed themselvesi. (c1) Theyi killed each otheri. And the translation into Czech: (a2) Oni je zabili. (b2) Oni se zabili. (c2) Oni se zabili (navzajem).The example (a1) has the index i with the pronoun they and the index k with the accusative case of the pronoun they, which means that the pronoun they have a meaning of „peopleâ€Å", which are NOT the people included in the meaning of them, i. e. them has the so-called disjoin ed refference. The following examples (12), (13) and (14) show that in English the nominative and accusative cases of the pronoun they are used to mark different (groups of) people. (12) (13) (14) The thievesi killed themk. The thievesi killed the thievesk. *The thievesi killed the thievesi. the thieves ? them > they are not the same thieves so they cannot have the same index The example (b1) has the index i in both cases – it means that they and themselves includes the same people. Because themselves is a reflexive pronoun, we know that the group of people indicated in they is the same group of people as in themselves. In the example (c1) is shown the same as in the example (b1), although in this case the second pronoun is reciprocal so we know that the group of people included in they consists – in this case – of two people.It means that the first one killed the second one and conversely the second one killed the first one. It means that the reciprocals  ¾require the antecedent to be plural (the action or relation takes place between the members of the set, reciprocally). â€Å" (Veselovska:104) These anaphors in (b1) and (c1) are also called syntactic anaphors. „Syntactic anaphors have a hierarchically higher antecedent, which means they must be bound in the same clause, usually in the position of Subject or Agentâ€Å" (Veselovska:104) as in (15) and (16). (15) (16) We saw ourselves in the mirror. To educate oneself is a choice of every person. urselves > Subject oneself > Agent (of educating) In Czech it is different. The first example (a2) is very simple – the pronouns clearly state who killed whom. Oni killed je, which means one group of people killed the other one. The examples (b2) and (c2) are in Czech similar in form but different in meaning. Nevertheless, in the second case we can optionally add the word navzajem, so it would be more clear who killed whom but basically, the reflexive pronoun se is universal in Czech. BIBLIOGRAPHY Veselovska, Ludmila. A Course In English Morpho-Syntax. UP Olomouc, 2009

Uncle essays

Uncle essays Uncle escaped. He took a handgun and descended into the cellar, and the air resonated with the muffled sounds of a car backfiring. I hardly knew either of them, he or Auntie. Daddy said he did it to get away from her. That may be. Anyway, he left a fortune. A million, Daddy said, at a time when a new Cadillac could be had for less than four Today a Caddy is forty grand, Auntie is polluting the soil, my hair is silver, and I can say with neither boast nor shame, that I have not known another human critter whom I yet despise. Sitting at this keyboard, I cannot name another. Surely one exists, I'm not that angelic, but I can't produce one at the moment. This is not owing to faulty memory; something much more splendid, and no credit to me. But Auntie wronged Mom. A wretched soul, she wronged others, too; others whom I love. Those happenings I've dismissed. But not Mom's. We were the poor kin, the black sheep, victims of Daddy's wanderlust. Poverty earns you that status when the others have money. And now an injury prevented Daddy working, so Mom accepted the role of breadwinner with the same grace and humor that she accepted all of life. She must provide a house and food, car and clothes for a family of five. And she did. For years, she hunkered over a sewing machine in a dimly lit corner of a dry cleaners for fifty-two cents an hour. She made our shirts and the patches for our jeans. Patched, but clean and ironed The house, a recycled army barracks, had neither inside walls, nor plumbing, at first, but it was home. Tonight's beans and potatoes vary from last nights only in the way they are prepared. Hey wait! These are last night's. I knew that. Though the youngest, and a male, I was assigned the evening meals ... and helping Mom wash at the old I surprised her once. I had the washing done and hanging on the line. ...

Common Spelling and Grammar Errors Should You Use Its or Its

Common Spelling and Grammar Errors Should You Use Its or Its According to the readers of my blog, the distinction between it’s (with an apostrophe) and its (without an apostrophe) is the top pet peeve and common error out in the writing world. This article attempts to explain the distinction between the two words and when to use its or its. It’s is a contraction. Most of us have heard of and are familiar with contractions. Here’s how they work: If you want to say â€Å"here is† and be less formal about it, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (i) to create heres.   If you want to say â€Å"do not† less formally, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (o) to create dont. This process of contraction is how we get many words such as: can’t; doesn’t; aren’t; there’s; and (drumroll please)†¦ it’s! How simple is that? If you want your word to mean â€Å"it is† or â€Å"it has† then just make a contraction: it’s. Examples: It is time for bed. = It’s time for bed. It is a girl! = It’s a girl! It has been raining for days. = It’s been raining for days. These examples seem simple enough. I think where people get flummoxed is when they want a word meaning â€Å"belonging to ‘it.’† â€Å"Its† is possessive. Why is this one confusing? When something belongs to Harry we add an apostrophe after Harry and say it’s Harrys. When something belongs to the barber we add an apostrophe and say it’s the barbers. However, when it comes to saying something belongs to it, the apostrophic form goes out the window, i.e. we do NOT use an apostrophe. Something belonging to it is its. Why is there no apostrophe in its? Note there are other times we do not use an apostrophe to show possession. When something belongs to her we say it’s hers. When something belongs to him we say it’s his; when something belongs to us we say it’s ours and when something belongs to them we say it’s theirs. There are many irregular constructions here. Yet somehow most people don’t make mistakes when it comes to these other possessive forms. It’s its that continues to baffle us. You might notice something in common about all the examples where apostrophes are not used to show possession: they are all a part of speech we refer to as a pronoun. Pronouns are our shortcuts so that we do not have to keep referring to people and things by their name or other descriptor. They are a referential shortcut. They replace, or substitute for, nouns. I will write more about pronouns in a future article where I will talk about the use of â€Å"I and â€Å"me.† For now you can look at  the University of Ottawa’s Writing Center grammar page under What Is a Pronoun?, for more information. Some examples of pronouns are he, she, they, you, her, him, us, our, their and its. Here’s your rule to remember: When forming a possessive PRONOUN, do NOT use an apostrophe. Since â€Å"it† is a pronoun, we do NOT put an apostrophe after it to make it possessive. Just as you would not write â€Å"her’s† or â€Å"our’s,† do not write â€Å"it’s† when you are intending to show possession. Another trick is to remember the phrase Its raining apostrophes! This sentence means It is raining apostrophes, so you can remember that when you mean it is, you should use its, with an apostrophe. It’s my fervent hope this article has cleared up some common misperceptions and that its contents will be distributed widely by its readers! If you or someone you know needs writing or editing assistance, contact The Essay Expert. We can help clear up any apostrophe problems youre having.

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life Essay

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life - Essay Example I could either choose an easy path by dropping out of university or I could put in my efforts to adapt to my surroundings and face the problems. I chose the difficult path because I understood that education and knowledge serve to be important in the life of a person. I put in all my strength to cope up with the educational requirements of the university and I was assisted by my faculty members, who understood my problem and were highly supportive. English is not my first language and I did not hold much expertise in the language. I got enrolled in an English University where English was the medium of education. The lectures were delivered in English and English was the language used for communication with the teachers as well as the other students. The books were in English as well. My English language skills were not very good and it was a very difficult phase for me. This was because of my writing, reading as well as communication skills were not up to the mark and I had to put in much hard work to cope with my studies. I found it difficult to take down notes during the lectures. This was because I had to pay full attention towards listening to the teacher to understand the lecture and if I started taking notes, I used to lag behind in the lecture. Note taking was also an issue as I could not spell words properly and my writing speed was not up to the mark as well. I could not understand the normally used abbreviations as I was not familiar with them and had not used them before.  

Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Popular Culture - Essay Example The Popular music and Rave culture dominates the discourse on culture particularly the popular culture. Certain genres of popular music have flickered controversy and opposition and criticisms have been centred on them particularly of their influence on 'youthful values, attitudes and behaviour through the music's (perceived) sexuality and sexism, nihilism and violence, obscenity, black magic and anti-Christian nature.'1 Popular culture in general has historically been the target of censure, condemnation and regulation, because of its intense relationship with consumerism. The essay examines the relationship between youth, youth behaviours, popular music and the consumption of music-dance cultures. In order to do this we have to examine the school of Marxist thought that is relevant to the debate - the Frankfurt School. The founders of this school of Marxism, including Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheimer were all critical of the development of what they saw as mass culture and mass consumption. The orientation of the school has been towards the linking of modern capitalism with the control exerted by media industries and products over the consumer. Strinati sees it as 'popular culture which is produced by mass production industrial techniques and is marketed for a profit to a mass public of consumers'. Mac Donald was far more critical: it is a debased, trivial culture that voids both the deep realities (sex, death, failure, tragedy) and also the simple, spontaneous pleasures...a narcotised acceptance of mass culture and of the commodities it sells as a sub stitute for the unsettling and unpredictable...joy, tragedy, wit, change, originality and beauty of real life. These arguments also underline the relationship between popular music, dance and their consumption. Youth culture has been studied from several ideological perspectives on assumptions that they are 'not isolated and untouched by the surrounding culture' . This notion has lead researchers to assume that youth culture is not part of 'growing up', but a phenomenon that occurs as a precipitation of the social, political, cultural and ideological factors. There is not one monolithic youth culture that defines all young people. Popular youth culture embraces a diversity of sub-cultures or "tribes" such as skaters, druggies, snobs, band geeks, Satanists, Jesus freaks, techno-goths, computer dweebs, blacks, Latinos and white trash. Groups distinguish themselves by dress, style, music, body modification practices, race, ethnicity, and language. In her book Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital, 2Thornton refers to the youth cultures based around the raves and dance clubs from the late 1980's to the mid-1990's. The main sociological context of Thornton's study was the approach to the study of youth subcultures developed by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham in books like Resistance Through Rituals. This