December 15th

Final Exams:

The timeline of your final. (So plan accordingly with interviews/picture/printing…)

You have received the assignment the DAY BEFORE YOUR FINAL.
You will have the entire class period of the day the assignment is received AND most of the
assigned class final  date. You will turn in your final project before the last 10 minutes of the end of class
on the second day.

3rd Hour:

Thursday, December 14th- Receive assignment

Friday, December 15th- Assignment due by 10:35 A.M.

1st Hour:

Friday, December 15th- Receive assignment

Monday, December 18th- Assignment due by 8:50 A.M.

2nd Hour:

Monday, December 18th- Receive assignment

Tuesday, December 19th- Assignment due by 8:55 A.M.

December 13th

Research paper clean up:

1. Works Cited Page. Does your WC page look EXACTLY like this? MLA Works Cited Page
- Remember to alphabetize entries.
- All major words in titles are capitalized

2. Do your academic journal entries look exactly like this: OWL Electronic Sources
- scroll down to "An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal"
- Include a URL, DOI, or permalink to help readers locate the source. (Look at example)

3. Do your in text citations look like this: OWL In Text Citations

4. Does your heading and header look exactly like this: MLA Sample Format

5. Do you have an academic title? Writing an Academic Title

6. Review every direct quotation to ensure that they are introduced, contextualized, and then EXPLAINED. Quotation Integration

7. Find your counterclaim. Make sure that it is addressed effectively and placed smartly. Balanced.

8. Make sure that you have warrants following all of your evidence. This is where your argument stands out.  You need to be arguing more than describing. Truly explain the relevance of the direct quote that you have brought in for your argument.

9. Make sure your direct quotes are no longer than 3-lines typed... no block quotations. Break those suckers up and discuss them in smaller portions.

10. Don't forget transitions.

11. Double check your access to Turnitin.com. Make sure that you can log in, etc.

These are the common problems that are in sophomore papers... eliminate these issues before the final draft.

Your paper is due at 7:30 AM TOMORROW to Turnitin.com.  Papers will NOT be accepted AFTER 7:30 AM. 

Schedule for the Last Week, etc. of Semester

Monday/Tuesday, December 11th/12th (Block): Literature Circles #2 and Research paper proof-reading.

Wednesday, December 13th (Daily): Clean up research paper and prepare for final submission.

Thursday, December 14th (Daily): Research paper is due by 7:29 AM to Turnitin.com.

Friday, December 15th (Block): 1st Hour- class. 3rd Hour- FINAL

Monday, December 18th (Block): 1st Hour- FINAL. 2nd Hour- class

Tuesday, December 19th (Block): 2nd Hour- FINAL

December 11th/12th

1. Literature Circle #2- Turn in your Group Report and individual journal.
2. Peer proof-read.

You will have 2 partners read through your paper marking the following:

Proofreaders:

1. The first read: You will start with the LAST sentence. You will read ONE sentence at a time until you are reach the top of the paper. Yes, you are reading the paper BACKWARDS. In this reading you are ONLY looking for grammatical and spelling errors, and sentence clarity.  Is there subject-verb agreement? Pronoun-antecedent agreement? Sentence mechanics are correct? Diction choices accurate? No "YOUS". No "I". If you find an error, make a comment in BLUE. Do not fix the error.

2. The second read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read  you will be looking solely at CONTENT. Does the paper have a CENTRAL ARGUMENT/CLAIM? Is the evidence logical and sufficient to the theme? Is the evidence relevant? Does the entire paper support the requirement of the prompt? Are there appropriate WARRANTS following the evidence? Does it sufficiently address the purpose of writing? Mark errors or comments in RED. 

3. The third read: You will be assessing the SOURCE MATERIAL. Has the primary source been thoroughly examined and addressed in conjunction to the claim? Is there adequate SECONDARY support? Are they adhering to the standards of source materials: Objective, Relevance, Current, Scholarly (Think-Totem Pole of Academia).  Has the source material been introduced? Contextualized? Processed through warrants? Cited correctly? Mark your comments/errors/suggestions in BLACK!

4. The fourth read: You will start at the TOP of the paper. In this read you will be looking solely at STYLE and STRUCTURE. Is the tone appropriate for the audience and the content addressed. Does the introduction utilize the INTRO FORMAT? Is the ARGUMENT complete with utilizing Toulmin's methods of argument? (Claim, evidence, warrants) Does each section have a topic sentence that supports the overall claim? Does the paper utilize an obvious structure? Does is utilize active voice?  Do they use effective transitions? Between sentences? Between sections?  DO THEY UTILIZE careful and strategic DICTION and SYNTAX? Does the conclusion utilize the CONCLUSION format/purpose synthesizing the argument? Mark suggestions and comments in GREEN.

IMPORTANT-

4. The fifth read: You will be, again, starting at the TOP of the paper. In this read, you will be looking solely at FORMATTING. YOU NEED TO OPEN UP THE PURDUE OWL AND DO A LITERAL CHECK ON ALL COMPONENTS. DO NOT ASSUME!

Purdue OWL MLA Guide

Has the author appropriately addressed MLA Style Guide? Colon formatted Title?? Works Cited page done correctly? No differences in font, size, etc? Mark in PURPLE. 

4. In the sixth, and final, read. You will read through from top to bottom and read for the complete experience. Does the entire paper work together? Any last concerns? Mark in ORANGE. 

Pay specific attention to this proofing process. This is an excellent strategy to ensure that your final product achieves its intended purpose.

AFTER you are done PROOFING. You will need to SCORE the paper with the specific argument rubric. Please write the scores... PLUS the justification of their scores ON THEIR PAPER AND their scoring guide.  You will then give them an AVERAGE of the 5 scores.. Add up all 5 and then divide that number BY 5. Round up.) REPORT scores to Mrs. Cole.

Argument Rubric

FINAL DRAFT: Due to Turnitin.com by December 14th. at 7:29 A.M.

December 8th

1. Introductions and Conclusions-

Writing Introductions- UNC

Writing Conclusions- UNC

2. Full paper draft due on Monday/Tuesday for proof-reading. This includes intro, body, conclusions, and works cited page.

This paper needs to be PRINTED OFF for class.

3. Literature Circle group meeting #2 will also be Monday/Tuesday.  Have your group role sheet AND journal entry printed off and brought to class with you.

December 6th/7th

1. Outline is due today.
2. The first literature circle is today!

• All group members need to have the book and their role sheet out on their desks at the beginning of the discussion. Desks are in a circle. Discussion Director selects a timekeeper to help manage the group’s time. 
• The Discussion Director begins the discussion by asking the Summarizer to go first. 
• The Discussion Director then asks one of the below-the-surface questions he/she has prepared. Group discusses the question, taking notes. 
• After the Director has asked all questions, the Passage Analyst shares his/her passage prepared for the day.  The Passage Analyst reads the passage and group members discuss, taking notes. 
• After the Passage Analyst finishes, the Essential Questions Connector identifies specific passages in the text that address one or more of the essential questions. Group members discuss and take notes. 
• The Vocabulary Enricher will interject as needed to define terms or look them up (if a new one has been added to the list).
• Members of the group should take care to make connections during each discussion time.  It is one thing to discuss the book, but members should also expect these connections:

Text to Text: Are there similarities or differences between the book you are reading now and one that was assigned for another class or that you have read for pleasure at another time?

Text to Self:  In what ways can you identify with the characters or circumstances in this book?  What kinds of personal/emotional reactions do you have to specific parts of this book?

Text to World:  In what ways is this book reminiscent of current events or “real world” issues? 

WHEN YOU ARE DONE.... 
1. You will need to do a "Group Report" with your discussion summary page. Please staple this on top of all group role sheets. 
2. Assign Group Roles for next meeting (December 11th/12th)
3. Go to Google Classroom for a post-circle reflection. 

Upcoming PAPER dates . . . 
Monday, December 11th/12th: Typed draft of Mesopotamian paper DUE for proof-reading. 

December 4th

Remember: The purpose of ARGUMENT is to PROVE YOUR CLAIM WITH LOGICAL EVIDENCE. 

1. You will upload your Mesopotamian treasure paper's CLAIM and COUNTERCLAIM to Google Classroom today. Please look over the claim checklist with your claim's wording and purpose. Check for active verbs and blueprint.  Once your wording is divine, you will need to explain what the counterclaim is to your argument.

2. Once you are done, you will need to start working on the OUTLINE to your paper. Please do Step 5 of Writing first- Your 3-4 major reasons to prove your claim. These need to be broad. After you establish these reasons, you will move into Step 6 of Writing, providing specific examples for your reasons. There is an outline template found under "writing links". 

Week Schedule:
Monday, December 4th: Claim and Counterclaim due to Google Classroom.
Tuesday, December 5th: Work on outline for paper. Work on literature circle assignments. Cover counterclaim placement and processes for going through research effectively.
Wednesday/Thursday, December 6th/7th: Complete outline in hard copy form due at the beginning of class.  Literature circle day! A hard copy of your journal and your role sheet is due at the beginning of your literature circle meeting.
Friday, December 8th: Work on writing first draft of Mesopotamian paper. Cover introductions and conclusions

And after today.... 

                         
           

December 1st

The Paper: 
Mesopotamian Treasures Paper

Possible Academic Resources:
1. War and the Cultural Heritage of Iraq
2. Protecting Nimrud
3. Saga of the Nineveh Marbles
4. Mesopotamia to the Metropolitan Museum

Due Dates: 
December 4th: Thesis due
December 6th/7th: Outline due (also lit. circle day)
December 11th/12th: Typed draft due for peer review (2nd lit. circle day)
December 14th: Final draft due

Get Started: 
1. Read through the page 49 from your textbook (seen to your left).
2. Read through a few of the academic sources to get your grounding with the topic.
3. Start with Step 2-4 of Writing- Brainstorm, break down the topic, and then thesis/claim.