Pig: A Sample Narrative Essay

Narrative Essays Are about Capturing Memory

Just before I started my last full time teaching position, I spent time visiting my playful, happy grandparents in Florida.  It was an uncomfortable visit because something was wrong: My grandfather's memory wasn't what it was.  His personality wasn't what it was, but my grandmother wasn't talking about it.   She was just tired, really tired and unhappy.

 He mixed up his verb tenses, an error not easily overlooked by an English professor. 

 "Your grandmother makes me eat bologna sandwiches every day for lunch," he said.  I remembered him telling me that when he told me about working for Chrysler.  He retired in the 1970's.

 "I have an airplane, and I can fly anytime I want to," he said.  He'd used his G.I. Bill benefits to get a pilot's license.

 When he made these verb tense errors, my grandmother would make a sour face and sigh.  Sometimes she'd change the subject or ask him what he wanted for lunch.  Sometimes she'd get mad and start coughing.

 "Nothing with garlic.  You always use too much garlic.  And no beef.  It's too tough.  You make it too tough," he'd say, which was odd because I'd never heard him once criticize my grandmother's cooking.

I could guess it was Alzheimer's.  In addition to the dementia, his knees were hurting constantly, and he was having trouble moving around.  He napped on and off all day in his chair.   On one of the last mornings I visited, he was sitting at the little dining table, reading the paper and drinking his coffee in his plaid bathrobe.  I sat with him to make small talk, but after a few minutes he took my hand and said it "was terrible."  "It" was like dreaming all the time, never knowing what was real and what was a dream, he said.  I looked at our hands.  His thumbnail was very flat, with ridges and a small crack.  The nail was a little too long.

 When I was quite young and there were no such things as car seats, my grandparents used to take us to yard sales on weekends.  We went once to a yard sale at the trailer park where my grandmother's sister lived.  On one of the folding tables not being swarmed by grown-ups, I saw a crocheted pig with the saddest face I'd ever seen on anything or anyone.  It was love at first sight.  Neither of my grandparents realized how much I loved that pig; maybe my grandma thought she could make me one herself, and maybe papa thought the same.  We left without the pig.  I cried silently most of the way home.  My grandma turned around and asked me why I was crying such big crocodile tears.  I told her I wanted the pig.  Papa turned around, and we went back for the pig.  My dad and I dug that pig out of attic storage the last time I went home.

I'm starting a new full time teaching position, and lately, I can't stop thinking about my grandfather's hand, his thumbnail specifically, the way it looked when he held it that last time I visited.  I can't remember if I said anything special, or if we just went back to small talk, but I do remember thinking of that moment in the back of the car, with that lump of sadness in my throat, crying big crocodile tears.  If life would let us turn around go back for things, like we went back for that crocheted pig, could I have spent more time with him or said something worth remembering?  The reality is that we can't go back, not in that sense, no matter how badly we hurt.

Read More About Narrative Essays

The Narrative Frame: Prewriting the Narrative Essay
A Narrative Essay: Holding Hands
Why Write a Narrative Essay



Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Thesis Statements: Revising "There Is" and "There Are"

Watch out!  There is a hole in your thesis!

When writing an essay, writers generally must compose a thesis statement and topic sentences before they can generate an outline or find the best supporting details and evidence for each body paragraph.

Drafting and revising come later in the writing process.  Because writers generate a thesis before "officially" drafting and revising an essay, they draft in the beginning what is called a "working thesis."

This name, "working thesis," presupposes that the writer will later revise the working thesis, if necessary, to make the main ideas more clear to the intended audience and to clean up any grammar, mechanics, or usage errors.

Expletive Constructions

One of the most common clarity errors student writers must revise when looking back at their working thesis statements is what is called the expletive construction.  Now, although it sounds like this has something to do with expletives (like #$@%!, for example), what it really means is that the sentence begins with "There is" or "There are" or "Here is" or "Here are."  Removing the expletive words from the beginning of a sentence, and revising the sentence so that the subject of the sentence comes first, adds clarity.

Working Thesis Statement Examples

There is nothing inherently wrong with using the expletive construction to create a working thesis statement.  As I stated above, writers get lots of chances during the drafting and revising stages of the writing process to adjust the thesis before submitting a final draft.

Some examples of working thesis statements using the expletive construction include:

• There are three types of dangerous situations a ghost hunter might encounter while investigating a haunted location: legal, physical, and emotional or spiritual.
• There is a kind of snake that everyone should be able to identify.
• Here are a few reasons why Player Piano is the great American novel.
• Here is how "comics" has been defined differently by comic artists Scott McCloud and Will Eisner.

All of these working thesis statements would definitely be specific enough about the narrowed topic to get a student started on an outline and on the path to planning supporting paragraphs.  However, later in the writing process, each of these working thesis statement could be revised for clarity by rewriting the sentences so that the subjects of the sentences come first.

Revising Thesis Statements That Begin with "There is" or "There are"

Step 1: Find the subject of the sentence.

The first thing to look at when revising the expletive construction is the grammatical subject of the given sentence.  Then, it's up to writers to determine if the grammatical subject of the sentence is what they truly want to emphasize.  Here are (Did you see how I sneaked that in there?) the grammatical subjects of the working thesis statements.

• There are three types of dangerous situations a ghost hunter might encounter while investigating a haunted location: legal, physical, and emotional or spiritual.
• There is a kind of snake that everyone should be able to identify.
• Here are a few reasons why Player Piano is the great American novel.
• Here is how "comics" has been defined differently by comic artists Scott McCloud and Will Eisner.

Step 2: Place the subject of the sentence first.

• Ghost hunters might encounter a few dangers while investigating a haunted location.  The dangers can be broken down into three types: legal, physical, and emotional or spiritual.
• Everyone should be able to identify one specific kind of snake.
• Player Piano is the great American novel.
• Scott McCloud and Will Eisner define "comics" differently. 

Then, the writer must determine if these subjects are really the part of the thesis they believe is most important and deserve the "pole position."

Step 3: Use specific language that makes a claim or implies a position.

Furthermore, the writer can replace vague or ambiguous language with specific language that tells the intended audience exactly what the essay will be about and what the writer's "take" or "claim" about the topic might be.

• Dangers ghost hunters may encounter during an investigation can be broken down into three types: legal, physical, and emotional or spiritual.
• For safety's sake, the crotalus horridus is one snake that every American hiker should be able to identify. 
• Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano meets the tenets of the definition of the great American novel.
• Will Eisner's definition of "comics" is more accurate than the definition posed by Scott McCloud.

Again, what I have revised here from the working thesis statements above include

• "Pole position," or the idea that the first words hold the most importance
• Replacement of vague or ambiguous language for concrete, specific ideas
• Clear expression of the writer's "take" or "claim" about the narrowed topic

Summary

Once more, there is (I did it again, did you notice?) nothing inherently wrong with beginning the writing process with a working thesis statement that includes the expletive construction.  The trick is knowing when and how to revise that working thesis later in the writing process.

Want to see more about how improving grammar, diction, and syntax can improve your writing? Try

Diagramming Noun Clauses

Avoiding Pronoun Shifts and Confusing Antecedents

Is "Google" a Verb?

Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Advice for Faculty: Do Your Thing

I received my MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in 2006. Since that time I have written a full-length play, completed a textbook about diagramming sentences, wrote a supplemental text, and published six chapbooks of poetry for other poets.

I've spent the last 8 years as an English Professor, teaching first year Composition and remediation.  I started this blog and wrote essay after essay after essay. I judged writing competitions and served on editorial boards.  I created online courses.

Today, for the first time in almost 6 years, I wrote a poem.

Without getting into how uninspired I have been for a very long time, and how that lack of inspiration has affected every aspect of my life, I want to use this short post to offer a simple piece of advice to my fellow faculty members and creative souls: Do your thing.  Whatever it is you do, you must make time to do it and "fill your own cup" before it, in absentia, makes you forget why you became a teacher in the first place.

Ending this exceptionally short blog post abruptly, I now release you from the Internet so you can go do your thing.

-Amy

Advice for Adjunct Faculty: The Teaching Demo

Make Sure You're a Good Fit

At some point during the hiring process, a school will usually schedule a teaching demonstration with a potential faculty candidate.  This teaching demonstration is a great way for the school to find out if the candidate will be a good fit for the school.  That's the tricky part for the faculty candidate, however.  What makes for a "good fit" for one school may not make a "good fit" for another.

The faculty candidate's best bet is to ask the right questions about the teaching demonstration and the school's teaching philosophy ahead of time.

Learning Objectives or Outcomes

Is there a particular learning objective or outcome you'd like me to cover?

The way an objective or outcome is worded can tell you a lot about the school and help guide your teaching demonstration.  For example, broad and general objectives indicate you have a lot of freedom within the classroom when it comes to meeting the broad and general outcome.  There are a lot of ways to get students to "understand basic principles of writing."  However, a detailed objective that covers a very specific action or subtopic may indicate less freedom and a more "lockstep" approach within the classroom.  Instead of having freedom to help students "understand basic principles of writing," you may be asked to help students "complete an annotated bibliography in APA format."

If given a broad outcome, be sure to narrow it down on your own and somehow show within the lesson how the lesson meets the outcome.  If given the more specific objective, be sure to stay within its parameters. Just remember that you want students to be able to do something at the end of the lesson, not just know something.  That may require a step-by-step lesson or a real-time example.  It will certainly require some sort of quick assessment to make sure students are meeting the objective or outcome.  Make sure to plan a complete lesson to meet the given time restraints.

Teaching Philosophy

Do your students in my particular discipline area respond best to curriculum-centered or more learner-centered classes?

In general, a learner-centered approach means the faculty is empowered to reasonably do whatever it takes to make sure the learners understand the material being covered and have proficiency in the basic skills detailed in the learning outcomes or objectives.  Schools that take this approach are often very hands-on, workshop, lab, and project-based.

In general, a curriculum-centered school wants students to understand the material being covered and have proficiency in the basic skills detailed in the learning outcomes or objectives,  but they are also very serious about deadlines and timetables.  These schools are often more lecture-based and there is an expectation that students have the will and ability to self-supplement knowledge on their own if there is something they do not understand.

Class Format

If hired, which class format will I be teaching most often: lectures, discussions, labs, or workshops, or a combination of these?

Because "learner-centered" and "curriculum-centered" are general terms and not terms always used consistently, please be sure sure to also ask for clarity about what type of course format your students might prefer or you might be assigned.

Lectures

If preparing a lecture, please be sure to add more to the lecture than what is in a particular textbook. Use any visual aids (PowerPoint slides if the classroom is equipped) to add to the information you are delivering instead of repeating it.  Use charts, graphs, and images on slides with appropriate citations. This will help you avoid reading the slides and thus better bring your lecture to life.  (No one wants death by PowerPoint).

Discussions

Plan a short short lecture, then expect students to contribute to a discussion about the topic.  This is kind of like teaching and assessing and mediating all at the same time.  It's hard, so if you've never done it, try to practice. Be sure to prepare open-ended questions to spark conversation, and create an open but respectful atmosphere for more meaningful conversation.

Labs

We think of labs when we think of chemistry classes. A lab is an action-based lesson. However, students must still receive information (knowledge about the topic, the lab, the goals, safety) before the lab begins.  At the end of the lab, they should also get a summary or run-down of what happened in the form of assessment and feedback.  Although you may not be able to complete a lab during a demonstration, you may be able to show a short video or explain a series of images in a slideshow.

Workshop

A workshop is when a teacher gives students a set of instructions, then allows students to practice a technique or work on a project or assignment during class time.  The teacher is there to assist and guide.  It's a lot like a lab, but we say "workshop" in discipline areas where you'd just be working in a classroom, not a "lab."

Summary

The teaching demonstration is an integral part of the interview process for new faculty.  The demonstration is the faculty candidate's opportunity to show how he or she can "fit in" with the other faculty members, the school, and with the expectations of a given student body.  However, all situations can and will be a little different. Candidates should ask a few questions before the demonstration so they know how to prepare effectively.

Want to read more about pedagogy and teaching?  Try

Teaching Advice for New Adjunct Faculty
Flipped Classroom: Before Making Videos
Motivate the WIIFM Student with a Learning Audit Assignment




Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.

An Example of Satire: "Stallmate in House"

Be a Sweetie and Wipe the Seatie

What's Satire?

Oxford Dictionaries defines satire as follows: "The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues."

The satirist journalist's purpose or goal, then, is to help heal the wrongs in society by pointing them out.  By bringing awareness to an issue, sometimes with absurdity, satirists can help folks find places where agreement can happen; more specifically, places where people can agree change needs to happen.

Take a look at the following bit of satire.  Do you believe it adheres to the given definition?  What about fulfilling the purpose of pointing to a place where there may be some wrongs that need healing? Where are those places?  What needs to change?

Stallmate in House: Republicans and Democrats Cannot Agree on New "If You Tinkle When You Sprinkle, Be a Sweetie and Wipe the Seatie" Bill

Louisa Hilke was only 12 years old the first time she fell victim to sprinkle in a public restroom. Jackie Spinoza was only 6.  It was her first day in the first grade.  Now are both well into their 40's, but the experience left them shaken and determined to end public restroom sprinkle.

"There's just no reason for sprinkle in public restrooms," Hilke states firmly as she sips on an espresso during our interview.  "Why should we have to worry about our pants getting wet or try to do that weird squaty-thing over the bowl?  It's just not right."

Nodding at Spinoza, Hilke continues, "A few years ago I met Jackie, and we agreed on this issue. Firmly.  So, we started a petition, and our politicians noticed."

"Finally," Spinoza adds.

Finally, indeed.

Hilke and Spinoza were not the first to act.  The first petition was signed by 678 women in 1790 in Philadelphia.  The second was left on the doorstep to New York City Hall in 1830.  It had been signed by 1290 women.  A third was submitted to Governor Schwarzenegger in 2009.  It had been signed by 45,000 women and men.   Hilke and Spinoza's petition is the fourth.

After the petition was signed, liked, and commented on by 67,000 social media users, the two women phoned their representative, and he said they were right and there should be a law. He then wrote out a draft and introduced it to a congressional committee.  According to an expert we found sitting on the steps outside Capitol Hill, who identified himself as "Just Bill," most bills never even get into committee, so this bill should consider itself lucky.

However, here is where the story turns: Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on key points of the bill, referred to as the "If You Sprinkle When You Tinkle, Be a Sweetie and Wipe the Seatie" bill.
An anonymous representative claims the bill would simply cost taxpayers too much money.  A second states it would cost business owners too much money.  Another believes the bill doesn't go far enough to punish wrong-doers.  Still a fourth anonymous representative asks rhetorically when interviewed, "If the executive branch isn't going to bother to enforce the sprinkle laws we have already passed, what makes these guys think he'll bother to enforce new laws?"  When each is asked why he wants to remain anonymous, each exhibits signs of slight discomfort.

What do Hilke and Spinoza think of these issues?  "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be," says Hilke, speaking again for both women.  "I mean, I exercise and all, but my legs get all shaky when I do that squaty-thing, and if I get some sort of disease from sprinkle, which is no laughing matter, I'll sue somebody -  law or not."





Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Originally published Jan 31, 2013 by Amy Lynn Hess.

How to Use Beautiful Buttons

Homemade Porcelain Buttons

Maybe you've seen them at yard sales, online, or in your favorite craft store; beautiful, handmade buttons. Here are suggestions about how to use them.

Although handmade ceramic, wooden, shell, bone, or metal buttons look beautiful on garments, there are so many more ways to include them in your daily look or household style. In fact, according to Diana Hefti, who writes thoroughly about buttons on the Buttons Group page for the World Collectors web site, buttons were first used during the Bronze Age, although at the time they were merely for decoration. Buttons were not even used as clothing fasteners until pins went out of style in the 1200's.

From fashion to art to interior decorating, there is a use for every button you collect - and the opportunity to collect is limitless.

Using Buttons for Jewelry & Accessories

As our prehistoric ancestors knew, buttons make beautiful jewelry. Findings, such as brooch backs, necklace and bracelet clasps, and earring and ring findings, can be purchased at most craft stores, either in-store or online. With a button the right size and color, the potential for making jewelry is limitless. With "O" rings, buttons can also be used between beads and as the main focal point for necklaces and bracelets.

As for accessories, buttons can be sewed to or pinned to hair ties, headbands, barrettes, belts, scarves, purses and backpacks, and even used as shoe clips to liven up a pair of pumps or ballet flats.

Buttons as Crafts & Household Decor

Some of the most original uses for buttons are also the most artistic. For example, buttons can be used in a collage, diorama, or even as a part of a larger collection for display. Entomological display cases can be filled with butterfly buttons instead of real butterflies, or buttons can be arranged by color to create new and original mosaic artwork.

Buttons can also be used to create original lampshades, trivets, candle holders, mirrors and photo frames, message centers, mobiles, wind chimes, or even to fill a lovely vase or jar. Small buttons can also be used to decorate handmade cards and within the pages of special albums or scrapbooks. Because they are lightweight, they can either be stitched to items or glued to items with most household or craft glues.

Upcycle Clothing and Linens Using Buttons

With a few well-chosen buttons, items from thrift stores or clothing swaps can also be up-cycled, with little to no skills in sewing. Have you ever had a blazer or sweater in your closet that stayed unworn, season after season? Why not give it a new look by adding new buttons that say a little something about your personal style and personality? Not only can this trick be used to up-cycle those blazers and sweaters that sit in your closet, but also shirts, vests, skirts, dresses, and items that don't even necessarily need button fasteners. This includes pillowcases, tablecloths, placemats, napkins, towels, throws, and chair covers.

As said, buttons have been around for a long time. Not only can they be used for keeping your clothes on, "Buttons can be enjoyed as a bit of history, or a piece of art, or both" (Hefti, n.d.).

References

Hefti, D. (n.d.) Buttons. Retrieved Sept. 15, 2012 from http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/ features /buttons

Want to read more about arts and crafts? Try

Which Weaving Lom is Best for Beginners?
Lion Brand Yarn Ergonomic Crochet Hook Set
Make a Celtic Tatting Shuttle




Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

The "Reading Log" College English Composition Assignment

Keeping a journal of critical and personal reactions to literature can help a student study his or her own way of thinking.  

In order to facilitate thoughtful journal entries, faculty members can create journal prompts and hold students to a set of low-stakes standards.  The following are three literary journal prompts and accompanying responses. In my courses, I call these "Reading Logs."

Literary Theory and Interpretation: "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker 

Please tell me what "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker means to you.  Practice your theoretical interpretation skills.  Is there a moral lesson to be learned?  Is this story about culture or socioeconomics?  Is this a story related to the tenets of feminism?  Is it about family or personal psychology?  Pick only one approach to discuss. Check your syllabus for a due date, and be sure to check your response using the following checklist:

Quick Reading Log Checklist

1. Did you meet the 150 minimum word count and place it in parenthesis next to your
2. original title, centered, and in title case at the top of the post?
3. Are all quotations in quotation marks and cited in-text in MLA or APA style?
4. Did you run your post through Grammarly and correct all errors?
5. Did you underline your original thesis or topic sentence
6. and use moments or lines from the reading to support that main idea?

Here is an example that utilizes the moral approach.  Notice the response points out the choices made by the author, not just the characters:

Living History (240)

At the end of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker (1973, p. 109), Dee and Maggie’s mother must decide which daughter will keep her heirloom quilts.  Each daughter represents conflicting values, and the mother must decide which value to uphold.  Walker uses that construct to help teach the reader a life lesson.  In the end, Walker teaches us that living artifacts are to be valued beyond archival novelties when she chooses to write the mother giving the quilts to Maggie.

On the one hand, the quilts have been promised to Maggie, who will put the quilts to use and give the objects the dignity of being used for what they were made to do.  On the other hand, her daughter Dee wants to preserve her personal heritage by preserving the quilts.   However, Walker nicely sets up earlier in the story that Dee is less concerned with her true heritage (not knowing the name of the relative who made the dasher, for example), and more concerned with the appearance of appreciation. While Maggie “lives” the family’s history, Dee looks at it as though a stranger.  The mother must decide whether or not she wants the items to be living artifacts put to use by Maggie, or dead, “museum” artifacts preserved by the stranger, Dee.  In the end, Walker teaches us that living artifacts are to be valued beyond archival novelties when she chooses to write the mother giving the quilts to Maggie.

Argumentation and Outside Research: "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Check your syllabus for the due date!  Following is a sample entry that cites outside research in APA format.  Notice the first sentence; this is the thesis statement.  It makes an argument about the story. The rest of this short essay supports the thesis statement with evidence from the story, reasoned argument, and outside research.  Again, be sure to check your response using the Quick Reading Log Checklist.

Distant Time and Place (360)

In the short story “The Things They Carried”  by Tim O'Brien (1986, p. 150), O’Brien crosses his reality with fictional elements to create a story that can touch any reader.  Though a very “close” memory for those who were a part of the time, and even “closer” for those who were a part of the place, the story evokes only memories of memories and depictions of descriptions for those of us who were not in Vietnam or part of the conflict at home.  The question, then, for a writer like O’Brien is how to make the memory real for readers separated from the setting by both time and place.  O’Brien does a fantastic job solving that problem.  Because the story is based on memory, he uses an episodic structure that evokes the feeling of memory.  Because he was there, he has been able to reconstruct for us an experience shaped as a story.  He tells us Vietnam can never seem real because it no longer exists as it did.  The truth is that it is now a distant place from a distant time.  It is a memory.

When Jill Taft-Kaufman wrote and directed a stage adaptation of the complete novel The Things They Carried (the novel) for the stage, she knew the actors involved in the production were too young to have been in Vietnam.  However, she invited fathers, uncles, and friends who had been soldiers during that time and asked them to speak to the cast and crew (Taft-Kaufman, 2000, p. 28).  Some of the veterans volunteered, while others had to be asked several times to speak (p. 29).  Hearing the true stories of the veterans helped the students become more knowledgeable about the truth of their memories, because no matter the length of the true stories, the students still had not been there.  As the student cast was reminded by a veteran named Frank at a rehearsal for the play, “One could control stories, not the vicissitudes of war” (p. 31).  

References

Taft-Kaufman, J. (2000). How to tell a true war story: The dramaturgy and staging of narrative theatre. Theatre Topics, 10(1), 17-38.

Poetry Form and Function: "Harlem" by Langston Hughes

For short stories, we were pointing out a line and explaining its importance to the meaning of the story, or we were utilizing a literary approach to find meaning and theme.  For poems, let's add another layer.  Please point out something the poet has done within the poem (name or describe the technique) that helps you come to a conclusion about the meaning of the poem.  Then, cite an example of that technique within the text of the poem.  Be sure to clearly state your interpretation of the poem.   In this way you will be stating how the form of the poem contributes to its function, or meaning.

Please notice how  the following example refers to specific lines and line numbers within the poem to support the writer's ideas. This post discusses the juxtaposition of concrete imagery.  Take notice of the phrase in the thesis, “Hughes uses . . . .”

Choices and Reactions (194)

Langston Hughes’s poem, “Harlem” (1951, p. 634), makes me remember a lesson my grandmother taught me as a child: The choices we make in life (or behaviors we exhibit) sometimes cause reactions we may or may not expect (like a swat on the behind).  In this poem, Hughes uses a juxtaposition of concrete imagery to discuss a dreamer’s choice to defer an action, a dream.

Of course, the lesson’s delivery in “Harlem” is much more mature a discussion than my example. Hughes depicts reactions in very visceral ways, some pleasant, and other repugnant.  For example, some “dreams deferred” (p. 634, line 1) become “sores” (p. 634, line 4), and others become a “sweet” (p. 634, line 8).  It makes me wonder if the difference in reactions stems from the dreamer’s personality, the dreamer’s particular dream, or simply the dreamer’s choices: to pursue or not to pursue.  In the definition of “defer,” I find my answer: It’s the dreamer’s choice to not act, or to ignore, his or her dream.   This poem uses concrete imagery to issue a warning to all dreamers to beware dreams that are not pursued, and therefore beware dreamers too, who choose to ignore dreams.

Summary

An effective approach for students studying literature is for those students to keep a literary journal. This "Reading Log" will not only document students' required reading for the course, but it offers students a place to record impressions of, responses to, and reflections on assigned short stories and poems at the conclusion of each reading. Furthermore, this type of journal provides students with a place to complete low-stakes writing, experimentation with critical approaches, and analysis and provides students with a reservoir of ideas to use for class discussion throughout the course.  

Want to read more about pedagogy and composition? Try

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Composition and Field Journals

The Use of Narrative in Introductory Literature Courses

Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Composition and Field Journals

The four modes of communication are narration, description, exposition, and persuasion.

Students generally understand exposition and its uses, learn to use persuasion competently, and usually genuinely like narration.  However, when it comes to description, students have a difficult time using the visceral, specific, detailed language necessary to successfully support a thesis.

When students are given a contemplative assignment, though, like the keeping of a field journal for the duration of a composition course, they become more and more adept at using visceral, specific, and detailed language.  They learn to more accurately describe the world around them.

The Field Journal

A field journal is most often used by scientists and naturalists to record their work in the field. Literally, that could mean a field, but it could also mean a controlled environment, a social space, or in some instances even cyberspace!  It's simply a journal, a personal account, of events that take place while researching, experimenting, or observing with non-judgmental, mindful awareness (or anything in-between). Because students are in various fields, the type of field journal each chooses to create will vary, but the benefits will remain the same: Students will engage in mindful study and be better able to both observe their worlds and communicate those observations to others.

Famous Beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, one of the poets who instituted The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, taught mindful writing using the following instructions. Each step in his instructions requires careful observation and descriptive writing, demonstrating the link between mindfulness and description.

1. Stop in tracks once a day, take account of sky, ground & self, write 3 verses haiku.
2. Sit 5 minutes a day, & after, re-collect your thoughts.
3. Stop in middle of street or country, turn in 360-degree circle, write what you remember. (Ginsberg, 2001)

However, alternatives abound, and these skills can be developed as part of a more general course.

Descriptive Field Journal Assignment

Goal:

Students will keep field journals as a way to become more adept at observing the world, then using visceral, specific, detailed language to describe their observations to others.

Materials:

• Students will need a journal or notebook.
• Students will need, at minimum, one pencil and a pencil sharpener.

Requirements:

• Use a pencil to legibly handwrite (print or cursive) three observation entries per week.
• Place the date and time of the observation at the top of each entry.
• Place the final word count at the top of each entry.
• Include digital images, photographs, sketches, or scrapbook items in each entry.
• Submit your field journal as a physical, tangible item every two weeks.
• Proofread and revise as necessary, and be certain you have included an "overarching impression" thesis statement for your description (of no less than about 300 words per entry).
• Consistently work to improve your powers of observation and detailed description.

Assessment:

Compare your ability to observe and describe your world at the start of the course to your ability at the end of the course.  Write a two page self-assessment of the changes.  Have your skills grown? Stayed the same?  Gotten worse?  Be sure to support your assessment with examples from your journal entries.

The WIIFM Students and the Field Journal

Although most students appreciate assignments that are a bit different from the standard research paper or composition essay, some will demand to know why they need to complete this assignment. The key to an effective response is to have the students research ways that description may be used in their chosen fields of study.  This simple assignment can even be given before the field journal assignment starts.  The value of effective description can be shared with everyone as you present the requirements.

From police officers writing reports to nurses describing symptoms on charts, and clients describing the perfect haircut to a hairdresser from the barber's chair, skills in effective description are used on a daily basis.  Give your students a boost in mindful observation and descriptive skills by assigning a field journal for the duration of your class.

References

Ginsberg, A. (2001). Deliberate prose: Selected essays, 1952-1995. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.

Want to read more about pedagogy and writing?  Try

A Playful Lesson for the Composition Classroom
Prewriting the Research Essay: Starting with "I Think"
Teaching Advice for New Adjunct Faculty


Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Teaching Advice for New Adjunct Faculty

Do you have years of experience in your chosen field and feel as though you are ready to try something new?  Many professionals decide to become adjunct faculty as that "something new."

However, few to none of those professionals have any pedagogical or andragogical training, other than the observations and experiences they may have made when they were in school.  This is a great starting point, luckily!  Let's go over a few of those teacherly-things you may have observed or experienced when you were in school, but this time let's look at them as teachers.

Writing a Comprehensive Syllabus



The key to a great syllabus is its comprehensive details

The course syllabus is often thought of as a contract between the faculty member and each student. Other ways to think of the syllabus is as a business plan or a project management timeline.  Just as with any of these types of documents, it's best to be as thorough as possible in the syllabus, never cutting corners or assuming that other parties (in this case your students) already know any of the plan.

First and foremost, be sure to ask if you are allowed the academic freedom to write your own syllabus or if a syllabus or outline will be provided.  You can probably set a meeting with your Department Chair or a Lead Faculty member if you need help.

If you are allowed to create your own syllabus, be sure to include all basic course information in the syllabus with headings and subheadings, bullet points or numbered lists, and tables.  Include the name and course number with the course description, meeting times and a detailed schedule, your contact information and textbook information, grading policies and assignments, and class policies and procedures cobbled together from the student handbook and catalog, and include any personal preferences that also abide by the handbook and catalog.  You can also choose to include the course learning outcomes or objectives, the rubrics, and a statement about the value or relevancy of the course.

Planning Lectures & Planning Lessons

Once class starts, you will be responsible for delivering lectures and conducting lessons.  Keep in mind that these are two different things.


A lecture is an organized and well-planned talk, a speech or presentation, that addresses yet goes beyond content from the textbook.  A lecture is never just a chapter presentation delivered on PowerPoint slides.  As an expert in your field, you should be prepared to deliver "above and beyond" content, which can include examples, supplemental readings, research information, or narratives and description.  It may take several hours or even multiple days to properly research and outline the lectures for your first class.  The length of the lectures will depend on the format and length of your class.  In subsequent semesters you can revise and add to your lectures.



On the other hand, a lesson is a series of learning activities that lead to the same learning outcomes or objectives, like a lesson that teaches students how to identify different types of bacteria using a microscope.  For example, that lesson may include a very brief overview or complete lecture, a reading, a video, a short vocabulary quiz or list of vocabulary terms, homework, an in-class bridging exercise (a lab), a group project or paper, or a whole host of other effective activities. Lessons should be as carefully planned as lectures, with a clear goal in mind and with clear instructions prepared for the students.

Creating Assessments to Measure Student Learning

The way you will know whether or not students are learning the content or skills introduced in your course is to assess their learning.  You can assess student learning using quizzes, tests, exams, papers, discussions, presentations, projects, in-class work, and homework.  In other words, you will assess their ability to complete tasks.  You will assess their proficiency in those tasks against a standard. Those standards come in the form of learning outcomes and rubrics. Just as with the syllabus, sometimes those will be created by you, and sometimes those will be provided.  Again, be sure to ask.



To continue the example from the lesson in the previous paragraph, one of the learning objectives could be written: "Students will correctly identify 10 types of bacteria."  This first objective could be assessed during a lab or on a visual quiz, with 8 to 10 correct answers being a passing proficiency grade.  A second objective that moves students to a higher level of understanding could be stated: "Students will compare and contrast the effects of 10 types of bacterial infections."  
The second might be assessed in a final presentation or a term paper and graded using a detailed rubric.


As time goes on and you analyze the results of your assessments, you can adjust your lectures, lessons, schedule, grading weights, rubrics, and assignment instructions to better teach the content.





Being an adjunct instructor can be an extremely fulfilling position.  However, new adjunct faculty members should enter the profession with enough knowledge to help their students be as successful as possible.  If you are a new faculty member, you should focus on creating a thorough syllabus, carefully planning lessons and lectures, and assessing student learning in a way that helps you continuously improve your course.

Want to read more about teaching?  Try

The Benefit of Play in the Composition Classroom
Gamification: Using GameMaker: Studio to Make an Educational Game
Student Centered or Curriculum Centered?






Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Gamification in Education: Using GameMaker to Make an Educational Game

Using Free GameMaker:Studio to Create an Educational Game

In early 2014, I began reading about gamification in higher education.

I read that it was "more than just a fad" on eCampus News.  I read on the Association of College and Research Libraries Web site that a game "motivates" students.  I read on the Top Hat blog that incorporating games into learning isn't really all that hard, and games as homework can help keep students engaged in content after classes have ended.

After thinking long and hard about how to better incorporate games into the core curriculum courses that I teach, I decided to expand on one of my specialties, sentence diagramming.  I jumped in with both feet, and for the past two weeks I have been attempting to teach myself to create a game using the free game engine, GameMaker: Studio.  Into week three, I think I have some solid advice for any faculty member wanting to attempt this, as well.

First Bit of Advice: Game Concept

The best advice I can give to a faculty member attempting this process is to first have a game concept in mind.  In order to successfully learn how to create the game, the mechanics of the game have to be visualized, and maybe even literally drawn out in storyboard sequence.  "Kinda" doing this won't cut the mustard, though.

For instance, I knew I wanted a game where students would move the word "noun" to the place on a blank diagram where the subject is supposed to go, and then they'd get some points.  Good enough, I thought, to get on with.  Not so, however.  I never stopped to think about what each moment would look like.  When the word got to the spot, what would the screen do?  How would the points appear? All of that should have been planned.  Instead, I've been getting on with it by trial and error.  I wouldn't say I'm wasting time because it's time spent learning the software, but I should have done more planning.

Second Bit of Advice: Tutorials

Learn to create a space-shooter game with Shaun Spalding.

The next best bit of advice I have for teacher-turned game developer is to follow the video tutorials created by Shaun Spalding.  They are thorough and well-paced, and his tutorials are created to be "learn by doing" lessons.  The series entitled "Making Your First Game" walks viewers through creating a complete asteroid-shooter game, which introduces viewers to all sorts of tips and tricks and bits of useful code.

And speaking of code: Don't skip those parts of the tutorials.  Write it down, if you must, because it is useful - even if a bit intimidating and difficult to absorb and makes your brain shut down.  Write it down, anyway.

Third Bit of Advice: Outcomes

The last bit of advice I have for an educator wanting to create an educational game is to stick to one of the things educators know best: assessment of learning outcomes.  When in doubt, return to the objective or outcome or goal for the game.  Focus on what it might be the student should gain from the game and how the game might influence the outcome.  Want students to be able to classify? Identify?  Solve?  Predict?  Think of ways to "see" those actions in action within your game, and work toward those actions.  Want to think in terms of "leveling?"  Think in terms of learning levels.

In the parts of speech game I'm creating, for example, the goal is to reward students who can construct a sentence diagram one part of speech at a time.  When they complete that objective, they are rewarded with points.

The purpose of gamification, from this professor's standpoint, is to help students engage in course material even when outside the classroom and outside the scope of regular ol' homework.  Yes, it would be easier to simply create sentence diagramming worksheets for students to complete as homework, but it just wouldn't be as fun - either for them or for me.

"Gamifying" sentence diagrams gives me something new to learn to do, too.

Want to read more about pedagogy and teaching?  Try

Student Engagement and Writing
Student Centered or Curriculum Centered?
A Playful Lesson for the Composition Classroom



Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.

Character Study: Unctuous, Oily, and Overly Flattering

I'm the kind of person who likes to delve into how characters work or what makes them tic, whether "good" characters or "bad" characters.  I like to find ways to pinpoint characters' traits, motives, and methods.  One way to get started with this type of character analysis is to simply find the most appropriate word to describe that character. 

One of my favorite words to more accurately describe "bad" characters is unctuous.

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines unctuous as "revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality."  The key to understanding unctuousness is to remember that it is usually obvious to other characters or to the audience that the unctuous character is not sincere, therefore the character is unpleasant and untrustworthy.  

When we watch unctuous characters on television or in the movies, we get a sense that they are untrustworthy, lack goodwill, or are in some other way "oily."  As a matter of fact, the etymology of "unctuous" points back to the Latin word that meant to anoint with oil, then later to the Medieval Latin word for "greasy."

Three examples of unctuous characters from television, literature, and film are Eddie Haskell, Draco Malfoy, and Obadiah Stane.

Eddie Haskell from Leave It to Beaver

Eddie Haskell, played by Ken Osmond from 1957-1963, was the smooth-talking, over-flattering friend of Wally Cleaver.  Always trying to impress Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver with his obsequious small talk, one of his lines goes like this:

"Wally, if your dumb brother tags along, I'm gonna - oh, good afternoon, Mrs. Cleaver. I was just telling Wallace how pleasant it would be for Theodore to accompany us to the movies."

As you can see, he stops mid-sentence to shift his tone to impress June Cleaver.  It doesn't work, by the way, as Mrs. Cleaver, played by Barbara Billingsley, generally reacted politely, yet unfavorably, to Eddie's unctuousness.  Because these scenes with unctuous Eddie were ironically humorous, his scenes were always punctuated with audience laughter.

Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter 

Draco Malfoy, who appears in each of the Harry Potter books, is also unctuous on occasion.  For example, we see he flatters both Professor Snape and Professor Slughorn in order to win favor, not to mention how he brags about his family's favorable relationships with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge.  

Malfoy desires favor with Snape and Slughorn because favor from these faculty members can earn him better marks and preferential treatment: He also believes they can help raise his social status.  On the other hand, he behaves disrespectfully toward Rubeus Hagrid, a half giant, because Malfoy believes he is inherently "better" than Hagrid.  Draco Malfoy is certain that flattery toward Hagrid would not get him any closer to the top of the social ladder.  Instead, he disparages Hagrid as a way to try to elevate himself.

Of course, the reader can discern Malfoy's insincere flattery and selfish, one-sided desires, especially after he realizes he no longer needs Snape's favor to achieve a higher status with the big baddie at the top, Voldemort.  In the end, Malfoy learns that this favor he seeks might not be so favorable,  but in the meantime, he is pretty unctuous when he wants to be.

Obadiah Stane from Iron Man 

Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane in the the 2008 Iron Man film.  In this film, Stane is Tony Stark's longtime mentor, having been a friend and business partner with his father, Howard Stark.  Stane frets over Stark's health when he returns from the cave, puts his arm over his shoulder like a father figure, and psychologically manipulates him into making business decisions that help Stane reach his own goals. Yet, behind the scenes he was the person who attempted to have Stark assassinated.

Stane's lines in the film show both his admiration (flattery) of Tony Stark's abilities, and his own "oiliness," and villainy. For example, as he accepts an award in lieu of Stark, he states: "Thank you, Colonel. This is beautiful. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful. Well, I'm not Tony Stark. [laughter] But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel, and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know, the best thing about Tony is also the worst thing - he's always working."  While he admires Stark's abilities and calls him a "golden goose," he also tells Stark: "For thirty years, I've been holding you up! I built this company up from nothing! Nothing's gonna stand in my way - least of all, you!"

Stane is certainly both over-flattering at times, and an "oily" super villain. 

Summary

Unctuous is a wonderful character word, as it implies a whole lot more than just "good" or "bad."

Calling a character "unctuous" means we know he or she is "oily," an insincere flatterer, and that perhaps the other characters know as much, as well.  Beyond that, unctuous characters make for interesting study, as we can attempt to pinpoint their motives and understand their choices.  It could be they appear as ironic comic characters, like Eddie Haskell.  It could be they are on their own character arcs, learning about life as they try to win favor, like Draco Malfoy.  Or, it could just be they are super villains out for revenge and power, like Obadiah Stane.  

Can you think of any other unctuous characters from television, literature, or film?  Do you have a character word you like to use to better describe "good" characters or "bad" character?  Feel free to share in the comments!  



Copyright Amy Lynn Hess.  Please contact the author for permission to republish.