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Assignment 1 Write a two- to three-page, well-organized essay in response to the following prompt.
The chapter we read from "The American Ways" presented six traditional American values: individual freedom, self-reliance, equality of opportunity, competition, material wealth, and hard work.
Choose two or three values and describe how you have observed them in American life. Be sure to provide specific examples that reflect your observations and experiences. You may also wish to contrast those values with your own culture and how things are done differently.
Assignment 2
Write a two- to three-page, well-organized essay in response to one of the following two prompts.
- James Dillard, the physician in "A Doctor's Dilemma," helps an accident victim despite serious reservations. Applying both the definition of emergency situations and the social factors of bystander intervention, explain why Dr. Dillard intervened.
- The story "Wilshire Bus" illustrates that bystander "apathy" is present even in our everyday interactions. Using the arguments from "Bystander 'Apathy,'" explain why none of the bus passengers came to the aid of the Chinese woman.
Sample Essays
- Sample Essay (PDF)
- Sample Editorials Memo (PDF)
Homework
See the readings section for downloadable handouts used in the course.
EC = Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Understanding and Using English Grammar:Chartbook-A Reference Grammar. 3rd ed. Pearson ESL, 1998. ISBN: 013958661X.
1 | Introduction | Chapter 16 (EG) | 2 | Basic Grammar (Parts of Speech, Parts of Sentences, and Sentence Types) | Sentence Types
Chapter 19 (EG) | 3 | Logical Connectors / Connectives | Editing | 4 | Adjustments in Connected Speech | Chapter 17 (EG)
Traditional American Values and Beliefs | 5 | Interaction Gambits
Adverb Clauses Quit Playing Games with My Heart | Chapter 18 (EG)
Crossword Puzzle | 6 | Reducing Adverb Clauses | Chapter 13 (EG) | 7 | Adjective Clauses Appositives | Reducing Adjective Clauses | 8 | Participal Phrases | Dangling Modifiers
Chapter 12 (EG) | 9 | Correcting Dangling Modifiers
Noun Clauses | | 10 | Essay Organization | | 11 | Paraphrase | | 12 | Word / Sentence Stress
Debate Gambits | Chapter 14 - 15 (EG) | 13 | Gerunds and Infinitives | Bystander Apathy
Punctuation | 14 | Jigsaw puzzle: A Doctor's Dilemma | Determiners | 15 | Order of Cumulative Adjectives
Articles | | 16 | Article Usage with "last" and "last" | | 17 | Thought Group / Prominence | Chapter 1 - 4 (EG) | 18 | Review of Verb Tenses
Tense Shift in Oral Narratives | Cumulative Tense Review Exercise
Chapter 20 (EG) | 19 | Conditionals | Deterrence | 20 | Jigsaw puzzle: Soft Power
Presentation Gambits | Parallelism | 21 | Debate #2 | | 22 | Quiz #2 | | 23 | Presentations | | 24 | Presentations (cont.) | | 25 | Course Wrap-Up | |
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