Nizkor Link

Somehow, this didn't get added to the list of links at the bottom. Here is the webpage about logical fallacies.

Apostrophes and Perspective

Possessive Pronouns (something is a part of something/someone or is owned by something/someone)

Her /Hers
His
Our/Ours
My/Mine
Its/Its
Their/Theirs

If a noun can be replaced with a possessive pronoun, use an apostrophe “s.”

Examples:

1.) That is Julie’s purse.
Means the same thing as . . .
That is her purse.
2.) The toy bug’s legs dangled off the table.

Means the same thing as . . .

Its legs dangled off the table.

3.) My family’s history is interesting.

Means the same thing as . . .

Our history is interesting.

4.) The families went to the circus.

Does not mean . . .

Their went to the circus. (That does not make sense!)
They went to the circus.
Exception

First person singular
If you mean to say “my” or “mine,” you cannot put an apostrophe “s” after the word “I.”
That is my phone.
That phone is mine.
The first person singular does not ever take an apostrophe “s.” You cannot say: “I’s got a phone.” You cannot say: “That is mine’s phone.”
Telling the Difference between Contractions and Possessive Words Using Apostrophe “S”

This can be hard to do. One way to know if the word is a contraction is to look at its purpose in the sentence. If the word is being used as a verb or verb phrase, it is not a contraction. If the word is a combination of a noun and verb, then it is a contraction. If it is a noun (person place or thing) only, then it is possessive word.

Examples:
1.) I can’t go in the deep, dark cave because I am afraid of bats.
Can’t is not a person place or thing. This word is a contraction.
2.) She’s the thief who pilfered money out of Marj’s tip jar.
She’s is a combination of “she” and “is” (a noun and a verb).
Marj’s is just a noun showing that the “tip jar” is hers (It belongs to Marj.)
3.) It’s hard to load a pickup truck with cinder blocks when you are blindfolded.
Here, it’s means that “it is” hard to do something. This is a combination of a pronoun and a verb.
4.) The dragon paused to bask a while, its green scales shining in the sunlight.
Here, the word its just means the scales are a part of the dragon. This is just a pronoun.

Perspective

First person:

Uses "I." Told from the point of view of the person speaking. Can be very biased and opinionated. The speaker may not know facts and details because they are only writing from what they know.

Example:

465

Emily Dickinson

I heard a fly buzz--when I died--

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air--

Between the Heaves of Storm--

The Eyes around--had wrung them dry--

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset--when the King

Be witnessed--in the Room--

I willed my Keepsakes--Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable--and then it was

There interposed a Fly--

With Blue--uncertain stumbling Buzz--

Between the light--and me--

And then the Windows failed --and then

I could not see to see--

Second Person:

Second person uses the pronoun "you." When something is written in second person, it seems like the writer is talking to you. The writer may include themselves and their perspective in the writing (using "I" to refer to themselves).

Second person can be useful for some purposes. If you are giving directions, second person is the perspective you are most likely to use. Consider the words to this old song:

You gotta swing your hips now

Come on baby,

jump up,

hmmm jump back

Oh well I think you got the knack.

In "The Locomotion," the person speaking wants you to learn how to do the dance so you can dance with them. This is an appropriate use of second person. Many textbooks, user guides, and instruction sheets are also written in second person.

In college writing, second person is usually avoided unless your instructor asks you to use it in your writing. Writing in second person can cause confusion. You may be speaking about yourself in the second person or speaking to a hypothetical person, but your audience will always assume you are writing about them if you use the words "you" in your paper. Writing this way may make it look as if you are telling people what to think and believe.

Example:

This was written by Northwestern poet Carolyn Kizer after she translated a poem that seemed to tell her what to think, feel, and believe. In the poem, the writer imagines you are reading her poem and expecting what will happen. Instead of feeling the author is sharing something personal with you, you are left feeling like she is telling you what to think about her poem without revealing anything about herself.

first, I tell you who I am:
shadowed, reflective, small
pool in an unknown glade.
It is easy to be a poet,
brim with transparent water.
In autumn, the leaves blow down
over the ruffled surface,
sink to rest, then resume their cycle.

In the second stanza, you laugh,
skipping pebbles across my surface,
charmed by the spreading circles.
In the trees’ perpetual twilight
you are alone with the poet.
Gently, you shake your head.
You know me as turbulent ocean
clouded with thunder and drama.

In the third stanza, I die.
Still, I insist on composing
as my throes go on and on.
I clench the pen in my teeth
Making those furious scratches
that you will see much later
as graceful calligraphy:

drift of sails that sketch my horizon.

My hands, in the fourth stanza,
with the agonized clutch of the dying,
draw your hand beneath the covers.

I beg you to travel my body
till you find the forest glade.
Then your hand, like a leaf in autumn,
is pulled from the pool.
The rest of you doesn’t believe it.

The fifth stanza begins
with water, and quiet laughter.
Then I die, I really die.
You pick up this piece of paper.
You read it aloud and explain me,
my profile cast in prose.
It drops from your hand like a leaf.
This is all part of the cycle.

Then, in the final stanza,
I tell you who I am.

Third person:

Traditionally, college writing uses third person. In this perspective, the writer does not involve themselves in the writing. They do not tell their readers what to do. Third person writing does not use the words "I" or "you." Instead, the refer to people as "he or she" or "they."

This type of writing can sound very scientific. It doesn't make judgements about people and avoids obvious displays of opinion and bias. (However, it can still show opinion and bias.)

Stories are also told in third person perspective. This example is from the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire:

A mile above Oz, the Witch balanced on the wind’s forward edge, as if she were a green fleck of the land itself, flung up and sent wheeling away by the turbulent air. White and purple thunderheads mounded around her. Below, the Yellow Brick Road looped back on itself, like a relaxed noose. Though winter storms and the crowbars of agitators had torn up the road, still it led, relentlessly, to the Emerald City. The Witch could see the companions trudging along, maneuvering around the buckled sections, skirting trenches, skipping when the way was clear. They seemed oblivious to their fate. But it was not up to the Witch to enlighten them.

In this example, Maguire does not write as if he is a character in the story. He doesn't comment on the action by saying what he thinks, feels, or believes. Instead, he tells the story like he is describing the scene from an all-knowing point of view.

Argument Paper Date--Morning Section

Jill pointed out that the schedule still says the argument paper rough draft is due on Wednesday. This has changed due to circumstances. The peer edit for the argument paper is now due on Monday.
Don't skip class on Wednesday because you think the argument paper draft is due.

Morning Section--Date for Comparison and Contrast Essay

Your comparison and contrast essay is now due on next Tuesday. This Tuesday, please bring a copy of your draft tomorrow for a peer edit. Thanks!

Information for both sections

This week, we will be continuing to discuss argument. We will also talk about assembling your final portfolios. I will give you your argument and portfolio assignment sheets this week. The portfolio and argument paper are due on March 18th.

Morning Section for 3/3/09

If you have not received your grade, please send me an e-mail or speak to me before or after class.

Here is the material you will need to know for Tuesday:

Every essay has:

A hook (or lead-in) that catches the reader's attention.

The introduction can also contain background material needed to understand the essay.

The thesis sentence is usually the last sentence of the first paragraph.

In an argument paper, the thesis is the topic + the position.

Main points are contained in the body of the essay. In an argument essay, your main points are the reasons you give for your arument.

Supporting details come after the main point in each body paragraph. In an argument essay, supporting details are comprised of evidence (facts, statistics, and expert opinion).

In the assigned readings, the Randy Balko essay most closely followed the structure of a college argument essay.

Grades

I will be e-mailing you your grades this weekend. If you have any questions about your grades, please arrange to meet with me. To enter English 101 in Spring, you must complete English 99 with a grade of 2.0 or better.