On the Road to Yosemite, CA
Welcome back to class. Hope you had a good weekend.
Today I'll return last week's work and look to you for the summary/responses to "Think the Best,"
by P.M. Forni, or to the Hurricane Sandy anniversary piece from the New York Times called "A Storm
Still Felt." Remember to use your own words, include title, author, and one or two quotations from the
text to show some of the original text you are summarizing and responding to.
We will discuss the graded work in class, and I'll review with each of you, as needed.
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Summary/Response Checklist:
Make sure that you identify the author’s name, the title of the article, essay, chapter and/or book from
which the summary is drawn. Reference these in your opening lines. Include one or two direct
quotations to show the original textual matter and lend support to your claims.
The formatting of these items is demonstrated on the handout accompanying the photocopied
chapter "Think the Best." You were also to include a few direct quotations from the text, as illustrated
in the passage below:
The author P.M. Forni used both process description and cause/effect mode to argue that in the
interests of civility we ought to think well of others, as a matter of practice, because in doing so we
encourage people to be and do their best, including ourselves. “Believing that they are good, I want to
be good for them,” he wrote.
Your personal thoughts and feelings as regards the ideas expressed or the author's sentiments should be
included along with accurate summary of the work's ideas and sentiments. You might include a story
of your own on the subject addressed to develop the response material. These directions apply to any
of the materials you might have been asked to address for homework.
Two Sample Beginnings:
-----------------------------------------------------Summary
Response Introductions
In A
Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche famously says, “I have always depended on
the kindness of strangers.” And we all
do in so many ways, which is the central idea that P.M. Forni develops in the
chapter “Think the Best,” which is one of
twenty-five chapters in the book Choosing Civility. Indeed, we find salvation in others. He quotes in epigraph the
Apostle Paul: “Be not forgetful to entertain [. . . ].”
In P.M. Forni’s Choosing Civility, specifically the chapter “Think the Best,” he
reminds readers that we all have a spark of
the divine in us, or at least that
it helps to think that way, elevates us and all whom we come in contact with. In
epigraph,
he quotes Paul of Tarsus: “Be
not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares.”
I am reminded of a something
Abraham Lincoln wrote, and here I paraphrase, if you look for the worst in man you will
surely find it.
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Next Assignment (6):If we were given the chance to rewrite some chapter in life, or to relive some moment now
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resigned to the past, what revisions would we make, or what insight would we bring to the moment now?
What lessons are there in wondering, what if . . . ?
What if we could time travel? We can in some senses. We can pretend that we had been born in a
different era and imaginatively enter into the lives of those who have lived before us. Thanks to the
research of scientists and historians of every stripe, the past unveils its secrets, and is now recorded
in new layers of story and imagery, all adding to our knowledge of life on this planet and in this
universe. We may learn how other human societies lived and what they believed, how they and
other species have met the challenges of life, how they at whatever time did navigate, nourish and
reproduce themselves, defend themselves and their young. If you were given a day, week, month, or
year to live wherever and whenever and however you choose, what choice would you make?
We can say, had I known such and such a thing, I might never have done what I did. Sometimes we
rewrite the past with our inner voice, as a means of understanding what has worked and not worked
for us, thus reshaping our thought and behavior as we move forward in life. What if we were still
stuck in outmoded ways of thinking and behaving? What if the possibility for personal change were
to be taken from us? Transformation begins with our thoughts, and with the language we use to
express ourselves. Thank goodness we can imagine possibilities beyond the given or present!
Essay 6: In 350-500 words you are to explore a hypothetical scenario; that is, one that you
imaginatively enter into, with whatever sure knowledge makes it all plausible and meaningful as an
essay. You are writing non-fiction, remember, seeking to show a truth. You might think in terms of
the difference made if one or another event had occurred (or not) in your personal life or in history.
What effects on the past, present, and/or future do you imagine in this hypothetical scenario?
How might the past look, how might today be different, and how might the future look?
This essay assignment provides good practice with verbs–past, present, future–and in using
comparison and contrast mode. You will likely use the subjunctive mood and conditional (modal)
tense forms as well as simple and perfect tenses.
Again, imagine that you had been born under or into circumstances other than those you were born
into; for example, a different place and/or historical era, a different family, a different body (or
species), and so on. Describe what your childhood was actually like, and what it might have been like
(under the changed circumstances); what your present life might be like (as opposed to what is
actually happening); imagine your future, actually or hypothetically. Or look at any important
decision you made or did not make and trace the consequences of having taken an opposite track.
If we had the chance to do things differently, if we had superpowers, the omniscience of a goddess,
what would we do with these? Of course, we don't have superhuman powers, and we must make do
with what we have–but there are insights that reflection brings on what might have been, or what
might be . . . that are within our grasp.
*Proofread to make sure you have a clear central idea and adequate support.
*Remember your audience and write on a matter of intrinsic or practical importance.
*Edit your sentences for clarity of expression and grammatical correctness.
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Note:
–The use of narration and description, with scene setting, vivid detail and action, will make readers see
and feel the particular experience(s) and ideas you have in mind.
– Comparison/contrast mode will show the actual versus the imaginary, and make it clear that your
focus is hypothetical.
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You might start in this way:
Had I been born an only child, instead of being born the fifth child of six,
I might have got more attention than I did. I might have been spoiled! My parents had little time for me,
as it was, with so many to care for.
If I were sixty-five (you can fill in any future age) and to at my life, what would I want to see I had
accomplished
Or: If I could do one thing differently, rewrite the past, I would go back to the time . . .
Or: If we were to walk, fly, or swim the proverbial mile in the life of (fill in whatever human, animal or insect subject interests you) we would discover . . .
Or: If we were to travel to the ends of the earth and back, we would discover a great deal about life on this planet, including the fascinating . . .
Essay 6 will require homework. It involves hypothetical formulations of thought and verb
tense usage that may be fun and challenging for many of you. A description appears below.
We will practice the tense usages in class and then have a go at writing the piece. I have
photocopied a text by Alain De Botton to illustrate the manner in which you are to frame this piece. Below is a description of just what I mean when I say subjunctive mood, or hypothetical/speculative stance.
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