I had something of a family situation, though not quite rising to emergency level, last night and this morning, so I'm going to be a bit behind things today. I hope to get caught up quickly with questions, but please be patient and I'll help as I can.

As soon as I finish this note, I'll begin returning argument drafts with comments and grades. Revisions are due by midnight Wednesday, which is the last day of class. It will take me a day or two to read them and post grades, so a slightly late revision won't kill you (me maybe), but please, please, please be prompt in getting your revisions to me. I'll begin fielding questions on essay four tomorrow, Tuesday, morning.

There are a couple of essays I have yet to receive, so these numbers are not wholly accurate, but they won't change much either. The average grade for the assignment is a 1.95 with a median grade of a 2.1, both of which are essentially Cs. This will go up with the revisions, as has been the case in the past. When it comes to course grades to date, the average is 2.3 and the median 2.4, both of which come out to a C+ range. With revisions, I expect both of these to go up, but not by a huge amount, maybe the B- range, which for an average and median would be viewed by some as a symptom of grade inflation, but I see it as a symptom of working, revising and learning.

If continue to do what I've been asking when you write for upcoming classes, you should do well. Keep in mind that some disciplines will have particular expectations that we didn't cover, because we can't cover it all. It's always good to talk to your instructors about their expectations and demands for your writing.

Sorry about the site being down and slow. It should work, though right now it is taking quite some time for anything to happen. My apologies but it's beyond my control.

With the essay four drafts, there were a few consistent concerns. One was several stated that they intended to prove something. That won't happen. The best one can hope for in an argument, when the argument is aimed at someone who doesn't agree, either mildly or strongly, is to get them to see the merit in what you have to say. That is a success. It would be nice if we could change people's minds, but I think Jackson and Jamieson would back me up in saying that is most unlikely. Present your views reasonably and rationally (which is pretty much what happened in what I've read) and if the reader see the merits in your view, you've done well.

A second concern was an over-reliance on candidate sites to provide evidence in support of a candidate's views. I think we know what Jackson and Jamieson would say about this--verify and use due diligence. That means if you are writing about an economic or foreign policy issue, don't take the candidate's word for it. Check an independent source, an expert in the field, and see what they have to say. Keep in mind that experts often will have their own political ax to grind and that there are very few non-partisan (as opposed to bi-partisan, which is different) think tanks and research organizations. Though it may be hard to believe, the Congressional Budget Office, though it does the bidding of Congress, is respected on both sides of the political aisle for being straight about things. You can use biased sources, just be sure to take that into account, to take what they have to say with a grain of salt, a bit of skepticism.

Once again I'm suggesting a fairly structured approach to paragraphs: topic sentence introducing the point to be addressed (foreign policy, environment, women's rights, whatever) which is followed by some explanation as to why this point/issue matters. These first to elements of the paragraph should be in your own words. This way the argument is yours, rather than a collection of source material in support of an idea/claim you put forth. The third paragraph element will be the research and scholarship from sources that validates, substantiates and supports what it is you wrote in the first two steps of the paragraph. Following the source material, and the appropriate citation, provide some explanation that ties the paragraph back to the thesis. This approach should serve you well.

Finally, if you are unsure about in-text or works cited format, check the SFCC library site, again if need be. If you have any questions, post them here, email me, or attach them to my comments on your essay. The essay is due by midnight, Friday, the 15th. I'll be reading and grading so as to get them back to you by Monday at the latest. Revisions for essay three are due by midnight Monday and the essay four revision will be due midnight this coming Wednesday, the last day of class.

First, there are still some of you who are not responding to essays as expected. This is your last chance to do so: essay argument response rubric

I just finished getting the second essay revisions back to those who submitted them. If you are expecting one back, but don't yet have it, I'm assuming I didn't get it submitted to me. These revisions showed marked improvement for the most part. The average grade rose from 1.87 to 2.67, essentially a low C to a B-. The median grade rose from 1.7 to 2.7, from a C- to a B-. To me this indicates that you are getting what I want you to learn (and what others will expect that you have learned when you write for them). Good work! The overall class average and median for those who are continuing to do the work as expected is 2.5, which is more or less typical for my classes and students. Both will likely nudge a bit higher before the end of the term.

Today and tomorrow I'll be reading the drafts of your final essay. Revisions for essay three are due by midnight Monday, though I have received some already. I'll get to those as quick as I can. Revisions for essay four, which I plan to return by this coming Monday, will be due by midnight Wednesday, but sooner will be appreciated because, like you, I don't want to work any more than I have to, especially once the quarter is "officially" over. When I return the remaining essays, I'll continue to provide a "grade to date." On the final, if your essay average is above a 2.0, I'll look to adding in the participation points, but may not get those done in time. I'll provide a note about this one whichever way things go so you have a clear idea where you stand. Grades will be submitted by me by the end of next week, though I don't know when they will be made available to you. You should, though, have a clear idea of your minimum likely grade by the time your final essay is returned.

As the assignment materials note, this assignment calls for the use of Aristotelian Argument Format, something that's been around quite some time and is quite an effective matrix or format for just about any paper where you are asked to argue a point. Here's how an argument for this assignment could look. I'm using a topic that is more or less easy for me to layout, so don't make too much of it.

1. Introduction that provides a quote from which to build the argument. The quote should be used to set up the thesis, a clear claim that will be argued. In this respect, I'm going to suggest/argue (these things never get "proved") that Obama is the right candidate to restore America's integrity in the world.
2. pro-obama point one: leadership
3. pro-obama point two: foreign policy
4. pro obama point three: domestic agenda
5. pro-obama point etc.: whatever else
6. Merits of the opposiing view: either an anti-obama point/paragraph (his shortcomings) or a pro-mcccain point/paragraph
7. Refutation (complete shooting down of the previous point) or rebuttal (evidence that undermines the value of the previous point, which is much more achievable): Why the anti-obama or pro-mccain is NOT significant enough to not vote Obama
8. Conclusion: final appeal to get readers to see why Obama is the right choice.

One could just as easily swap the positions of Obama and McCain in this outline, or plug in a particular issue, or set of issues. It is expected that each of these elements is found in your essay and the assignment will be incomplete without covering all of the expected points.

Here's an important addition: When rounding up your sources, the directions state that you can use just two from the web, and the other two must be from a book, journal, magazine or similar source. When articles are taken from ProQuest, they DO NOT count as coming from the web, even though you access them online. ProQuest is a database of publications. Colleges and universities use these databases because they cannot afford to both subscribe to all the publications and store them in a library. These databases are almost the new library (though real books and journals are still great things). Web sources are those such as the campaign site, political party sites, and the like. If you take an article off nytimes.com, it counts as a website. If you take the same article form ProQuest, it counts as a non-web, print source. I know it's screwy, but much of life is. Let me know if you have any questions about this. end of important addition

First, I apologize for being slower than I'd hoped to be in getting these essays responded to and back to you. I was a single parent for the week (which only happens occasionally thankfully) along with a number of obligations I had to meet for the college. Once I get this posted, I'll begin returning the drafts of your third essay for further consideration and revision. The revisions of essay three will be due Monday, August 18 at midnight. As usual, I won't field any questions on these essays until after noon tomorrow, Sunday the 10th. It just so happens, I'll be on my way to Seattle for a project meeting but that will give me some evening time to get the revised second essays read and responded to, and returned of course. Click on "read more" to see the rest of this note.

Here we are with the final essay! I'll have the third essay returned in the next day or so (other college projects have been interfering with my time reading and responding to your work). This final assignment gives you a bit more leeway in choosing your topic, but we're still looking at the upcoming elections.

The biggest difference this time around is you are expected to familiarize and use some of the research tools available. The one that is best, and your other teachers will expect you to be able to use, is ProQuest, a collection of publications and articles in an online database. You can access this through the SFCC Library website. click on the Article and Reference Databases link and from there click on ProQuest. At this point you will be asked to login if you are off campus. Use your student login that you use to get grades, register for classes and the like.

click on the "read more" link below.

As you get ready to submit essay three for a formal response and a grade, please keep the following in mind:

• The works cited entry, the works cited page, should be in alphabetical order. See the SFCC Library site for more information on this (click on "citing sources").
• Pay close attention to the paragraph expectations in the body of the essay: a topic statement, some explanation as to why the topic matters, some examples from the site, a citation for the examples, and some explanation tying the material back to the thesis.
• The thesis should follow from the quoted passage from UnSpun and make a claim of interest or importance about the website. As I noted to some of you, this lets the reader know where the essay's argument is headed, creates a context in which to explain the importance of each body paragraph, and provides a point to drive home, perhaps by plugging it into a broader context, in the conclusion.

These were the most common concerns so you should give your essay another look over if need be. If you have questions before you submit, let me know.

Here's a book review I wrote a couple weeks back, which was just published: http://www.outtheremonthly.com/otm.php?art=archives/aug08/book_reviews

If you read OutThereMonthly magazine, which can be found free around town, you can see it there as well.

When you respond to drafts, don't forget to respond to the questions at http://bleckblog.org/comp/node/125. Some folks are still not doing so and it would be a good idea to re-do those responses.