The Basics

The Basics

Outlines

Intro paragraph—often written last
Hook
State background of the case
Lead naturally in to:
Thesis statement towards end (Arguable, Narrow, One-Three Sentences, changeable)

Body Paragraphs—

Basic order, a few twists.

When you're getting started: pick your best point and write that paragraph first then your next best until you get to your least persuasive point.

Topic sentence at the top.

Sandwich quotes

Signal phrases.
Evidence.
Connect/Cite the evidence.One paragraph, at least should be devoted to making the case against your ideas and then “unmaking” them. Try, Some might argue that… but I argue that…

Conclusion
Keep it short.
Reinforce main point

Evaluation Chapter Questions

Outline the following, according to the EVALUATION CHAPTER, due Friday:

a.     How did she do as a worker?

b.    How did she do at "life in general"?

c.    Why are the official poverty rates misleading?

d.    If productivity is increasing, why aren't wages?

e.    What keeps the workers from finding better jobs? Where is the friction?

f.    Explain the "vicious cycle" of labor costs described by the book.

g.    What makes the working poor invisible?

h.    List some of the complaints the middle and upper class have about the

working poor.

i.    Summarize the problems facing the working poor.

j.    What are the solutions to these problems?

k.    What are the objections to these solutions?

l.    Why does Ehrenreich call the working poor the most philanthropic of all

social classes?

Day 9

English 102 Lesson Plan Day 9

1. BP Opportunities. Today and tonight.
2. Homework: Evaluation chapter and worksheet
   
3. Argument uses three things: Logic, Credibility, Emotion
   
   1. They're connected.
      
   2. Ehrenreich's/Yours
      
4. Today: Likely v Unlikely
   
   1. Jobs, Education, Health Care, Housing, Isolation, Family Structure, Transportation, Child care.
      
   2. Which side is more convincing?
      
5. The writing process, A diagram, then Hacker-style
   
   1. 5, 11, 16
      
6. Thesis work
   
   1. Guidelines
      
      1. Practice
         
7. "In text" citations in Rough Draft.
   
8. "Works cited" due with final draft.
   

Rough draft due Wednesday. Bring four copies.

Day 8

English 102 Lesson Plan Day 8

1. For Thursday: Selling in Minnesota to end.
   
   1. Scrubbing and Selling worksheet due.
      
2. For Friday: Evaluation Chapter.
   

3. 15 Years Slideshow and discussion.
   

4. Scrubbing Questions
   

5. Thesis might look like--
   

6. On the Surface; In Reality; Not likely to change
   

   1. Examples, so far?
      

   2. What makes it unlike to change?
      

   3. What makes it likely to change?
      

7. Living/Minimum Wage debate
   

8. YakTown: Decide who you are pretending to be. It works best if you use the same givens as Ehrenreich. You might change them if you want to make a counter argument section on kids or second income.
   

   1. Living conditions and cost of living in N&D, COMPARE and CONTRAST
      

9. First, agree that there's too much in the way of the working poor to overcome on their own. (Read the evaluation chapter!) Then, explain what can be done, SPECIFICALLY, even locally, to help them overcome.
   

   1. Start with ideas in the book.
      

   2. In all of this, one of the big issues:
      

      1. Option 1: The poor are responsible for their situations. It's an individual's choice. If they don't want to be poor, they can do something about it.
         

      2. Option 2: The game is rigged against the poor and they don't know it. If we want to address poverty, the system needs to change.
         

   3. Homeless count coming up. 211 callers. How do people get into these jams? What do we do about it once they're in them? How do we keep them from happening in the first place?
      

   4. Easy to pile on the poor for "choices"—what about the rich? Do the poor deserve to be poor and the rich deserve to be rich? My friends in the fruit business, for example.
      

It's the Pursuit of Happyness v. Nickel and Dimed. Is one of these ways of seeing things actually hurting things? Is it possible to be Too Optimistic? Scott Boring?

Day 7

English 102 Lesson Plan Day 7

For Wednesday: Selling in Minnesota to 150

For Thursday: Selling in Minnesota to end. Scrubbing and Selling worksheet due.

For Friday: Evaluation Chapter.

Best places to work.

Finish Shadowy Lines Worksheet

15 Years Slideshow and Discussion

The writing process.

About the essays: It's ok to be confused at this point. It probably means you have an open mind and see multiple angles on the questions. That's a good thing. Begin, though, to see the product: a 3-5 page paper on the topic. What it probably means is you should NARROW your topic/thesis to a single main point.

This won't happen by wishing for it. Prewrite. Freewrite. Start writing down practice thesis statements. Do some more reading. Ask each other questions. Go to the writing center. See me.

Shoot for Friday for a tentative thesis statement. That will give you the weekend to do some research, plus Monday and Tuesday to get a rough draft together.

All along the way, in any class, you should be thinking about an angle on an essay. What interests you about the topic? Where are there disagreements with what is written? What IDEAS do you want to defend or refute or change or suggest?

Also, a few notes—I'd like to have full conversations about these in class as we go. We'll get to as many as we can.

1. On the Surface; In Reality; Not likely to change
   

   1. Examples, so far?
      

   2. What's not likely to change? What do you think?
      

2. Minimum wage debate: Define the argument clearly. Is this federal? State? City? Why not more? Why not less? Saying it's in the middle isn't a good enough reason. Find what the experts say.
   

3. YakTown: Decide who you are pretending to be. It works best if you use the same givens as Ehrenreich. You might change them if you want to make a counter argument section on kids or second income.
   

   1. Living conditions and cost of living in N&D, COMPARE and CONTRAST
      

4. First, agree that there's too much in the way of the working poor to overcome on their own. (Read the evaluation chapter!) Then, explain what can be done, SPECIFICALLY, even locally, to help them overcome.
   

   In all of this, one of the big issues:
   

   Option 1: The poor are responsible for their situations. It's an individual's choice. If they don't want to be poor, they can do something about it.
   

   Option 2: The game is rigged against the poor and they don't know it. If we want to address poverty, the system needs to change.
   

   Homeless count coming up. 211 callers. How do people get into these jams? What do we do about it once they're in them? How do we keep them from happening in the first place?
   

   Easy to pile on the poor for "choices"—what about the rich? Do the poor deserve to be poor and the rich deserve to be rich? My friends in the fruit business, for example.
   

   It's the Pursuit of Happyness v. Nickel and Dimed. Is one of these ways of seeing things actually hurting things?
   

   Who has the right idea?
   

Prewriting: I am thinking about either topic X or Y. I like X because: I like Y because:

Discussion.

15 Years Slide Show

Two Immigrants, Two Different Stories

Day 6

English 102 Lesson Plan Day 6

1. Nickel and Dimed, the musical?
   

2. Homework
   

   1. Complete Scrubbing in Maine Chapter.
      

   2. Scrubbing Questions due Tuesday.
      

3. Shadowy Lines
   

   1. On the surface
      

      1. Possessions
         

      2. Politics
         

      3. Religion
         

      4. Race
         

      5. Globalization, part one
         

4. Page 19, the myth of mobilization
   

   1. In reality
      

      1. Education
         

      2. Health Care
         

      3. Isolation
         

      4. Family Structure
         

5. 15 years On the Bottom Rung
   

6. Examples, so far?
   

7. Shadowy Lines Questions a-v
   

Nickel and Dimed, the Musical

Shadowy Lines Questions

Worksheet for "Shadowy Line That Still Divide"

1. In what ways has the country "gone a long way toward an appearance of classlessness"?
   

 

1. In what areas has class come to play a greater role in American life over the past 30 years?
   

 

1. What is mobility?
   

 

1. What does new research on mobility show?
   

 

1. How does the concept of mobility relate to the concept of the American dream?
   

 

1. What has "replaced the old system of inherited privilege"? Why is this a paradox?
   

 

1. According to a recent New York Times poll on class, how do Americans feel about "their prospects for getting ahead"?
   

 

1. According to the poll, what do Americans believe will help them attain a higher status?
   

 

1. How do most Americans, according to the poll, feel their standard of living relates to that of their parents?
   

 

1. How does the article use an analogy of a hand of cards to explain how to think of a person's position in society?
   

 

1. According to the poll, how do Americans view their mobility and class status?
   

 

1. What did initial mobility studies say, and what do economists say about those studies now?
   

 

1. What do the new studies of mobility say?
   

 

1. What is the "broad consensus about what an optimal range of mobility is"?
   

 

1. How does mobility in the United States rate to that in other countries, and why?
   

 

1. How have globalization and technology impacted class?
   

 

1. How does educational level come into play when discussing class?
   

 

1. How are class differences in health widening?
   

 

1. How does family structure differ along class lines?
   

 

1. The article asks, "Will the trends that have reinforced class lines while papering over the distinctions persist?" How does it answer that question?
   

 

1. Why does "the idea of fixed class positions, on the other hand, rubs many the wrong way"?
   

 

1. The article ends with a paragraph about optimism. In your own words, what does that paragraph mean? How does optimism relate to the concept of class and social mobility?

Unemployment

Hits a 16 Year High

Study Guide to Scrubbing and Selling

Scrubbing in Maine

1. Ehrenreich writes, "The main thing I learn from the job-hunting process is that, despite all the help-wanted ads and job fairs, Portland is just another $6-$7-an-hour town. This should be as startling to economists as a burst of exotic radiation is to astronomers" (59-60).
   

• What does she mean?
  
• And why is it so?
  

1. None of Ehrenreich's jobs in Nickel and Dimed lends her much dignity, but her position with The Maids turns out to be particularly demeaning in certain ways. She explains, "Maids, as an occupational group, are not visible, and when we are seen, we are often sorry for it"(99).
   

• In what ways are she and her co-workers at The Maids not visible?
  
• Why do you think she includes herself here, using "we" to designate those who work in this area?
  

1. In one episode with The Maids, Ehrenreich takes up for one of her coworkers, pointing out that she need not feel such allegiance to Ted, the manager.
   

    "What's all this worrying about Ted? He'll find someone else. He'll take anyone who can manage to show up sober at 7:30 in the morning. Sober and standing upright."
   

   "No," Holly finally interjects. "That's not true. Not everybody can get this job. You have to pass the test."
   

   The test? The Accutrac test? "The Test," I practically yell, "is BULLSHIT! Anyone can pass that test!" (113)
   

   Ehrenreich sees this as a moment of solidarity with her coworker, Holly. However, the moment proves to sever what has been a good relationship between them.
   

• Why might that be the case?
  
• In what ways might Ehrenreich have been misguided in her effort to empower and support Holly?
  

 
 

• The author gives us a pretty cynically humorous account of a visit to a tent revival in Portland, commenting that "Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify him again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth" (68-69).
  
  • What is Ehrenreich saying about the roots of Christianity and the way it's practiced today? Give examples from N&D to illustrate her point.
    

  
   

  Selling in Minnesota
  

• Are you from a small town or even a neighborhood in a city into which Wal-Mart or a similar mega-chain has come?
  
  • What has been the effect on your community?
    
  • Do the plusses outweigh the minuses?
    

  
   

• Ehrenreich heads to Minneapolis for her third job as a minimum wage worker, applying at Wal-Mart. She really dislikes the employment "survey" which, she asserts, requires applicants "to lie up to 50 times in the space of 15 minutes." The compulsory drug testing also "rankles" in that its results can trump her many other "engaging qualities"—qualities that would likely make her an excellent employee.
  
  • Have you ever had to participate in such surveys or testing for a job?
    
  • How did the process make you feel?
    
• Ehrenreich's footnote (p. 128) reports that drug testing does not, in fact, insure productivity, its justification according to management.
  
  • Which kind of evidence do you find more persuasive: the author's personal anecdotes and feelings — or— footnoted statistics and facts? Why?
    
• Thinking about language— what sorts of euphemisms do Wal-Mart and other such companies employ to describe who they are and what they do? For ex: customers = "guests" and workers = "associates (p. 154).
  
  • What is the effect of such a practice on employees and on customers?
    

  What does it suggest about the company?

Day 5

Lesson Plan English 102 Day 5

1. New way of taking attendance
   
2. Bonus Points?
   
3. Return Prereading
   
   1. This is how I'll grade these: Full credit for full effort. Partial credit for partial effort or incomplete work.
      
   2. What's the right answer to question 5? What about local v. chain? What does, PRICE/BARGAINS etc. mean in the big picture?
      
   3. Sometimes this is called, the race to the bottom.
      
   4. Sometimes it's a luxury, a snobbery.
      
4. Quiz Names/Faces
   
   1. Correct
      
5. Quiz Intro and Serving
   
   1. Correct
      
6. Serving in Florida questions
   
7. Continue with Serving in Florida annotations (29-49)
   
   1. Second job
      
   2. Co-Workers?
      
   3. Living conditions for her and others—This may have to wait.
      
8. Right now, what are your top choices for essay options?
   
   1. Last spring, I only assigned question 1.
      
   2. The most popular before that has been affordable housing question.
      
   3. The most easily researched is the minimum wage question.
      
      1. That does not mean they are easy. Good writing is seldom easy.
         
   4. Brief conversation at your tables
      

Homework: Read "Shadowy Lines That Still Divide" and "15 Years on the Bottom Rung" from Class Matters
AND "Scrubbbing in Maine" in N&D'd to page 86.

Day 4

Lesson Plan Day 4

1. Who still needs Class Matters?
   
2. Homework: Finish Serving and complete the questions.
   
3. No late work accepted, quizzes especially. No exceptions, but chances to dig out of the hole on the daily work. Not so much with essays.
   
4. Useful links
   
5. Essay options
   
   1. Appearance v Reality
      
      1. Why is there a gap in our perception in class differences?
         
      2. What makes it harder to determine a person's class?
         
   2. Living v. Minimum Wage Debate:
      
      1. Pros and Cons
         
      2. Living Wage Calculator
         
   3. YakVegas Rent
      
      1. Let's do the math
         
6. If there's time- Find quotes that…
   
   1. Describe the living conditions
      
   2. Describe the boss(es)
      
   3. Describe the physical work/working conditions
      
   4. Describe the mental effort
      
   5. Describe the coworkers
      

An interesting footnote

Useful Links

Book Web Site
LOADS here.

Wikipedia site

NPR Interview

Another NPR Interview

NYTimes

30 days on Minimum Wage

30 Days - Minimum Wage

Day 3

1. Questions for me.
2. YHR Annotations/How to Read in College
   
   1. Quote for higher minimum wage
      
   2. Quote against higher minimum wage.
      
   3. Interesting stat/fact.
      
   4. Hand in Prereading questions.
      
3. Essay Options.
4. N&D intro questions/discussion
   
5. Reading the next two weeks:

For Thursday Serving in Florida to 29

For Friday: Serving in Florida to end. Quiz on Intro and Serving. Worksheets due. Quiz on Names/Faces

For Monday: Shadowy Lines and 15 Years. In Class Writing Assignment.
For Tuesday: Scrubbing in Maine to 86
For Wednesday: Scrubbing in Maine to End
For Thursday: Selling in Minnesota to 150
For Friday: Selling in Minnesota to end. Scrubbing and Selling worksheet due.
For Monday: Evaluation Chapter.

Essay Options

Essay Options, English 102 Winter 09. Nickel and Dimed

Rough: January 21^st (Bring 4 copies)

Final: January 27^th (Bring 2 copies)

• 3-5 pages. Typed drafts. Double spaced, 12 point font.
  
• Use N&D and Class Matters as sources.
  
• Use three additional sources from the web or elsewhere. Start with "One Search."
  
• Thesis and support for your main point.
  
• Explain criticism of your main point.
  
  • Refine/Defend/Concede/Expand your main point.
    
• We are looking for good solid ideas—original and well supported.
  

We are looking for real questions and real answers because these are issues that affect our lives every day. You are in school because of the issues raised in this book. Keys to your future, whatever kind of future it may be, are in this book. That's what we're looking for.

Essay Options:

1. Perception Versus Reality
   

According to Class Matters:

• on the surface, class is less of an issue,
  
• while in reality the divisions between classes run deeper than ever.
  
• And, this is unlikely to change.
  

Provide examples for first two points from Nickel and Dimed and "15 Years on the Bottom Rung."

Then, explain why there is a difference between our perception of class and the reality. Finally, explain why you think the gap between classes will grow, shrink or stay the same. Evidence from "Shadowy Lines" as well as the Evalutation chapter in N&D'd will help here.

1. Living/Minimum Wage Debate (A traditional argument)
   

Should we have a national "Living Wage"? Should there even be a minimum wage? What is fair? What is best for the country?

Pick a dog in the fight and back it up with well researched evidence.

Check the online living wage calculator.

Consider the economic crisis.

Consider kids working.

Consider working with kids.

There is recent legislation on this at the federal and state level. There will be information about this from the president, too.

1. YakTown (For the investigative journalists in the class)
   

   Figure 30% of Minimum wage in Washington State. Get the math right first.
   

   What does that rent in Yakima? Investigate and report. COMPARE THIS TO N&D.
   

• What do your findings mean to the premise in N&D that housing held back many people? This will be your thesis.
  

Photos help. Actually going there and taking pictures.

Where are you going to get the information? The Big Picture? The best evidence?

How about "first, last, and deposit" issue in Yakima? What is the norm?

What do the motels rent for by the week? Where are they?

Safety concerns?

1. What is to be done? (This one gets more philosophical. )
   

The book is great at pointing out the problem. But when it comes to solutions, it glosses over objections. If you agree with the book's ideas, help Ehrenreich by addressing these objections to her solutions, and maybe add to the suggestions. If you disagree with the ideas, expand on the objections and offer your own solutions.

Background:

This question will deal with the "Evaluation" chapter a great deal.

People who work 40 hours a week should be able to survive. Right now, they live on or over the edge. How do we fix this problem?

Here's a quote from Salon Magazine:

But [the book] also half-raises questions without truly answering them….[She] shoos them off again without letting us get a really good look at them and generally shies away from admitting that however intolerable the conditions …may be, any viable alternative to tolerating them is far from obvious.

They're right. Ehrenreich's evaluation has some flaws. What she observed is pretty convincing, but when she attempts solutions or when she confronts criticism, she is vague.

That may mean there's a problem with her premise. It might simply mean that she fumbles the final push but that the issues are still real.

Here's what I'll be looking for in a good paper:

• What are the problems she identifies?
  
• What are her solutions?
  
• What counter arguments does she deal with?
  
• How does she address these objections?
  

• Now, you take over the argument.
  
  • What should be done?
    

Maybe she should have said, You're right.

If you tend to be more conservative, this might be a good option for you to write about. What would the conservative write for an "Evaluation" of the events in N&D'd?

Or, maybe she should have explained why the criticisms were wrong. Defend her points where she has left them open.

Maybe the criticisms, being partly right, don't change the fact that there's a problem, they just point out adjustments needed to your argument, to the solution.

Once you think you've got it all figured out, ask: What are the objections to your ideas?

Minimum wage poll

Day 2

English 102 Lesson Plan Day 2

• Names/Faces
  
• Bonus Points
  
  • at the Library (on going),
    
  • and at the Larson Gallery (January 11^th 2-5pm), and
    
  • Diversity Series: Jan. 15^th, Skin Stories and Jan. 22^nd, Word Medicine Deccio, Parker Room 7pm
    
  • MLK Jr. January Film Series: 8^th, 15^th, 22, 29^th 1pm? Hopf Student Union MLK room.
    
• Question about the Class/Teacher.
  
• Interview in groups of 3
  
  • Worst jobs/Worst Bosses
    
    • What made it bad
      
  • Something we don't expect when we see you. Something we couldn't tell by looking at you.
    
• In Groups of 4 Prereading questions and Annotating YHR article.
  

Reading the next two weeks:

For Wednesday: N&D Intro

For Thursday Serving in Florida to 29

For Friday: Serving in Florida to end. Quiz on Intro and Serving. Worksheets due. Quiz on Names/Faces

For Monday: Shadowy Lines and 15 Years. In Class Writing Assignment.

For Tuesday: Scrubbing in Maine to 86

For Wednesday: Scrubbing in Maine to End

For Thursday: Selling in Minnesota to 150

For Friday: Selling in Minnesota to end. Scrubbing and Selling worksheet due.

For Monday: Evaluation Chapter.

Post for Discussion (and BP)

What should the minimum wage be for the USA?
Use YHR article as a reference for your conversation.
Should there be a minimum wage?