Final Paper (AMENDED POST)

The Section B EWS Final Paper will be held on Saturday, December 6, from 3-6 pm, at 90 Clifton. The Section A paper will proceed as scheduled on Friday December 5, 3-6 pm. Please come to the auditorium on time for your paper.

Grading for all of EWS except the final exam (obviously) has been completed. There will be no negotiation for extra marks. I am not accepting any late blog entries. The only thing you should do is make sure that I get your approved leave letters before the final exam on Friday, so that I can make the appropriate changes to ZABDESK. After the grades for the final exam are entered, the system is locked and that's it! So please take responsibility for your records because I can't do anything to help you once that's over.

It should take me two weeks approximately to finish grading your final exam, so look for your grades towards the third week of December.

Good luck!

Class 15

In this class we finished watching Finding Forrester and had a lecture on Writing for New Media.

Plagiarism Warning

I need to warn all of you about your essays on the death penalty. I have graded one section's papers and found that many students decided to copy their essays off the Internet, or take large sections from articles on Wikipedia and otherwise and try to pass these off as their own writing. Students who engage in this sort of activity will receive a failing grade on their essays.

I have told you about the issue of plagiarism and this kind of activity falls under the aegis of plagiarism.

If you need to quote another source, you must:
a) NAME THE SOURCE AND THE PERSON WHOSE QUOTE YOU HAVE BORROWED
b) LIST THE SOURCES AT THE END OF YOUR PAPER

If you fail to do these things, you will be penalized.

I cannot stress how severely I look upon plagiarism. Even if you take someone else's writing and put it in your own words (paraphrase) it is still plagiarism if you do not attribute your sources.

You have been warned.

Class 14

In today's class, students presented their advertisements - good job, everyone! We also had a lecture on Propaganda, and began to watch the Gus Van Sant movie "Finding Forrester". Your assignment was to write a blog post on William Forrester's character, looking up the word agoraphobia and relating it to him. You should also look up the real-life writer J.D. Salinger and see if there are any similarities between him and William Forrester in the movie.

Inspired by the Youth For Human Rights videos

http://dawn.com/2008/11/10/op.htm

Class schedule

Sorry to have had to miss class last week and also Monday - I've had a very bad throat infection. I hope to resume classes by the end of the week, possibly rescheduling today's EWS Section B class for Thursday afternoon. You will be informed of the schedule. 

Presentations - Scripts

Please remember to bring your script to class to hand in for the presentation. This must include your dialogue, visual, and narration and be a printed document with the names of all your group members on it.

89 Chapters - Radio Book Show

This is a great book show that airs on City 89 FM on Thursdays from 2:30-3:30 pm. I know you have a day off from school so why not tune in and listen to Mehvish Murad talk about what's hot? She interviews writers, plays their favorite music, and gives away books to lucky listeners! Today's book giveaway is Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer, the best-selling vampire author. So don't miss out!

Class 13

In Class 13,

• we studied grammar on Politeness, how to frame requests, how to make your requests and commands more polite-sounding.
• We had a lecture on "How to Write a Persuasive/Argumentative Essay".
• We worked on an assignment for next class: in groups of four, you will create a radio/tv ad (one minute) for a product of your choosing. You must decide how to present the ad in the most persuasive way possible! You can bring a prop or create a visual for the ad.
• We peer-reviewed each others' outlines for our persuasive essay on Voltaire's quote and capital punishment, and we viewed some video clips on human rights to get some ideas. Thanks to Zohair Alibhoy, who brought in the clips from the Website Youth For Human Rights.

Here are the products from which you have to choose one to make your presentation:

Class 12

In Class 12, we had an hourly. Then we studied "How to Write a Thesis Statement". We also discussed George Orwell's "A Hanging". Finally, we talked about the essay topic for Essay number three.

Discuss the following statement in a persuasive essay: "It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one." Are you in agreement or disagreement with Voltaire?

Remember that if you AGREE with this quote, it means you are AGAINST the death penalty or capital punishment. If you DISAGREE with this quote, you are FOR the death penalty or capital punishment.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR HOURLY 3

ATTENTION STUDENTS!

I made a mistake and your hourly is indeed going to take place in Class 12. So here's how we're going to work it.

SECTION A - your hourly is on Friday, October 24, 2008, regular class timing.

SECTION B - your hourly will be on Monday, October 27, 2008, regular class timing.

The makeup class for Section B, which was to be held this Wednesday, will now be held NEXT Wednesday. That will be class 13. Section A's class 13 will be held on Friday as usual.

I apologize for the confusion and hope that you aren't unduly bothered by this change in schedule. All you need to do for the hourly is review the grammar we've been learning - all the verb tenses - and be sure you know "Shooting an Elephant" very well.

Class 11

Here's what we did in Class 11.

- We studied the PAST PERFECT, another verb tense, and we also studied the present progressive and the past progressive. We looked briefly at past perfect progressive and present perfect progressive, but don't worry about that for now.

- We reviewed SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT and did exercises relating to that. The worksheet is due in the next class and you are to blog the paragraph on "enemies" that appears on the first page of that worksheet.

- We studied "How to Analyze an Essay".

- Finally, we read "A Hanging", analyzed it, and you are to figure out the thesis statement and write it in your own words for the next class. Please bring your copy of "A Hanging" to the next class.

Class 10

In Class 10 -

• We discussed some of the 6+1 traits: Writing Conventions, and Presentation (tbd in Class 11 for Section A).
• We also did work on grammar, studying the verb tense PRESENT PERFECT. Please review this at home.
• We had a lecture on some Composition Principles, Style, and How to Outline and Research a Paper.
• We listened to Poytner Podcasts 10, 12, and 18.
• Finally, we discussed Shooting an Elephant. (which we will complete in Class 11 for Section A)

Please read "A Hanging" by George Orwell for class 11.

Class cancelled (Section B)

I will not be holding class for Section B tomorrow (October 13). Please keep checking this blog to see when the makeup class will be scheduled, sometime this week (Wednesday or Thursday) hopefully.

Class cancelled

I will not be holding class for Section B tomorrow (October 13). Please keep checking this blog to see when the makeup class will be scheduled, sometime this week (Wednesday or Thursday) hopefully.

Class cancelled

I will not be holding class for Section B tomorrow (October 13). Please keep checking this blog to see when the makeup class will be scheduled, sometime this week (Wednesday or Thursday) hopefully.

Makeup Class for Section A

Section A will have a makeup class on EWS Section A will have a makeup class on October 9th Thursday from 11:30-1:30 in Room-24 at the 90 Campus. This is to make up for the class we missed during the Eid holidays. See you on Thursday!

Class 9

In Class 9. we reviewed hourlies.
We worked on grammar with a section on sentence rewrites and a few mistakes that are commonly made in English.
We reviewed some more of the traits of strong writers - sentence fluency.
We had a lecture on composition principles with technique and style.
And finally, we started our discussion on "Shooting an Elephant" but couldn't finish it because we ran out of time.
Eid Mubarak!

Class 8

In class 8, we had an hourly, and then we had a lecture with an introduction to George Orwell.

You need to bring your finished short story to Class 9, and read "Shooting an Elephant" which is available at the photocopy shop and here.

Note that after Eid, we will go back to our usual schedule: Monday 3-6 (section B) and Friday 3-6 (section A). I'm still trying to figure out how Section B will make up the one class that will be missed due to Eid. Stay tuned!

Class 7

In class 7, we did the following:

• worked on sentence rewrites
• studied the difference between "that" and "which", "then" and "than", and "especially" and "specially"
• Did a writing exercise about voice (see post below)
• had a lecture about the subtler points of Creative Writing.
  
  
  Section B: bring your short story outlines to class tomorrow. Your hourly starts sharp at 10:45 am. Section A, your hourly will be 10:45 am on Thursday morning.

Creative Writing Exercise

Here's the passage you were asked to work on to give it more "voice":

I was really excited about going. It would be the best day of the summer. We were going to go rafting.
My mother, father, brother, and sister got to go. They were excited, too. My dad knew a lot of stuff about rafting. This would be neat.
When we got to the river, it looked big. The water was moving fast. I got scared.It turned out to be fun. We ate sandwiches and drank pop. I wore a life jacket and got wet.
It was the best thing I did all summer.

Late Papers

Those of you who brought me your papers late - Zoyaa Mahmood, Muhammed Daniyal Asad, Fatima Zia, and Sheherbano Mirza in Section A - please bring them to me in the next class so I can have your marks changed from "0" to the requisite grade. Don't forget.

After this, I will not accept any late assignments. If you haven't created a blog by now, too late. If you don't bring your paper on time - the short story - I won't accept it after the deadline. If you miss the hourly, there is nothing that I can do.

There are two non-negotiable elements to SZABIST education - punctuality and deadlines. No compromise on either. There are no excuses. If you need to miss a class, inform me BEFOREHAND and hand your assignment in to me BEFOREHAND. I won't accept it afterward.

Back to 100 Clifton!

Starting from tomorrow, Wednesday September 17, all EWS classes will be held at 100 Clifton. See you sharp at 10:45 am!

Class Timings

This week, Section A has a makeup class (6) on Wednesday at 10:45 and regular class (7) on Thursday at 10:45 am.

Next week, Section B will have regular class on Monday 10:45 am (7) and makeup class (8) on Tuesday at 10:45 am.

Class 8 for both classes will be your second Hourly.

Class 6

In today's class, we studied:

• How to develop into a strong writer
• A lecture about the Nitty Gritty of Creative Writing
• Grammar: Subject-Verb agreement
• And we worked on writing an oulitne of our short story which you will bring to Class 7.

Class Timings for Next Week

Section B will meet as usual on Monday, 10:45 am.

Section A will have a makeup class on Wednesday, 10:45 am, as well as Thursday, 10:45 am.

Please note that many of you are being very careless about your attendance. Some of you already have two or three Late's, which is equal to one absent. Some of you have one or two Absent's, and three Absent's means you will fail this class. So please come on time - your grade depends on it.

Class 5

In today's class:

• We worked on grammar - verb tenses in the future, and did a small verb quiz to test our knowledge of gerunds and infinitives. The verb quiz is available in your Yahoo Group pages.
• We discussed Roald Dahl's short story, "Poison".
• We had a lecture on writing fiction.
• We reviewed the answers to the hourly exams.
• We listened to three Poynter's Podcasts on:

1. Paying attention to names
2. Using original images and avoiding cliches
3. Riff on the creative words of others

Your assignment is to come up with an idea for a short story. The idea should be encapsulated in a single sentence that includes the central conflict in the story.

What's wrong with this ad?

Point out all the mistakes you can see here (not including the photograph of our new President).

Class 4

In class 4, we had our hourly, then a lecture on Creative Writing.

I asked you to write a paragraph imagining yourself as your mother preparing Sehri - what would be her thoughts; what would she say; how would she act? This is to be posted on your blogs as Entry 2 and will be marked for your grade.

Finally, you were asked to read Roald Dalh's "Poison" for the next class, and to bring the final drafts of your "Who Am I" essay for Class 5.

Poison

The short story by Roald Dalh that I've assigned you to read for the next class (Thursday for Section A, Tuesday for Section B after your hourly on Monday) is available at this site.  Please print it out and bring to class; I will be making the photocopy available on Monday at 90 Clifton.

Class 3

In this class, here's what we did:

• Passive and Active Voice exercises
  
• Listened to Poynter Podcasts about the active and passive voice - activate your verbs! Use passive voice to show the victim of the action
  
• We also worked on punctuation and listened to a Podcast about that - use punctuation to control pace and space
  
• Finally we had a lecture on Proofreading and Editing. Remember that you will make mistakes that the Microsoft Spell Checker won't catch. It's important that you read over your work to make sure you catch everything. Especially homonyms - words that are spelled or pronounced the same but have different meanings.
  

Blogs have been added to the blog list on the left. 

The hourly takes place in Class 4: Thursday, September 4 at 10:45 am for Section A and Monday, September 8 at 10:45 am for Section B. Good luck!

Do you agree?

This newspaper article explains the importance of prepositions in a very unique way!

The Writing Center

While you're working on your "Who Am I" essays, remember that you can take your drafts to the Writing Center at 100 SZABIST for feedback and help with your work. This is a free service for you so be sure to take advantage of it!

Section A Makeup Class

Our makeup class will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, September 3, 2008, in room 22 at the 90 Clifton Campus. The timing will be 10:45 am - 12:45 pm.

Ramadan Kareem!

Ramadan Timings

As you know, classes will change timings during Ramadan. I am proposing the following change in schedule:

Section B (Monday class)
Old time: Monday 3-6 pm
Ramadan Time: Monday 10:45 am-12:45 pm

Section A (Friday class)
Old time: Friday 3-6 pm
Ramadan Time: Thursday 10:45 am - 12:45 pm  (it would be highly inconvenient to have class on Friday 1-3 pm during namaz so I am shifting the class a day early)

Please let me know if this suits you by leaving me a comment here. I have to finalize the timings before Ramadan starts on Tuesday, so will announce on the blog when I am sure these will be the new class timings.

Class 2

Today in class we did the following activities:

• Grammar: articles and prepositions
• Discussion of "Urdu My Love Song"
• Lecture on Working on Good Writing
• Listened to the two Poynter Podcasts (available here)
• Active voice/passive voice exercise

Your assignments are to:

• create your blog and write your self-introduction (section B)
• write the first draft of your personal narrative essay ("Answer the question Who Am I  by narrating a scene or anecdote or story from your life that illustrates who you are and how you became to be who you are today"). Essay drafts must be 1000 words long, typed, double-spaced.
• Read "Urdu My Love Song" if you haven't read it already
• Complete the Active Voice/Passive Voice exercise and bring it to the next class.

I was disappointed to see how many students did not read "Urdu My Love Song" in preparation for the class. Preparation is a VITAL part of every class at SZABIST and I expect all students to take full responsibility in being adequately prepared for the class. It makes a huge difference in your class participation which will of course make a huge difference in your grade.

Warning! EWS A

Hardly any of you are properly registered for the EWS Section A class. As of today, these are the only students on my ZABDESK records:

1. Fahad Ali Shah
2. Ahmed Amin Memon
3. Khadija Karim
4. Alina Iftikhar
5. Asad Amin
6. Fatima Zia
7. Muhammad Faizan Sheikh
8. Muhammad Umair Bilal
9. Sarmad Latif Mahar
10. Yousuf Zia Ali
11. Shanza Shahid

So the rest of you have to go to the Department head to make sure that you're registered otherwise I can't let you attend class on Friday.

What is Good Writing?

Good writing expresses a clear point, is tightly structured, grammatically and syntactically correct, substantive, and interesting.

• To express a clear point means to convey the writer's main idea or--in the case of descriptive writing--the significance of the object, place or person described; in other words, an attentive reader should be able to grasp the writer's purpose.
• To be tightly structured, writing should contain logical or associative connections and transitions that clearly express the relationship of the ideas described.
• To be grammatically and syntactically correct, writing should adhere to the rules of Standard American English, including proper punctuation and spelling. If writers choose to use unconventional syntax, they should be able to justify their choices.
• To be substantive, writing should convey the impression that the writer is informed about the subject. The writer need not be an authority on the subject but should demonstrate awareness of its significance and its implications within a specified context. Informed writing might include any or all of the following: citations of authorities, experiential evidence, discussion of debatable issues related to it, and relevant questions it raises.
• To be interesting, writing should engage its readers through original insights and precise, fresh language expressed in a "human" voice. It should demonstrate the writer's awareness of the specific audience for whom she or he is writing (the audience's degree of knowledge of the subject as well as its age, ethnic background, gender, and assumptions).

Makeup Class for BSMS 1-B - IMPORTANT!

The makeup class for Section B will be held on Thusday, 28th August, at 11:30 am in Room 25 at the 90 Clifton campus.

Can you identify all the prepositions in this sentence?  Leave a comment if you can.

Welcome

Welcome to the EWS Blog. I'll post information that you need to know for EWS, recaps of what we do in class, and links to interesting resources for writing. From here I'll check your blogs and make a list of everyone's blogs in class so you can get to your fellow classmates' blogs easily.

In the first class, we went through the following:

• Course outline
• What is good writing? Structure vs. style
• Grammar Assessment test and review
• Your favorite word
• Lecture: What is good writing?

Your assignments were to create your own blog, to write a self-introduction of one paragraph and post it on the blog, and to read "Urdu My Love Song" which is available at the photocopying shop.

I asked you to think about your experiences with writing, your comfort level with writing, and how strong you feel you are in English writing and language skills.

Please feel free to leave me any comments about the class in the comments section below.

See you next week!