1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
What’s the Headline?
If this were spring . . .
Spring Break is a good time to reflect on how the first half of the semester has gone and project new practices to improve our performance in the second half.
If this were spring, the break would be next week. So, for us . . .
Perhaps you promised yourself you were going to buckle down and catch up on missed assignments by the midpoint of the semester. If so, that time has come. Follow the link to the Mandatory Conferences chart and make an appointment for your Thesis Progress chat if we haven’t conferenced twice. If you’re confined to a hospital bed (or lounging on the beach PRETENDING it’s Spring Break), remember, conferences can happen anywhere.
The “Causal” Unit
Why the Challenger Exploded
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Counterintuitive Fall 2023 
Class Notes 10/25
– The first item in today’s agenda is a quote about a journey to and from. There is truth to this as when you are making a trip somewhere, the ride always seems entirely too long on the way there. I feel as if this is because you are seeing everything on this ride for the first time so your brain is still trying to compute all of this information. Whereas on the ride home, you’ve seen all of these things before so it’s not as new and it seems shorter. Another reason for this could be because when you are excited to go someplace, it seems as if it’s taking forever to get there because of how much you cannot wait to be there. When you’re not as excited to leave and go back, the journey seems a lot shorter as well.
– The next item in today’s agenda seems to be a set of literary instructions. To analyze them simply and efficiently, we shouldn’t waste our reader’s time with wasted words and get to our point quickly and efficiently. We also should give the reader a character, or maybe thesis in our case, to root for, as it is always fun to pick a side and see where it goes. Every character should want something. In terms of our research papers, I can analyze this to mean that our thesis needs to have a goal, and so should the contrasting points to our thesis as well. As for the fourth point, each sentence should ADD or contribute something to the writing, not just dance around the same statement with different needless words. We should also start as close to the end as possible, another way of saying avoid wasting words. I don’t think number six can apply to us as much because we are trying to shed as much of a positive connotation and factual evidence on our thesis as possible, whilst trying to avoid counteracting claims that could be damaging to the integrity of our hypothesis. The next point makes it clear that we should have a specific audience in mind and to not try and please everyone or make the paper easily comprehensible to everyone as well. The eighth instruction, quite possibly the most valuable one, tells us to give our reader as much information as soon as possible. This is imperative to not only effectively and efficiently defending our claim, but it avoids including “fluff”.
– The next part of the notes discusses headlines and how humans should be the centralized part of our headlines/titles. They should be the subject in sentences and titles.
– The next section of notes urges us to make our second mandatory conference about our thesis progress.
– The last part of the notes explains that causation can be arbitrary as much as it can be logical as well.
– Understanding of keeping the writings characterized that keeps the readers engaged no matter which part they are inclined towards.
– Instruction of efficient use of words and sentences specifically in the introduction.
– Mandatory conference for thesis progression.
– Revisions of some definition arguments.
– Use and importance of headlines and use of sources.
Using the first quote we can relate the assignments of this class. With some papers you need to take in account the audience and use it to relate to how long your essay will be. The shorter the requirements of the essay, the faster and more straightforward you have to be when getting to the point. Your thesis has a human cost. This means that in our essays we need to research what effect on humanity it will have, physically, socially, or economically, and how it will affect us. And we should use that to further pressure the reader into investing their time into your work to gather information on how it may affect them.An example is the difference between Dark clouds gathering in the distance, and Imminent Storm Threatens Village. This first title is just an observation, while the second is a story, and it has human lives involved and tells the story of what might befall them. By using this title, it entices the reader to continue reading as to know what might personally affect them. The second title, Thousands of Villagers Homeless is the better title, due to the fact that it directly tells us the impact of an unspecified event, grabbing the reader’s attention. The fact that it has lives of people that could have been any of us allows the reader to relate and provide emotion to the topic whether good or bad.
Which is the right roll of toilet paper to use in the public bathroom? When two rolls are at 33% capacity which one should be used? The answer is simple: use the one with less paper on the roll.
In addition to being an extremely popular author, Kurt Vonnegut was a great writing instructor and how to keep the engagement of the reader. Vonnegut’s advice must be somewhat extrapolated for us though as he is a novel writer and tailors his advice to his fellows. In this class, however, we are essayists, and his advice can be used to great effect still we simply have to use our heads.
When starting a book how does one give it a shot?
Professor Hodges likes to start the book at a random page and read a paragraph. If that paragraph possesses a commanding quality, then that book shall be read. My fellow classmates on the other hand feel that this is not the way, and it spoils the suspense and the plot of the novel.
The grabber is the most important thing in an essay, to hell with suspense, do not tell a story, and keep the reader on their toes right from the start. In the case of certain mystery novels, the suspense comes not from learning who committed the crime but from learning the reasons why Joe Shmoe killed his third ex-wife.
Essays have to be looked at through the lense of writing a story, Essays are always narratives, and we must weave them like they are for the benefit of both us and the readers. Do not worry about suspense and tell the readers where you are heading right from the start.
The Headline?
A hook is the most important part of writing as it is what drags the reader into the writing whether it be kicking and screaming or willingly. Preferably it’s willing as the reader will be intrigued and want to see where the story is going. Headlines aren’t the story; they provide punchy dramatics to entice the reader into keeping up with the contents of the article.
The subject of your idea must be the subject of the sentence.
“Imminent Storm Threatens Village,” a better version of this using people could be “Villagers Scramble from Deadly Storm”
Headline 2, Thousands of Villagers Homeless, is the better storyteller as it puts the people into the headlights rather than the homes.
The mechanics of WordPress and how to do certain formatting were then discussed.
The Causal Unit: Why the Challenger Exploded
The Challenger was part of a new line of NASA ships where the shuttle could be reused like an Airplane, landing on a runway like some sort of passenger flight. NASA in an attempt to boost hype for the launch invited an average citizen on the flight. There a multitude of reasons for the Cause; scientific, political, and mechanical
. Do not waste your audiences time by wasting it on words that dont compel them to read froward if a story doesn’t compel you then it fails as a story
. In essays we tell story’s through our arguments we make characters out of our sources and craft narratives around them
. Cost gives essays value and the essay needs to valuable to your audience to grab your attention
. Headlines tap into the human aspect of every event to connect us to the story on a personal level we need to see conflict and a bit a tragedy in headlines
Class notes:
– “The journey out always seems longer than the journey back”. -David Mamet
– Advice: Use the time of a total stranger, Keep reader engaged, give readers as much information as soon as possible.
– What’s the Headline: “your thesis has a human cost”. Significance of story must be made obvious. Story will seem insignificant to reader without any important significance.
– If it were spring: Need to schedule a mandator conference meeting due by Nov 2nd
– The Causal unit-Why The Challenger Exploded: In 1986 Space shuttle called Challenger exploded 73 seconds into launch with millions of people watching in person and on the television. NASA was under pressure to launch this mission therefore normal procedures were skipped over, such as the weather. It was determined the weather was to cold and any other mission would have been rescheduled but these messages were ignored and the mission carried on to have this fatal outcome.
October 25 Class Notes
– writing to anyone is like writing to no one. It is important to select your audience.
– all it takes is one sentence to compel the audience to keep reading and have complete understanding.
– every essay worth writing has a human cost in it.
– the headline needs to include subject of idea.
– right click and highlight to link in your text.
– updates and changes are a great way to keep public interest.
Class Notes:
“The journey out always seems longer than the journey back”- When you go out on a journey you see things for the first time, so it seems longer than the way back because on the way back you see the things you saw before.
Don’t waste your reader’s time. Hook them in the introduction paragraph so they feel compelled to read more. Start as close to the end as possible. Write to someone specifically rather than a wide variety of people.
What is the headline?- Gives various examples of headliners. Make it grab the readers attention. “Imminent Storm Threatens Village” is a great example of a good headline.
If this were Spring- Spring Break is a good time to reflect on how the first half of the semester has gone and project new practices to improve our performance in the second half. Mandatory Conferences for our thesis chat.
The “Casual” Unit- Went over paragraph formatting. How to incorporate links into the essay.
Why the Challenger Exploded – Watching a video on the spaceship challenger exploding due to mechanical problems and weather conditions.
Class notes
Discussed daily riddle
We talked about the importance of having a headline to our essay
A good headline can help tell a better story
Objects can never be the story, it’s the people who are the story
“Thousands of villagers homeless.” is a better headline because it draws more attention to the story of the people affected
Discussed Challenger failure
Introduced causation unit
10/25/23
“The journey out always seems longer than the journey back. It is new, and demands our furious concentration as we look for signs, for the characteristic, for the shortcut. On the return we are better able to separate the essential from the extraneous; our concentration has been narrowed to the goal.” -David Mamet
-To hell with suspense, grab you readers attention early. Why put something good last if they wont even make it there.
-Put some of your best points early and start off with a bang.
-Give the reader a character they can root for. But make awful things happen to them, so the reader may see them for what they are made of.
-Write to just one person.
-Give your readers as much info as possible as soon as possible. readers should have a complete understanding of what is going on.
—“What’s the Headline?”—
-Don’t write without a headline
-Your thesis has a human cost
-“Horizon fills with dark clouds?” No
-“Dark Clouds Gather on the horizon?” Closer but no.
-“Imminent Storm Threatens Village” There you go.
-“People of small village in grave danger of incoming storm”
-Storm doesn’t hit? “Village Spared from Deadly Storm.”
-“Thousands of villagers homeless”
Check and make appointments for these things.
1. Develop and Defend your Hypothesis Choice
BY WED SEP 27
2. Evaluate your Thesis Progress
BY THU NOV 02
3. Evaluate your Semester
BY MON NOV 27
4. Final Grade Conference
MON DEC 18 / TUE DEC 19 / WED DEC 20 / THU DEC 21
Nasa Challenger
Class Notes 10/25
-In your arguments your storytelling.
– Reacting poorly makes you miss a lot of things.
– Don’t have much time to pull our readers in time.
– Do we have a chapter for us to finish the book today?
– A good strategy would be to read the back but you still have to read from the start to understand what’s happening.
-Other people’s recommendations are important for a book to read.
– Some advice that the professor thinks is good even if it’s for fiction writers
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters are, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person.
8. Readers should have such a complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
What’s the Headline?
-Always write with a headline
– Your thesis has a human cost as every subject is worth writing an essay about has a price. That will either benefit many people or cost them to require the cooperation of all of humanity.
-Figure out what your story is worth in human lives enhanced, enriched, impoverished, improved, lost or spared.
– Video on “What Is News?”.
– Make sure that the subject of your sentence is the subject of your idea
o What the Headline isn’t(Sentences that he said was important):
Horizon fills with dark clouds?
First of all, the horizon will never be the story; it’s just the location.
If it isn’t the story, it shouldn’t be the subject of the sentence.
Dark Clouds Gather on the Horizon?
Clouds aren’t the story, either, until they have a human cost.
If they promise good weather for the festival, they could be a story.
If they threaten flooding and destruction, they could be a story.
But neither the horizon nor the clouds themselves are the story.
Objects are never the story. Laws are not the story. Rules are not the story.
Governments are not. Countries are not. Citizens are. We are.
-Human lives are only a story, so make them the subject of your arguments and your sentences
The editor offers for headlines on the Strom:
-The storms have grown to be even more deadly than ever and the storms have begun to sweep away the people in the village.
If this was spring:
– Spring Break is a good time to reflect on how the first half of the semester has gone and project new practices to improve our performance in the second half.
– Follow the link to the Mandatory Conferences chart and make an appointment for your Thesis Progress.
Definition Argument
– Review your argument and leave feedback to get a reply
– Add some quotes to your argument from your references
– Give a comment to get some feedback from the professor
– Words that the professor uses:
o Arms
1)Argument
1)Argument 1)Argument
The “Causal” Unit
– On Monday the assignment page you have 1 week to due the argument
o Why the Challenger Exploded
–
Arms
– Argument
– Rhetoric
– Mechanics
– Scholarship
Challenger Exploded
– The NASA space shuttle has failed to launch in 73 seconds.
– Use Hidden Figures as a reference.
– Videos of the Space Shuttle explosion.
– Videos on the O-rings failure.
Class notes 10/25:
3000 words is not enough to cover a topic written well. It is important to provide readers with only essential background information to make sure they understand your side of the argument. As an author, it’s key to guide the reader to ensure shared thoughts. In writing in general, each sentence should advance action within the context. When asking for advice or feedback on writing remember ARMS: argument, rhetoric, mechanics, scholarship.
Class notes- 10/25/2023
-The Journey abroad seems longer than the journey back.it is a common human perception that the journey out to a destination feels longer than the return trip. This phenomenon can be attributed to the outbound route where you encounter new sights and experiences. the way back retraces familiar paths making it seem shorter in comparison.
– do not waste your reader’s time captivating your reader from the very beginning is crucial. start your piece as close to the most intriguing point as possible, compelling your reader to delve deeper. write with specific individuals in mind creating a connection with them rather than trying to appeal to a broad audience.
– Mastering the headlines and the skill of crafting an attention-grabbing title. there are various examples of captivating headlines to pique the reader’s intrest. you want your headline to be good enticing and attention-grabbing because you need to keep the reader interested.
– take this opportunity to assess the first half of the semester and plan how you can do better and improve your performance for the second half of the semester. Discover how these mandatory conferences for our thesis chat can enhance your academic journey.
-Navigating paragraph formatting and links we explore paragraph formatting techniques and learn how to seamlessly incorporate links into your essays
– The Challenger Disaster is a deep dive into the tragic history of the Challenger spacecraft explosion as we watch a video analyzing the critical factors behind the disaster including mechanical issues and adverse weather conditions and weather issues.
Class Notes 10/25:
– When discussing the quote on the agenda, students became aware that they always need to keep their reader in mind when writing, so they can keep the readers attention. Writing is like a trip, in which you bring readers out and back.
– In order to keep readers who are actually interested in your writing engrossed, you must target that audience and continue to generate information which would keep them tuned into your writing. It is important to drop those who are not interested in the writing in the first paragraph or so, as they will not be attentive to your writing and most likely unpersuadable. It is important to help readers realize that they are not interested in your writing.
– Through the lecture, the conclusion can be drawn that it is important that students should not write without a headline. It is important to say what is necessary to the story or argument, then move onto the next point.
– When addressing headlines, it is important for a writer to recognize what they are saying and where the attention of the reader will be directed within the headline.
– The four types of feedback can be broken down into the acronym of “ARMS”, with argument, rhetoric, mechanics and scholarship being the types of feedback students are able to receive.
Professor Hodges started off class with a quote, “The journey out always seems longer than the journey back. It is new, and demands our furious concentration as we look for signs, for the characteristic, for the shortcut. On the return, we are better able to separate the essential from the extraneous; our concentration has been narrowed to the goal.”
-Find a shortcut by avoiding the whole trip from home, go from the same route you came from and hope they recognize posters. Choose readers who do not need their hand held. Choose the correct audience.
Steps in writing
1. Do not waste time of readers, find readers who you gear your information is of interest of them or not
2. Every character should want something
3. Give the readers at least one character he or she can root for
4. Every sentence must do one of two things- reveal character or advance the action
5. Start as close to the end as possible
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them- in order that the reader may see what they are made of
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much info as possible.
8. What’s the headline?
-Don’t write without a headline
-Your thesis has a human cost
ARMS
A- argument
R- rhetoric
M- mechanics
S- scholarship
Class Notes Wednesday 10/25:
-You choose an audience when you are writing. It is okay if some readers who require too much background to be left behind when considering which audience they are writing to. You shouldn’t write to appeal to those who you intend to leave behind.
-Mechanics and techniques of fictional writing can be applied to our essays. Specifically strategies that help keep the reader’s attention can be used in both styles, and should be. Keeping the readers attention is just as important in our essays as it is in fictional writing.
-When making a headline, understanding what the subject is is important. The human angle is always your subject, so making sure you convey what the effect on human lives is is what makes a headline good.
– Argument, Rhetoric, Mechanics, and scholarship are all good areas to ask for feedback about.
-our arguments and definitions are all storytelling to gather the attention of the reader
-Spoke on how when someone is reading a book they need something to grab their attention within the first chapter to keep the reader interested
-Use the time of a stranger so they will feel that had not wasted time reading your work
-Don’t write without a headline.
-See how your story is worth with human cost, as human cost captures more peoples attention
-learned ARMS for our essay and how it may apply
-NASA Challenger mechanical failure due to cold weather caused the ship to explode during lift off
10/25
The first guy he showed us was different for his time. He was a writer and also had a show giving his opinion on what movies were good. Its like he had a podcast before there was a podcast.
I enjoyed the movie scene he showed us from the reporter. It was like a classic movie. The lines were on point.
A.R.M.S – This is the type of feedback you could get back from your writings. It stands for Argument, Rhetoric, Mechanics, Scholarship.
He showed us how to edit our thesis statement and fix our references. im gonna have to try and submit it early so i can make some revisions to my writing.
It was crazy to watch how the challenger explode. It was too cold and they shouldnt have taken off. I havent seen that clip in a while. Very hard to watch.
-When writing, you want to use words that will persuade the reader to continue to read compared to using wasted and unnecessary words that might make the reader not want to continue reading
-While writing, you should always have an audience in mind. Without having an audience in mind while writing, that means you are writing to no one, and there is no purpose in that.
-When storytelling, you should give the readers hope or a character they can root for to keep them engaged and feel as if they are getting something out of reading your story.
-What’s the headline? – by making human lives the subject of your arguments and sentences, it will make the readers more engaged
A- Argument
R- rhetoric
M- mechanics
S- scholarship
– learned the importance of using sources that have reliable and good information
– learned how to evaluate opinions/recommendations that are viable
– I need to offend them in the first paragraph to weed out those who will be uninterested
– in your writing you need to be sadist
– your thesis needs a human cost
– learned that a headline can make an essay
-people are the story
-need to make a conference appointment
– the challenger explosion- idk what this reference is for
Class Notes: chich_
-you need to provide your readers essential information while avoiding the ‘whole trip home’.
-“your thesis has a human cost”
-the subject of your sentence is the subject of your idea.
-ARMS: Argument, Rhetoric, Mechanics, Scholarship
-the Challenger explosion incident. Things happen for a reason.
-In our three thousand word essays we must be thoughtful in the amount of background information we provide as providing too much can take away precious time we have to state and support our argument. However, providing too little and your audience will not understand or view your argument in the right light.
-In developing your essay you shouldn’t bore your audience with useless information. You should start right off with your argument and not beating around the bush with unnecessary background information because your topic shouldn’t be so broad that it doesn’t have time to dive deep into your topic.
-A good title places the people at the forefront because anything worth writing about has a human cost behind it.
-Argument, Rhetoric, Mechanics, and Scholarship
-‘’ The journey out always seems longer than the journey back” David Mamet. This quote relates to our 3000 words by deciding the right audience and choosing what’s essential to write about.
-If you are not using a storytelling method your paper will not intrigue the reader. Not like a fiction tale but something compelling.
-New suggestion when going to a bookstore and searching. Maybe read the last page.
-When writing the definition argument weed out the people that would not be interested in just the first sentence because the people who don’t understand will stick by what you are saying.
-What’s the Headline? – Compel readers by just a title. The headline should always have a human cost.
“The journey out always seems longer than the journey back. It is new, and demands our furious concentration as we look for signs, for the characteristic, for the shortcut. On the return we are better able to separate the essential from the extraneous; our concentration has been narrowed to the goal.” -David Mamet
arms argument rhetoric mechanics scholarship
compelling headlines
challenger exploded
thousands of villagers homeless or village spared from deadly storm,
reflect on your semester so far
grab the attention of the reader
lure them in
give rootable character
give readers information
make your characters suffer
nasa challenger
paragraph format
challenger needed careful calculations to not burn up upon re-entry
Class notes 10/25/23:
Agenda of the day is “The journey out always seems longer than the journey back. It is new and demands our furious concentration as we look for signs, for the characteristic, for the shortcut. On the return we are better able to separate the essential from the extraneous; our concentration has been narrowed to the goal.” -David Mamet
What’s the Headline?
Don’t Write without a Headline because a headline should summarize the main idea and purpose of the article in a concise and catchy way, also in this way you should grab the audience’s attention and persuade them to read the article.
Check and make appointments for:
1. Develop and Defend your Hypothesis Choice by SEPTEMBER 27.
2. Evaluate your Thesis Progress by NOVEMBER 02.
3. Evaluate your Semester BY NOVEMBER 27
4. Final Grade Conference by DECEMBER 18-21.
discussing the Nasa Challenger and what the cause for that to happened with different reason.
10.25.23
– Choose your perfect audience (people who you do not need to explain everything to)
– It is important to grab your readers from the beginning, so they stick around to read your arguments
– You weed out the audience that will not stick with you in the first paragraph (people who cannot be persuaded)
– Don’t be suspenseful in your writing, no one will read it
– Your thesis needs to have a human cost. If it does not affect anyone, no one will read.
– Make an appointment with professor for 2nd conference
– To be prioritized in feedback, leave comments on your posts for specific help you’re looking for
– Use the link tool in WordPress to link your citations in your paragraphs
– good headlines attract readers. “Dark Clouds Gather on the Horizon” vs. “Imminent storm threatens village.” one is clearly more enticing to read.
Class notes
-Focus not so much on getting there focus on the return (more time efficient)
-Choose your perfect audience
-Your readers should have a understanding of what they’re about to read after the first paragraph
– Headlines –> Grab readers attention within 1 sentence
-Make 2nd Conference ASAP
– Use link icon to insert links within the sentences of your writing
-When asking for feedback in specific areas consider: ARMS (Argument, Rhetoric, Mechanics, Scholarship)
Class Notes 10/25/2023
– Discussed the riddle to start class
– Talked about how readers should know what their about to read and have an understanding about what the story is about within the first paragraph
– Make your second conference with the professor
– Get the homework done that I didn’t turn in
– “thesis have a human cost”
– Learned about the challenger explosion that took place in the 80’s
– ARMS (argument, rhetoric, mechanics, scholarship)
We first went over the quote of the day which entailed that of journeys. It put in perspective how many journeys can seem so unachievable but in the end all remains well. We then went over more additional tools to incorporate in ur writing as writing is an extensive edit over periods of time. We then responded to the short What’s The Headline response which I choose title 2 as I thought it was more provoking. Lastly we looked at the Challenger explosion