I am very excited about the essays you all are working on. Most of you seemed comfortable with the outline overview I gave in class, but if you were absent or still have questions, here is an overview:

You will need to have at least four sources for this paper. Two of these will be from your previous presentation to the class, while the remaining two were collected earlier this week.

I have spoken to each of you about a part of your topic on which to concentrate, but if you are still undecided, please email me.

The outlines are due tomorrow. Here is the format:

Thesis statement. What are you arguing?

1. Topic phrase for first body paragraph.
   1. Location of support (must be page number, song name, time during movie, etc) for topic phrase
   2. Location of support for topic phrase
   3. Location of support for topic phrase
2. Topic phrase for second body paragraph.
   1. Etc.

Basically, I am looking for your thesis statement, the topic for each body paragraph, and the support (quotation) for each paragraph. Before turning in your outline tomorrow, make sure of a few things:

• Your thesis statement argues a position. “The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are both from different parts of England. These parts are…” Is not an argument. “The musical styles of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were heavily influenced by the social status of the members of each band. While the Fab Four came from a predominantly blue collar section…” Is an argument. The author is arguing that the history of each band heavily influenced the later sound of each band.
• Your topic phrases and support relate to your thesis and support your argument. This is why we write outlines before writing essays. If your argument is not supported, no matter how well you craft your words, the essay will not be a good one.

So, compile your notes from the past two days and write your thesis. The outlines will be graded in class tomorrow, and I will give you suggestions at that time. If you have any questions tonight, please email me or comment on this post.

Today was fantastic. You all seem really excited about your topics, and I learned a lot. Some of you thought I was kidding when I said you’d each be an expert on your topic, but by the end of this session we will have a whole class of TSAS graduates who are experts on topics ranging from Tudor England to graffiti to the Beatles and Irish mythology. I can’t wait.

We devoted today to studying our sources, taking notes, etc. In preparation for the outline that will be due on Friday. I went around to most students, tossing paper topics around until one stuck.

For those that I did not get around to, I will be talking with you first thing tomorrow. For the rest of you, use your time to study your sources and pull quotes that will help with your essay topics. Post-its are great for this purpose, but take notes however you wish.

If you have a video or audio source, bring them to class! I have a VHS player, a CD player, a DVD player, and a projector for online video, so use the 70 minutes in class to review any documentaries/albums, etc. that you may be using as sources.

For class tomorrow: Bring at least four sources for your paper to class. We will be creating Works Cited pages, and the information in the book (on the video/album/picture, etc.) is necessary to do this. We will continue working on our outlines tomorrow as well.

As always, post a comment or email me with any questions or suggestions.

Hope the source search is going well for all of you. If not, drop me an email or comment on this post and I’ll see what I can drum up.

Here are a few ideas/sources I’ve come up with.

The sooner you find your sources, the sooner you can begin working on your outlines and get most of the work done before the break. Happy hunting!

Woot. School’s been cancelled for tomorrow, so brew a cuppa chai, curl up by the fire (or space heater), grab Dracula or War of the Worlds and scare yourself silly.

On a separate note, I’ve noticed that my site banner’s getting a bit old. For those of you who are graphically inclined, I am posting a request for a new design. I have only two specifications:

It must be original, drawn by you (either on paper or on the computer).

It should contain the words “Winter’s Night” or “Winter’s Night Blog,” and not contain the name of our school.

From there, it is up to you. I will give 10 bonus points for each submission.

Edit: Due to the inclement weather, and the fact that trees are exploding all around my house [Come to think of it, it's kind of like the Seige of Bastogne, except I was inside, and there were no Nazis. Okay, it was nothing like Bastogne. More like Brian's Winter, except...], I have no electricity and thus no internet access. If you have any questions, please email me, but my responses will be held until I can get to Starbucks again. Or until I figure out how to re-wire the blown transformer outside of my window.

Classes reading Dracula or War of the Worlds should read through chapter 12 before Monday, December 10.

I have been extremely impressed with your MGRP presentations so far. After we finish the presentations on Monday, we will continue our discussion of Dracula or War of the Worlds. Our calendar for next week looks like this:

As you can see, we will be writing our first MGRP essay next weekend. This week will be devoted to discussing and taking notes over your sources (the book and “other” source you presented last week, and two “other” sources to be found before Wednesday and Thursday) in small groups. Each group member will write a different essay over his or her topic, but the group will work together to create the outlines and ideas for each essay. This is a good chance for each of you to get “outside” of your topic and find new ideas and ways to look at it.

You must submit a completed outline to me on Friday. You will have some time in class to work on it, but I will ask to see them before the end of the hour so I can make suggestions or just be impressed.

As always, post your questions for the good of the community.