Any College English Experts Here?

[Hisgirl]

My son just called from college and is asking for help with a paper on a critical response to several chapters of the Odyssy. He's supposed to write about the rhetorical features, literary devices, authorial purpose and conclusions made by the author.



This is a HUGE thing for him to ask me for help. But what he asked is flying right over my head.

Can anyone here give me a little guidance? Thanks!

 

[JimB]

Duh


.

 

[flyingsum0]

Id help, but you cant even understand me on the phone so Im guessing I dont qualify as someone youd accpt help from

 

[NewSong]

Have you heard how he is doing yet. I have some suggestions but I don't want to put them on the forum.

 

[Hisgirl]

Melanie, I just sent you a pm. Thank you so much for that! He hasn't called back but just him calling was an answered prayer from this morning!

I found a retired english teacher friend who walked him step by step through what the instructions meant. My friend was thrilled to help and knew Homer's work by heart. It was so cool hearing him talk about it.

Sumo....my husband couldn't understand you either...not cause of your accent but it was a bad phone connection. Getting the 13th Janet Evanovich tomorrow!

 

[Heartland]

Melanie, I just sent you a pm. Thank you so much for that! He hasn't called back but just him calling was an answered prayer from this morning!

I found a retired english teacher friend who walked him step by step through what the instructions meant. My friend was thrilled to help and knew Homer's work by heart. It was so cool hearing him talk about it.

Sumo....my husband couldn't understand you either...not cause of your accent but it was a bad phone connection. Getting the 13th Janet Evanovich tomorrow!

Don't kill your son by "help". Let him be a man.

 

[KleinerApfel]

Glad he's found some help.

Before I got to the end of the thread I asked my Literature-student daughter, and she recommends Sparknotes.com
They're really aimed at earlier levels, more your high school kids maybe, but still helpful as a kick-start to get you thinking.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/

 

[Hisgirl]

Don't kill your son by "help". Let him be a man.

Him asking me for my help was a bigger indication of his maturity than not asking. I'm proud of him.

Glad he's found some help.

Before I got to the end of the thread I asked my Literature-student daughter, and she recommends Sparknotes.com
They're really aimed at earlier levels, more your high school kids maybe, but still helpful as a kick-start to get you thinking.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/

Thanks for that link. I'll pass it on.

 

[Deba]

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/

Bookmarked this myself. I'm a bookworm with no books. Looks like a good place to finally get acquainted with all those classics I never had time for or interest in before. Thanks.

 

[heron]

Remind him that if an instructor is not clear with instructions, it's okay to ask them, as long as it's a very matter-of-fact way. It's good practice for him to ask. Or start a study group where students help each other.

It sounds like it's the basic lit course, which means the professors don't expect him to prove prior knowledge of English terms.

 

[God_Owned]

I don't teach Litituature and even if I did, my advise could be very misleading, having not set in the class myself.

I suggest that the student do exactly what I would have to do, which is first pick the instructors brain in order to clearly define and understand the terms he is using in order to understand the assignment. Then I would start Googling.

I did a short Google. There are books which explain what the instructor is talking about, I would think that the student either has such a book for his class or he has access to one.

I also saw several sites which will sell you a critical response to various notable literary works including the Odyssey.

David

 

[heron]

I also saw several sites which will sell you a critical response to various notable literary works including the Odyssey.

:SCOWL:

...which can get him kicked out of school. These "innocent" sites, no matter how reputable they look, are the source of much plagiarism and unethical practice in colleges today -- so much so that his teachers will be running his paper through software like turnitin.com's...

Even if he isn't planning to succumb to a pre-written paper, it is very easy to read one and get a phrase stuck in one's head, and put it in a paper. Any amount of exact quoting can get him an F.

This warning also goes to aspiring writers, who are excited to find sites that pay specialists in a field to write about various topics. If you're gullible, you become part of something you would preach against.

 

[God_Owned]

:SCOWL:

...which can get him kicked out of school. These "innocent" sites, no matter how reputable they look, are the source of much plagiarism and unethical practice in colleges today -- so much so that his teachers will be running his paper through software like turnitin.com's...

Even if he isn't planning to succumb to a pre-written paper, it is very easy to read one and get a phrase stuck in one's head, and put it in a paper. Any amount of exact quoting can get him an F.

This warning also goes to aspiring writers, who are excited to find sites that pay specialists in a field to write about various topics. If you're gullible, you become part of something you would preach against.

You have me all wrong.

You can read and use another's work without plagiarizing it. You can even quote some of it as long as you give the credit where the credit. Many straight A students do this. It is called research.

Many people build on what other's have written. In one way or antoher all writers are taking from and building on what they have learned from another's work.

In other words, you can use other peoples cream as long as you churn your own butter.

Now you don't have to scowl anymore.

I hope this helps you to help your child.

 

[Heartland]

Him asking me for my help was a bigger indication of his maturity than not asking. I'm proud of him.



Thanks for that link. I'll pass it on.

I'm sorry, I did not mean to insinuate that you should not be proud of him in any way. I was posting what a father's response would be. I thought I was being funny. (Not the first time I've fallen flat in that department!...LOL)

 

[heron]

You have me all wrong.

I wasn't implying that you plagiarised, but that leading to him to sites that reviewed work --in order to write an overnight paper -- would not accomplish what the instructor was looking for.

While reading how others perceive a work can be valuable, it can also keep a student from making those critical thinking observations on their own. With the list of criteriae assigned, the professor is clearly not looking for research of what others have said. They want the student to learn how to look for these elements while reading.

In short-cutting by checking others' reviews first, the student will likely spout off conclusions that are far too familiar to a literature teacher, showing that they have refused to think about the material.

I have had to wade through papers submitted from "several sites which will sell you a critical response." I have also had to speak with parents who couldn't believe their child would possibly succumb to this. It is a path a parent just doesn't encourage their kids to check out.

 

[knownbeforetime]

I miss school, even though I'm a math person...

 

[jive4005]

ENGLISH yes... LITERATURE no.

His,
Rev J

 

[God_Owned]

I wasn't implying that you plagiarised, but that leading to him to sites that reviewed work --in order to write an overnight paper -- would not accomplish what the instructor was looking for.

While reading how others perceive a work can be valuable, it can also keep a student from making those critical thinking observations on their own. With the list of criteriae assigned, the professor is clearly not looking for research of what others have said. They want the student to learn how to look for these elements while reading.

In short-cutting by checking others' reviews first, the student will likely spout off conclusions that are far too familiar to a literature teacher, showing that they have refused to think about the material.

I have had to wade through papers submitted from "several sites which will sell you a critical response." I have also had to speak with parents who couldn't believe their child would possibly succumb to this. It is a path a parent just doesn't encourage their kids to check out.

Like I said, I believe in research, but I churn my own butter.

...oh yeah, I'm 57 years old and write because I want to, not because I have too. Enjoying what you are doing makes all the difference.

 

[heron]

I miss school, even though I'm a math person...

(-: