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Rathbun English 1302 Second Paper Incorporating tools for Achieving Goals and Ambitions Keep in mind that essential purpose of this paper is to practice a foundational skill involved in writing researched arguments: synthesizing sources. In this paper, I’ve picked the sources for you. In the researched argument coming up later in the semester, you will synthesize information from sources that you select yourself. Frame your paper around a specific goal, or a more general ambition, that had in the past, have in the present, or will aspire to achieve in the future. Within this frame, develop a claim about how achieving your goal could be enhanced through applying the insights advanced by David Foster Wallace, in “This is Water,” David Brooks, in “Making of Modern Toughness,” Massimo Pigliucci, in “Focus on what is in Your Control,” or Robert Wright, in “How Mindfulness Meditation Can Save America.” In other words the general purpose of the paper will be to show your chances of achieving a life-goal could be increased through applying one or more of the ideas we’ve encountered in the last four texts we’ve read. You do not have to include all four authors; you could focus on one text, but you will need to cite from at least two of the texts. For example, your paper could advance the argument that your chances of having rich, lasting friendships could be enhanced by practicing Wallace’s insight that we can cultivate the ability to choose how we respond to every-day life-challenges. You would focus primarily on Wallace’s commencement speech, but include at least one quote from the Pigliucci essay that support’s Wallace’s idea that we can grow out of our natural default setting of self-centeredness. You are free to use the first person pronoun “I” and you are encouraged to frame your paper around a life-goal that is important to you. However, you are not writing a person narrative. You are developing a claim that expresses your response to the readings. You need to support your claim mostly with evidence that you synthesize from at least two of the texts. Use your own experience as a context for your claim (expressed in the intro/close) or as evidence that corroborates, or questions a point made in one or another of the articles. This is a short paper – an introductory paragraph, 3-4 body paragraphs, and a closing paragraph. Your introduction should mention the author/s with whom you identify and whose ideas you will draw on in the paper. The body will develop a clear picture of the life-goal you are using for your frame, and then show how the ideas from one or more of the articles could help you to achieve that goal. Citations: As in the first paper, I will expect you to use in-text citations when you summarize, paraphrase, or quote one of the authors. When you are editing, be sure that you are using citations correctly. As you can see below, “Citations” is one of the categories in the rubric I will use to grade your paper, so your grade will be affected by the accuracy of your citations. Using MLA citation style, you will simply use the last name of the author & page in your in-text citation. If you mention the author in your text, then you only use the page in your citation. Remember that the period comes after the citation. For example: One of the authors asks the perennial question that every marriage partner is going to ask at some point in their marriage, “Stay or Go?” Her completely lame, disappointing, and exasperating answer is: "You can be happy either way" (McMillan 1). Or: In “Being Happier as a Couple is Often a Mirage,” Tracy McMillan asks the perennial question that every marriage partner is going to ask at some point in their marriage, “Stay or Go?” Her completely lame, disappointing, and exasperating answer is: "You can be happy either way" (1). Be sure to include your “Works Cited” Page that includes the full bibliographical information for all the texts. This information is included in each of the texts. Format: The paper should be around three (double-spaced word-processed) pages. Use 12 pt. font, center the title on the first page (no title page) with name & Class printed in the upper left corner. Pre-Grade Self-Reflection: After the Works Cited page, you will include a “Pre-Grade Self-Reflection about your experience completing the assignment. Your reflection simply need to answer two questions: 1. What was hard about writing the paper, and what made the process easier? 2. How do you think your revision efforts improved the final product? Below is the rubric I will use to assess your synthesis paper: Grading rubric: Synthesis Papers Name____________________________________ 60-69 = D; 70-79 = C; 80-89 = B; 90-100 = A) D C B A Score Focus/ Thesis 20 pts Thesis is neither established nor developed. Weak thesis; Not worthy of reader’s attention; lacks dev. Strong thesis, but lacks full development. The thesis is well established and developed. It is worthy of the reader's attention. Organization 20 pts Lacks workable organizational structure Major block of the paper is out of place, or lacks coherence. Globally, movement is strong, but, locally, part of the paper lacks coherence. Globally, the movement from beginning to end is clear. Opening and close are effective. Locally, paragraphs are coherent Development 20 pts No development or support from sources Consistent lack of detail or support. Sources are summarized, not synthesized. Most paragraphs have adequate detail & support, but some weakness is noticeable. The main claim is fully supported. Sources are effectively synthesized as evidence.. Citations 10 pts Many and/or frequent formatting errors Some formatting errors in the document’s citations. Few formatting errors in the document’s citations. Citations are formatted correctly according to MLA requirements. Sentence clarity & Diction 20 pts Sentence errors undermine author’s credibility Significant sentence errors and/or consistently poor word choice Most sentences & terms are effective, but some errors distract reader. Sentences are clear, rhythmical, and varied. Words convey meaning effectively. Mechanics 10 Mechanical errors undermine author’s credibility. Significant punctuation, spelling, or formatting rrors. Minor punctuation or spelling errors. Minor formatting problems Correct punctuation and spelling. Formatting (spacing, indentations, margins, and title) are clear. “This is Water” (David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement Speech) This is the commencement address he gave to the graduates of Kenyon College in 2005. If anybody feels like perspiring [cough], I'd advise you to go ahead, because I'm sure going to. In fact I'm gonna [mumbles while pulling up his gown and taking out a handkerchief from his pocket].) Greetings ["parents"?] and congratulations to Kenyon's graduating class of 2005. There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?" This is a standard requirement of US commencement speeches, the deployment of didactic little parable-ish stories. The story ["thing"] turns out to be one of the better, less bullshitty conventions of the genre, but if you're worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don't be. I am not the wise old fish. The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance, or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning. Of course the main requirement of speeches like this is that I'm supposed to talk about your liberal arts education's meaning, to try to explain why the degree you are about to receive has actual human value instead of just a material payoff. So let's talk about the single most pervasive cliché in the commencement speech genre, which is that a liberal arts education is not so much about filling you up with knowledge as it is about "teaching you how to think." If you're like me as a student, you've never liked hearing this, and you tend to feel a bit insulted by the claim that you needed anybody to teach you how to think, since the fact that you even got admitted to a college this good seems like proof that you already know how to think. But I'm going to posit to you that the liberal arts cliché turns out not to be insulting at all, because the really significant education in thinking that we're supposed to get in a place like this isn't really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about. If your total freedom of choice regarding what to think about seems too obvious to waste time discussing, I'd ask you to think about fish and water, and to bracket for just a few minutes your scepticism about the value of the totally obvious. Here's another didactic little story. There are these two guys sitting together in a bar in the remote Alaskan wilderness. One of the guys is religious, the other is an atheist, and the two are arguing about the existence of God with that special intensity that comes after about the fourth beer. And the atheist says: "Look, it's not like I don't have actual reasons for not believing in God. It's not like I haven't ever experimented with the whole God and prayer thing. Just last month I got caught away