Spring Semester (The Sufjan Stevens Essay) Explanation

*Preface*- This is an explanation to the experimental essay written a few entries below.

The essay paired with this justification is indeed experimental, for I worked through different styles to explain my two working theses. I approached this essay by explaining how my semester has been trying in two ways: emotionally and mentally. I decided to break these two apart and have them juxtaposed for the reader (and myself) to see. My first working thesis is that while academics are important, the emotional side of one’s life can be more daunting. My second working thesis is that the English language rules are constantly in question, thus anyone from an author to an ESOL student will be challenged. I separated the two theses by styles: the first in prose, the second in academic language. In order to have the readers transition from one style to the next, I divided the piece by my class schedule.

I worked through the grieving process of my friend’s cancer diagnosis through this essay. Through prose, I sorted through the difficult emotional discourses I encountered over the past four months.  I first began the prose with guilt being the underlying emotion, for one normally feels guilt quickly into the grieving process. The lines, “chain smoking outside of Classroom One, and the Business Academy, and just about everywhere. Cancer of the mouth should have been me,” are enough to bring me back down into that grieving phase.

            I then worked through the emotions of solitude and anger, for those are the next two that follow in a grieving process. I again set the scene on campus, for I wanted the reader to keep being reminded that I was on school with these emotions. I wanted the anger to represent something more than anger at myself, for I know it is not my fault that Kate has cancer. I have never been a believer in God, but the moment I found out she had cancer, I decided He deserved the blame. It’s been the strangest emotion for me, for I never believed in Him initially, yet now that she’s sick, I almost do. I almost need that someone to blame, and I wanted that to show through the second and third stanza.

            By the third stanza, I knew the grieving process explained in my prose was going well. I decided to take the route of depression and sadness in this stanza, for those are the next to follow. I wrote about my boyfriend at the time (“God” bless his heart), and how he traveled so much during this difficult time for me. I chose to write about “lonely birthdays” for he was in Montreal on his birthday and was in San Francisco on mine. I thought that image would be a nice way to relate to the reader, for they can picture a lonely birthday in their minds (unlike trying to identify the radiation machine I know so well). 

I concluded the last stanza of prose with a bit of frustration and anger again. I have not reached the acceptance and hope stage of grieving yet, and I did not want to lie to my reader. I also included the “writing about writing (which is redundant as it seems)” to place the academic and emotional sides together. I wanted to show the struggle of school and emotional hardships and I think that line ties it all together nicely. 

The lengthy parts of my essay are placed strategically throughout the prose. I placed the “concept attainment” section first for two reasons. “Concept attainment” is the hardest idea to grasp in this essay, and I wanted the reader to be greeted with a difficult idea backed with supportive resources. Secondly, I wanted the reader to use “concept attainment” when reading my prose. In my eyes, the reader should identify the grieving process without me stating, “I’M GRIEVING” in bold font for them. By being shown these different emotions, if the reader applies concept attainment, they will understand the reasoning for the prose. 

I then wrote about ESOL students and situations they deal with for that has been a giant bulk of my semester’s academic requirements. This subject is not necessarily entertaining, but it serves a purpose in this essay because it provides examples of how ridiculous the English language actually is. I then wrote about the use of “I” in an academic essay, and how scholarly sources cannot decide if it is okay or not. I felt like this carried the situations of the ESOL students further, for it offered the idea that the English language has too many rules for anyone to learn. I then went on to show why an audience will retract from an essay if the rules are broken. Writing, in English, is a Catch-22, and I feel like my essay shows this nicely.

If my readers catch on to either of my theses or the grieving process through my prose, I will be pleased. I recognize that there is a vague element to my piece, for I did not want the reader to know exactly what I meant; that’s too personal for me to even share. Instead, if the reader cannot identify any of my intentions, I hope they feel the pull that I do when I read this again and again. The struggle of sadness and academic responsibility has become so daunting; I want the reader to feel that, too. The biggest struggle I encountered when writing this piece was retracting obvious statements. I so badly wanted to write, “I’m Sad. School Sucks. English is Hard,” but I knew I could produce something much more challenging. I’m awfully pleased with the result of this paper, although I know too well that I will be the only reader who understands the situation I am in.

Spring Semester: Sufjan Stevens

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens[1] and carcinoma,

Chemotherapy consultations

and panic attacks in the radiation machine.

I am crying in the bathroom.[2]

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and chain smoking

outside of Classroom One,

and the Business Academy, and just about everywhere.

Cancer of the mouth should have been me.

EDG 4410; SECTION 08; MONDAYS 10:30-1:20

Jerome Bruner’s creation of the “concept attainment” model of teaching has opened new, productive ways to teach elements of literature to students, for it allows the readers to search through information to draw conclusions about a subject. “Concept attainment” is the search for and identification of attributes that can be used to distinguish examples of a given group or category from non-examples (“Instructional Strategies Online”). Because definitions of literary terms are often infused, students usually have a misunderstanding of what a term means. “Students and even, at times, educators think that if you know what something is called, you understand the meaning of the word. Vygotsky (1986) commented, ‘A word does not refer to a single object, but to a group or to a class of objects. Each word is therefore already a generalization’ (p. 6)” (Boulware 492). The best way to establish new meaning to a previously determined word is to apply “concept attainment.”

To use the “concept attainment” model of teaching when describing the word ‘metaphor,’ the students must search through examples and non examples of a metaphor. After the class agrees on the attributes of a metaphor, they create a definition. Once the word is again defined, the students create examples of a metaphor to show their grasp of new knowledge. Rather than being told another definition, “concept attainment” gives the students the opportunity to create their own meaning based on logic and relationships of words and abstracts. This not only creates a clearer image of a metaphor for the students, but also enhances their critical thinking skills.

“The three phases of this strategy allow students to follow an inductive sequence, drawing conclusions through a group exploration of the concept presented. In phase 1 of the strategy, the students examine the concept and form a hypothesis about its attributes. During phase 2, students test and confirm their idea and learn the name of the concept presented. Finally, in phase 3, the students analyze the thinking strategies they used to derive the new concept (Holt & Kysilka, 2006; Joyce et al., 2004)” (Boulware).

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and singularity.

Melodies while walking to class, head hung low[3];

Maintaining the rhythm while shielding from

the steps of strangers who have other places to be.

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and godliness,

and godlessness, and, “Oh, God, where are you now?”[4]

We wished in the waiting room,

(Where He was never witnessed).

TSL 4240; SECTION 02; TUESDAYS/ THURSDAYS 9:00-10:15

One of the trickiest things for an English Language Learner (ELL) is prepositions, for they are often not heard in common conversation. A Native English Speaker (NES) produces sentences quickly, and often does not enunciate the preposition in between words. For example, a NES does not place emphasis on the bold word in the sentence, “I’m placing creamer in my coffee.” Instead, a NES says, “I’m placing creamer ‘n my coffee.” Often time, an ELL will substitute a preposition for another because of this fallacy. Then, when facing an English comprehension test, an ELL student will not be able to clearly identify which preposition works for said sentence, for “on” or “in” might have been heard. This greatly affects an ELL’s writing ability for they are limited by their hearing of casual conversation.

Phrasal verbs often intimidate ELLs, although they are extremely common in the English language. Phrasal verbs are a verb + a preposition, which have meaning on their own. An example of a phrasal verb is “She ran up a huge bill,” or “The plane took off the runway.” The girl did not literally run (or swiftly jog) up a bill, but an ELL might think that. Instead, the meaning of the sentence is that she incurred a large bill. The plane did not literally take a runway, but instead, left the runway. This can be very confusing when an ELL sits down to write, for without the context clues in conversation, they can fear they are using the wrong meaning of the phrasal verb.

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and the iPod,

the iPhone, the iPad, and the iLove.

Relationship discourse through distance and devices,

when work wanted travel at inopportune times.

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and lonely birthdays,

And even lonelier nights.

We lift our hands and pray over your body

But nothing ever happens.[5]

ENC 3311; SECTION 01; TUESDAYS/ THURSDAYS 10:30-11:45

When writing an academic essay, the use of “I” is not recommended, but can be appropriate when a text calls for it. “Some scholarly writers claim that they should not use a first-person subject, because they need to create an objective point of view” (Williams 64). Yet, some academic essays do not want an objective POV from the audience, for they instead seek to gain specific response from the reader. An essay is deemed academic if it exposes something to the reader with a specific goal in mind. Academic essays can explain a concept, share an idea, or offer a story in a perfectly constructed format. “When academics writers do use the first person, however, they use it in certain ways, […] the first person I and we are common in scholarly prose when used with verbs that name actions unique to the writer,” (Williams 67).

The most challenging way to complete an academic essay in the first person has been said to be an experimental academic essay, for the author has to identify which rules to bend, to break, and to adhere to. An author also has to recognize their intended audience, and honor the fact that some of their readers might become lost if the essay is too formal/distant/ personal/ confusing/experimental/racist/sexist/evil/bitchy/breathes the wrong way. Through the use of stylistic elements such as manipulation and coherence, the author can generally predict how their work will be perceived.

It was the semester of Sufjan Stevens and writing about writing

(which is as redundant as it seems),

when a twenty-year-old friend is dying of cancer.

And He takes, and He takes, and He takes.[6]

Work Cited

Boulware, Beverly J., and Mary Lynn Crow. "Using the Concept Attainment Strategy to Enhance Reading Comprehension." The Reading Teacher 61.6 (2008): 491-95. ERIC. Web. 4 Apr. 2010.

"Instructional Strategies Online - Concept Attainment." Online Learning Centre. Ed. Saskatoon Public Schools. 2004. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Stevens, Sufjan. "Casimir Pulaski Day." Rec. 2004. Come On, Feel the Illinois. Sufjan Stevens. Sufjan Stevens, 2005. CD.

Williams, Joseph M. "Characters." Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Ninth ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 64-67. Print.

[1] American Christian folk writer/singer (1975-?)

[2] Song lyric from Sufjan Stevens’ “Casimir Pulaski Day”

[3] Song lyric from Sufjan Stevens’ “Casimir Pulaski Day”

[4] a Sufjan Stevens’ song

[5] Song lyrics from Sufjan Steven’s “Casimir Pulaski Day”

[6] Song lyric from Sufjan Steven’s “Casimir Pulaski Day”