[Englecturers] WOW! Thanks for the advice, folks!

[Benedict Jones]

You've all given me so many great film titles--I'll be putting a bunch 
of these movies on my list of recommendations. I haven't seen all of 
these movies, but some I know by reputation, so I can add them to the 
list without having seen them. Then I can rent several in the coming 
weeks while my students are writing their papers.

Jack, thanks for the attachment. I'm always hesitant to make big changes 
to assignments that have worked in the past, but your paper assignment 
has given me a few ideas, and I'm always happy to see that someone else 
is using an assignment that has affinities with mine. I was hoping to 
use my assignment not only as an evaluation essay but also as a way to, 
er, force my students to use a specialized reference book of some kind 
to define or clarify the issue that they'll be writing about. Have you 
ever done this? There are lots of great encyclopedias in the reference 
stacks on bioethics, human rights, all sorts of things. I'm hoping that 
requiring the use of a specialized tertiary source will encourage my 
students to use such sources as a starting point when they get to the 
big research paper. (A vain hope, I suppose.)

Now I know where to go for suggestions when I start putting together the 
Speculating about Causes paper. I haven't assigned that type of essay in 
a few years, so I'll be starting all over, from the ground up. Be 
looking for another pathetic plea in the coming weeks...after I get a 
chance to glean ideas from the 1B binder in the copy room.

Okay, I have to get back to work. I'm a bit behind tonight.

Thanks again, to all of you.

Benedict