Trans Office Hours

New Hours!

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:14:33 -0500

We’re still at the Village, but are going from on Fridays from 12-1 and by appointment.

Purdue's OWL Site

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:00:00 -0500

Purdue University has a great Online Writing Lab (OWL) site for the public to use. The general site is http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. It features tutorials, explanations, and exercises. Here, for example, is an explanation of Subject/Verb Agreement! :)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/

Photo

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:25:32 -0400

Friday, Sept 3--Office Hours at Cafe Muse!

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:21:19 -0400

LifeWorks is closed today for the holiday weekend, but I am here at Cafe Muse! :) 6547 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90038-1432

Ryka

Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:20:00 -0400

Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation:

One of our faculty, Ryka Aoki has an essay in this book!

“Gender Outlaws includes essays, commentary, comic art, and conversations from a diverse group of trans-spectrum people who live and believe in barrier-breaking lives.”

And Here's a Kewl Article from Kalil

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:40:38 -0400

And Here's a Kewl Article from Kalil:

Writing well gives you power.

Here's a Great Article on Aakash! :)

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:32:42 -0400

Here's a Great Article on Aakash! :):

Education helps you kick ass. Here’s proof! :) Meet with Aakash on Thursdays at the Village

New Office Day - Thursdays 10am-1pm

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:07:21 -0400

Aakash and Kalil are now open for office hours! Join us Thursday July 22nd and every Thursday from 10am to 1pm

Aakash and KaliI can especially help you with: math, statistics, psych, education, spanish to english writing skills, and applying to schools or being trans on campus.

Hope to see you there!

- Kalil

Congratulations, Christina!

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:12:51 -0400

Talia and I would like to congratulate Christina on passing her algebra class! :) Next stop for her: statistics (which means getting together with Aakash!)

:)
ryka

PS—remember we’re here throughout the summer for help with summer school or placement tests!

Congratulations to Christina Quiñonez!

Fri, 28 May 2010 19:40:12 -0400

Christina Quiñonez “Wow the prayers have worked and so has my studying. I am honored to announce my first A in my algebra class. raise your drinks up for me and swallow hard.”

Our Newest Facilitators: Aakash Kishore and Kalil Cohen

Fri, 14 May 2010 16:18:13 -0400

We’re getting a math/psych peeps! :) Yay! Aakash and Kalil anre joining us to answer all those math questions that make Talia and me all glazed over and buggy.

We are working on scheduling Aakash and Kalil right now. In the meantime, contact either of them directly to set up an in-person or online tutoring session.

Here are their most excellent bios!

Aakash Kishore is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at UCLA. He earned his BA in Psychology and Black Studies from Pomona College in 2007 and has two years of work experience in a cognitive neuroscience laboratory. Broadly, Aakash can serve as a resource for questions about math/statistics, scientific writing, and building/presenting a science resume. As a student in clinical psychology, he can also assist individuals who are pursuing degrees in the psychological, social, or life sciences, or who aspire to careers in the social services.

Kalil Cohen is an experienced teacher with a Masters degree in Education. He has 12 years experience tutoring students at all levels in math and writing. His math tutoring covers college-level algebra and geometry. He has a teaching credential and bilingual Spanish certification and can help Spanish speakers improve their writing in English.

Please welcome Aakash Kishore

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:21:59 -0400

We’re getting a math/psych person! :) Yay! Aakash Kishore is joining us and soon you can ask him all those questions that make Talia and me all glazed over and buggy.

Congratulations to Janelle Wright!

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:30:20 -0400

Janelle has just been accepted into MKC Beauty School’s Masters Program in Makeup Artistry Janelle has worked with Tran Office Hours on her personal essay and résumé. “I think Trans Office Hours is awesome!” says Janelle.

Janelle encourages people who might go into beauty school to make sure it is truly what you love. “Love what you do first, and the money will follow.” Check out Janelle’s work at www.modelmayhem.com/facemefierce Mayhem #1270371.

Congratulations, Janelle!

Correcting the paragraph, Pt.1

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:05:53 -0400

Let’s try to create an error-free passage without losing meaning. Since incorrect grammar is confusing, your answer may be different.

One day, Mark and Jolene were hungry. Because neither of them had a lot of money, they decided to make sandwiches at Mark’s house and go on a winter picnic. “It will be fun,” Jolene said.

Jolene came over and brought bread, mayonnaise, and lettuce. Mark had Oscar Mayer bologna, Kraft cheese, and three types of mustard. It was already two o’clock, so they hurried because they wanted lots of daylight. They made sandwiches, and Jolene made iced tea. They couldn’t buy soda, but iced tea tasted just fine.

When they got to Washington Park, they spread out a blanket and had a picnic. Mark liked Dijon mustard the best, but Jolene liked French’s Yellow Mustard because it was classic. They had iced tea and watched the sunset. Even though it wasn’t expensive, it was a good Saturday.

Notice commas, capitalization, as well as sentence and paragraph breaks. Let us know if you have questions! :)

1. Add and correct punctuation to this passage.

one day mark and jolene were hungry. because neither of them had. a lot of money they decided to make sandwiches at marks house and go on a winter picnic it will be fun jolene said jolene came over and brought bread mayonnaise and lettuce mark had oscar mayer bologna kraft cheese and 3 types of mustard. it was already two oclock so they hurried, because they wanted lots of daylight. they finished making sandwiches and jolene made some iced tea. they couldnt buy soda, but, iced, tea tasted, just fine. when they got to the washington park they spread out a blanket and had a picnic. mark liked dijon mustard the best but jolene liked frenchs yellow mustard because it was classic. they ate had iced tea and watched the sunset. even though it wasnt expensive it was a good saturday.

Punctuation drill! :)

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:42:54 -0400

Hi Folks!

This is an actual question from one of my B-Level English courses. Give it a try. I’ll post the answer in two weeks (when I get back from Denver).

Remember, no Office Hours April 9!

See ya!

1. Add and correct punctuation to this passage.

Thesis Statements: Some Further Reflections

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:34:00 -0400

Writing and reading are intimately related. As you start to get clearer about writing a thesis statement, you will also get better at identifying topic, thesis, and thesis support in any essay or book that you are reading.

Argumentative essays are best approached in levels. This means that rather than reading from beginning to middle to end (like a novel), you should first quickly inspects the essay (title, opening paragraph, concluding paragraph) to find the topic and (hopefully!) the thesis statement that will be defended. For example, an essay with the title “Why Dogs are better than Cats” is probably a dead give away. Then, you should look to see whether the essay is divided into sections or parts. You should also look to find the most general support or argument for the thesis. For example, the essay might list five reasons why dogs are better than cats (each reason elaborated in a few paragraphs). This would give you an essay with five major parts (plus intro and conclusion). Then, you can look at each part of the argument to see if there are sub-arguments, and so forth within each section. You get the idea!

When you read an essay with this agenda in mind (what is the topic, what is the thesis, what is the argument), not only is the essay more easily (and quickly) digested, you are encountering fine examples of how to write thesis-defense essays. You will pick up good strategies and techniques along the way. Your own writing will improve!

Talia

The Importance of Thesis Statements, Pt. 2

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:57:00 -0400

Hi All!

So…how on earth do we write a thesis statement?

Well, there are many ways to accomplish this, and people have their styles—in fact, this is part of finding one’s own voice. Think about it—doesn’t everyone seems to have a certain way to ask for things, or to argue? It’s the same things with thesis statements. You may find that you wouldn’t word a thesis statement like your classmate. Not a problem.

However, even though there are many ways to write a thesis statement, they all will address three very important questions:

A. What is it, exactly, you are writing about?

This is your topic—it can be expressed as a noun phrase, such as “Abortion in the 1990s” or “Kentucky” or “Finding a major.”

B. What is, exactly, your assertion about A?

This is usually short. “Is the best” works as an argument. “is a great place to live,” is another (probably a narrative essay). “could be improved by recycling” would be a persuasive essay. “is more complicated than it looks” would be a division/definition essay.

HINT! Although this is short, notice how each of these has a verb? This is important.

C. What is your support for B?

This is a little longer. It often beings with two or three noun phrases in a row. “the climate, the cost of living, and the good pizza” works. “concealer, foundation, and powder” is good. “changing interests, career opportunities, and family expectations” is another. Just think of noun phrases that support your assertion in B.

Okay, so how does this all come together?

There are, like I said, many ways to do this. Here’s how I teach my students. It’s not flashy, but it gets the job done.

A + B, because* C.

*because, unless, when, until, or other similar word. These are called subordinating conjunctions. We can talk about these later.

How does this work? It’s actually pretty simple.

A=Finding a major

B=is more complicated than it looks

C=changing interests, career opportunities, and family expectations

Result:

Finding a major is more complicated than it looks because of changing interests, career opportunities, and family expectations.

Here’s another example:

A=Kentucky

B= is a great place to live

C=the climate, the cost of living, and the good pizza

Result:

Kentucky is a great place to live because of the climate, the cost of living, and the good pizza.

There you go! Try this a few times and let me know how it goes. Reach us at transofficehours@gmail.com

Okay—time to let Talia on! :)
See ya!
Prof. Ryka

The Importance of Thesis Statements, Pt. 1

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:20:00 -0400

Hi All,

In my classes, one of the most glaring problems I see is the lack of a strong thesis statement. The thesis statement is your pitch, the idea that you are trying to convey to your reader. Your objective can be to prove a point, to teach a process, to describe a setting, or to define a term, but in all cases, your thesis must be stated in one well-constructed sentence.

Rather than giving you more theory, check this out. Imagine this thesis:

This paper is about Los Angeles.

This paper is doomed from the start because it has a poor thesis. Why? Because it can go in so many ways, and the writer has no idea what to write. How do you start your research?

Instead, imagine this definition essay:

Los Angeles may seem like one big city, but it actually is composed of small neighborhoods, such as Koreatown, Boyle Heights, and Leimert Park.

Don’t you immediately know what this essay is going to be about? If you were to research this essay, wouldn’t you know immediately what to do?

A strong thesis leads and guides the entire essay. A weak thesis like:

I am writing about traffic in Los Angeles.

does not guide the essay. Instead,

Traffic in Los Angeles is detrimental to its residents because of environmental pollutants, lost work time, and psychological damage.

makes for a much better argument essay.

Go over your essays and essay drafts, especially those that are giving you problems. Locate your thesis statements. Do they say what you want them to say? Do they clearly state your ideas? If not, How can you make them better? I’ll talk a little more about this in Part 2 next week.

See ya!

Professor Ryka ;)

Find Us on Facebook!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:18:00 -0500

Trans Office Hours is now on Facebook!

Please search OFFICE HOURS: Transgender Educational Support and we should show up! :)

Or just click here.

Ryka

Your esteemed faculty.

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:19:35 -0500

Your esteemed faculty.