Prospectus Paragraph

Write one of these and bring it to class tomorrow.

A Prospectus Paragraph announces the subject of your paper and introduces some of the evidence you might be using. You should also try to include a “so what” in your prospectus paragraph. The “so what” is your analytical or interpretive point -- your interpretation or analysis of the evidence you produce.

Your prospectus paragraph does NOT appear in your paper. It is designed to get you thinking and organized before you begin writing the paper itself.

Your prospectus paragraph should be strong enough to allow you to write a thoughtful paper.

Louisa, Please Come Home

If you need the text or the questions outside of class, here are links to both.

Louisa, Please Come Home text
Questions

This I Believe

Your This I Believe essay is due at the beginning of class on Thursday Jan 14th. You will need two copies, one for me and one for you. As this is a radio show staple, it will be presented aloud. Here are the requirements adapted from the This I Believe submission page (I encourage you to submit them to This I Believe if you wish).

Keep the following in mind when you write your essay:

1.    Limit your essay to 350-500 words.

2.    Describe an event that shaped your beliefs or a person who inspired them.

3.    Avoid sermons and editorials—no soapbox declamations, please!

4.    Read more of the This I Believe essay-writing tips.

You can peruse multiple examples at http://thisibelieve.org. Often the ones put on the radio are a bit better, but not necessarily so.

Andrea Kang's (Class of 2009) This I Believe essay. They re-posted it from its original posting so all of the comments are gone, but her essay is there.

The Crucible Final Essay

Assignment sheet with rubric

Literary Analysis Essay: The Crucible

Directions

Choose 1 (ONE) of the following topics and write a complete, organized essay (introduction, body, conclusion) using correct MLA format. Use complete sentences and balance your evidence with analytical commentary (it will help many of you to use the CD/CM/CM format to ensure this). Provide SPECIFIC DETAILS from the text!  

Essay Choices

1. The Crucible is an argument made by an author in a particular time and place. In a well-written essay, examine the methods Miller uses to make his argument to the American people when it opened on Broadway on October 10, 1953. Make sure you discuss specific elements and passages of the play to support your analysis.
2. From the play The Crucible, select an important character that is a villain. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character's villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. Be sure to include specific textual evidence.
3. Analyze how one or more characters in The Crucible deals with adversity. Give specific reasons for your choice and use concrete evidence from the play to support your assertion.
4. Select either HYSTERIA or CRUCIBLE and explain through specific references to the play how important these terms are to the understanding of Miller’s play. You will need to have a dictionary definition as part of your answer. Make sure you discuss specific elements and passages of the play to support your analysis.
5. There are many themes that Miller attempts to explore in The Crucible. Select one (1) of them and discuss what his insight into human nature and life is as it relates to the way he presents the theme in The Crucible. (Hatred, jealousy/envy, lust for power, hypocrisy, evil, prejudice/narrow-mindedness, greed are some examples of topics you could develop a theme from.)
6. Discuss how the girls were like wolves in sheep’s clothing and how the citizens of Salem were blind little lambs, willing to be taken to slaughter. Again be sure to use text evidence to support your point of view.

Requirements

• Analytical claim (thesis)
• 3 direct quotations and 3 indirect quotations, cited in MLA format
• Approximately 450 words (give or take 10% – 405-495 words); MLA format (see website)
• When you turn in your essay, you MUST include the following:

1. Final Draft on the top
2. Rough draft
3. Prewriting
4. Rubric on the bottom

Points: 80

Break-Up Letter

Using the Declaration of Independence as a model for the structure and type of content, you're writing a break-up letter that you will deliver in front of the class. Click here for the full assignment. Come to class tomorrow with what you're breaking up with and some notes about why so that you're ready to write.

SAT Vocabulary

Looking for the SAT Vocabulary? Find it on the Class Documents page and on Quizlet.

10 Questions

Bring your responses to these ten questions in tomorrow (Friday, September 4th). Like all assignments, they should be headed in MLA format.

1. What is one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done?
2. What’s the furthest place you’ve ever been from your current home?
3. What is something you like about yourself?
4. What’s your favorite story (book or movie)?
5. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
6. What is one thing you wish you had more time for in your life?
7. When you are not at school, what do you spend most of your time doing?
8. Name your most prized possession.
9. If you could only listen to one genre/type of music for the rest of your life, what would it be?
10. Think about the best class you’ve ever been in. What made that class different?

A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace audio book.

Gatsby Resources

Read along with a Gatsby audio book.
Study Guide

Reading Schedule

Chapter	Approx. # of Pgs	Read by
Chapter I	21	3/13
Chapter II	15	3/16
Chapter III	21	3/18
Chapter IV	20	3/20
Chapter V	16	3/23
Chapter VI	15	3/24
Chapter VII	34	3/26
Chapter VIII	16	3/30
Chapter IX	18	4/1

This video is worth checking out, unless you can't bear minor spoilers.

Plagiarism Certification Site

Here is the link for the test: https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/test.html.

Remember to work through the examples: https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html. They have 5 examples for word-for-word plagiarism and 5 for paraphrase plagiarism. Go through at least one or two each in depth before taking the tests. You don't have to review all 5 of each unless you're struggling to understand.

If you have taken the test too many times and they shut you out, clear your browser history and you'll look like a new visitor (make sure you're clearing the cookies too--that's what the site uses to identify your computer). When you complete it, please email the certificate to me. Make sure your name is associated with it.

Plagiarism.org also has explanations if you're having trouble getting it from the Indiana University site. They also have a nice, fairly concise explanation of how to prevent plagiarism in your essays: http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/prevention/.

Research Paper Resources

Research Paper Resources are collected in a Google Drive folder.

Reviews for your argument

Read reviews. Take notes. Consider what facts and evidence would appeal to your audience. Tomorrow you'll be working to arrange them into an argument you can present to the class.

Xbox Reviews
http://www.cnet.com/products/microsoft-xbox-one/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/27/xbox-one-review-2014
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-One/product-reviews/B00KAI3KW2

Playstation 4
http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-playstation-4/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/21/playstation-4-re-review
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-4-Console/product-reviews/B00BGA9WK2

Direct Comparisons
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/xbox-one-vs-sony-ps4
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/ps4-vs-xbox-720-which-is-better-1127315
http://kotaku.com/one-year-later-should-you-get-an-xbox-one-or-a-ps4-1661277664

Nintendo (for Richard)
http://time.com/3604654/nintendo-wii-u-xbox-one-playstation/
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/01/ps4-xbox-one-wii-u-which-console-should-you-buy-this-christmas-part-one
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/02/ps4-xbox-one-wii-u-which-console-should-you-buy

Own Your Education

You are writing an essay that will use three types of arrangements to answer three different sets of questions.

Definition: How can it be defined?

Description: What does it look like? What are its characteristics?

Exemplification: What are some examples of it?

This prompt requires you to accomplish accomplish two tasks. First, you must define what it means for someone to own their education. That may include describing as well as defining.  Then you must explain, using examples, what it would mean for you to own your education. That will likely involve connecting the generalized descriptions with specific examples of what it would look like for you to do this.

When writing this, consider where you are at in high school right now. However, also consider where you want to go in life and what education or training you may need to get there. While the state has defined the minimum requirements for graduating high school, there is room to both customize that and position yourself for success in your chosen field. Often with all the grad requirements and tests mandated by the state it can be easy to become passive and take on a “whatever” attitude. Yet we also all know that education and training is one of the most important currencies in our society, and the only one readily available to everyone. This essay deals with the overarching issue of how we should spend that currency to our best individual advantage.

Due Dates

Rough Draft: End of the period tomorrow, Thursday January 29th.

Final Draft: Monday February 2nd

Length: 450-650 words

Semester Final

If you somehow missed what was going to be on the final, here you go.

Study the image grammar stuff we've been doing. Know how to spot a participle, absolute, appositive, and adjectives out of order. These links were developed by others who use the same system I'm using.
http://quizlet.com/3747817/5-image-grammar-brush-strokes-flash-cards/
http://www.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib2/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/3125/BrushstrokesPDF.pdf

The rest of it is hard to study for. There is a section with excerpts from Plainswoman where you have to answer questions about the text. There is some poetry you answer questions about (that's why we were going over those poems again). There is also a piece you haven't seen before that I've asked some questions about to see how you can read and determine meaning.

The last part is you take a position on a statement and defend your position in a 2-chunk paragraph like we did with Emerson.

The most you can really do to prepare is to reread the poetry from the Romanticism section and make sure you understand what's going on and then study the grammar. The two links above should help remind you what we did in class. We'll likely use that PDF later. I hope that helps.

This I Believe Paper

Your This I Believe essay is due on Monday January 20^th. You will need two copies, one for me and one for you. As this is a radio show staple, it will be presented aloud. Here are the requirements adapted from the This I Believe submission page (I encourage you to submit them to This I Believe if you wish).

Keep the following in mind when you write your essay:

1.    Limit your essay to 350-500 words.

2.    Describe an event that shaped your beliefs or a person who inspired them.

3.    Avoid sermons and editorials—no soapbox declamations, please!

4.    Read more of the This I Believe essay-writing tips.

You can peruse multiple examples at http://thisibelieve.org. Often the ones put on the radio are a bit better, but not necessarily so.

Andrea Kang's (Class of 2009) This I Believe essay. They re-posted it from its original posting so all of the comments are gone, but her essay is there.

GPA Calulator

Our Tech Department doesn't have the Skyward GPA calculator incorporated yet. I know many of you need to see that. I ran across this GPA Calculator on Google Sheets. To use it,

1. Click the link below. 
2. Off the File menu, choose "Make a copy..." and it will create a copy you can edit. 
3. Input your classes and grades.

Voila! Your GPA!

GPA Sheets Template

Crucible Documents

Act 1 Questions
Act 1 Characters
Socratic Seminar Handout (Includes Act 2 Questions
Act 3 Questions
Act 4 Questions

Young Goodman Brown

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here is the Young Goodman Brown text in case you misplaced yours. Remember that you will need your questions and your notes for this piece as there will be a test and we're moving toward a literary analysis paper. What is a literary analysis you may ask? Read on for a brief explanation.

Literary analysis differs from the conventional book report in that you assume the reader of your analysis has read the story. Therefore, you should not rely heavily on plot summary but instead on interpretation. You focus on certain elements of the story and how the author uses these elements in the creation of meaning. "Young Goodman Brown" is a particularly appropriate piece to analyze because it is a moral allegory; that is, a story told with two levels of meaning: the literal and the symbolic. The symbolic meaning reflects moral themes. For example, when people look within for depravity, they can learn undesirable things about themselves, lose their faith, and alienate themselves from society. There are other moral themes that you can explore as well depending on your interpretation of the story. Your job is to show how Hawthorne develops the theme by focusing on his use of symbolism as well as his use of imagery in creating the mood that helps convey the theme.

Young Goodman Brown writing assignment
Symbolism: a definition with both common and literary examples
Metaphors: a definition with both common and literary examples
Imagery: a definition with both common and literary examples

MLA Tools

MLA at OWL
Scintillating video on formatting (below)

Pictures

Is it just me, or does Randi look incredibly creepy in this picture?

For pictures from Friday, click this link. Have a great summer!

Final Study Notes

Topics covered by the exam

Common Poetic Devices
Research Paper Resource Packet (has MLA in it)
Punctuation and Grammar
Gatsby Questions
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian questions
Poetry Questions (Poems we worked with -- Dickinson, Hughes, Collins, Cullen, McKay)
Poetic Devices