Ch 1
Writer's Checklist:
- Have you achieved your purpose?
- Have you considered ur audience?
- Have you clearly stated ur thesis?
- Have you supported ur pt. w/ enof reliable evidence to persuade ur audience?
- Have you arranged your ideas LOGICALLY so that each follows, supports or adds to the one before?
- Have you made connections among ideas clear to a reader?
- Have u established an appropriate tone?
GETTING STARTED
Think about what u want 2 accomplish as a writer and how u want to appeal 2 thy audience.
Plan
*Identify ur purpose and audience
*decide on one main point
*state a thesis
*Organize ideas by grouping or outlineing
Develop
*Explain + support
*Add def.s, ex.s, and details
*Supply evidence such as facts, stat.s, expert testimony, and observations
Draft
*Start and Restart
*Build paragraphs
*Open and conclude
*Create coherence
___________________________________________________________________________________
Ch 2
Think critically whilst reading
Actively think
Ask yourself:
What is the subject of the reading, what is the writer's stand, what are the main points,
do you agree with the writer, what conclusions did you draw from the reading?
Building Blocks of Thought
1) Knowing: Once you read the passage try to recollect any backround you might already have
2) Comprehending: Understand the passage
3) Applying: Connect the knowledge in the text to things you already know
4) Analyzing: Scrutinize from various angles. Break ideas into parts
5) Synthesizing: Recombining information, pulling together facts and opinions, identifying evidence, and drawing conclusions that evidence seems to support
6) Evaluate: Evaluate the significance of the knowledge you have
When trying to write on a topic use info u already have, summarize complex ideas, read articles on the topic so as to gain more perspective
Read things online and concentrate whilst reading, view different types of media, bookmark, and make sure the information is valid.
Monday, August 26, 2013
New Realm of Learning
Why, hullo there!
Today was my first at Pellessippi State Community College and quite honestly it wasn't everything I had expected. Maybe it's because I woke up late, it was a hot day, and I didn't meet many new people, but in a way it felt like I was back in high school, just with a few mom students scattered about. I'm not letting this get me down, however. My attitude is as it was yesterday: ecstatic. Now let me explain why I am back. I figured that it would be a great way to keep track of everything I do for my NEW English class. There will be a lot of writing, reading, and note taking. I remember how easy it was to take notes and things on this blog, so that's what I'm aiming to do!
Today was my first at Pellessippi State Community College and quite honestly it wasn't everything I had expected. Maybe it's because I woke up late, it was a hot day, and I didn't meet many new people, but in a way it felt like I was back in high school, just with a few mom students scattered about. I'm not letting this get me down, however. My attitude is as it was yesterday: ecstatic. Now let me explain why I am back. I figured that it would be a great way to keep track of everything I do for my NEW English class. There will be a lot of writing, reading, and note taking. I remember how easy it was to take notes and things on this blog, so that's what I'm aiming to do!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Reviewing for the AP Test
The main thing I was working on this week was incorporating literary devices and techniques into my essays. That is something that I never really understood how or why I had to do it, so I never did. This whole week I have been training my brain to try and pick out elements that I could put into an essay if I had to. Re-reading a couple chapters of Frankenstein I set my brain on critical thinking mode and tried to do it as fast as I could. It sounds simple and not up to scratch with all this heavy duty essay writing we've been doing, but I know my brain. It's comfy with multiple choice and essay writing, but I can't be in contact with anything Doctor Who related for 3 days before the test. Otherwise, my essays get riddled with aliens and Jammy Dodgers.
Anyway, the one thing I wasn't familiar with was integrating lit facts into my writing. Now that I have practiced with them, I'm like:
BRING IT ON
and then the AP Test is like:
you're not half as clever as you think you are
but then I yell:
Come At Me Bro
and finally the test will know that it is defeated:
quiver quiver
This will be me in class the next day:
No biggy
Anyway, the one thing I wasn't familiar with was integrating lit facts into my writing. Now that I have practiced with them, I'm like:
BRING IT ON
and then the AP Test is like:
you're not half as clever as you think you are
but then I yell:
Come At Me Bro
and finally the test will know that it is defeated:
quiver quiver
This will be me in class the next day:
No biggy
Saturday, April 27, 2013
AP Essay #2 Poe and H.D.
[1994] Poems: “To Helen” (Edgar Allan Poe) and “Helen” (H.D.)
Prompt: The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers’ views of Helen.
Poe
imagery speaker diction
HD
speaker structure motif
As the daughter of Zeus and the owner of a face that launched a thousand ships it is no surprise that we still tell stories about Helen of Troy. Poets such as Edgar Allan Poe and H. D. found themselves writing about this beauty, but they did so in their own ways. Both used certain literary elements to write from different perspectives of history.
Beauty was always a welcome feature to Poe and it shows in “To Helen.” Writing from the perspective of a “weary, wayworn wanderer,” Poe uses imagery to accentuate her beauty. Phrases such as “hyacinth hair” and “Nicean barks of yore” help the reader visualize her grandeur and understand the speaker’s obsession with Helen. Many allusions are often referred to as well. “Thy Naiad airs have brought me home,” relates her to nymphs of the springs, which in turn shows her noble disposition. Poe also uses an adoring tone to show how much the speaker likes Helen.
Unlike Poe’s admiration for Helen, H.D.’s admiration for Helen is shown in a different light. The speaker is not just one person but a body of people that H.D. always refers to as “All Greece.” In H.D.’s version, Greece “reviles” Helen and the speaker is made into a country to show how oppressive the society was at the time. H.D. also uses a motif through out the poem. The color white at first symbolizes beauty, but then is synonymous to death towards the end.
Although both poets have a different perspective of Helen one similarity they share is their use of a speaker. In Poe’s he uses a weary traveller and in H.D.’s she uses a country. Each approach gets the theme across which is either Poe’s glorification of her beauty or H.D.’s admiration for a woman in a suppressive society.
The different perspectives are what drive the two poet’s stories. Through the use of different literary devices and techniques they portray Helen of Troy in separate lights although similarities can be found between them.
Prompt: The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers’ views of Helen.
Poe
imagery speaker diction
HD
speaker structure motif
As the daughter of Zeus and the owner of a face that launched a thousand ships it is no surprise that we still tell stories about Helen of Troy. Poets such as Edgar Allan Poe and H. D. found themselves writing about this beauty, but they did so in their own ways. Both used certain literary elements to write from different perspectives of history.
Beauty was always a welcome feature to Poe and it shows in “To Helen.” Writing from the perspective of a “weary, wayworn wanderer,” Poe uses imagery to accentuate her beauty. Phrases such as “hyacinth hair” and “Nicean barks of yore” help the reader visualize her grandeur and understand the speaker’s obsession with Helen. Many allusions are often referred to as well. “Thy Naiad airs have brought me home,” relates her to nymphs of the springs, which in turn shows her noble disposition. Poe also uses an adoring tone to show how much the speaker likes Helen.
Unlike Poe’s admiration for Helen, H.D.’s admiration for Helen is shown in a different light. The speaker is not just one person but a body of people that H.D. always refers to as “All Greece.” In H.D.’s version, Greece “reviles” Helen and the speaker is made into a country to show how oppressive the society was at the time. H.D. also uses a motif through out the poem. The color white at first symbolizes beauty, but then is synonymous to death towards the end.
Although both poets have a different perspective of Helen one similarity they share is their use of a speaker. In Poe’s he uses a weary traveller and in H.D.’s she uses a country. Each approach gets the theme across which is either Poe’s glorification of her beauty or H.D.’s admiration for a woman in a suppressive society.
The different perspectives are what drive the two poet’s stories. Through the use of different literary devices and techniques they portray Helen of Troy in separate lights although similarities can be found between them.
AP Essay on "A Barred Owl" and "The History Teacher"
Poems “A Barred Owl” (Richard Wilbur) and “The History Teacher” (Billy Collins)
Prompt: In the following two poems, adults provide explanations for children. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to make his point.
teacher
Irony Rhyme Juxtaposition
owl
Aphorism Rhyme assonance
Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
When I was six years old the one thing in the world that scared me the most was pirates, but when my mom told me they were really just silly scalawags who roamed the seas in search of adventure and gold, my perspective changed. She softened the truth so that my childhood fears wouldn’t keep me from enjoying Disneyland and soon all I could think about was becoming a pirate myself. Looking back, my mother’s explanation was a tool used to influence my behavior.
In comparing “The Barred Owl” by Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Collins each poet incorporates their own literary devices to show just how easily young children can be influenced.
Ignorance plays a large part in Billy Collins’ poem as he tells the story of this naive history teacher and his students. Unlike Wilbur’s poem, Collins’ use of irony clearly reveals that the bullies on the playground are doomed to repeat history because they know nothing about the past. For example, “the children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart...” this quote shows the ironic comparison between the bullies and the knowledge of past events. (lines13-15) Another ironic situation is the history teacher’s idea that his students are still innocent and in need of protection. Collins also uses juxtaposition within his poem to highlight the theme of ignorance between his students and people in the past. This comparison reinforces his ideas about the importance of not being ignorant to history’s lessons, right up to the end as the teacher walks home amidst “flower beds and white picket fences,” completely unaware of his influence on the children. (line 18)
In contrast to Collins’ poem, Richard Wilbur wrote “A Barred Owl” to show how lying to children can sometimes yield its own benefits. His use of assonance gives off a more calm tone than that of “The History Teacher.” The repetition of certain consonants and sounds such as, “the warping night air having brought the boom of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,” emphasizes Wilbur’s idea that calming words will sooth a child’s fears. (lines1-2) Aphorisms are another literary device that is found within the poem. “Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
can also thus domesticate a fear,” this clear statement shows how well words can calm a child’s fears. (lines7-8) So instead of lying to children and teaching them to be ignorant, as we saw in the first poem, Richard Wilbur has shown how a simple lie can sometimes “send a small child back to sleep at night.” (line 9)
While the two poems are different in many ways, similarities can be found between their makers. For example, both used rhyme to keep the reader interested and to help their stories flow. “A Barred Owl” had a more effortless rhyming scheme, whereas “The History Teacher” incorporated a more rigid one to make the reader feel uneasy, but both poems used rhyme to accentuate their points.
Both Richard Wilbur and Billy Collins wrote about how children are always learning and they learn the most from the adults around them. Through the uses of different literary devices they are able to show just how easily a child can be manipulated.
Prompt: In the following two poems, adults provide explanations for children. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing how each poet uses literary devices to make his point.
teacher
Irony Rhyme Juxtaposition
owl
Aphorism Rhyme assonance
Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
When I was six years old the one thing in the world that scared me the most was pirates, but when my mom told me they were really just silly scalawags who roamed the seas in search of adventure and gold, my perspective changed. She softened the truth so that my childhood fears wouldn’t keep me from enjoying Disneyland and soon all I could think about was becoming a pirate myself. Looking back, my mother’s explanation was a tool used to influence my behavior.
In comparing “The Barred Owl” by Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Collins each poet incorporates their own literary devices to show just how easily young children can be influenced.
Ignorance plays a large part in Billy Collins’ poem as he tells the story of this naive history teacher and his students. Unlike Wilbur’s poem, Collins’ use of irony clearly reveals that the bullies on the playground are doomed to repeat history because they know nothing about the past. For example, “the children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart...” this quote shows the ironic comparison between the bullies and the knowledge of past events. (lines13-15) Another ironic situation is the history teacher’s idea that his students are still innocent and in need of protection. Collins also uses juxtaposition within his poem to highlight the theme of ignorance between his students and people in the past. This comparison reinforces his ideas about the importance of not being ignorant to history’s lessons, right up to the end as the teacher walks home amidst “flower beds and white picket fences,” completely unaware of his influence on the children. (line 18)
In contrast to Collins’ poem, Richard Wilbur wrote “A Barred Owl” to show how lying to children can sometimes yield its own benefits. His use of assonance gives off a more calm tone than that of “The History Teacher.” The repetition of certain consonants and sounds such as, “the warping night air having brought the boom of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,” emphasizes Wilbur’s idea that calming words will sooth a child’s fears. (lines1-2) Aphorisms are another literary device that is found within the poem. “Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
can also thus domesticate a fear,” this clear statement shows how well words can calm a child’s fears. (lines7-8) So instead of lying to children and teaching them to be ignorant, as we saw in the first poem, Richard Wilbur has shown how a simple lie can sometimes “send a small child back to sleep at night.” (line 9)
While the two poems are different in many ways, similarities can be found between their makers. For example, both used rhyme to keep the reader interested and to help their stories flow. “A Barred Owl” had a more effortless rhyming scheme, whereas “The History Teacher” incorporated a more rigid one to make the reader feel uneasy, but both poems used rhyme to accentuate their points.
Both Richard Wilbur and Billy Collins wrote about how children are always learning and they learn the most from the adults around them. Through the uses of different literary devices they are able to show just how easily a child can be manipulated.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Response to Lit Cirlces
Slaughterhouse 5
1) b 2) d 3) a 4) a 5) d 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) a
Kafka on the Shore
1) c 2) d 3) d 4) a 5) b 6) a 7) c 8) b 9) a 10) c
Life of Pi
1) c 2) c 3) b 4) b 5) c 6) b 7) b 8) b 9) c 10) c
Slaughterhouse 5:
Time travel is a propionate part of the novel. Putting the science of time travel aside, how does this mix-up of chronology affect the story. Why is the proper order so important? Why must things be in order?
Prewrite
people assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, when it's actually this big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
Kafka on the Shore:
Explain how the author develops a character through the use of relationships and encounters with others.
Thoughts (cuz that last one was just a thought)
Indirect + direct characterization. The reader can understand relations and main characters this way. This helps make a character more 3 dimensional, not just a cardboard cutout from a book.
Life of Pi:
Write an essay about a novel (Life of Pi) that reveals a sense of self identity through a momentous plot of hardships and obstacles. Identify the self awareness, and explain its significance to the work as a whole.
Thoughts
Pi's family is wiped out and he is alone on a boat with a tiger. He is alert, bold, cunning and smart about how he will try and survive. Also, his experiences in his father's zoo means he is already accustomed to the animals' ways which makes it easier for him to adjust.
1) b 2) d 3) a 4) a 5) d 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) a
Kafka on the Shore
1) c 2) d 3) d 4) a 5) b 6) a 7) c 8) b 9) a 10) c
Life of Pi
1) c 2) c 3) b 4) b 5) c 6) b 7) b 8) b 9) c 10) c
Slaughterhouse 5:
Time travel is a propionate part of the novel. Putting the science of time travel aside, how does this mix-up of chronology affect the story. Why is the proper order so important? Why must things be in order?
Prewrite
people assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, when it's actually this big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
Kafka on the Shore:
Explain how the author develops a character through the use of relationships and encounters with others.
Thoughts (cuz that last one was just a thought)
Indirect + direct characterization. The reader can understand relations and main characters this way. This helps make a character more 3 dimensional, not just a cardboard cutout from a book.
Life of Pi:
Write an essay about a novel (Life of Pi) that reveals a sense of self identity through a momentous plot of hardships and obstacles. Identify the self awareness, and explain its significance to the work as a whole.
Thoughts
Pi's family is wiped out and he is alone on a boat with a tiger. He is alert, bold, cunning and smart about how he will try and survive. Also, his experiences in his father's zoo means he is already accustomed to the animals' ways which makes it easier for him to adjust.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Macbeth Active Reading Notes
The battle is won and the king rides to Macbeth's castle for a victory dinner. Beth rides ahead and warns his wife, she tells him what he has been thinking all along. They must kill Duncan and obtain the crown to get the power they seek. It must be done that night for the king departs in the morning...
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