Friday, January 29, 2016

1. Read Book 2, Ch. 22, "The Sea Still Rises", pp. 184-188, and Ch. 23, "Fire Rises", pp. 189-194, in A Tale of Two Cities.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

1. Quiz on Book 2, Ch. 19-21, in A Tale of Two Cities.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

1. Catch up on essays. If you are missing an essay (or more than one), use this time to catch up. 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

1. Write an essay in which you use classification to put things in some sort of order.

• Classification Essay: think about the categories we place things in everyday and the characteristics of those categories.  The topic you choose should allow you to argue that something has been misplaced.

Classification Essay Examples

To write this type of essay, we'll need to think about things that should or should not be placed in a particular category.

Example: Batman (that's our topic!) is not a superhero (category people place him in), but is simply a local vigilante(category he belongs in).

Ask yourself: Why do I think that...?

• Does not possess super powers (powers most humans don't possess).  
• Chooses to be a hero, rather than being "chosen" by others/other forces.

Example: Cheerleading (That's our topic!) should be considered a sport (It belongs in the category, "sports"). 

Ask yourself: Why do I think that...?

• cheerleaders go to "practice" and must be in good physical shape
• cheerleaders work together toward a common goal
• cheerleaders must "try out" for their squad and often compete against other squads

Many subjects can be explored through classification: that is, identifying and illustrating different types, varieties, and methods.

Fifty Topic Suggestions: Classification

1. On-campus jobs for students
2. Roommates
3. Hobbies
4. Music on your phone or MP3 player
5. Study habits
6. Stand-up comedians
7. Self-centered people
8. Online educational resources

1. Gardeners
2. Drivers
3. Reality shows on television
4. Sales clerks
5. Television detectives
6. Road trips
7. Dancing styles
8. Video games
9. Customers at your work place
10. Ways of boring people
11. Cheaters
12. Shoppers
13. Rides at an amusement park
14. First dates
15. Videos on YouTube
16. Stores in the mall
17. People waiting in line
18. Churchgoers
19. Attitudes toward exercising
20. Reasons for attending (or not attending) college
21. Baseball pitchers, football quarterbacks, or soccer goalies
22. Styles of eating in the cafeteria
23. Ways of saving money
24. Talk-show hosts
25. Vacations
26. Methods of studying for a final examination
27. Friends
28. Comedians
29. Ways of quitting smoking
30. Attitudes toward money
31. Television comedies
32. Diets
33. Sports fans
34. Attitudes toward politics
35. Ways of coping with a cold
36. Note-taking strategies
37. Attitudes toward tipping in restaurants
38. Political activists
39. Portable music players
40. Different uses of social networking sites (such as Facebook and Twitter)
41. High school teachers or college professors
42. Ways of protecting the environment

Monday, January 25, 2016

1. Write a division essay. There is a one-page minimum.


Division Essay: find a topic that people might tend to underestimate or over-simplify.  In other words, choose something that the average person might not know much about, and therefore can't really understand how complex or interesting that topic really is.  Your job in the essay will be to break your topic down into meaningful and important categories.

How should I organize this essay?

As you write, keep these guidelines in mind: 

1. Your thesis statement and introduction will need to explain why these divisions/ classifications should matter to your reader.
2. Your thesis statement and introduction MUST define or explain the category you plan to discuss (i.e. A sport is a competitive, physical activity therefore cheerleading should be considered a sport.)
3. You should organize your body paragraphs so that each division or category has it's own paragraph or section. (i.e. cardio exercise is paragraph 1 and weightlifting is paragraph 2, etc.)

Division Essay Examples

If you want to lose weight, simply saying that you're going to "exercise" everyday may not be the most effective way to do so.  Exercising is more complex than many people realize--attaining your goals will involve understanding how different types of exercise can help you achieve your goals.   

Types of Exercise

• cardio: burns calories and strengthens your heart (running, using an elliptical or stair-stepping machine, etc.)
• weight lifting: tones muscles, increases physical strength, burns fat (using weights or weighted machines)
• recreational/sports: depending on the sport, can provide both cardio and toning benefits (cycling, tennis, kayaking)

We could also narrow this topic down a bit further and write about the important differences between different types of cycling.

Types of Cycling:  stationary (exercise) biking, road biking, mountain biking, recreational biking

Possible Topics

Babysitting
Teaching
Fishing
Cooking
Batting
Acting
Driving
Sewing
Shopping
Diving
Swimming
Modeling
Birdwatching
Applying makeup
Dressing
Painting
Flying
Studying
Writing
Racing
Flirting
Traveling
Football
Basketball
Baseball
Volleyball
Photography

Friday, January 22, 2016

1. Read Book 2, Ch. 19, "An Opinion", pp. 166-171; Ch. 20, "A Plea", pp. 172-174; and Ch. 21, "Echoing Footsteps", pp. 175-183, in A Tale of Two Cities.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

1. Continue veering.
2. Report findings.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

1. Veering-- Choose one of the subjects below. It should be one of which you have little or no prior knowledge. You have to start with your chosen area, but you may veer off when you come to something that interests you. Find out more about it, experience it, use it, report on it, tell me the route that took you there, whatever you want to tell me about it. Turn in your results to the "Veer I" folder in Google Classroom.


Uluru
lemmings
Baikal
Sun Tzu
haggis
quark
cinchona
remora
trephination
Shai Hulud
Shaka
curling (sport)
Vlad the Impaler
figgy pudding
whirling dervish
Azuki beans
Hunter S. Thompson
Xenophon
Basenji
horehound
Silmarillion
noodling
Poughkeepsie
Mensa
(Exit, pursued by a bear)

2. This will be today and tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

1. Use an analogy to explain an event or concept. ( There is no minimum for this one, but make it complete.)

An analogy is a kind of comparison that explains the unknown in terms of the known, the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar.

A good analogy can help your readers understand a complicated subject or view a common experience in a new way. Analogies can be used with other methods of development to explain a process, define a concept, narrate an event, or describe a person or place.

Analogy isn't a single form of writing. Rather, it's a tool for thinking about a subject, as these brief examples demonstrate:

• "Do you ever feel that getting up in the morning is like pulling yourself out of quicksand? . . ."
  (Jean Betschart, In Control, 2001)


• "Sailing a ship through a storm is . . . a good analogy for the conditions inside an organization during turbulent times, since not only will there be the external turbulence to deal with, but internal turbulence as well . . .."
  (Peter Lorange, Leading in Turbulent Times, 2010)


• "For some people, reading a good book is like a Calgon bubble bath--it takes you away. . . ."
  (Kris Carr, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor, 2008)


• "Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves. . . ."
  (Lewis Thomas, "On Societies as Organisms," 1971)


• "To me, patching up a heart that'd had an attack was like changing out bald tires. They were worn and tired, just like an attack made the heart, but you couldn't just switch out one heart for another. . . ."
  (C. E. Murphy, Coyote Dreams, 2007)


• "Falling in love is like waking up with a cold--or more fittingly, like waking up with a fever. . . ."
  (William B. Irvine, On Desire, 2006)

British author Dorothy Sayers observed that analogous thinking is a key aspect of the writing process . A composition professor explains:

Analogy illustrates easily and to almost everyone how an "event" can become an "experience" through the adoption of what Miss [Dorothy] Sayers called an "as if" attitude. That is, by arbitrarily looking at an event in several different ways, "as if" if it were this sort of thing, a student can actually experience transformation from the inside. . . . The analogy functions both as a focus and a catalyst for "conversion" of event into experience. It also provides, in some instances not merely the heuristic for discovery but the actual pattern for the entire essay that follows. 

(D. Gordon Rohman, "Pre-Writing: The Stage of Discovery in the Writing Process."College Composition and Communication, May 1965)

To discover original analogies that can be explored in paragraphs and essays, apply the "as if" attitude to any one of the 30 topics listed below. In each case, ask yourself, "What is it like ?"

Thirty Topic Suggestions: Analogy

1. Moving to a new neighborhood
2. Starting a new job
3. Working at a fast-food restaurant
4. Quitting a job
5. Watching an exciting movie
6. Reading a good book
7. Going into debt
8. Getting out of debt
9. Losing a close friend
10. Leaving home for the first time
     
11. Taking a difficult exam
12. Making a speech
13. Learning a new skill
14. Gaining a new friend
15. Responding to bad news
16. Responding to good news
17. Attending a new place of worship
18. Dealing with success
19. Dealing with failure
20. Being in a car accident
     
21. Falling in love
22. Getting married
23. Falling out of love
24. Experiencing grief
25. Experiencing joy
26. Becoming addicted to drugs
27. Watching a friend destroy himself (or herself)
28. Getting up in the morning
29. Resisting peer pressure
30. Discovering a major in college

Monday, January 18, 2016

1. Watch Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

I Have a Dream

2. Response-- Write an essay (no minimum) whether equality as Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed it has come true. Tell why or why not.

Friday, January 15, 2016

1. Discuss Book 2, Ch. 15, "Knitting", and Ch. 16, "Still Knitting", in A Tale of Two Cities.
2. Read Book 2, Ch. 17, "One Night", pp. 156-159, and Ch. 18, "Nine Days", pp. 160-165.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

1. Quiz on Book 2, Ch. 15, "Knitting", and Ch. 16, "Still Knitting", in A Tale of Two Cities.

Wednesday, January 13, 2015

1. Discuss process analyses.
2. Write a process analysis (no minimum, but it must be complete).


Choose from the following topics or select an appropriate one of your own:

When developing a paragraph or essay through process analysis, you should keep several points in mind:

• Be sure to include all steps and arrange them in chronological order.
• Explain why each step is necessary, and include warnings where appropriate.
• Define any terms that your readers may not be familiar with.
• Offer clear descriptions of any tools or materials needed to carry out the process.
• Provide your readers with a way of determining whether or not the process has been carried out successfully.

You shouldn't find it difficult to follow these guidelines if you've chosen a topic that you know quite well. These 50 prompts are meant to help you discover that topic.

Fifty Topic Suggestions: Process Analysis

1. How to mow your lawn
2. How to win at Texas hold 'em
3. How to lose weight without losing your mind
4. How to find the perfect roommate
5. How to get rid of a roommate--without committing a crime
6. How to succeed in (or flunk out of) college
7. How to pitch a knuckleball
8. How to plan the perfect party
9. How to survive a night of babysitting
10. How to pitch a tent in the rain
     
11. How to housebreak your dog
12. How to kick a bad habit
13. How to overcome insomnia
14. How to stay sober on a Saturday night
15. How to rent your first apartment
16. How to avoid a nervous breakdown during exams
17. How to enjoy the weekend for under $20
18. How to make the perfect brownies
19. How to keep peace with a spouse or a roommate
20. How to bathe a cat
     
21. How to complain effectively
22. How to survive a recession
23. How to toilet train a baby
24. How to develop self-confidence
25. How to use Twitter
26. How to wash a sweater
27. How to build a great music collection--cheaply and legally
28. How to get along with an instructor without sucking up
29. How to give yourself a haircut
30. How to plan the perfect class schedule
     
31. How to apply the Heimlich maneuver
32. How to end a relationship
33. How to select the best portable media player
34. How to take decent photographs with your cell phone
35. How to quit smoking
36. How to survive without a car
37. How to make the perfect cup of coffee or tea
38. How to save money while saving the environment
39. How to build a great sandcastle
40. How to edit a video
     
41. How to make (and keep) friends on Facebook
42. How to insert a contact lens
43. How teachers make up exams
44. How parents (or children) make us feel guilty
45. How an iPod works
46. How ice cream is made
47. How a cell phone takes pictures
48. How a magician saws a woman in half
49. How a pocket calculator works
50. How to choose a major

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

1. Read and critique narrative essays.

Monday, January 11, 2016

1. Discuss narrative essays.
2. Write a narrative essay (one-page minimum).
3. Use a variety of sentence structures, making sure to avoid sentence fragments, run-ons, etc. Be sure the sentences make sense individually and as a group.

You may use one of the following topics or choose an appropriate one of your own.

1. a memorable wedding or funeral
2. one minute of a football game (or other sporting event)
3. your first day at a new school or college
4. your first day at a new job
5. your last day on a job
6. a disastrous date
7. a moment of failure or success
8. an encounter that changed your life
9. an experience that led to renewed faith
10. a strange job interview
11. an experience that demonstrated how labor-saving devices can be more trouble than they're worth
12. an experience that left you disillusioned
13. an embarrassing experience
14. a frightening experience
15. a memorable journey
16. an encounter with someone or something you were afraid of
17. an occasion when you experienced rejection
18. your first visit to the country (or to a large city)
19. the breakup of a friendship
20. an experience that showed how we should be careful of what we wish for
21. a significant misunderstanding
22. a dangerous experience
23. an experience that showed how appearances can be deceiving
24. an account of a difficult decision that you had to make
25. an event that marked a turning point in your life
26. a historic event
27. a memorable encounter with someone in authority
28. an act of heroism or cowardice
29. an imaginary encounter with a real person
30. a rebellious act
31. a brush with greatness
32. a brush with death
33. a time that you took a stand on an important issue
34. an experience that altered your view of someone
35. a trip that you would like to take
36. a vacation trip from your childhood
37. an account of a visit to a fictional place
38. your first time away from home
39. two different versions of the same event
40. a traffic accident
41. a day when everything went right (or wrong)
42. an experience that made you laugh until you cried
43. the day you decided to change your life
44. the experience of being lost
45. an unexpected encounter
46. surviving a hurricane or a tornado (or other natural disaster)
47. an experience that taught you a lesson
48. an important discovery
49. an eyewitness account of an important event
50. an experience that helped you grow up

Friday, January 8, 2016

1. Read Book 2, Ch. 15, "Knitting," and Ch. 16, "Still Knitting," in A Tale of Two Cities.

Knitting/ Still Knitting

Thursday, January 7, 2016

1. Read and critique descriptive essays.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

1. Discuss a descriptive essay.
Descriptive writing calls for close attention to details--details of sight and sound, sometimes even of smell, touch, and taste. 

2. Write a descriptive essay. Choose from the following topics or use an appropriate one of your own:

1. a waiting room
2. a basketball, baseball glove, or tennis racket
3. a cell phone
4. a treasured belonging
5. a laptop computer
6. a favorite restaurant
7. your dream house
8. your ideal roommate
9. a closet
10. your memory of a place that you visited as a child
11. a locker
12. an accident scene
13. a city bus or subway train
14. an unusual room
15. a child's secret hiding place
16. a bowl of fruit
17. an item left too long in your refrigerator
18. backstage during a play or a concert
19. a vase of flowers
20. a rest room in a service station
21. a street that leads to your home or school
22. your favorite food
23. the inside of a spaceship
24. the scene at a concert or athletic event
25. an art exhibit
26. an ideal apartment
27. your old neighborhood
28. a small town cemetery
29. a pizza
30. a pet 
31. a photograph
32. a hospital emergency room
33. a particular friend or family member
34. a painting
35. a storefront window
36. an inspiring view
37. a work table
38. a character from a book, movie, or television program
39. a refrigerator or washing machine
40. a Halloween costume

The essay should be a minimum of one page (27 lines).