assignments #1 one page
see the picture in the attachment under assignment #1

‘’If only there could be an invention, I said impulsively, ‘ that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again”’.

what memory would you bottle up? how often would you open it? describe the memory and the moment of uncorking in vivid detail.

In your own words, write at least one page answering these two questions:
What is plagiarism?
How can it be avoided?

Before attempting this paper, be sure to have read the What is Plagiarism.doc and read through the website:
http://www.plagiarism.org/

assignments #2 one page

see the picture in the attachment under assignment#2

For this assignment, you will need to compose a 50 word biography about yourself. You only have 50 words, no more and no less, and yes I mean exactly 50 words.

See my example in Unit Two

assignments #3 two page

Narrative About Self
Write a two page narrative about yourself.
Who are you?
Feel free to share anything you are comfortable sharing. I would like to get to know you as you take my class.
What are your likes and dislikes? Hobbies?

assignments#4 one page

8 Sentence Paragraph
You will need to write an eight sentence paragraph on a topic of your choosing. See 8_sentence_paragraph_format.pdf
This shows an example using literature, which you can do with the story from this week, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, or you can write about anything you like as long as you follow the 8 paragraph format.

assignments#5 one page

Short Response Questions for A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Short Response Questions to A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
1. Existentialist is a term used to identify a person who believes the following: (a) life is absurd, (b) God does not exist, and (c) it is up to the individual to give meaning to his or her life. Is the older waiter an existentialist? Explain your answer.

2. The author does not identify anyone in the story by name. Does he do so to emphasize the older waiter’s view that man is nothing? Explain your answer.

assignments#5 one page

see the picture in the attachment under assignment number 5

assignments#6 one page

Compare and Contrast Paper 1
After reading The Yellow Wallpaper and The Garden Party, write a compare and contrast essay looking at the main characters. How are they similar? How are they different? This paper should be at least two pages in length.

If you are in need of help, here is a website explaining the compare and contrast essay:
http://www.eslbee.com/compcont.htm

assignments#7

Thesis Statements
Focus your Topic
What is it?
Focusing a research topic is narrowing (orsometimes broadening) a topic so that you can demonstrate a good understandingof it, including enough examples and important details, within the size limitsof the project you are required to produce. You need to satisfy bothyourself and your teacher that you know what you are talking about. Ifyour teacher gives you no limits, make them for yourself. You don’t want tospend your life on this, at least not right now.
Why should I do it?
This is the #1 biggest pitfall in theresearch process. If you pick a topic that is too big, you will not only havetrouble selecting what to include from a huge selection of material available,you will probably leave out some critical information that will make itapparent (especially to your teacher) that you don’t really know what you aretalking about.
If, on the other hand, you pick a topicthat is too narrow, you won’t find enough to write about and end up repeatingyourself to fill 6 pages (which doesn’t go over very well with teacherseither, by the way).
The process of focusing a topic takespractice, so be patient with yourself. It is challenging when you don’t knowtoo much about a topic. It will get easier as your knowledge base increases. Rememberthat the research process is a recursive onewhich means that you may need to revisit your topic choice more than once ifyou find it doesn’t work out. Luckily there are some strategiesand methods to help you through this critically important part of theprocess. Read on!
How do I do it?
There are different ways to focus yourtopic. In the Related Links at the bottom of the page you can clickon some different methods. Whichever method you choose (and you maydo a combination of them) try to pick something that interests you in some way.Even if the overall subject doesn’t seem interesting, you can pick aninteresting angle on it.

Choose five prompts from the listbelow and write a sample thesis statement:
Say you have to do a research project about World War II, and youdon’t know a thing about it, nor are you at all interested in it. Try to find asubtopic that connects to your interests.
Ifyou like cars, try comparing the land vehicles used by the Germans and theAmericans.
If you likefashion, look at women’s fashions during the war and how they were influencedby military uniforms and the shortage of certain materials.
If you likeanimals, look at the use of dogs by the US Armed Forces.
If you likepuzzles and brain teasers, look at the fascinating topic of decoding secretmessages.
If you like music,find out what types of music American teenagers were listening to during thewar years.
If you are apacifist, find out what the anti-war movement was like during the war in anycountry.
Find out whatwas happening during the war on your birth date.
Find out if anyof your relatives fought in the war and research that time and place.

assignments# 8

Poetry – Diction
Poetry Exercise: Diction

Look at the art below. Pick one of the twopictures and write for fifteen minutes about what you see, trying to capture asmany actual details and nuances as you can.

Use this free-write as the basis forwriting a poem of 10-15 lines that allows the reader to share some aspect of thisscene. Throughout, your goal is to pay close attention to interesting andfresh diction and to avoid clichés. Remember that your poem should concentrateon nouns and verbs and omit as many of the little cluttering prose words as possible without sounding telegraphic. Also try to presentthe reader with a description that uses a unique angle of vision inorder to remove automatic, initial perception. And don’t forget to include unexpecteddetails!
also see the picut in the two attachment under name assignment 8

assignments#9
see the piture in the attchment

assignments#10

Poetry – Imagery
Poetry Exercise: Imagery

Carolyn Forche describes an affair on a train,Plath a room where her life changed. Now it’s your turn: Recall some place thatyou visit often, or a place where you occasionally spend time, but one thatallows your imagination to soar. In a fifteen-minute free-writing session,describe both that place and one or two of the mental journeys you’ve takenfrom there. (Don’t limit yourself: This could be a special spot by a stream, achair where you read good books, or even a movie theater or an art gallery.) Whenyou’re through, go back and circle those words and phrases that do the best jobof capturing the concrete, sensory detail of both the place and the experiencesyou wrote about.

Use these, and other, key words and phrasesto write a poem of 10-15 lines. Remember how virtually every line of TedKoozer’s poem about the salesman included concrete imagery? That’s your goal: Everyline of your poem should contain at least one of the following: description,simile, metaphor, or metonymy.

assignments#11

Short Response Questions for Sir Gawain
Short Response questions for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
1. In planning their trick, did Morgan le Fay and theGreen Knight foresee that Gawain would accept the challenge? (In other talesabout the Knights of the Roundtable, Gawain frequently appears as headstrongand reckless in his willingness to accept challenges and prove his mettle.)
2.When the lady tells Gawain that the sash is a talisman that will protect him,he does not doubt her. Does his belief in its power reveal him as naive andgullible?

assignments#12

Personal Narrative
Write a personal narrative about one event from your life.
Ok, you need to choose an event, could be a trip, a sports game, or a day in your life, and then write at least a three (3) page essay.

Use this resource for your narrative:
PersonalNarrativeTeachingStrategies.pdf

assignments#13

Writing an Introduction
Pick one of the five thesis statements you wrote for the thesis statement assignment and write an introduction paragraph.
An introduction has an attention getter, information on what the paper is about, and holds the thesis.

Check out this website with tips on writing an introduction:

http://libguides.astate.edu/content.php?pid=54191&sid=398866

assignments#14

see the picture in the attachment 14

assignments#15

Poetry – Lines
Poetry Exercise: Line

Write about leaving – whetherit’s divorce, leaving the house this morning, finishing a really good book, ora friend dying – you decide! Free write about this topic for fifteen minutes,and then go back and circle significant words and phrases. Next, draft outseveral short test lines in which you end the line on one of these significantwords – even if the word leads right into the next line.

Use this free-write as the basis forwriting a poem of 12-15 lines that pays close attention to line endings, and thepoem should use syllabics – i.e.,each line should contain the same number of syllables.

Be sure that your final draft poem:
• ends each line on a significant word you want to emphasize,
• includes a combination of run-over and end-stopped lines,
• contains the same number of syllables for each line, and
• remembers to pay close attention to fresh, crisp diction, compressed language, and a variety of imagery (description, metaphor, simile, and metonymy).

assignments#16

Poetry – Sounds
Poetry exercise: Sound Complements

1. Make four lists of words down a page – including five each for a column of
• adjectives
• adverbs
• nouns
• verbs

But make sure each word describes a characteristic or behavior you would NOT normally associate with yourself.

Circle those that most interest or intrigue you.

2. Now, look for other words that have similar vowels or consonants to the key words you circled. (Don’t worry about whether you think these words fit those of you original list for now.)

3. Next, test out a few lines that use these words to envision yourself acting, wearing or doing something that is not normally how you envision yourself. (Remember that you don’t have to even be the same gender!)

4. Write a poem of 10-15 lines that pays attention to sound that describes this new Not-You.

assignments# 17

Body Paragraphs
We are now going to build upon the introduction that you wrote, I would like to see two (2) body paragraphs. You will need a topic sentence, details to support that topic sentence, and a closing / transition sentence.

assignments#18

Response Paper to A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
Write a two page response paper to A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. A response paper is just your thoughts. What did you think of this story? Does it remind you of anything? Etc.

assignments#18

Creative Writing Assignment
This is a creative writing assignment. Write a short story about anything you want to write about. Have fun with this. Entertain me. If you are having problems coming up with something to write, let me know and I’ll send you a couple prompts.

assignments#19

see the picture in the attachment 19