Sunday - the moment of truth

“Writing eases my suffering... writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.” Gao Xingjian

In your final work today, take some time to step back from your work and consider what you really make of this epic poem, the Iliad. Do its lessons really apply to your world, is there any way for it to touch your daily life in 2013? These are the thoughts that you can express after your thesis review in your conclusion. This is the place in your paper where you don't really need to be concerned with Homer's objective and ideas, and you get to express yourself and your opinions about the relevance of what Homer has done.

(It's ok to decide that while you've made a case for what you believe Homer was trying to accomplish, those aims don't really hold true anymore. But remember you've got to explain why they don't hold true anymore.)

Saturday's bit o' wisdom

Hopefully you have more than a vague idea at this point. If not, go back to my previous bits of daily advice and get started.

But if you do have a solid draft, start today by by fully fleshing it out. Topic sentences, context, evidence and analysis. Those are your jobs today.

A day of brute force work is in front of you. Sit down and get the bulk of your writing done today!

Friday - food for thought

Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Don't get frustrated if the words aren't flowing easily. Think of your paper in sections. When you get stuck in one place, move to another. You can worry about transitions and being fluid later. Today get at least part of each section written.

If you get really stuck, post what you've got here. If someone else posts, offer some suggestions. Try not to isolate yourself during the writing process.

Thursday advice

"Whatever sentence will bear to be read twice,we may be sure was thought twice." Henry David Thoreau

Today is the day to get started and geek out! Make a final decision on the main subject of your essay (leaders and fate, the influence of the gods on morals, whatever) and then start talking about the story with your friends or family (trust me, any adult in your life would be thrilled if you asked them to listen to you talk about this.) It doesn't matter if they are not in the class, talk to them and try to explain to them your ideas about the topic. See if you can tell them something interesting about this story. So that after they've listened and asked questions, and you've clarified your points, they say "wow, sounds like a great book!"

Then sit down and write down your ideas and second draft of your essay. Sometimes it's easier to start by talking through your argument.

Good luck today!

Ms. Dahlin

Finding and refining a topic

There are several ways to establish a topic:
*Critical Perspectives offer a way to limit and focus
*Big ideas from class discussions - what did I bring up? What did we spend time on?
*The list I offered on the assignment sheet - all of these possibilities are tried and true.
*Return to the eight step process you learned in 10th grade - Read, Annotate, Pick, List, Group, Prioritize, Explain, Argue

Judgments that are too vague are not useful – drab, interesting, good, fine, boring – these  kinds of words have too many meanings that depend on context.  Be sure your vocabulary choice is deliberate and specific.

Be sure to give reasons to support your judgments.

Specific details from the text help prevent misunderstandings in explanations, criticisms, and analysis.

Analysis needs to explain the relationship of different parts of the text.

Practice weaving your creativity into your explanations, criticisms, and analyses in areas like word choice, transitions, introductions, and conclusions.

Do not pick idiosyncratic topics without fully considering their relevance to the text at hand.  

 

Transitional expressions

LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP                                     TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSION

Similarity                                                                    also, in the same way,

just as ... so too, likewise, similarly

Exception/Contrast                                                     but, however, in spite of, on the one hand ... on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet

Sequence/Order                                                          first, second, third, ... next,

then, finally

Time                                                                            after, afterward, at last,

before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then

Example                                                                      for example, for instance,

namely, specifically, to illustrate

Emphasis                                                                     even, indeed, in fact, of

course, truly

Place/Position                                                             above, adjacent, below,

beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there

Cause and Effect                                                         accordingly, consequently,

hence, so, therefore,thus

Additional Support or Evidence                                 additionally, again, also,

and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then

Conclusion/Summary                                              finally, in a word, in brief, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, in summary

Body Paragraphs

There are two templates we worked with in class.  The basic pattern of both is:
Topic sentence
Context of evidence
Evidence
Analysis

Template 1
In Book ___, author links saying detail to doing detail to reveal inference about the passage.

The literary term from doing list offers the reader a way to interpret character from passage actions and motives.

The details of “cite words from passage” and “cite second group from passage” (pg #) imply that  interpretation of details.

This is significant because  link to larger theme in your thesis.

Template 2

Character’s action in Book ___ reveals connection to relevancy in thesis.

Character is summary of context from passage.

Embedding phrase, “details from passage”(pg#).

Detail 1 from quote shows analysis; while detail 2 shows analysis.

This is significant because link to opinion in topic sentence.

Are there other templates you have come up with and want to check?