WRITE FOR POWER
Purpose for this style of writing:
To enhance unity, clarity, and coherence-
The "powers" will keep you on target. You will not ramble because each sentence must explain some preceding power. The first power sentence must serve as the umbrella, the general statement for which the other two sentences provide specifics. Also, each first power sentence must have expressed or implied a word or group of words we will call the Power Word or Words that unlock detail.
To make writing more clear for a reader, a writer often begins second power sentences, or uses somewhere within the sentences, transitions to make the flow of thought easy to follow. In addition to transition words from your list, you may repeat a word or words, or idea from the first power sentence as the transition.
A person will tend to make every type of error in three sentences as he will in thirty; thus, learn to control quality in your writing before you increase the quantity of it.
Master these guidelines
To become literate:
1. Use ink.
2. Have one-inch margins on all four sides of the paper.
3. Control neatness (no cross-outs nor ink erasures).
4. Indent the opening sentence of a paragraph one inch.
5. Write complete sentences.
6. Use proper grammar.
7. Spell correctly.
8. Punctuate properly.
Adapted from J. E. Sparks – Write For Power
Friday, August 28, 2009
Power Writing power point notes
ppt notes Monday, August 31
Power Writing
What is it?
How do I do it?
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?
What is it?Power Writing is a method…
To help you organize what you want to write, and
To help you write clearly, concisely, and logically
What is it?Power Writing acts as a foundation for your writing
At first, your writing may seem plain and boring when you are learning the basics.
…but then you add style, and your plain writing transforms into an interesting and unique piece. Just like a house can have style, so can your writing.
How do I do it? Let’s learn the foundation.Power Writing assigns numbers to each sentence…
1st Power Sentence
Contains the main idea or topic sentence
May state a number
Example:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons.
2nd Power Sentence
Contains general or broad information
Refers to the 1st PS (Power Sentence)
Example:
First, I did all my chores.
(This sentence contains broad information because we don’t know what the chores were.)
1st and 2nd Power Sentences Together:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. Secondly, I earned good grades.
1st Power Sentence (PS) = Topic 2nd Power Sentences give information that refers to the 1st Power Sentence
3rd PS (Power Sentence)
Contains specific information
Refers to the 2nd PS directly above it
Example:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom.
(This 3rd PS tells something specific about the chores, so it is
giving more info about the 2nd PS right above it.)
Let’s put these sentences together to form a paragraph. We’ll have a paragraph containing five Power Writing sentences: 1-2-3-2-3
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day.
Sometimes you will see Power Writing numbers written vertically to show the relationship of the sentences to each other.
1
2-3
2-3
Sometimes you will see Power Writing numbers written vertically to show the relationship of the sentences to each other.
1
2-3
2-3
So the first 3rd Power Sentence tells exactly what chores the writer completed. It gives specific info about the 2nd PS right above it.1-2-3-2-3
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day.
The next 3rd Power Sentence tells exactly what the writer did to get good grades. Therefore, it gives information about the 2nd PS directly above it.
4th Power Sentence
Contains very specific information
Refers to the 3rd PS (Power Sentence) directly above it
Example:
It took me about two hours to clean only because my bathtub had lots of black mold around the edge.
When we put it together, we have a Power Writing paragraph: 1-2-3-4-2-3-4
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom and cleaned my bathroom. It took me about two hours to clean only because my bathtub had lots of black mold around the edge. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day. Sometimes it was hard to complete my assignments when I had soccer practice on school nights.
1
2-3-4
2-3-4
Okay, we have a paragraph written in a clear, concise, and logical way but it is boring. However, you can transform a logical but boring piece of writing into something interesting by adding style. Try these simple methods: 1. Vary sentence beginnings2. Use vivid vocabulary 3. Use figurative language. Look at the next slide to see style changes added…
Having a foolproof plan helped me easily win my parents’ permission to go camping. No matter what, I completed my chores when I was told. Vacuuming the house went quickly, but scrubbing my bathroom posed problems. It could take me two hours to complete both jobs because of the intensive effort required to free the black mold blooming along the edges of my tub. Next, I maintained good grades even in my hardest subject. By doing my homework every night, I earned an 85 in math. However, maintaining this nightly homework routine was difficult on evenings I returned home from soccer practice exhausted.
As you can see, we maintained the foundation of the paragraph. In other words, though it sounded better because it had style, it was still written in a logical way.
So when you write, always have the Power Writing foundation so it is organized, but then add lots of style to make it interesting.
Basic Foundation + Style= Interesting
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?Because your teacher …
Wants you to excel.
Wants you to grow as a writer, to get better at what you can do.
Remember: Words are the outer clothing of our ideas.
-Agatha Christie, author
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?
Because your teacher …
Wants to give you the tools to organize your thoughts, so you can communicate with others.
Remember: If people can not write well, they can not think well. And, if they can not think well, others will do the thinking for them.
- George Orwell, author
There is more to learn about Power Writing
How to write an introduction
How to write a conclusion
How to write longer pieces
But don’t worry… your teacher will help you, step-by-step, until your are writing great things.
Power Writing
What is it?
How do I do it?
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?
What is it?Power Writing is a method…
To help you organize what you want to write, and
To help you write clearly, concisely, and logically
What is it?Power Writing acts as a foundation for your writing
At first, your writing may seem plain and boring when you are learning the basics.
…but then you add style, and your plain writing transforms into an interesting and unique piece. Just like a house can have style, so can your writing.
How do I do it? Let’s learn the foundation.Power Writing assigns numbers to each sentence…
1st Power Sentence
Contains the main idea or topic sentence
May state a number
Example:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons.
2nd Power Sentence
Contains general or broad information
Refers to the 1st PS (Power Sentence)
Example:
First, I did all my chores.
(This sentence contains broad information because we don’t know what the chores were.)
1st and 2nd Power Sentences Together:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. Secondly, I earned good grades.
1st Power Sentence (PS) = Topic 2nd Power Sentences give information that refers to the 1st Power Sentence
3rd PS (Power Sentence)
Contains specific information
Refers to the 2nd PS directly above it
Example:
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom.
(This 3rd PS tells something specific about the chores, so it is
giving more info about the 2nd PS right above it.)
Let’s put these sentences together to form a paragraph. We’ll have a paragraph containing five Power Writing sentences: 1-2-3-2-3
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day.
Sometimes you will see Power Writing numbers written vertically to show the relationship of the sentences to each other.
1
2-3
2-3
Sometimes you will see Power Writing numbers written vertically to show the relationship of the sentences to each other.
1
2-3
2-3
So the first 3rd Power Sentence tells exactly what chores the writer completed. It gives specific info about the 2nd PS right above it.1-2-3-2-3
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom, and I cleaned my bathroom. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day.
The next 3rd Power Sentence tells exactly what the writer did to get good grades. Therefore, it gives information about the 2nd PS directly above it.
4th Power Sentence
Contains very specific information
Refers to the 3rd PS (Power Sentence) directly above it
Example:
It took me about two hours to clean only because my bathtub had lots of black mold around the edge.
When we put it together, we have a Power Writing paragraph: 1-2-3-4-2-3-4
My parents gave me permission to go camping for two reasons. First, I did all my chores. I vacuumed my bedroom and cleaned my bathroom. It took me about two hours to clean only because my bathtub had lots of black mold around the edge. Secondly, I earned good grades. I received an 85 in math because I did my homework every day. Sometimes it was hard to complete my assignments when I had soccer practice on school nights.
1
2-3-4
2-3-4
Okay, we have a paragraph written in a clear, concise, and logical way but it is boring. However, you can transform a logical but boring piece of writing into something interesting by adding style. Try these simple methods: 1. Vary sentence beginnings2. Use vivid vocabulary 3. Use figurative language. Look at the next slide to see style changes added…
Having a foolproof plan helped me easily win my parents’ permission to go camping. No matter what, I completed my chores when I was told. Vacuuming the house went quickly, but scrubbing my bathroom posed problems. It could take me two hours to complete both jobs because of the intensive effort required to free the black mold blooming along the edges of my tub. Next, I maintained good grades even in my hardest subject. By doing my homework every night, I earned an 85 in math. However, maintaining this nightly homework routine was difficult on evenings I returned home from soccer practice exhausted.
As you can see, we maintained the foundation of the paragraph. In other words, though it sounded better because it had style, it was still written in a logical way.
So when you write, always have the Power Writing foundation so it is organized, but then add lots of style to make it interesting.
Basic Foundation + Style= Interesting
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?Because your teacher …
Wants you to excel.
Wants you to grow as a writer, to get better at what you can do.
Remember: Words are the outer clothing of our ideas.
-Agatha Christie, author
Why doesn’t my teacher just let me write the way I want?
Because your teacher …
Wants to give you the tools to organize your thoughts, so you can communicate with others.
Remember: If people can not write well, they can not think well. And, if they can not think well, others will do the thinking for them.
- George Orwell, author
There is more to learn about Power Writing
How to write an introduction
How to write a conclusion
How to write longer pieces
But don’t worry… your teacher will help you, step-by-step, until your are writing great things.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
List Yourself
August 26
Make columns on your paper and list ten (10) items in each category. You should have a total of 10 categories with 10 items listed under each. You may double or triple column on the same sheet but don't write on the back please.
List Yourself
List the activities you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.
List all the smells that evoke emotions or memories.
List what consistently worries you each day.
List what always makes you laugh.
List all the products you’d eliminate to make a better world.
List the best gifts you’ve ever been given.
List the ways you’ve changed for the better (or worse).
List the toys, clothes, and other items you wish you could have saved from your childhood.
List the ideas you feel passionately about.
List all the things you hide when friends come to visit.
Make columns on your paper and list ten (10) items in each category. You should have a total of 10 categories with 10 items listed under each. You may double or triple column on the same sheet but don't write on the back please.
List Yourself
List the activities you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.
List all the smells that evoke emotions or memories.
List what consistently worries you each day.
List what always makes you laugh.
List all the products you’d eliminate to make a better world.
List the best gifts you’ve ever been given.
List the ways you’ve changed for the better (or worse).
List the toys, clothes, and other items you wish you could have saved from your childhood.
List the ideas you feel passionately about.
List all the things you hide when friends come to visit.
Walk Through the Forest
August 25
Through the Forest
Close your eyes and visualize a forest. We are going to walk through the forest. Be aware of the sights, the sounds, the smells, the textures, even the tastes if you want to…everything around you. Follow instructions listed below. Use complete sentences and keep writing until you include all prompts below. You should have a couple of pages. Use as much detail as possible. Don’t worry about anything but writing at this point. Keep the word LIFE in mind as you write.
1. You have parked your car in the parking lot, strapped on your backpack, adjusted your hiking boots, and are ready to begin. You enter the forest. Describe the forest.
2. After you have walked a while, you see a key on the ground. Describe the key then pick it up and put it in your backpack and walk on.
3. Soon you spot a cup under a tree. Describe the cup.
4. All of a sudden you hear a noise. When you turn around, you see a bear. What do you do?
5. Once you and the bear part company, you resume your walk and you discover a lake. Describe the lake then make your way to the other shore.
6. When you get to the other side of the lake, you find a cave. Describe the cave.
7. At the end of your walk through the forest, you come upon a wall. Describe the wall.
8. Conclude your walk.
Through the Forest
Close your eyes and visualize a forest. We are going to walk through the forest. Be aware of the sights, the sounds, the smells, the textures, even the tastes if you want to…everything around you. Follow instructions listed below. Use complete sentences and keep writing until you include all prompts below. You should have a couple of pages. Use as much detail as possible. Don’t worry about anything but writing at this point. Keep the word LIFE in mind as you write.
1. You have parked your car in the parking lot, strapped on your backpack, adjusted your hiking boots, and are ready to begin. You enter the forest. Describe the forest.
2. After you have walked a while, you see a key on the ground. Describe the key then pick it up and put it in your backpack and walk on.
3. Soon you spot a cup under a tree. Describe the cup.
4. All of a sudden you hear a noise. When you turn around, you see a bear. What do you do?
5. Once you and the bear part company, you resume your walk and you discover a lake. Describe the lake then make your way to the other shore.
6. When you get to the other side of the lake, you find a cave. Describe the cave.
7. At the end of your walk through the forest, you come upon a wall. Describe the wall.
8. Conclude your walk.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Voice Lesson #3
Diction
Consider: Close by the fire sat an old man whose countenance was furrowed with distress. -James Boswell, Boswell's London Journal
Discuss:
1. What does the word furrowed connote about the man's distress?
2. How would the impact of the sentence be changed if furrowed were changed to lined or wrinkled?
Apply: Write a sentence using a verb to describe a facial expression. Imply through your verb choice that the expression is intense. Use Boswell's sentence as a model. Circle the intense verb.
Detail
Consider: I rounded the hut and saw a man's dead body sprawling in the mud. He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him round the corner of the hut, caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and ground him into the earth. This was the rainy season and the ground was soft, and his face had scored a trench a foot deep and a couple of yards long. He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side. His face was coated with mud, the eyes wide open, the teeth bared and grinning with an expression of unendurable agony. -- George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant"
Discuss:
1. What is the author's attitude toward the coolie's death? What details in the passage reveal this attitude?
2. Examine the last sentence of this paragraph. How would it have affected the overall impact had Orwell written, his eyes wide open, his teeth bared and grinning...?
Apply: Think of an event that you have personally witnessed which horrified you. Your job is to describe that event and evoke the horror. Do not state or explain that you were horrified. Instead, use detail to describe the event and reveal your attitude. Share your description with the class.
Imagery
Consider: A ripe guava is yellow, although some varieties have a pink tinge. the skin is thick, firm, and sweet. Its heart is bright pink and almost solid with seeds. the most delicious part of the guava surrounds the tiny seeds. If you don't know how to eat a guava, the seeds end up in the crevices between your teeth.
When you bite into a ripe guava, your teeth must grip the bumpy surface and sink in to the thick edible skin without hitting the center....
A green guava is sour and hard. You bite into it at its widest point, because it's easier to grasp with your teeth. You hear the skin, meat,and seeds crunching inside your hear, while the inside of your mouth explodes in little spurts of sour. --Esmerelda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican
Discuss:
1. The imagery in the second sentence is simple and direct. What effects do such simplicity and directness have on the reader?
2. Santiago uses an adjective (sour) as a noun in her final image. What effect does this have on the meaning of the image?
Apply: Write a sentence which contains an image that captures the taste of something you hate. Your image should contain an adjective used as a noun. Share your image with a partner.
Syntax
Consider: When the moment is ripe, only the fanatic can hatch a genuine mass movement. Without him the disaffection engendered by militant men of words remains undirected and can vent itself only in pointless and easily suppressed disorders. Without him the initiated reforms, even when drastic, leave the old way of life unchanged, and any change in government usually amounts to no more than a transfer of power from one set of men of action to another. Without him there can perhaps be no new beginning. -- Eric Hoffer, "The Fanatics"
Discuss:
1. This passage uses the phrase "without him" three times. What effect dose this have on the overall impact of the passage?
2. How does the length of the last sentence affect the meaning of the passage?
Apply: Start with the following sentence.
Of all the instruments of modern technology, only the computer brings people closer together.
Now add two sentences which amplify the first sentence. Each of these sentences should begin with a prepositional phrase.
Consider: Close by the fire sat an old man whose countenance was furrowed with distress. -James Boswell, Boswell's London Journal
Discuss:
1. What does the word furrowed connote about the man's distress?
2. How would the impact of the sentence be changed if furrowed were changed to lined or wrinkled?
Apply: Write a sentence using a verb to describe a facial expression. Imply through your verb choice that the expression is intense. Use Boswell's sentence as a model. Circle the intense verb.
Detail
Consider: I rounded the hut and saw a man's dead body sprawling in the mud. He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him round the corner of the hut, caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and ground him into the earth. This was the rainy season and the ground was soft, and his face had scored a trench a foot deep and a couple of yards long. He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side. His face was coated with mud, the eyes wide open, the teeth bared and grinning with an expression of unendurable agony. -- George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant"
Discuss:
1. What is the author's attitude toward the coolie's death? What details in the passage reveal this attitude?
2. Examine the last sentence of this paragraph. How would it have affected the overall impact had Orwell written, his eyes wide open, his teeth bared and grinning...?
Apply: Think of an event that you have personally witnessed which horrified you. Your job is to describe that event and evoke the horror. Do not state or explain that you were horrified. Instead, use detail to describe the event and reveal your attitude. Share your description with the class.
Imagery
Consider: A ripe guava is yellow, although some varieties have a pink tinge. the skin is thick, firm, and sweet. Its heart is bright pink and almost solid with seeds. the most delicious part of the guava surrounds the tiny seeds. If you don't know how to eat a guava, the seeds end up in the crevices between your teeth.
When you bite into a ripe guava, your teeth must grip the bumpy surface and sink in to the thick edible skin without hitting the center....
A green guava is sour and hard. You bite into it at its widest point, because it's easier to grasp with your teeth. You hear the skin, meat,and seeds crunching inside your hear, while the inside of your mouth explodes in little spurts of sour. --Esmerelda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican
Discuss:
1. The imagery in the second sentence is simple and direct. What effects do such simplicity and directness have on the reader?
2. Santiago uses an adjective (sour) as a noun in her final image. What effect does this have on the meaning of the image?
Apply: Write a sentence which contains an image that captures the taste of something you hate. Your image should contain an adjective used as a noun. Share your image with a partner.
Syntax
Consider: When the moment is ripe, only the fanatic can hatch a genuine mass movement. Without him the disaffection engendered by militant men of words remains undirected and can vent itself only in pointless and easily suppressed disorders. Without him the initiated reforms, even when drastic, leave the old way of life unchanged, and any change in government usually amounts to no more than a transfer of power from one set of men of action to another. Without him there can perhaps be no new beginning. -- Eric Hoffer, "The Fanatics"
Discuss:
1. This passage uses the phrase "without him" three times. What effect dose this have on the overall impact of the passage?
2. How does the length of the last sentence affect the meaning of the passage?
Apply: Start with the following sentence.
Of all the instruments of modern technology, only the computer brings people closer together.
Now add two sentences which amplify the first sentence. Each of these sentences should begin with a prepositional phrase.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Voice Lessons #2
Diction-
consider: Wind rocks the car.
We sit parked by the river,
silence between our teeth.
Birds scatter across islands
of broken ice....
-Adrienne Rich, "Like This Together, for A.H.C."
discuss:
1. What are the feelings produced by the word rocks? Are the feelings gentle, violent, or both?
2. How would the meaning change if we changed the first line to Wind shakes the car?
apply: List different meanings for the verb rock. How many of these meanings would make sense in this poem? Remember that the poet often strives to capture complexity rather than a single view or meaning.
Imagery:
consider: The rainy night had ushered in a misty morning - half frost, half drizzle - and temporary brooks crossed our path, gurgling from the uplands.
- Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
discuss:
1. Bronte uses both visual and auditory imagery in this passage. Which words create visual images? Which words create auditory images? Which words create both?
2. What feelings are traditionally associated with rain, mist, and frost? How would the feeling of this passage be different if the rainy night had ushered in a brilliant, sunny morning?
apply: Write two sentences that create a mood of terror. Use visual and auditory imagery to describe the weather, thereby setting and reinforcing the mood. Share your sentences with the class. Draw a box around your auditory images.
Syntax:
consider: He had been prepared to lie, to bluster, to remain sullenly unresponsive; but, reassured by the good-humored intelligence of the Controller's face, he decided to tell the truth, straightforwardly. - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
discuss:
1. What effect does the repetition of infinitives (to lie, to bluster, to remain) in the first clause have on the meaning of the sentence? How do these infinitives prepare you for the infinitive phrase (to tell the truth) in the second clause?
2. What is the function of the semicolon in Huxley's sentence?
apply: Write a sentence with two independent clauses connected by a semicolon. In the first clause use a series of infinitives (as in Huxley's sentence). In the second clause, use an infinitive to contradict your first clause. Your topic is a movie you have recently seen. Underline all of your infinitives.
Tone:
consider: But that is Cooper's way; frequently he will explain and justify little things that do not need it and then make up for this by as frequently failing to explain important ones that do need it. For instance he allowed that astute and cautious person, Deerslayer-Hawkeye, to throw his rifle heedlessly down and leave it lying on the ground where some hostile Indians would presently be sure to find it - a rifle prized by that person above all things else in the earth - and the reader gets no word of explanation of that strange act. There was a reason, but it wouldn't bear exposure. Cooper meant to get a fine dramatic effect out of the finding of the rifle by the Indians, and he accomplished this at the happy time; but all the same, Hawkeye could have hidden the rifle in a quarter of a minute where the Indians could not have found it. Cooper couldn't think of any way to explain why Hawkeye didn't do that, so he just shirked the difficulty and did not explain at all. - Mark Twain, "Cooper's Prose Style," Letters from the Earth
discuss:
1. What is Twain's tone in this passage? What is central to the tone of this passage: the attitude toward the speaker, the subject, or the reader?
2. How does Twain create the tone?
apply: Write a paragraph about a movie you have recently seen. Create a critical, disparaging tone through your choice of details. Use Twain's paragraph as a model. Underline tone words.
consider: Wind rocks the car.
We sit parked by the river,
silence between our teeth.
Birds scatter across islands
of broken ice....
-Adrienne Rich, "Like This Together, for A.H.C."
discuss:
1. What are the feelings produced by the word rocks? Are the feelings gentle, violent, or both?
2. How would the meaning change if we changed the first line to Wind shakes the car?
apply: List different meanings for the verb rock. How many of these meanings would make sense in this poem? Remember that the poet often strives to capture complexity rather than a single view or meaning.
Imagery:
consider: The rainy night had ushered in a misty morning - half frost, half drizzle - and temporary brooks crossed our path, gurgling from the uplands.
- Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
discuss:
1. Bronte uses both visual and auditory imagery in this passage. Which words create visual images? Which words create auditory images? Which words create both?
2. What feelings are traditionally associated with rain, mist, and frost? How would the feeling of this passage be different if the rainy night had ushered in a brilliant, sunny morning?
apply: Write two sentences that create a mood of terror. Use visual and auditory imagery to describe the weather, thereby setting and reinforcing the mood. Share your sentences with the class. Draw a box around your auditory images.
Syntax:
consider: He had been prepared to lie, to bluster, to remain sullenly unresponsive; but, reassured by the good-humored intelligence of the Controller's face, he decided to tell the truth, straightforwardly. - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
discuss:
1. What effect does the repetition of infinitives (to lie, to bluster, to remain) in the first clause have on the meaning of the sentence? How do these infinitives prepare you for the infinitive phrase (to tell the truth) in the second clause?
2. What is the function of the semicolon in Huxley's sentence?
apply: Write a sentence with two independent clauses connected by a semicolon. In the first clause use a series of infinitives (as in Huxley's sentence). In the second clause, use an infinitive to contradict your first clause. Your topic is a movie you have recently seen. Underline all of your infinitives.
Tone:
consider: But that is Cooper's way; frequently he will explain and justify little things that do not need it and then make up for this by as frequently failing to explain important ones that do need it. For instance he allowed that astute and cautious person, Deerslayer-Hawkeye, to throw his rifle heedlessly down and leave it lying on the ground where some hostile Indians would presently be sure to find it - a rifle prized by that person above all things else in the earth - and the reader gets no word of explanation of that strange act. There was a reason, but it wouldn't bear exposure. Cooper meant to get a fine dramatic effect out of the finding of the rifle by the Indians, and he accomplished this at the happy time; but all the same, Hawkeye could have hidden the rifle in a quarter of a minute where the Indians could not have found it. Cooper couldn't think of any way to explain why Hawkeye didn't do that, so he just shirked the difficulty and did not explain at all. - Mark Twain, "Cooper's Prose Style," Letters from the Earth
discuss:
1. What is Twain's tone in this passage? What is central to the tone of this passage: the attitude toward the speaker, the subject, or the reader?
2. How does Twain create the tone?
apply: Write a paragraph about a movie you have recently seen. Create a critical, disparaging tone through your choice of details. Use Twain's paragraph as a model. Underline tone words.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Annotating "The Raven"
We're learning to annotate text to help you become better active readers. Please see the following web pages:
http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/Access/annotating.htm
This sight gives some instruction on how to annotate a text. Follow the guidelines to help you with the next site.
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven/#summary
This site gives you the complete text for "The Raven". Print it out and annotate in the margins. The site also gives you some insight into meaning and symbolism.
Instructions for annotation:
http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/Access/annotating.htm
This sight gives some instruction on how to annotate a text. Follow the guidelines to help you with the next site.
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/raven/#summary
This site gives you the complete text for "The Raven". Print it out and annotate in the margins. The site also gives you some insight into meaning and symbolism.
Instructions for annotation:
- Mark alliteration with 2 underlines
- Mark assonance with a squiggle
- Make a box around internal rhyme
- Underline unfamiliar words & define in the left margin
- Summarize the stanza in the right margin
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