river oaks [english]

Your assignment for this weekend is to summarize the article from your textbook entitled "Critical Comments on Huck Finn." Your goal is to reduce the article to 250 words, keeping the key elements of the argument intact, while avoiding plagiarism. This skill is essential to the success of research writing. Although using direct quotes will be required, most references to articles in a paper are summaries. A SUMMARY requires you to reduce the article (or idea) to its essential element(s) and to re-word (or paraphrase ) those main points without changing the article's original intent or meaning. The first step is to READ THE SOURCE. This cannot be stressed enough. You cannot accurately or effectively summarize a source if you do not understand the source, so look up any words you don't know and make notes as you read. This is called ANNOTATION. A good friend of mine has come up with some very helpful advice on annotating sources and writing summaries. Note

Your assignment for this weekend is to write a 250-word reponse to a poem. Please do the following: (1) Go to POETRY 180 . (2) Choose a poem and print it out . (3) Write your response ~ 250 words, typed, MLA format . (4) Staple the reponse and poem together. Use the following questions as a guide for your response : (1) What is the name of your poem? Who is the author? (2) Is there a clear persona (speaker/narrator)? (3) What do you like about the poem? (4) What is the setting or situation? (5) What is the conflict or event? (6) Is there any figurative language used (similes, metaphors)? (7) Does the author use any specific sensory imagery? (8) Does the poem have a message? Answer only those questions that are relevant. DUE MONDAY

Your assignment for Friday is to choose one poem from Poetry 180 and to read it to the class. I've assigned a range of 10 poems for each of you, so that you will not pick the same poem as another student. Please print out your poem (or type) and follow the site's advice on How to Read a Poem. You will be asked first WHY you chose that particular poem and WHAT it means to you, so have an answer ready!

Your assignment is to write a poem of at least 10 lines describing an emotion or feeling. There are no requirements for rhyme and meter (although the poem can utilize both). However, you are required to use the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch) and specific, concrete nouns . Options include, but are not limited to: Love, Hate, Freedom, Pride, Hurt, Sadness, Comfort, Fear, Peace, Joy, Pain... Avoid writing according to a formula (i.e. "Love smells like...Love looks like"). Boring. Use fragmented thoughts, complete sentences, compound-words, phrases, whatever...just make sure you are deliberate, thoughful, purposeful with your choice of words. Your poem must be typed and formatted according to MLA. Also, please include a title for your poem that is more than simply the word. We'll read some of the poems in class, and I'll encourage some of you to submit your work to MUSINGS . This is only the first of several creative writing assignments...

Most tend to agree that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a product of its time, and that the racism in the book simply reflects attitudes of the period. In fact, it can be argued that the use of the N-word adds to the realism (or authenticity?) of the book. However, as I've stated, many schools have banned this book for its racist content, saying that it could serve to reinforce stereotypes and encourage use of the "N" word. We all know that racism (and racist images) exist in our society still. The goal of your assignment for this long weekend is to confront some of those images and attitudes head-on. The Authentic History Center's Teaching Diversity website offers insight into the problem of the 19th century (and beyond) through images, mostly advertising, from our culture. Prepare to be offended. According to the site, "these items reflect the history and societal values of the time period in which they were produced." However, it is hard to lo

Throughout the reading of Huck Finn , you will be required to keep a vocabulary log . This means that every time you come to a word you do not understand, you need to write it down and look it up. You are required to include twenty words, including the original sentence, the part of speech, the definition (including what you think it means), and an original sentence using the term in a way that makes the meaning clear. Because there are twenty entries, they are worth 100 points total . Your vocabulary assignment is due on the day we take the Huck Finn Exam. As usual, this assignment should be typed; however, it does not have to be double-spaced. See handout for format and examples.

Your assignment is to write a comparison/contrast paper, using The Odyssey (the poem) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (the film). The first step in the process was to read the poem and to watch the movie, taking notes on both. Second, as illustrated in class, you should make a comparison chart , listing matching details from your two sources. Then, find three pairs (sub-topics) that are related in some way. Finally, you are required to turn in a typed outline (due Wednesday). Your essay should follow the five-paragraph outline discussed in class: I. Introduction (includes your thesis , which states your central focus) II. Body Paragraph #1 (your first subtopic, or connecting pair) III. Body Paragraph #2 IV. Body Paragraph #3 V. Conclusion (includes a review of the film as a modern version of The Odyssey ) Your outline should be detailed, including specific examples from both the poem and the movie. When referring to the poem, include the page and line numbers. Remember that the

Hello Freshmen... Your assignment for the weekend is to write a 250-word (one page) response paper on O Brother, Where Art Thou . Please type and format according to MLA. You may choose from the two topics below: (1) Respond to the lyrics of one song from the film. Using your lyric sheet (or the internet ), connect the lyrics of one song to the movie's characters/setting/events. In other words, explain how the lyrics are relevant to the film. (2) Choose one of the historically relevant elements of the movie and look up an article on Wikipedia . Print out the article; then, summarize it and connect it to the movie's characters/setting/events. Be careful not to plagiarize the article, which should be stapled to your reponse. Ideas discussed in class include The Great Depression, con artist, chain gang, Populism (George Wallace, Huey P. Long, W. Lee O'Daniel), Ku Klux Klan (William Joseph Simmons), and George "Babyface" Nelson.

First, to help you get started with this whole process, you might want to check out the following links related to Mark Twain the novel: The Huck Finn Homepage from University of Virginia Ken Burns' Mark Twain on PBS Wikipedia: Mark Twain Wikipedia: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Now that we have begun reading the novel, it's time to print out a copy of the Study Guide . As we read, you will answer questions from the guide and keep them in your binder. I'll check periodically to see that you are current, and you'll receive points at the end of the process. Daily quizzes on the reading will come directly from the study guide, so it makes sense on several levels to do the work. In addition to keeping up with the reading, each of you are required to keep a vocabulary log, looking up unfamiliar words as you come to them and defining them in the context of the book. Look for that handout soon, as well. Finally, as we begin the book, remember that your eventual goal is

As we begin the study of Macbeth , I thought it might be useful to include a list of resources. In addition to the following links, some students have found a side-by-side translation useful. Even better, buy a version of the play with annotations. Although your textbook does include marginal notes, they are not as extensive as they could be. I like the The Annotated Shakespeare series, which includes an introduction and annotations by Burton Raffel and an essay by Harold Bloom. You can find the book locally at Windows. First, the following is a list of some useful links on Shakespeare : Folger Shakespeare Library Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet The following are related to Macbeth in particular: Backstage with the Royal Shakespeare Company Analysis from Shakespeare-Online "Macbeth: Playing at Witches" Wikipedia: Macbeth As noted in class, we will read and perform portions of the play. You will also have a couple of writing assignm

As stated in class, we will be watching O Brother Where Art Thou this week. You'll then have two writing assignments related to the movie: (1) You will first write a comparison/contrast paper, comparing the film to The Odyssey ; for that paper, you will need to refer to specifics from the film and the poem. In other words, take notes while you are watching! To get you started, refer to Wikipedia 's breakdown of the connections between the movie and The Odyssey . (2) We will also look at some of the songs from the movie. I'll provide a handout in class of the lyrics to some of the songs from the film. You'll have an option of writing a response paper to one of the songs OR looking up information on something related to the period (The Great Depression and/or The South) and write a short summary of what you find. I'll post specifics for the assignments soon...