river oaks [english]

Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney died yesterday. I've mentioned him in class as the author of the new verse translation of Beowulf . Here he is reciting his most famous poem "Digging" in montage: Story from the BBC.

The career paper - written in class Friday - should be around 500 words. Please include the following (in no particular order): Your intended career, including a description from a source (i.e. College Board) The reasoning behind this decision - your interest, experience, talents, etc. The education required, including various costs The job outlook, salary and location (if specific) Your plan so far Use MLA citation when referencing your sources, and you MUST use sources. This is a rough draft, so we will add a works cited list later. For now, use signal phrases to introduce your sources. I will take up your work at the end of class. No homework over the weekend!

Sophomores Your assignment for tonight is to read pp45-51 in your handout and to answer #1-5 on p51. You must answer in complete sentences, citing from the text when appropriate. We will finish discussing Beowulf this week and review on Monday. Your exam is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd. Seniors Your homework is to do a "virtual tour" of the university of your choice. Please print something out to bring to class regarding your degree plan or an article or description from your (future) department. We will also work on outlining your essays, so that we can write them in the allotted time Friday.

Seniors: The first thing you'll do this year is a research project based on your career goals. We will discuss your college and non-college options, conduct research on careers and degree programs, and write a series of papers related to the career you've selected. While this in no way locks you into a career path, it does give you a lot more information to go on, and it will set you on your way towards applying for the college of your choice. PART ONE: For  Tuesday , print out at least two career and/or degree descriptions from the sites discussed Write a 250-word report on your career goals for Wednesday . Take a " virtual tour " of the university or institution you'd like to attend and print out information from the college or degree plan. Turn in Thursday . Write a 500-word essay on your career goals and college plans in class on Friday . Conduct an interview with a professional ASAP The sites we will discuss: CollegeBoard ACT Career

Your homework for this weekend is to read the intro material to the Anglo-Saxon period and Beowulf . I will give you your copies of the poem in sections beginning Monday. In the meantime, here are some resources to help introduce, and to provide context for, this epic poem: Electronic Beowulf Old English reading of Beowulf from the University of Virginia Graphic novel of Beowulf by Gareth Hines Sutton Hoo Staffordshire Hoard

Seniors First, your drafts are looking good! If you have any questions about your revisions between now and Friday, please let me know. I am available every day after lunch or via email. Your drafts should be formatted according to MLA, so please look at the example on Purdue's OWL to make sure you know what that entails: Formatting for MLA . Bring any formatting questions up in class tomorrow, or let me know via email. On Thursday, we will start planning this week's essay -- your own "This I Believe" paper. The guidelines are linked below, as well as the original invitation to participate. Remember, too, that the paper on Friday is a rough draft and will be graded as such: Writing Guidelines Producer's Invitation

Now that you have all completed (or nearly completed) your essays in class, it's time to revise and type. The first step is to think about what "revision" really means . To revise is to "r econsider and alter (something) in the light of further evidence." You are literally "looking" at your paper again, perhaps with new insights. Of course, revision is also about mechanical issues, as well -- spelling, grammar and punctuation.  Finally, I want to make sure you have cited everything correctly. For help on that, I refer you to the lectures on Thursday and Friday, available below as a PDF: Developing an Essay

Your in-class essays will be written on Monday , and we will continue to talk about critical analysis tomorrow. Your homework between now and Monday is to decide on a topic and start locating evidence in the text. You will need to mark your book or take careful notes, so that you can easily find your examples when drafting in class. One good way to mark your books is to use post-it notes (can even be color-coded by point). You can also use "flags" or dog-ears or highlights. Or, you can create side-by-notes, listing page numbers and quotes, along with comments and connections. Seniors Choose five of the essays from This I Believe , and focus on some point of connection. One or two of the essays can be from the project's website . Topics may include connection through theme, point of view, tone or structure. Sophomores Please focus on one of the following topics from  Hound of the Baskervilles : Watson's role as the narrator.  The technique of deductive reas