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In-Class Essays

These essays will be typed in class Thursday and finished up on Friday. You should begin typing when you get to class; leave all formatting until Friday. The essays will be typed on Google Docs using ChromeBooks, so you must have your Google Account to begin. The papers will auto-save to Google Drive, and I will ask all students to "share" their essays with me at the end of class. 

 Seniors
Your essay on Thursday will be a synthesis using four of the "This I Believe" essays - three from your book and one from the website (http://thisibelieve.org/). Your essay should be centered around a clear, arguable thesis, and each paragraph should connect to that central purpose. You must cite all four essays according to MLA guidelines - found here - and the essay will be written in class. In other words, come prepared on Thursday to write by outlining your paper and marking your book for content.

Sophomores
Your essay on Thursday is a literary analysis of Hound of the Baskervilles. I have given you three general topics to choose from, and we talked about turning one of those topics into a thesis question and statement. Your thesis should be included in the first paragraph, as well as the title of the novel and the author. Your support should come in the form of direct reference to the novel. This is NOT merely a summary of the plot; rather, it is a detailed look at some aspect of the book as related to its development.

Topics include the following:
  • The setting and how it relates to the atmosphere, mood and/or plot
  • Holmes's (and therefore Watson's) method of deductive reasoning
  • Characterization of Holmes or Watson, or another major character, focusing on both physical and non-physical details
You will be tempted to look up information online. Don't do it. This invariably leads to plagiarism, even if unintentional. In other words, use your own brain!

Reminder: to use the "find" function within a web page (like this one, for example), press CTRL-F.

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