SEPTEMBER 6TH 2007

KAZZ

Short day...lots of errands to run...Dentist appt.

~SCIENCE: Watched Myth Busters: Wrote a synopsis of what he learned.

~ LANGUAGE:


College classes begin on the 19th.

ENGLISH 10: TYPES OF POEMS

SOURCE


Types of Poems

BALLAD: A poem that was originally a song which told a story.

ELEGY: A poem of grief for someone’s death.

ODE: A serious poem often addressed to a praised person or object.

LYRIC: A short poem that seems especially musical and which expresses the poet’s emotions.

SONNET: A lyric poem with a traditional form of 14 iambic pentameter lines.

Parts of Poems
STANZA: A group of lines which are set off and form a division in a poem and are sometimes linked with other stanzas by rhyme.

RHYME: Repetition of sounds.

REFRAIN: The repetition of whole words, phrases, lines or groups of lines, according to some fixed pattern. (like a song chorus).

ENGLISH 10: SONG LYRICS EXPLAINED

SOURCE

Example of lyrics and explanation of lyrics for...

~ELEANOR RIGBY AND BLACKBIRD~


Lyrics:

Eleanor Rigby
Lennon/McCartney:


Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie, writing the words
of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Interpretation


The theme of this song is certainly not subtle: it's about lonely people. But stating it thus doesn't do justice to what the Beatles were really saying. A closer inspection reveals that this song examines why the lonely people are lonely.
The song has two characters, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. These two are connected by the church, in this case the actual church that Father McKenzie preaches at and Eleanor Rigby cleans. She is -- and this is not apparent immediately -- a custodian in this church. How do we know that she's the custodian? Well, she picks up rice after weddings...that's a clue. And she died in the church...that's another clue.

At this point, it's good to ask students, if Eleanor Rigby is a custodian, why did the Beatles choose the post-wedding cleanup as the one image showing this? Students usually will quickly come to realize that this image reflects the "dream" she lives in: she wants to marry.

Here's where I tell my classes, artists never choose details indiscriminately. Every description is a clue, a symbol, a piece of the jigsaw puzzle. That is, often, the difference between good art and mediocre art. Mediocre artists often cannot tell you why they chose this detail or that shade of coloring; it just felt right. Great artists know why they do what they do.

Back to the song. Eleanor's dream is further developed in the strange line "wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door." This is a great line to have students puzzle over. Eventually, with a little nudging, they'll see that this face is probably the face that she puts on to look beautiful, the jar being the makeup jar from which the face comes. She waits each night by her door, waiting for a caller, all prettied up with no one to notice. When students see this, they really have pity for this woman.

Meanwhile, there is another pitiful character: Father McKenzie. Though he has a higher station in life than Eleanor Rigby (priest versus custodian), he is no more successful. No one listens to his sermons; no one is saved by his words. And here's something interesting: he is doing what then would be thought of as women's work (darning his socks) while she does what men usually did in the 1960s. It might seem that both these two should get together but this is impossible. The church, in fact, makes it impossible for priests cannot marry.

Having considered this much of the song, it's appropriate to ask students: who is responsible for all the loneliness. It is, as the chorus shows, a question the Beatles ask ("Where do they all come from?"). The quick and easy answer is that it's no one's fault, it's just a sad reality. But there are some troubling questions. Why doesn't Father McKenzie at least befriend Eleanor? Shouldn't the shepherd of a church see that he has a dreaming, lonely woman sitting back there, wedding after wedding? Doesn't he know this woman? And at her funeral, it seems the only thing he's concerned about is his unsuccessful sermon. "Wiping the dirt from his hands" even seems to suggest he's washing his hands of responsibility to this lonely woman.

With these things in mind a spirited discussion usually develops over who is responsible for living a lonely life. Perhaps it's the lonely people themselves. Perhaps it's institutions such as the church. Perhaps it's the inconsiderateness of others.

What is meant by the line "Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name"? This has a twofold answer: that she is childless and friendless.
It's hard for me to tell if Lennon and McCartney are issuing an indictment of religion in this song, but it seems to lurk beneath the surface. One thing is certain: this seemingly simple and beautiful song is a work of poetic art. I assure you, your students will agree with that assessment.

Poetic devices

Repetition is a powerful device in this poem. The word "lonely" appears 10 times in this short song. The use of the rhetorical question is also used strongly. It suggests that the Beatles don't have all the answers, just the observations of loneliness.

This song shows assonance to a nice effect. The sustained "Ah" sound softens the tone, creates a tragic effect.

Imagery is this song's strong suit as well. Picking up rice, darning socks, wiping one's hands: these are clear and powerful images.

"Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door" is a striking metaphor for a cosmetically-dressed up face. "Lives in a dream" is another metaphor.
Consonance of the "L" sound is echoed in the line "Ah, Look at aLL the LoneLy peopLe." Perhaps this is unintentional, but it's there nonetheless.

Musical impact

This song is one where a good discussion about the importance of musical devices is in order. Anyone can hear the importance of the strings, both the violins and the cellos. Played with electric guitars, this song would have been a cartoon.
The use of harmony on the chorus is particularly striking. It's like a sad cry, a lamentation almost. Then counterbalancing that is the solo voice in the verses. This is clear singing, easy to hear the words and see the images.
It's interesting to point out to students that this song has an end, a note of finality. Many rock songs just do fade outs. By having a definite end, we are brought to a conclusion just as Eleanor Rigby's life is terminated. The last words spoken are a question.


BLACKBIRD

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.


Interpretation
This song is a simple allegory about the struggle of black people, symbolized by the blackbird, to gain complete freedom, not just the legal freedom that was rendered in 1865. The dead of night covers the time period between emancipation to the then present, the 1960s. The slaves were freed but they had nothing but broken wings to fly with. Many of them stayed on at the plantations because there simply was no realistic way for them to fly off. The moment that they've been waiting for all their lives is the gathering storm of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement.
In the second verse, the Beatles speak of taking these sunken eyes and learning to see. How is this different than broken wings? Well, sight is mental; flight more physical. Starting with the Brown vs. the Board of Education case in 1954, blacks moved into the schools, into the world of integrated education. This is probably what Lennon and McCartney were talking about.

With broken wings, the black community waits for a moment to arise to march, to protest, and to gain a further freedom than emancipation had given them. With sunken eyes they will gain ultimate freedom, the freedom of the mind.
In the chorus, the Beatles are encouraging blacks to rise up and take advantage of this moment. They still admit there is much darkness -- it is a dark, black night still -- but there is a light there and blacks must move towards it.
One question remains: why do the Beatles say the blackbird was singing in dead of night? It is there way of acknowledging that blacks have never lost hope throughout the ages and that they often have expressed that hope through actual song. It's a very powerful symbol.

Well, that's how I see it, anyway. As with all allegories, the interpretation fails if all elements don't contribute to the theme. So far, my students pretty much go along with this interpretation. But I'm always willing to hear more, to change my point of view.

Poetic devices

The song has good examples of symbolism. The blackbird is a symbol for black people. The broken wings are a symbol for physical incapacitation. The sunken eyes are a symbol for lack of education. The light of the dark black night is a symbol for the developing civil rights movement.

There is some imagery in this song. The singing is an aural image, but not a powerful one. The broken wings and sunken eyes are strong visual images.
Contrast is used: the black night versus the small, bright light. Also, seeing with sunken eyes, flying with broken wings.

The use of repetition is strong. The final line, sung three times, is a call to arms almost.

Of course, there is rhyme. I like to point out that the 1st and 3rd lines of the verses aren't total rhymes -- they're vowel rhymes, night/life.

Musical impact

We discuss the use of acoustical guitar. Why not electric? The acoustic guitar, plucked rather than strummed, softens the song greatly. It is a Martin Luther King method of a call to arms rather than the strident voice of a Malcolm X. This fits in with the Beatles long-standing view that "all you need is love." I like to point out that their own call to revolution in "Revolution" has a soft version to counterbalance the harder one

THE COMING WEEK...

Remind Kazz that these are his objectives while reading
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban...

Initial novel assignment
1. Vocabulary Log (quote the page number for each word used) .Choose 15 words that you do not know the meaning of. Record the dictionary definition for each word.


1. Describe an experience you (or someone else you know) had that was like the experience of a character in the book.


1. After completing the book, watch the movie and site at least 5 differences in detail.

ENGLISH 10: POETIC TERMINOLOGY

Glossary of Poetic Terms

GREAT VOCABULARY TEST!!


Allegory
A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning. Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities. The most famous example in English is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in which the name of the central character, Pilgrim, epitomizes the book's allegorical nature. Kay Boyle's story "Astronomer's Wife" and Christina Rossetti's poem "Up-Hill" both contain allegorical elements.

Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. Example: "Fetched fresh, as I suppose, off some sweet wood." Hopkins, "In the Valley of the Elwy."

Anapest
Two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one, as in com-pre-HEND or in-ter-VENE. An anapestic meter rises to the accented beat as in Byron's lines from "The Destruction of Sennacherib": "And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, / When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee."

Antagonist
A character or force against which another character struggles. Creon is Antigone's antagonist in Sophocles' play Antigone; Teiresias is the antagonist of Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus the King.

Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry or prose, as in "I rose and told him of my woe." Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" contains assonantal "I's" in the following lines: "How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, / Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself."

Aubade
A love lyric in which the speaker complains about the arrival of the dawn, when he must part from his lover. John Donne's "The Sun Rising" exemplifies this poetic genre.

Ballad
A narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style. The Anonymous medieval ballad, "Barbara Allan," exemplifies the genre.

Blank verse
A line of poetry or prose in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's sonnets, Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, and Robert Frost's meditative poems such as "Birches" include many lines of blank verse. Here are the opening blank verse lines of "Birches": When I see birches bend to left and right / Across the lines of straighter darker trees, / I like to think some boy's been swinging them.

Caesura
A strong pause within a line of verse. The following stanza from Hardy's "The Man He Killed" contains caesuras in the middle two lines:

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand-like--just as I--
Was out of work-had sold his traps--
No other reason why.

Character
An imaginary person that inhabits a literary work. Literary characters may be major or minor, static (unchanging) or dynamic (capable of change). In Shakespeare's Othello, Desdemona is a major character, but one who is static, like the minor character Bianca. Othello is a major character who is dynamic, exhibiting an ability to change.

Characterization
The means by which writers present and reveal character. Although techniques of characterization are complex, writers typically reveal characters through their speech, dress, manner, and actions. Readers come to understand the character Miss Emily in Faulkner's story "A Rose for Emily" through what she says, how she lives, and what she does.

Climax
The turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The climax represents the point of greatest tension in the work. The climax of John Updike's "A&P," for example, occurs when Sammy quits his job as a cashier.

Closed form
A type of form or structure in poetry characterized by regularity and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, and metrical pattern. Frost's "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" provides one of many examples. A single stanza illustrates some of the features of closed form:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Complication
An intensification of the conflict in a story or play. Complication builds up, accumulates, and develops the primary or central conflict in a literary work. Frank O'Connor's story "Guests of the Nation" provides a striking example, as does Ralph Ellison's "Battle Royal."

Conflict
A struggle between opposing forces in a story or play, usually resolved by the end of the work. The conflict may occur within a character as well as between characters. Lady Gregory's one-act play The Rising of the Moon exemplifies both types of conflict as the Policeman wrestles with his conscience in an inner conflict and confronts an antagonist in the person of the ballad singer.

Connotation
The associations called up by a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning. Poets, especially, tend to use words rich in connotation. Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" includes intensely connotative language, as in these lines: "Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright / Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, / Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Convention
A customary feature of a literary work, such as the use of a chorus in Greek tragedy, the inclusion of an explicit moral in a fable, or the use of a particular rhyme scheme in a villanelle. Literary conventions are defining features of particular literary genres, such as novel, short story, ballad, sonnet, and play.

Couplet
A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem. Shakespeare's sonnets end in rhymed couplets, as in "For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings / That then I scorn to change my state with kings."

Dactyl
A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones, as in FLUT-ter-ing or BLUE-ber-ry. The following playful lines illustrate double dactyls, two dactyls per line:

Higgledy, piggledy,
Emily Dickinson
Gibbering, jabbering.

Denotation
The dictionary meaning of a word. Writers typically play off a word's denotative meaning against its connotations, or suggested and implied associational implications. In the following lines from Peter Meinke's "Advice to My Son" the references to flowers and fruit, bread and wine denote specific things, but also suggest something beyond the literal, dictionary meanings of the words:

To be specific, between the peony and rose
Plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes;
Beauty is nectar and nectar, in a desert, saves--
...
and always serve bread with your wine.
But, son,
always serve wine.

Denouement
The resolution of the plot of a literary work. The denouement of Hamlet takes place after the catastrophe, with the stage littered with corpses. During the denouement Fortinbras makes an entrance and a speech, and Horatio speaks his sweet lines in praise of Hamlet.

Dialogue
The conversation of characters in a literary work. In fiction, dialogue is typically enclosed within quotation marks. In plays, characters' speech is preceded by their names.

Diction
The selection of words in a literary work. A work's diction forms one of its centrally important literary elements, as writers use words to convey action, reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and suggest values. We can speak of the diction particular to a character, as in Iago's and Desdemona's very different ways of speaking in Othello. We can also refer to a poet's diction as represented over the body of his or her work, as in Donne's or Hughes's diction.

Elegy
A lyric poem that laments the dead. Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" is elegiac in tone. A more explicitly identified elegy is W.H. Auden's "In Memory of William Butler Yeats" and his "Funeral Blues."

Elision
The omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable to preserve the meter of a line of poetry. Alexander uses elision in "Sound and Sense": "Flies o'er th' unbending corn...."

Enjambment
A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. An enjambed line differs from an end-stopped line in which the grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line. In the opening lines of Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," for example, the first line is end-stopped and the second enjambed:

That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now....

Epic
A long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero. Epics typically chronicle the origins of a civilization and embody its central values. Examples from western literature include Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, and Milton's Paradise Lost.

Epigram
A brief witty poem, often satirical. Alexander Pope's "Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog" exemplifies the genre:

I am his Highness' dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

Exposition
The first stage of a fictional or dramatic plot, in which necessary background information is provided. Ibsen's A Doll's House, for instance, begins with a conversation between the two central characters, a dialogue that fills the audience in on events that occurred before the action of the play begins, but which are important in the development of its plot.

Falling action
In the plot of a story or play, the action following the climax of the work that moves it towards its denouement or resolution. The falling action of Othello begins after Othello realizes that Iago is responsible for plotting against him by spurring him on to murder his wife, Desdemona.

Falling meter
Poetic meters such as trochaic and dactylic that move or fall from a stressed to an unstressed syllable. The nonsense line, "Higgledy, piggledy," is dactylic, with the accent on the first syllable and the two syllables following falling off from that accent in each word. Trochaic meter is represented by this line: "Hip-hop, be-bop, treetop--freedom."

Fiction
An imagined story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama. Ibsen's Nora is fictional, a "make-believe" character in a play, as are Hamlet and Othello. Characters like Robert Browning's Duke and Duchess from his poem "My Last Duchess" are fictional as well, though they may be based on actual historical individuals. And, of course, characters in stories and novels are fictional, though they, too, may be based, in some way, on real people. The important thing to remember is that writers embellish and embroider and alter actual life when they use real life as the basis for their work. They fictionalize facts, and deviate from real-life situations as they "make things up."

Figurative language
A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words. Examples include hyperbole or exaggeration, litotes or understatement, simile and metaphor, which employ comparison, and synecdoche and metonymy, in which a part of a thing stands for the whole.

Flashback
An interruption of a work's chronology to describe or present an incident that occurred prior to the main time frame of a work's action. Writers use flashbacks to complicate the sense of chronology in the plot of their works and to convey the richness of the experience of human time. Faulkner's story "A Rose for Emily" includes flashbacks.

Foil
A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story. Laertes, in Hamlet, is a foil for the main character; in Othello, Emilia and Bianca are foils for Desdemona.

Foot
A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables. For example, an iamb or iambic foot is represented by ˘', that is, an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one. Frost's line "Whose woods these are I think I know" contains four iambs, and is thus an iambic foot.

Foreshadowing
Hints of what is to come in the action of a play or a story. Ibsen's A Doll's House includes foreshadowing as does Synge's Riders to the Sea. So, too, do Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and Chopin's "Story of an Hour."

Free verse
Poetry without a regular pattern of meter or rhyme. The verse is "free" in not being bound by earlier poetic conventions requiring poems to adhere to an explicit and identifiable meter and rhyme scheme in a form such as the sonnet or ballad. Modern and contemporary poets of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries often employ free verse. Williams's "This Is Just to Say" is one of many examples.

Hyperbole
A figure of speech involving exaggeration. John Donne uses hyperbole in his poem: "Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star."

Iamb
An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, as in to-DAY. See Foot.

Image
A concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea. Imagery refers to the pattern of related details in a work. In some works one image predominates either by recurring throughout the work or by appearing at a critical point in the plot. Often writers use multiple images throughout a work to suggest states of feeling and to convey implications of thought and action. Some modern poets, such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, write poems that lack discursive explanation entirely and include only images. Among the most famous examples is Pound's poem "In a Station of the Metro":

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Imagery
The pattern of related comparative aspects of language, particularly of images, in a literary work. Imagery of light and darkness pervade James Joyce's stories "Araby," "The Boarding House," and "The Dead." So, too, does religious imagery.

Irony
A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen in life and in literature. In verbal irony, characters say the opposite of what they mean. In irony of circumstance or situation, the opposite of what is expected occurs. In dramatic irony, a character speaks in ignorance of a situation or event known to the audience or to the other characters. Flannery O'Connor's short stories employ all these forms of irony, as does Poe's "Cask of Amontillado."

Literal language
A form of language in which writers and speakers mean exactly what their words denote. See Figurative language, Denotation, and Connotation.

Lyric poem
A type of poem characterized by brevity, compression, and the expression of feeling. Most of the poems in this book are lyrics. The anonymous "Western Wind" epitomizes the genre:

Western wind, when will thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?
Christ, if my love were in my arms
And I in my bed again!

Metaphor
A comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or as. An example is "My love is a red, red rose,"

From Burns's "A Red, Red Rose." Langston Hughes's "Dream Deferred" is built entirely of metaphors. Metaphor is one of the most important of literary uses of language. Shakespeare employs a wide range of metaphor in his sonnets and his plays, often in such density and profusion that readers are kept busy analyzing and interpreting and unraveling them. Compare Simile.

Meter
The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in poems. See Foot and Iamb.

Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a closely related term is substituted for an object or idea. An example: "We have always remained loyal to the crown." See Synecdoche.

Narrative poem
A poem that tells a story. See Ballad.

Narrator
The voice and implied speaker of a fictional work, to be distinguished from the actual living author. For example, the narrator of Joyce's "Araby" is not James Joyce himself, but a literary fictional character created expressly to tell the story. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" contains a communal narrator, identified only as "we." See Point of view.

Octave
An eight-line unit, which may constitute a stanza; or a section of a poem, as in the octave of a sonnet.

Ode
A long, stately poem in stanzas of varied length, meter, and form. Usually a serious poem on an exalted subject, such as Horace's "Eheu fugaces," but sometimes a more lighthearted work, such as Neruda's "Ode to My Socks."

Onomatopoeia
The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe. Words such as buzz and crack are onomatopoetic. The following line from Pope's "Sound and Sense" onomatopoetically imitates in sound what it describes:

When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labors, and the words move slow.

Most often, however, onomatopoeia refers to words and groups of words, such as Tennyson's description of the "murmur of innumerable bees," which attempts to capture the sound of a swarm of bees buzzing.

Open form
A type of structure or form in poetry characterized by freedom from regularity and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, metrical pattern, and overall poetic structure. E.E. Cummings's "[Buffalo Bill's]" is one example. See also Free verse.

Parody
A humorous, mocking imitation of a literary work, sometimes sarcastic, but often playful and even respectful in its playful imitation. Examples include Bob McKenty's parody of Frost's "Dust of Snow" and Kenneth Koch's parody of Williams's "This is Just to Say."

Personification
The endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities. An example: "The yellow leaves flaunted their color gaily in the breeze." Wordsworth's "I wandered lonely as a cloud" includes personification.

Plot
The unified structure of incidents in a literary work. See Conflict, Climax, Denouement, andFlashback.

Point of view
The angle of vision from which a story is narrated. See Narrator. A work's point of view can be: first person, in which the narrator is a character or an observer, respectively; objective, in which the narrator knows or appears to know no more than the reader; omniscient, in which the narrator knows everything about the characters; and limited omniscient, which allows the narrator to know some things about the characters but not everything.

Protagonist
The main character of a literary work--Hamlet and Othello in the plays named after them, Gregor Samsa in Kafka's Metamorphosis, Paul in Lawrence's "Rocking-Horse Winner."

Pyrrhic
A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables ("of the").

Quatrain
A four-line stanza in a poem, the first four lines and the second four lines in a Petrachan sonnet. A Shakespearean sonnet contains three quatrains followed by a couplet.

Recognition
The point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is. Sophocles' Oedipus comes to this point near the end of Oedipus the King; Othello comes to a similar understanding of his situation in Act V of Othello.

Resolution
The sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story. See Plot.

Reversal
The point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist. Oedipus's and Othello's recognitions are also reversals. They learn what they did not expect to learn. See Recognition and also Irony.

Rhyme
The matching of final vowel or consonant sounds in two or more words. The following stanza of "Richard Cory" employs alternate rhyme, with the third line rhyming with the first and the fourth with the second:

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown
Clean favored and imperially slim.

Rhythm
The recurrence of accent or stress in lines of verse. In the following lines from "Same in Blues" by Langston Hughes, the accented words and syllables are underlined:

I said to my baby,
Baby take it slow....
Lulu said to Leonard
I want a diamond ring

Rising action
A set of conflicts and crises that constitute the part of a play's or story's plot leading up to the climax. See Climax, Denouement, and Plot.

Rising meter
Poetic meters such as iambic and anapestic that move or ascend from an unstressed to a stressed syllable. See Anapest, Iamb, and Falling meter.

Satire
A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies. Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a famous example. Chekhov's Marriage Proposal and O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge," have strong satirical elements.

Sestet
A six-line unit of verse constituting a stanza or section of a poem; the last six lines of an Italian sonnet. Examples: Petrarch's "If it is not love, then what is it that I feel," and Frost's "Design."

Sestina
A poem of thirty-nine lines and written in iambic pentameter. Its six-line stanza repeat in an intricate and prescribed order the final word in each of the first six lines. After the sixth stanza, there is a three-line envoi, which uses the six repeating words, two per line.

Setting
The time and place of a literary work that establish its context. The stories of Sandra Cisneros are set in the American southwest in the mid to late 20th century, those of James Joyce in Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century.

Simile
A figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using like, as, or as though. An example: "My love is like a red, red rose."

Sonnet
A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter. The Shakespearean or English sonnet is arranged as three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet divides into two parts: an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet, rhyming abba abba cde cde or abba abba cd cd cd.

Spondee
A metricalfoot represented by two stressed syllables, such as KNICK-KNACK.

Stanza
A division or unit of a poem that is repeated in the same form--either with similar or identical patterns or rhyme and meter, or with variations from one stanza to another. The stanzas of Gertrude Schnackenberg's "Signs" are regular; those of Rita Dove's "Canary" are irregular.

Style
The way an author chooses words, arranges them in sentences or in lines of dialogue or verse, and develops ideas and actions with description, imagery, and other literary techniques. See Connotation, Denotation, Diction, Figurative language, Image, Imagery, Irony, Metaphor, Narrator, Point of view, Syntax, and Tone.

Subject
What a story or play is about; to be distinguished from plot and theme. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is about the decline of a particular way of life endemic to the American south before the civil war. Its plot concerns how Faulkner describes and organizes the actions of the story's characters. Its theme is the overall meaning Faulkner conveys.

Subplot
A subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story that coexists with the main plot. The story of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern forms a subplot with the overall plot of Hamlet.

Symbol
An object or action in a literary work that means more than itself, that stands for something beyond itself. The glass unicorn in The Glass Menagerie, the rocking horse in "The Rocking-Horse Winner," the road in Frost's "The Road Not Taken"--all are symbols in this sense.

Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole. An example: "Lend me a hand." See Metonymy.

Syntax
The grammatical order of words in a sentence or line of verse or dialogue. The organization of words and phrases and clauses in sentences of prose, verse, and dialogue. In the following example, normal syntax (subject, verb, object order) is inverted:

"Whose woods these are I think I know."

Tercet
A three-line stanza, as the stanzas in Frost's "Acquainted With the Night" and Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind." The three-line stanzas or sections that together constitute the sestet of a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet.

Theme
The idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character, and action, and cast in the form of a generalization. See discussion of Dickinson's "Crumbling is not an instant's Act."

Tone
The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and characters of a work, as, for example, Flannery O'Connor's ironic tone in her "Good Country People." See Irony.

Trochee
An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, as in FOOT-ball.

Understatement
A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or she means; the opposite of exaggeration. The last line of Frost's "Birches" illustrates this literary device: "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."

Villanelle
A nineteen-line lyric poem that relies heavily on repetition. The first and third lines alternate throughout the poem, which is structured in six stanzas --five tercets and a concluding quatrain. Examples include Bishop's "One Art," Roethke's "The Waking," and Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night."

ENGLISH 10: BOOK QUESTIONS: THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton

Chapter One
1. Describe each of the characters and their relationship with one another.
2. Who are the socs? Who are the greasers?
3. How do Ponyboy's relationships with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain.
4. Why is the 'gang' important to Johnny?
5. How does Ponyboy react to what Sodapop tells him about Darry?
6. Do you think Darry loves Ponyboy? Why does he treat Ponyboy the way he does?
7. What does Ponyboy mean on page 8 when he says, "I lie to myself all the time"? Do you ever lie to yourself? Why?
TOP

Chapter Two
Vocabulary - Find the meaning for the following words in this chapter: incredulous p. 24, vaguely p.33, nonchalantly p. 25.
1. Who is the fuzz? (p. 20)
2. Are the names Ponyboy and Sodapop nicknames? Explain.
3. Who are Cherry and Marcia?
4. Why doesn't Ponyboy like referring to Sodapop as a dropout?
5. What is Ponyboy comparing Two-Bit to when he calls him a "chessy cat" on page 27? What figure of speech is this besides a simile?
6. What is "a weed" slang for in 1967?
7. Why does Dally look sick now (p. 33)?
8. What literary device does the author use to describe Johnny's mugging (pgs. 31-34)?
TOP

Chapter Three
Vocabulary - Find the meaning for the following words in this chapter: aloof p. 38, impersonally p. 38, ornery p. 39, resignedly p. 44
1. What does Cherry explain as the difference between the socs and the greasers?
2. What does Ponyboy mean on p. 39 when he says "Johnny and I understood each other without saying anything"? Have you ever had a relationship with someone who you understood, or who understood you, without having to say anything?
3. When and how did Pony's parents die?
4. What happens when Pony comes home after his curfew?
5. Why does Johnny like it better when his father is hitting him?
6. At the end of the chapter, how does the author foreshadow that bad things are to come?
TOP

Chapter Four
Vocabulary - ruefully p. 60, hermit p. 65, premonition p. 67
1. What does Pony mean when he says the socs were "reeling pickled" on page 54?
2. What major event happens in this chapter?
3. How did the author foreshadow that johnny would use his knife in chapter 2?
4. What would your advice be to Johhny and Ponyboy if they'd come to you for help instead of Dally? Explain.
TOP

Chapter Five
Vocabulary - reluctantly p. 71, sullen p. 73, eluded p. 78, imploringly p. 72, gallant p. 76, indignant p. 80
1. Why does Pony have a problem with Johnny's idea to disguise themselves?
2. What does pony mean when he says, "I was supposed to be the deep one" (p. 75)?
3. Why does Johnny think is a hero (p. 76)? Do you think Dally is a hero based on what he did?
4. Why does Pony realize he doesn't like Dally? Can you explain what he means by this?
5. Examine Robert Frost's poem, Nothing Gold can Stay. What do you think the poem is saying? How might this apply to the characters in the novel?
6. On page 78, Johnny compares Pony and his brothers to their parents. Which one of your parents are you most like? What similarities do you share?
7. What does pony mean when he says he drinks Pepsis like a friend (p.78)?
8. What's a 'heater'? Why does Dally have one?
9. Why are the socs and the greasers going to fight in the vacant lot?
10. Who's the spy for the greasers? Does this surprise you? Why or why not?
TOP

Chapter Six
Vocabulary - bewildered p. 88
1. Do you think Dally's parents have influenced the way he is; his personality? Explain.
2. Why doesn't Dally want Johnny to turn himself in?
3. What "other side" of Dallas is revealed in this chapter?
4. What's your own definitionof a hero? Do the three boys prove themselves to be heroes, according to your definition? Explain.
5. Why do you think Johnny wasn't scared, despite the obvious danger, on page 92?
TOP

Chapter Seven
1. Explain what Pony means when he says Soda "reminds me of a colt" on p. 101.
2. What condition is Johnny in after the fire?
3. Why would being crippled be worse for Johnny than someone else?
4. "Maybe people are younger when they are asleep" (p.104). what do you think about this comment?
5. What is a juvenile delinquent (p. 107)? Find a definition on the internet, in a dictionary, or create your own based on your own knowledge.
6. Why would Two-Bit think Johnny, Dally, and Pony were heroes all along; before they saved the kids?
7. What was Bob's 'real' problem, according to Randy (p.116)?
8. Why did Pony think it was better to see socs as "just guys" on p. 118? What do you think he means by this?
TOP

Chapter Eight
1. How does what the doctor first says, on page 119, foreshadow Johnny's condition?
2. "We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang. And for the same reason" (p.121). What do you think Pony means, and what is the reason?
3. What does Pony mean on p. 123 when he says, "we could get along without anyone but Johnny"?
4. If Darry didn't have Soda and Pony, why would he be a soc?
5. What does Cherry mean when she says Bob "wasn't just anyone" on p.129?
TOP

Chapter Nine
1. On the bottom of p.133, when Pony asks what kind of a world it is, what comment is he making about how society judges people?
2. Why do the boys fight? Why is Pony different?
3. What is the difference between Tim Sheppard's gang and Ponyboy's? Explain how Pony feels this difference might give his group the upper hand?
4. What do you think Johnny's last words to Pony mean?
TOP

Chapter Ten
Vocabulary - indignantly p.159
1. How does Pony's dreaming, or lying to himself, finally work in this chapter?
2. Why was johnny's dying so difficult for Dally to handle?
3. Why do you think Dally would have wanted to die?
TOP

Chapter Eleven
Vocabulary - acquitted p.168
1. Explain why pony might rather anyone's hate than their pity (p.162)?
2. What do you think is going on with Ponyboy when he says, "Johnny didn't have anyhing to do with Bob's getting killed" (p.166)?
TOP

Chapter Twelve
1. What 'circumstances' do Ponyboy's teacher refer to? What circumstances does Ponyboy think his teacher is referring to?
2. Why doesn't Ponyboy feel scared when the socs approach him and he threatens them with a broken bottle (p.170-171)? How is this a dramatic change from the ponyboy we have seen up until this point?
3. What does Darry mean when he says, "you don't just stop living because you lose someone" (p.173)?
4. How do we know Sandy didn't love Soda as much as he loved her?
5. Explain how Darry and Ponyboy play tug of war with Soda.
6. What do we learn was so special about Johnny (p.178)?
7. What does Ponyboy end up doing for his English assignment?

ENGLISH 10: BOOK QUESTIONS: CRABBE by William Bell

Crabbe’s Journal 1
1. Where does the novel open?

2. Where are the rest of the teenagers?

3. Why is Crabbe where he is?

4. Who is Dr. Browne?

5. Describe Dr. Browne.

6. What are memory blanks according to Dr. Browne?

7. Why isn’t Dr. Browne impressed with Crabbe’s progress?

8. Why is Crabbe keeping a journal?



Crabbe’s Journal 2
1. What kind of house did Crabbe grow up in?

2. Why is Crabbe glad about what he did?

3. Why was Crabbe sick of his life?



Crabbe’s Journal 3
1. What was Crabbe planning to do?

2. How long had Crabbe spent planning his ‘escape’?

3. How did Crabbe ensure his parents didn’t notice any camping equipment was missing in the basement?

4. How did Crabbe manage to get his clothing hidden without his mother knowing?

5. When was Crabbe planning on leaving?



Crabbe’s Journal 4
1. Who is Fat-Ass Grant?

2. What secret had Fat-Ass discovered?

3. Why does Crabbe feel he’s no different than anyone else (p. 26)?

4. What did Grant discover in Crabbe’s locker?

5. Why wasn’t Crabbe punished by the principal?

6. Who, or what, is silent Sam?



Digression


1. What problems did Crabbe have with his teachers?

2. Why does Crabbe think school is stupid?

3. Who is Mr. Peters?

4. Why is Mr. Peters different from the other teachers?

5. Why does Crabbe think the other teachers must hate Mr. Peters?

6. Why does Crabbe’s father think Mr. Peters is dangerous?

7. Why does Crabbe think he could be a threat?



Crabbe’s Journal 5

1. What was the biggest challenge Crabbe had in this chapter?

2. How did Crabbe’s plan almost get ruined?

3. How has Crabbe’s plan been altered?



Crabbe’s Journal 6

1. Where did Crabbe hide the station wagon?

2. What was missing, that morning when Crabbe woke up, that was different from every other morning?

3. How did Crabbe clue in to where to sit in the canoe?



Crabbe’s Journal 7


1. Describe Crabbe’s ‘rest stops’ (p.44).

2. Was Crabbe used to working? Explain.

3. What was the worst part for Crabbe – carrying the canoe or the packs? Why?

4. How does the author foreshadow that something bad might happen to Crabbe?



Crabbe’s Journal 8

1. What important clue does Crabbe ignore at the beginning of this chapter?

2. what has happened to all of Crabbe’s supplies?

3. What major event happens in this chapter and how does Crabbe react to it?

4. Why does Crabbe have to eat cold stew?

5. What is not part of the reason why Crabbe has left home (p. 57)?



Crabbe’s Journal 9

1. When Crabbe set out on his trip, where was he headed?

2. What was the last thought Crabbe had once he realized what danger he was in (p. 63)?

3. Interpret Crabbe’s ‘erotic dream’. What do you think was actually happening?



Crabbe’s Journal 10

1. What’s hypothermia?

2. What injuries did Crabbe sustain?

3. How does Crabbe know the stranger knew what she was doing (p. 68)?

4. Why is the location the woman chose to set up camp the perfect hiding place?

5. Why does the stranger say Crabbe was asking for his attack in chapter 8?

6. What are “night lines”?

7. What realization makes Crabbe ashamed at the end of this chapter?



Crabbe’s Journal 11

1. What is bannock?

2. How does Crabbe make his rescuer angry?

3. Why does the woman want to store all the food?

4. What confession does Crabbe make in this chapter?

5. What is Crabbe worried about at the end of the chapter?





Crabbe’s Journal 12

1. For Crabbe, what is the “truth” he’s learned about nature?

2. What was life like for Crabbe when he lived in the city/

3. What ‘big test’ does Mary give Crabbe?

4. How will Crabbe know if he’s “screwed up”?

5. What realization does Crabbe come to about his loneliness?

6. How does Crabbe do on the ‘test’?

7. what safety precaution had Mary taken when testing Crabbe?



Crabbe’s Journal 13

1. What problem is Crabbe still having?

2a What gift did Mary give Crabbe? 2b. How did Mary think it might help?

3. What is the symbol on the gift called?

4. Even though Crabbe didn’t think Mary’s idea would work, why was he willing to try it?



Crabbe’s Journal 14

1. How does Crabbe feel about Mary?



Crabbe’s Journal 15


1. How does Mary feel about Crabbe?

2. Why is Crabbe o.k. with this?

3. What does Mary think it’s time for Crabbe to do?

4. How does Crabbe feel about this?

5. What are “staples’?

6. How does Mary plan to replenish he stock?



Crabbe’s Journal 16

1. How is Mary’s plan complicated?

2. Describe the people at the camp.

3. Why does Mary whisper “eureka” excitedly?

4a. What causes Crabbe grave concern on page 107? 4b.Why does this worry him?

5. What happens to Mary?

6. Why does Crabbe take steaks and ground beef?

7. What is the pepper for?

8. How is the weather creating trouble for Mary and Crabbe?

9. What frame of mind is Mary in?



Crabbe’s Journal 17

1. What happens to Mary in this chapter?



Crabbe’s Journal 18

1. Once Crabbe gets back to the camp, what does he do right away?

2. What was Crabbe disgusted in himself for?

3. What things did Crabbe learn about Mary?

4. What things did Crabbe think his father wanted him to be like?

5. What was it about the way Mary made Crabbe feel that was different (p. 124)?

6. What was one of Mary’s favourite expressions?

7. What’s a “loser’s game” according to Mary?

8. When does Mary think a person reached maturity?

9. What realization does Crabbe come to about Mary and why she was hiding?



Crabbe’s Journal 19

1. What two choices does Crabbe realize he has?

2. What was Crabbe’s greatest enemy in his situation?

3. How did Crabbe’s Packs come in handy?

4. How long had Crabbe been in the bush/

5. Why does Crabbe’s sleeping bag need to be hung?

6. How has the weather turned against Crabbe?

7. Where does Crabbe take shelter for the evening?

8. What did Mary think was the “greatest compliment to a teacher”?



Crabbe’s Journal 20

1. What was happening to Crabbe’s hands and feet?

2. Why was the pain going away?

3. Why couldn’t Crabbe fall asleep once he reached shelter?

4. How did Crabbe end up in the hospital?



Crabbe’s Journal 21

1. What happened to Crabbe’s hand? How could it have been worse?

2. Why does Crabbe have to be transferred to a city hospital?

3. Why does Crabbe finally decide to reveal some information about himself?



Digression (2)
1. What kind of imagination does Crabbe think people need?



Crabbe’s Journal 22

1. Who is Mrs. Owen’s?

2. What was different about Crabbe’s mother and father’s appearance?

3. Why does Crabbe run from seeing his parents?

4. Why does Crabbe finally decide to face them?



Crabbe’s Journal 23

1. What does Crabbe realize both he and his parents are feeling (p.162)?

2. What did Crabbe’s father need to know?

3. What’s your interpretation of how Crabbe left things with his parents?



Crabbe’s Journal: End

1. Where does Crabbe go once he checks out of the hospital?

2. What was Crabbe having a difficult time getting used to?

3. Where does Crabbe get a job? Why does he think he got it?

4. Who’s Brighton?

5. What’s Project Adventure?

6. Do you think Project Adventure is a good thing for Crabbe? Explain.

ENGLISH 10: TERM ONE AND TWO BOOK ESSAYS

Semester Two
Term One Independent Novel Study
Value: 25 points on term one

You are to select a book that is either fiction or non-fiction, that has NOT been made into a movie, and read it. Various parts of the project will be due throughout the term. Please read the project details and specifics below carefully.

Project Details:
You will select and read a book on any topic that interests you (provided it has not been made into a movie), provide me with the novel information, complete a ¼ point assignment, and write a book review critiquing the book.

Project Specifics:

1. Select a book (minimum 150 pages).

2. Hand in to me by February 13th, on loose leaf or typed using complete sentences, (1) your name, (2) the title of the book you have chosen (3) author (4) number of pages (5) The reason(s) why you chose your selection.



Write a 200-250 word report explaining (a) what page you have read to at this point (b) who the main character is and what you think of them so far being sure to explain yourself (c) what the main conflict or problem the character is facing at this point (d) what you think of the writer’s writing style – do you like how they are telling the story? Why or why not? and (e) What challenges, if any, you are facing in reading your book.

The Book Report: You will be sharing your observations about the book in a written review to help other grade ten students with their book selection next year. You will be provided with handouts and lessons to help you write your review.

Important Dates for this Project:

Feb. 13 Book info. Due
Mar. 5 ¼ point assignment Due.
Mar. 29 Book reviews due

Term One and Two Independent Novel Study

You are to select a novel that has been made into a movie and read it. Part of the project will be due term one and the rest will be completed during term two. Please read the project details and specifics below carefully.



Project Details:

You will read a book that has been made into a movie, complete a ¼ point assignment, watch the movie, write a comparison/contrast review, and present your observations to the class.



Project Specifics:

1. Select a book (minimum 200 pages) that has been made into a movie. Please note – you are NOT to choose a movie (or video game!) that has been made into a book.

2. Each person in the class is to have a different book. Once you have decided on a book you must sign up on the list in the classroom.

3. Hand in to me by October 2nd, on loose leaf or typed using complete sentences, (1) your name, (2) the title of the book you have chosen (3) author (4) number of pages (5) name of movie and year released (6) if you’ve already seen the movie (7) The reason(s) why you chose your selection.

4. You will complete a presentation and comparison/contrast essay on your novel.

Write a 200-250 word report explaining (a) what page you have read to at this point (b) who the main character is and what you think of them so far being sure to explain yourself (c) what the main conflict or problem the character is facing at this point (d) what you think of the writer’s writing style – do you like how they are telling the story? Why or why not? (e) What challenges, if any, you are facing in reading your book.

The Presentation: You will be sharing with the class your observations about the book and the movie. How similar or different were they? Were the differences good or bad? Explain. Which did you prefer, the book or the movie? Why? You will be able to take your ideas from your comparison/contrast essay.

Comparison/Contrast Essay: You will write an essay comparing and contrasting the book to the movie.


You may complete a power point presentation to go along with your presentation, bring in a cued video clip to share your favourite part or explain a difference, or anything you can think of to make your presentation more interesting. The specifics for the evaluation will be explained prior to presentations. (please note – online video files or clips don’t tend to work very well, if at all.)


Important Dates for this Project:

October 2 Book info. Due


November 14 - 17
Presentations

November 14 - 17
Comparison/Contrast essays due. Your essays will be due the day you present.

ENGLISH 10: ESSAY WRITING

Essay Writing
We will officially begin essay writing at the end of the month. Before we can begin, however, I need you to get some things down on paper. So, in order for you to prepare for what is coming, I need you to select 5 of the topics below and just write. I don’t want you to worry about what an essay is – not yet. I just want you to write one page on any 5 of the topics below – or any ideas of your own. Some of the topics are really too broad to write about in just one page, so you will have to narrow them down and make them specific. You are to complete all five “writings” by March 1st and put them in your essay folder.

The following is a list of topics suggested by students this year for discussion and writing:
Sports
Music
Natural disasters
Family
Teen pregnancy
Movies
Sex
Drugs/alcohol
Abuse/harassment
Fashion
Culture
Religion
Travel
Depression
Teen issues
Drinking age
Books
Racism S
chool uniforms
Peer pressure
Abortion
Violence (T.V./video games)
Sex in media
Legal voting age
Violence in music
Gay marriage
Crime vs. punishment
The U.S.A.
The media’s influence
Famous people
Fast food
Media vs. Body image
Suicide Career choices
Colleges/universities
The supernatural
Computer/internet
The privacy act Censorship
Holidays
War
School rules
Courses @ SHS
Hobbies
Life after death
Airport security
Legalizing marijuana
Unusual pets
Good vs. bad teachers
Graduated licensing
NHL lockout
Bullying
Eating disorders
Parent-child issues
Respect
Piercings & tattoos
Divorce
Co-ed sports
Teen smoking
Downloading music
Judging others
Exams Car insurance
Ageism
Popularity
School shootings
Homophobia
Euthanasia
Job searching
Diseases
Death
Love
Human rights
Sexual assault
Trends & fads
Relationships
Stress

You will be given a folder to keep your essay writing in throughout the semester. Each essay you write will be evaluated 3 separate times for different criteria. Each time it will be marked out of 5 and the final mark will be out of 15.

The first essay you write will be referred to as Essay 1A and will be evaluated on essay format. You will re-submit that same essay, after you have reviewed my evaluation and made any necessary corrections; this will be Essay 1B and it will be evaluated for grammar and mechanics. Once you make those corrections, you will submit the essay a final time and it will be evaluated on content. This will be Essay 1C.

Obviously, additional essays will be referred to as Essay 2A, B, or C, and so on. A detailed explanation of the evaluation of each part will be given to you prior to anything being handed in.

The point of this is for you to learn the writing process and to encourage you to focus on the parts involved in good essay writing.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE THIRTEEN

Exercise Thirteen: Helpful Essay Hints -- Mistakes to avoid
Students make a variety of errors in their writing. What follows is a list of things to avoid that weaken your essays, and are actually considered wrong in essay writing.
1. DON’T MENTION THE ESSAY ITSELF.
eg. “After reading this essay…” or “In my essay…” or “In this essay…”

2. DON’T MENTION ANY PART OF THE ESSAY.
eg. “In this paragraph…” or “This paragraph will discuss…” or “In the next paragraph” or “The body of this essay…”

3. DON'T USE "LIKE" IN YOUR ESSAY WHEN YOU INTEND TO PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OR CLARIFY SOMETHING.
e.g. This happens many times throughout the novel like when...
Use "for example" or "for instance" or "such as"
e.g. This happens many times throughout the novel; for instance, when...
*Note punctuation.

4. DON’T JUST STATE A FACT IN YOUR THESIS STATEMENT; DIRECT YOUR ESSAY.
eg. “Golf is the best sport.” This thesis statement doesn’t direct your essay. “Golf is the best sport for a variety of reasons” does. (see exercise 4 "writing thesis statements")

5. DON’T START YOUR ESSAY WITH ONLY A THESIS STATEMENT. YOU MUST HAVE AN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH. (see exercise 6 "Writing the introduction and conclusion of an essay")

6. MAKE SURE EACH PARAGRAPH HAS A MINIMUM OF 3 SENTENCES IN IT. Each sentence should relate only to whatever “reason” or “evidence” you are presenting in that paragraph. (Don't confuse sentences with lines!)

7. MAKE SURE YOUR ESSAY HAS A MINIMUM OF FIVE PARAGRAPHS TOTAL.



ACTIVITY 12A
Edit your essay for any of the errors mentioned above.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE TWELVE

CLICK HERE: Italics & Underlining

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE ELEVEN

WRITING WORKSHOP LESSON 11: THE COMMA

The comma is the most frequently used and the most frequently misused punctuation mark. The omission of a necessary comma can distort the meaning of a sentence. Unnecessary commas can distract the reader and give the sentence a jerky quality. This handout will present the four rules that will give you a good indication of when to use commas. If the sentence you are writing is not covered by one of these rules remember this: leave the comma out!

Four Comma Rules:
1. Use commas to separate items in a series of three or more. Examples:
· Required subjects are math, English, bookkeeping, and business law.
· Walk up the hill, turn left, go two blocks, and you’ll be there.
· Henry went to the show, Joan went home in tears, Norah and Phil talked until dawn, and I went upstairs.

Try These
Following rule number one, insert commas where necessary:
1. Be sure to pick up mik bread cheese and wine.
2. I am going to hire a cleaning man to clean floors dust furniture scour the oven and wash clothes.
3. Tim stomped into the room threw himself into a chair drained a six-pack of Keith’s and crushed the can against his forehead.

2. Use commas to separate from the rest of the sentence any word or expression that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning or that means the same as something else in the sentence.
Examples:
· Writing business letters isn’t difficult, if you’re careful.
(The phrase “isn’t difficult” is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.)
· Stephen Leacock, one of the world’s great humorists, was a professor of economies at McGill.
(The phrase “ one of the world’s great humorists” means the same as “Stephen Leacock.” The two expressions refer to the same person.)
· If it were up to me, Judy, I’d hire you.
(The word “Judy” is not essential, or necessary, to the meaning of the sentence.)

Try These
Following rule number 2, insert commas in the appropriate places:
1. What’s it all about Alfie?
2. The cheetah is of course the fastest animal on earth.
3. Many children in this school it seems are coming in the morning without having had an adequate breakfast.

3. Place a comma between independent clauses when they are joined by these linking words: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. (coordinating conjunctions)
Examples:
· It was a good party, but last year’s was better.
· I’m not speaking to her, so you’ll have to tell her.
· I can’t make it to class, yet I feel I should go.
· Ross is a good student, for he studies hard.

Try These
Following rule number three, insert commas where necessary: 1. I refuse to wear that turkey costume to the party nor will I go as a horse’s rear end.
2. Yesterday he broke up with her but today he’s begging for her forgiveness.
3. The day was clear and warm so we spent the afternoon on our sailboat.

4. Put a comma after any word or group of words that comes before an independent clause.
Examples:
· Charley, you aren’t paying attention. (The second rule applies here to.)
· Though tattered and torn, the book was a fortune.
· Wherever you go, remember me.
· If that’s all there is, we’d better buy more.
· Until he got his promotion, he was quite friendly.

Try These
Insert commas where necessary: 1. Esmeralda please leave those plants on the table.
2. Third insert your finger into the electrical socket.
3. Overwhelmed by the generous offer we spent the evening watching Paul’s home movies.

ACTIVITY
Copy the following sentences into your notes. Using all four rules, insert commas into the following sentences where necessary:

1. His face turned purple when he saw the exam results but he said nothing.
2. Clarity conciseness and courtesy are important in both personal and business communication.
3. The Blue Jays in case you haven’t noticed have been playing better ball this season.
4. Unless you come with us now you won’t be able to get to the island tonight.
5. Samuel de Champlain Jacques Cartier and Etienne Brule were among the first Europeans to explore what is now Canada.
6. In spite of its reputation the Spadina Hotel is you know a good place to have a drink.
7. Adam and Eve are supposed to have been the first people on earth but they apparently ran into some trouble with their supervisor.
8. Cedric why are you wearing those nose plugs?
9. Running jumping and shouting loudly the hildren ran across the yard and into the house.
10. Unless I am sadly mistaken you now have a firm grasp of the intricacies of comma use.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE TEN

EXERCISE 10~
Activity 1: Identifying comma splices
From reading Exercise 10, you should know that a comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined together with a comma. You should also know the three simple ways to correct comma splices:
1) Replace the coma with a period.
2) Replace the comma with a semi colon.
3) Add a coordinating conjunction after the comma (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so - fanboys).

Examine the following sentences. In those sentences which contain comma splices, circle the misused comma. In your notes rewrite the incorrect sentences correctly.

1. The man drove a red mercedies, he didn't stop when he hit the pedestrian.
2. I love chocolate ice cream, she likes vanilla.
3. When he woke up, his alarm had been going off for an hour.
4. The ploice asked us questions, we didn't know the answers.
5. Although she is 16, her parents won't let her get her license.
6. Since we are going out to dinner, I booked a babysitter.
7. He really likes Emily, she doesn't like him.
8. I have his phone number, he wants you to call him.
9. We stayed up all night studying, the test was really easy.
10. English class with Mrs. Gallant is the best, so we should buy her a present.


EXERCISE 10
Activity 2: Identifying Run-ons
From reading Exercise 10, you should know that a run on sentence occurs when two independent clauses are joined together without any punctuation or conjunction. You should also know the three simple ways to correct run-ons:
1) Separate the independent clauses with a period.
2) Separate the independent clauses with a semi colon.
3) Join the clauses together by adding a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so - fanboys).

Examine the following sentences. In those sentences which contain run-ons indicate where the clauses should be separated with a star (*). In your notes rewrite the incorrect sentences correctly.

1. I love math I could solve problems all day!
2. I want to go to Europe but I don't have the money.
3. Kelly likes Brian and he likes her.
4. My dog is so cute she is only one year old.
5. I stayed for help in History it helped a lot.
6. She went to Egypt on vacation and bought me a souvenir.
7. He has her number he's too shy to call.
8. She's an amazing skier she wins races all the time.
9. He really likes dancing he can dance to anything.
10. English class is so fun I really like my teacher.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE NINE

EXERCISE NINE
ACTIVITY 1: Identifying Independent and Dependent clauses

* Note: dependent clauses when used alone are fragments.

Copy the following 10 clauses into your notes.

In the margin beside each example identify the type of clause by writing "I" for independent clause or "D" for dependent clause. Also, place a period at the end of the clauses that are independent.

example: I 1. I had a cup of coffee.
D 2. Because I had a cup of coffee

1. The aliens abducted my dog
2. That I went to school completely naked
3. While the teacher assigned homework
4. Because all the guys just stared
5. I put ketchup on my fries
6. I put a frog in his shorts
7. While they kissed at the dance
8. Then someone puked in the bathroom
9. They walked home together
10. Grammar is so fun


EXERCISE 9
ACTIVITY 2

Correcting Sentence Fragments
From Exercise 9 you should know the three ways to fix a sentence fragment:
1) Attaching the fragment to an indpendent clause before or after it.
2) Rewriting it as an independent clause.
3) Adding a comma before the independent clause if the subject and verb are not in it.

Activity: Examine the following sentences. Correct the sentence fragment errors in your notes.

example:

When she is helping at home. The work is finished sooner. (fragment)
When she is helping at home the work is finished sooner. (correct: dependent clause joined to an independent clause)

1. The man gave him a deal on the price of the car. Because Grampa knew him.
2. Our entertainment unit collapsed! While the television is on the table. We have to eat in the living
room.
3. Since the earth goes around the sun. We have a sunrise and sunset.
4. I couldn't find a job in Halifax. Then I decided to move to Toronto.
5. Because the job opportunities were limited.

For extra practice with sentence fragments, complete the quiz linked to the bottom of Exercise 9.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE EIGHT

Exercise Eight: Polishing Your Writing – correcting wordiness and
misused words

Wordiness occurs when unnecessary words are included in a person’s writing. These unnecessary words may have been added to impress the reader or “bulk-up” a paper. Regardless of the reason, wordiness should be avoided as it is often useless and repetitive information that readers prefer not to have to read!

Sentences should be clear and concise; that is, your writing should express your ideas in as few words as possible (without sacrificing information). The following is a list of wordy phrases. Note how, in some instances, two different words are used together which have similar meanings.

Wordy Phrases Absolutely complete Absolutely nothing Green in colour Final conclusion
I personally feel... In my opinion, I think... Circled around At that point in time
Collect together In this day and age Entirely eliminated Personal friend
Exactly identical Real, genuine leather Small in size True fact
Exact same Combined together Young in age Long length of time


ACTIVITY 8A
Complete the activity below. Some wordy phrases are listed above, while others require your skill at finding and fixing them. Rewrite the sentences below editing for wordiness. How concise can you make the following sentences without changing the information contained in each?

1. My final conclusion concerning the real, genuine value of Bargain Barry’s reduced price sale goods is exactly identical with yours.

2. Small in size as he was, and surrounded on all sides by strange children he didn’t know, the uniquely courageous seven-year-old challenged the class bully to a fight.

3. The sergeant repeated again to the brand new recruits, “You will be called at 5:30 A.M. in the morning, and you will have circled around the barracks on the double by 5:45. You will at that point in time be completely free until 6:00, when you will continue on to the barracks mess for breakfast.

4. The new recruits disappeared from view after the 7:00 A.M. breakfast, to discuss what they could do to get even with a sergeant who woke them up one full hour before the necessary time.

5. They personally thought that the sergeant would probably repeat the same obnoxious
behaviour again, each day, so they decided to proceed ahead with a new, innovative plan as an appropriate response.

6. In my opinion, I must admit that I thought their plan was absolutely and completely foolproof, and that it was a great idea.

Abused Words
Language is continually evolving. As time goes by, new words are developing and old words are changing, but not necessarily for the best. Incorrect usage and pronunciation in speech can lead to misused, misspelled and made-up words. These words are ABUSED.

Examine the following list of abused words. Are you guilty of using any? Complete the activity that follows by rewriting and correcting any abused word errors. Some commonly abused words are listed while others require your skill to find and fix them.

Abused Words Explanation Correct Use alot There is no such word. a lot (it is actually two words)
anyways, anywheres and a long ways There is no “s” on these words. anyway, anywhere, a long way could of, would of, might of, should of, and so on. The “of” should be “have”. Could have, should have, might have, etc.
off of Use off alone. I fell off the step.


“real” used as an adverb: real sad, real nice “real” should not be used as an adverb. Use really or very.

suppose to, use to Grammatically incorrect. Use supposed to and used to.
themself, theirself, ourselfs, yourselfs, and themselfs The plural of self is selves. Themselves, ourselves, yourselves. Don’t use theirselves though, it’s not a word

For granit or granite There is no such term. This is a pronunciatio problem. It is spelled “for granted”.


ACTIVITY 8B
1. Nell should of gone with us to the beach; now she can’t go nowheres.

2. I’m suppose to see whether the reason for the delay is because it’s raining.

3. They are suppose to get the ball themselfs, irregardless of where it is when they come off the field.

4. If youse don’t do nothing about boarding the windows, you’ll have pieces of glass everywheres in the house.

5. It’s real sad to see signs of prejudism in young children, who must have been influenced by their parents.

6. It is irrelevant whether she fell off of or was pushed off of her bicycle; she is disqualified anyways.

7. We should never take people for granite; when they are gone they can’t be replaced.

8. They should of finished the race even though they were behind, since every entrant is suppose to finish unless disqualified or injured.

ACTIVITY 8C
Revise your essay and correct for wordiness and abused words.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE SEVEN

Exercise Seven: Connecting the Ideas Within Your Essay

One of the biggest problems seen in essays is the lack of flow between ideas. That is, the writing seems choppy. Because, essentially, each paragraph in an essay deals with its own topic, the paragraphs don’t connect easily and ideas may be difficult to follow. A writer needs to help the reader follow along by using signal words, or transitions.

Transitions are words or phrases that link one idea to the next; they are signals which help the reader follow your thoughts. Transitions are used to connect ideas within paragraphs and when leading from one paragraph to the next.

Transitions fall into several categories. The following seven categories list transitions for some of the most common situations in writing:

1. To show a time relationship: first, second, third, next, before, during, after, now, then, finally, last.
2. To add an idea or example: in addition, also, another, furthermore, similarly, for example, for instance.
3. To show contrast: although, but, however, instead, nevertheless, on the other hand, in contrast, on the contrary.
4. To show comparison: in the same way, similarly, likewise, as, also.
5. To show cause-effect: as a result, consequently, because, since, therefore, thus.
6. To show conclusion: as a result, therefore, finally, last, in conclusion, in summary, to sum up, all in all.
7. To clarify: in other words, for instance, that is, put another way.

ACTIVITY 7B
Review your essay completed in activity 6C and add transitions where necessary.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE SIX

Exercise Six: Writing the Introduction and Conclusion of an Essay


So you know how to write the body of your essay, but do you know how to begin your essay? As explained in exercise five, there are three parts of an essay: the introduction, body, and conclusion. You CANNOT begin an essay by simply stating the thesis of your essay. You must begin an essay with an introductory paragraph, or introduction. This introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of your essay. It should announce your topic to the reader, include the thesis statement, and, hopefully, get your reader’s attention.

Writing the introductory paragraph of an essay is quite easy. There are a variety of ways to write an introductory paragraph, but, for the purpose of simplicity, we are going to look at the thesis-statement-last introduction.

Writing your introduction
1. Write the thesis of your essay ¼ of the way down your page (leaving
several empty lines above it).
2. Using the empty lines before your thesis lead your readers to your thesis.
This means you need to discuss things related to the topic in your thesis.

How do I lead my reader to the Thesis statement?
There are several ways to begin your essay, and more specifically, your
introductory paragraph. The following are some options:
- Begin your essay by asking a question
- Begin your essay by telling a very brief story
- Begin your essay by using a quote
- Begin your essay by stating an interesting fact
- Begin your essay by telling a joke
- Begin your essay by offering a description

Examples:
(Using a question)
Have you ever wondered why we have a legal drinking age? Many underage teens will argue that having a legal drinking age is useless. Teens will drink when and if they feel like it. Alcohol is easily accessible, so why bother with an age restriction? Perhaps it is because underage drinking may create such serious problems. There are many serious issues associated with underage drinking.

(Using a description)
Krista and I have been best friends for a long time. We have been through thick and thin. Good times and bad times, and our friendship has experienced many changes in between. “Best friendship” is a very special relationship that requires many different characteristics to be successful.

ACTIVITY 6A
Write a rough copy of the introduction for the essay body you completed in Activity 5B.

Writing the Conclusion

OK, two out of three parts completed! Now for the last part – writing the conclusion.

The concluding paragraph of an essay, or conclusion, is your last say on your essay topic. This is where you wrap your ideas up and close the essay. Essentially, the conclusion of your essay need only be one paragraph; it is not limited to that, however. In your conclusion you may
- Restate your thesis
- Summarize the main points of your essay
- Draw a final conclusion about your topic
- Leave your reader with a memorable statement or quote

Most importantly you want to leave your reader feeling something and offer them closure.

ACTIVITY 6B
Write a rough copy of the conclusion for the essay body you completed in Activity 5B.

ACTIVITY 6C
Connect your introduction, body and conclusion together to form your completed (rough) essay.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE FIVE

Exercise Five: The Parts of an Essay (writing the body)

An essay is composed of three parts:
1. The opening paragraph or introduction
2. The body
3. The conclusion

Developing your topic and beginning your essay
Since the body of the essay is the biggest part it is often the best place to start. That way, the bulk of your essay is completed first.

In order to begin writing the body of your essay, you need to develop your topic. This involves closely examining your thesis statement. The first question you need to ask yourself is: how do I plan to support the opinion in my thesis?

Well, you begin by making a list of reasons or examples that support your opinion. You need a list of, at least, three strong reasons. For example, if we look back at the thesis statement in Exercise four, we can easily create a list to support the opinion stated in the thesis:

Thesis – When it comes to animals, dogs make better pets than cats.

Reasons/Examples to support opinion –
1) Dogs are fun

2) Dogs help you exercise

3) Dogs are loyal

4) Can you add any other reasons?

Once you have your reasons/examples, putting the body of the essay together becomes very simple by following these steps:

Step 1 – Examine your first reason/example. I.e. “dogs are fun”
Step 2 – Explain what you mean (why are dogs fun?) and use examples to back up your ideas. In this instance you might
explain that it’s fun to teach dogs games and tricks, or that dogs like to play.
Step 3 – Put your ideas together in step two to create a paragraph. Keep in mind that there should be only one main topic in a
paragraph. If you find yourself wanting to branch off of a topic onto another related one, begin a new paragraph to
discuss that idea.
Step 4 – Repeat steps 1 – 3 for the second and third reasons/examples. Once you have the minimum three paragraphs written
to support your thesis, the body of your essay is complete.

Remember, the body of your essay must have at least three paragraphs. Additional paragraphs, however, can help strengthen your essay if they help reinforce your ideas.

ACTIVITY 5A
Look back at the four thesis statements you created in Activity 4B and fine tuned in activity 4C. Make a list, for each of those statements, of at least three reasons/examples that support your opinion in each thesis.

ACTIVITY 5B
Choose one of the thesis statements and lists of reasons/examples you worked on in the previous activity. Following steps 1 – 4 of exercise five, use your list of reasons to write the paragraphs to make up the rough copy of the body of an essay.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE FOUR

Exercise Four: Creating Your Thesis Statement
Once you have chosen a topic and generated a list of ideas to discuss in an essay, you have to create your thesis statement.

What is a Thesis Statement?
A thesis statement expresses your opinion about a topic. It is the basis of the introductory paragraph of your essay.
· It should be a single complete sentence.
· You must be sure you can support the opinion in your thesis.

Thesis Rules
A thesis statement should:
· Never be an open-ended question
· Be limited to mentioning only those points you plan to discuss in your essay
· Never be so broad that it’s difficult to discuss all relevant information
· Only present one specific idea; not multiple ideas
· Not contain two conflicting ideas

ACTIVITY 4A
Identify the problems in the following thesis statements using these categories:
(a) conflicting ideas (b) open-ended question (c) too broad (d) not limited

1. The World’s Fair in New Orleans was a disaster because of the way the press criticized the way it was run, but it was exciting for little children and had many good food booths.

2. TV commercials are obnoxious to the person who is intent on watching a good show; on the other hand, they provide entertainment in the antics of the performers and they provide a good opportunity to take a snack break.

3. Since politicians are constantly bombarding each other, how do they expect anyone to know who is right and who is wrong?

4. Rap music is a popular form of art because it is creative and original and because it follows the traditions of other spontaneously developed music like jazz.

5. Unless people are conscious of pollution, the world will be destroyed by the year 2050


How to write a thesis statement
To create a thesis statement simply follow this formula:


TOPIC + OPINION = THESIS STATEMENT

Examples:
TOPIC + OPINION = THESIS STATEMENT
Animals + Dogs make better pets than cats = When it comes to animals, dogs make better pets than cats.
Movies and emotions + Titanic ignited many emotions = The movie "Titanic" ignited many emotions in an audience.
Gangs and identity in the story
"On the Sidewalk Bleeding". + The boy lost his personal identity and was only seen as a gang member. = In the story "On the Sidewalk Bleeding", the boy loses his identity and is only recognized as a gang member.


ACTIVITY 4B
Write thesis statements for the topics you chose in Activity 1. Make sure your statements meet the Thesis Rules.

ENGLISH 10: EXERCISE THREE

Exercise Three: Your Writing Style

Just as each of us has our own unique hairstyle or style of dressing, so does our writing. Unlike hair and clothing, however, writing style has only two main categories: formal and informal.

Formal writing is very precise and the language, or wording in formal writing, is carefully chosen. Also, no personal references (I, me, we, etc.) are used. Informal writing is more relaxed and has a conversational tone to it. It is more lively and personal and uses personal references.

The style you chose to use when writing an essay will depend on your audience and purpose. For most school essays the appropriate style is formal