Lesson:
I was gratified to read this week's work. Though some previous essays showed misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge, the students applied our recent review lessons with good results. I appreciate their receptive attitudes and willingness to work at writing.
Assignment:
Our next class period will be devoted to an in-class timed writing exercise. This is an important skill to master for college entrance exams and college essay tests, so I want to give these students exposure and practice.
Students will have the full class period to complete a five-paragraph essay. (Hint: Be on time, kids! In fact, you would be wise to be comfortably settled and ready to write as soon as class begins.)
A merely adequate but complete essay will score better than a brilliantly begun but incomplete essay. These essays will not be graded to the same standards as at-home compositions, but still must follow standard five-paragraph format with clear thesis statements, sensible organization, and solid development of arguments.
Students should prepare ahead of time and may bring to class one 3 x 5 index card of notes. Smart preparation might include selecting a topic, brainstorming, writing a thesis statement, organizing and/or outlining main points, choosing and jotting down supporting details, even up to writing out a full practice essay. The note card may be written on both sides, and may contain whatever notes the student deems helpful, such as a prepared thesis statement, outline, quotations, etc.
(Note: Many timed writing exercises, certainly college entrance exams, do not allow so much preparation; often, even the topic is not known in advance. However, we are taking a more user-friendly approach.)
Students may choose to write either a definition essay or a compare/contrast essay from the topic list provided below. (Students may not write on a topic that they have covered previously.)
Topic Choices
~Definition Essays~
Christmas Spirit
Generosity
Faith
Faithfulness
Servanthood
Joy
Contentment
~Compare/Contrast Essays~
The original Christmas nativity and modern Christmas observances
Secular/"pop" Christmas songs and spiritual/traditional Christmas carols
Islam and Christianity
Dating and courtship
PC and Mac
Spiderman and Batman (or any two superheroes)
Sherlock Holmes and Gregory House
(P.S. --- This has nothing to do with this assignment, and I don't suppose this topic would appeal to many people, anyway, but I just thought of an intriguing comparison. I think it might be interesting to compare the roles and relationship of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and Spock with U2's Bono and The Edge.)
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