A Sample Paragraph

This weekend's homework for the honors class is as follows:

1) select a theme for the theme essay
2) reread your story with the theme in mind, being sure to think about author's craft as well
3) read some of that classic (should be finished by December 1)
4) see what cohesive writing examples you can find (due November 20)

Today in class we took a closer look at your practice essays.  After that we talked a bit about the decisions an author makes to with his craft to help convey the theme of his writing.  Some literary devices to be on the lookout for include:

parallel structure

personification

comparisons (similes/metaphors)

repetition

sentence length

descriptive words/sentences

 You might have noticed all the repetition that Poe uses in a "The Tell-Tale Heart" or all the figurative language employed by Myers in "The Treasure of Lemon Brown".  Why do they do these things?  Is the repetition or the figurative language helping either author develop his theme?  That's what I want you to consider, and perhaps, write about in your essay. I've included a link to the sample paragraph I shared with you in class today.  

This weekend's homework for the standard class is as follows:

1) write a good S.P.A.T. paragraph in your writer's notebook; if the first one isn't good, then write another one

2) read your novel (should be finished by December 1)

Today in class we discussed what makes a book a classic.  You received the hand-out summing up the notes so be sure to be referring to it when you read your book so that you can be making an educated decision on whether or not your book will become a classic.

We also looked at a couple S.P.A.T. paragraphs.  It quickly became evident that we need to work on these.  With that in mind we are slowing down the train.  That's why you are not writing another 2 pages tonight; instead, you are writing the best S.P.A.T. paragraph you can write.  Good luck.

Until next time...