...WRTG 2010 Essay One Textual Interpretation / Close Reading Although we are all familiar with the essay form, we may not be comfortable analyzing essays as arguments. However, essays, like all forms of writing, implicitly or explicitly take a stand, make an argument. To grow as critical readers – and thinkers – we must be able to analyze and make our own interpretations of what a given piece of writing is trying to teach us, to persuade us. For this reason, your first essay in WRTG 2010 asks you to develop an interpretation of one of the following essays: * Benjamin Franklin’s “Arriving at Perfection” * Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels” - Zora Neale Hurston’s “Colored Like Me” As DiYanni explains in the Introduction to 50 Great Essays, an interpretation is not a summary; in fact, interpreting what an essay means can only happen once the reader has not only an accurate grasp of the content but has also gone further to observe details, connect those details, and make inferences about the author’s argument based on those details. Your interpretation, then, will not be a summary of your selected essay; instead, it will be your argument as to a primary meaning and persuasive purpose of the essay. As with any piece of writing, an essay can have multiple interpretations; thus, your interpretation should be arguable, debatable, forcing you to support...
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...Uniforms in schools Opening Thought: Kids are often bullied about clothing and brand names, also Kids in school tend to be more active and wild when dressed down as opposed to those who are dressed in uniform. I. Enforcing Uniforms http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/lets-face-music-school-uniforms-persuasive-essay-16466/ I. Introduction School uniforms have been a major issue to the school systems for many years. In the last forty years, public education has seen many changes in school dress styles. B Many private and public schools have adopted a uniform policy, but other schools do not believe uniforms make a difference. C In most present day public schools, students are permitted to choose what they wear with limited restraints. As most school Districts allow the students this freedom, The public as a panacea for the ills of society views the Schools. Schools are expected to solve America’s entire Social, economic, and political problems. California, Became the first public school system in the country in 1995 To require grammar schools and some high schools to wear uniforms However many parents across the united states feel that mandating school uniforms is a violation of self-expression at the same time many schools feel that uniforms will be a benefit because When students have continuous negative experiences in school, dropping out and Delinquency tends to be...
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...Pena Babayev ENGL 1312 Dr. West-Fort Persuasive Essay Rough Draft March 4, 2014 My First Trip I have had so many life experiences some of them are amazed and some bad. You cannot learn if you don't have any bad experiences or struggles in your life. I had full of amazing and incredible events, wonders that changing my moods and attitudes. One of the best and the most excited things I have ever had to do was my trip to Lake Archman, the pearl and treasure of Turkmen land. It is usual sunny day when we were about to leaving our busy and noisy city and get to the long road that are passing through the high and huge mountains of Turkmen Kopetdag. People went to the mountains on vacation for two reasons: to have fun and enjoy the view. We wanted to enjoy both of them. But first we agreed to go to Lake Archman. And while we were on the way to lake, my teacher said: “Listen! Now we are on the way to the Archman, and I want to you not to sleep in order to enjoy the beauty of nature.” And some of us really didn’t sleep after her advice, trying to get a real pleasure from staring at the grand mountains. As a final point, we reaching the place where everybody changed their face and had a big smile, which showed that all of us were really pleased of seeing our magic lake. Next day, after having a good lunch, my friends and classmates go to the beach for swimming and having a sunbath. When I saw the shining and blue like a sky water that was charming all of us, I hurried...
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...When I was little, I was obsessed with this ongoing series called “Warriors”. It’s a 36 book series about cats who live in the wild. Now, I know, not much to be enchanted with, but I was 7 and it was the first time I hadn’t gotten bored with a book and quit halfway through. From 3rd to 7th grade, I dutifully read each book and waited with baited breath for the last official book in the series, when Firestar (the main character) would finally kill the ghost of his arch nemesis Tigerstar, therefor bringing peace to the clans. I waited for that battle for nearly 5 years. 5 years of my childhood revolved around that single, epic conclusion. In that time, I expanded my reading and actually started writing Warrior fanfiction before fanfiction became. I grew out of the series eventually, but I still read the last book when it came out. Frankly, I found the last book wanting (and they killed Firestar. The nerve. The sheer gall), but I found that I didn’t truly mind. I had grown up (a little), and had already found dozens of book series that I liked more. They were more challenging with advanced plotlines and better character development, and I never would have read them if I hadn’t fallen in love with reading through Warriors. In this case, my journey was more important than my destination. In fact, I find that to be true in most...
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...Organizational Strategies The approaches - description, narration, classification, and evaluation - provide a means of identifying the different sections of your paper, and showing how these sections are related to one another. Using a particular approach to establish the connections between the sections of your essay will make it easier for both you and your reader to predict what comes next and to fit the sections together. Once you have decided on an approach, you will have sections, but you may need to make a further decision about the effective arrangement of those sections. The way you arrange your ideas will show the reader how the sections you have identified fit together; used effectively, it will allow you to demonstrate your sense of what the reader should see as most important, secondary, or incidental. Common methods for the arrangement of sections include: * General to specific * Specific to general * Climax * Increasing Complexity Organizational Strategies * Order of importance – to emphasize a particular point * Logical linkages – helps the flow * Compare and Contrast – lets you see the similarities and differences between two things * Problem/Solution – makes the reader think and be all curious * Sequence – teaches us how stuff is done so you can appreciate the process * Cause and effect – this forces you to think since it’s trying to show you how the causes and effects are related. Use this link for additional...
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...I would categorize my senior year as one of wild progression when it came to my writing. Senior year mirrors my sophomore year almost exactly when it comes to just pure progression. In that sophomore year, I greatly improved in an area that had irked me for years, the organization of content, and I grew in other critical areas throughout the course of this year. While I would consider my writing far more refined than it was in 10th grade, there are still multiple core elements that I always work to improve. The first few journals last semester echoed the thoughts of a teen who refused to take risks in his writing, who couldn’t be told his faults without a fear of personal attack. Last year the majority of my writing was for AP courses, and...
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...HUYNH PHUC HOANG SAMPLE ESSAY IELTS Writing Sample Essay IELTS Writing Some people think that in order to prevent illness and disease, governments should make efforts in reducing environmental pollution and housing problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? The prevention of illness and disease is a challenging problem for any community. Although many people may be skeptical about the effectiveness of an investment in improving the environment and providing more housing for the public, I believe that it is a good solution to the issue, as will now be discussed. On the one hand, ameliorating environmental contamination can hinder the spread of disease and illness. Today, people’s health is deteriorating due to the adverse effects of poor air quality, making us more vulnerable to viruses and health problems. A number of urban citizens suffer from lung cancer and throat cancer due to the dangerous level of exhaust emissions from traffic and industrial activities in many big cities such as Beijing and Hanoi. Therefore, improving the environment should be treated as the top priority among other concerns of the government. For example, an outright ban on the use of private vehicles can decrease the amount of harmful fumes released into the atmosphere, contributing to the clean-up of the environment. On the other hand, the provision of more accommodation for the public is also a highly effective measure to reduce health risks....
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...The Roman games and the value of life. The Roman games, or ludi, were held for the entertainment of the Roman people and played a significant role in ancient Roman culture. In the amphitheater, gladiators battled against wild beasts or engaged in combat with other gladiators. Such events were used to “elevate status” and to create “interaction between the ruler and the ruled”, highlighting the importance the Romans placed on rank and hierarchy. The ludi represented Rome’s dominance over its enemies but at what cost? It celebrated the fearlessness and power of the warriors and the state but also revealed their viciousness and disregard for the living. The act of killing, the crowd’s behavior, and even the arena itself all demonstrate how the Roman games devalue life, which is what this essay will explore. Human beings have an unusual fascination with violence but the idea of watching people die for sport is still shocking. The practice of watching deaths actually originates from the Christian ‘good death’, wherein friends and family gather to witness a loved one’s departure to a better place. “Death by public execution was an echo, even a mirror, of the Christian ‘good death’” in that it was a public event and was presided over by clergymen. However, the religious and solemn atmosphere cannot be found in a Roman arena. Le Bon suggests that in a crowd “a man descends several rungs in the ladder of civilization. Isolated, he may be a cultivated individual; in a crowd, he is...
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...Com/156 | Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Persuasive Essay | Individuals suffering from post-dramatic stress disorder (PTSD) could find a great deal of relief in the facilities and support groups available throughout the country. Post-traumatic stress disorder has been an issue haunting Americans for generations; the lack of a viable cure also makes its common existence extremely dangerous. It’s understandable that victims and their family members would do anything to help this terrible mental disorder, and with modern medicine and psychiatric evaluation techniques; a sigh of relief can be taken. For years this condition has been seen a form of mild psychosis rather than a treatable medical condition, the instability involved in the victims of this illness isn’t easily ignored. The world around us is filled with terror and angst, so much that often the human mind tends to bend and break rather than adapt to these wild events. The effects of traumatic events vary from person to person and it isn’t without trail that studies begin to unravel what causes PTSD, and from that moment civilization has been on an evolutionary path to break down and understand what can be done to help. The most common association with PTSD is the mental state of soldiers returning from war, these individuals experience violent and graphic scenarios and often fall victim to instability in the mind. Events like going to prison and domestic abuse are also common factors in the acquisition of PTSD...
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...The first step is discussed in chapter four, which deals with certain neuroscientific aspects of the process of interpreting non-verbal communication. It is also about the importance of face-to-face situations and shared culture with respect to interpreting non-verbal communication. Furthermore it is mentioned, which role emotional intelligence plays in the understanding process for non-verbal communication. Finally, chapter five talks, with reference to the examples in chapter three, about the difficulties of non-verbal communication for the interpreter. Chapter five describes what possibilities the interpreter is given to reproduce non-verbal communication. Sign-language, one form of non-verbal communication, is not discussed in this essay. In fact, this is a language in itself. Even if body gestures and facial expressions are part of this language, which would correspond to the definition of non-verbal communication in chapter two, it cannot be regarded as non-verbal communication. Sign-language is a system closed in itself and needs special training as well as for any other natural language. Therefore, this aspect of interpretation was not...
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...CHAP TER Separating Ideas and Shaping Content Writing Paragraphs 1. PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, TONE, AND CONTENT L E A R N I N G 1. 2. 3. 4. 6 O B J E C T I V E S Identify the differences between summary, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation paragraphs Identify the content in writing paragraphs Demonstrate how audience and tone influence content Apply purpose, audience, tone, and content to a specific assignment Imagine reading a poorly written review of a movie that you would like to see this weekend. You cannot follow the characters, action, or conflict because the author of the review rambles on and on. Without clear paragraphs, this review will likely lose your interest, and you may skip the movie altogether! When you are the writer, it is helpful to position yourself as a reader. Ask yourself whether you can focus easily on each point you make. Effective writers use a single paragraph for each new idea they introduce. Paragraphs separate ideas into logical, manageable, and distinct units. Each paragraph focuses on only one main idea and presents coherent sentences to support that single point. Because all the sentences in one paragraph support the same point, a paragraph may stand on its own. Each paragraph is shaped by Purpose: the reason why the writer composes the paragraph. < Tone: the attitude the writer conveys about the paragraph’s subject. < Audience: the individual or group whom the writer intends to address. < Content: the written material in the paragraph...
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...HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS Lauren Starkey ® NEW YORK Copyright © 2004 LearningExpress All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Learning Express, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Starkey, Lauren B., 1962– How to write great essays / Lauren Starkey. —1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-57685-521-X 1. English language—Rhetoric—Problems, exercises, etc. 2. Essay—Authorship—Problems, exercises, etc. 3. Report writing—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title. PE1471.S83 2004 808'.042—dc22 2004003384 Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition ISBN 1-57685-521-X For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com Contents Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 vii Organization 1 Clarity 11 Word Choice 21 Mechanics 39 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 55 Untimed Essay Writing Strategies 67 Timed Essay Writing Strategies 85 Sample Essay Prompts and Essays 97 Resources 111 CONTENTS HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS v Introduction n your preparations for college, you may find yourself facing a handful of high-stakes essays. Your college application requires at least one, and the SAT requires another. Depending upon the high...
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...What Darwin Didn’t Know: Darwin's First Clues: By David Quammen, Photograph by Luciano Candisani, MInden Pictures Summary The journey of young Charles Darwin aboard His Majesty's Ship Beagle, during the years 1831-36, is one of the best known and most neatly mythologized episodes in the history of science. Darwin visited the Galápagos archipelago in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and there beheld giant tortoises and finches. The finches, many species of them, were distinguishable by differently shaped beaks, suggesting adaptations to particular diets. The tortoises, island by island, carried differently shaped shells. These clues from the Galápagos led to conclude that Earth's living diversity has arisen by an organic process of descent with modification or evolution, as it's now known, and that natural selection is the mechanism. His theory developed slowly, secretively, and his book, The Origin of Species, didn't appear until 1859. Many scientists, along with some Victorian clergymen, resisted its evidence and arguments for decades afterward. The reality of evolution became widely accepted during Darwin's lifetime, but his particular theory, with natural selection as prime cause, didn't triumph until about 1940, after it had been successfully integrated with genetics. Apart from those clarifications, the most interesting point missed by the simplified tale is this: Darwin's first real clue toward evolution came not in the Galápagos but three years before, on a blustery beach...
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...Critical Thinking: How to Read and Analyze Arguments Jim Wohlpart Spring 2007 Critical Thinking: A Definition Critical thinking is a mode of thinking where the thinker consciously analyzes an issue or problem, while at the same time assessing the thinking process. Critical thinking presupposes rigorous standards and mindfulness in their use. It depends upon effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our inherent egocentricism and sociocentrism. Finally, it improves with practice. (Adapted from CriticalThinking.org) Critical Thinking: Not! I believe I have omitted mentioning that in my first voyage from Boston, being becalmed off Block Island, our people set about catching cod and hauled up a great many. Hitherto I had stuck to my resolution of not eating animal food, and on this occasion, I considered with my master Tryon the taking of every fish as a kind of unprovoked murder, since none of them had or ever could do us any injury that might justify the slaughter. All this seemed very reasonable. But I had formerly been a great lover of fish, and when this came hot out of the frying pan, it smelt admirably well. I balanced some time between principle and inclination, till I recollected that when the fish were opened I saw smaller fish taken out of their stomachs. Then thought I, if you eat one another, I don’t see why we mayn’t eat you. So I dined upon cod very heartily and continued to eat with other people, returning only now...
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...Senior English Curriculum Map: 2010-2011 School Year English IV * Note: “Sacred Book List” Addendum is at the end of this document Quarter #1 August 23 to October 22 Essential Questions: 1. How do writers and artists organize or construct text to convey meaning? 2. What does it mean to be a stranger in the village? Unit Goals 1. To understand the relationship between perspective and critical theory. 2. To apply critical theories to various texts studied and created. 3. To control and manipulate textual elements in writing to clearly and effectively convey a controlling idea or thesis. Student Published Portfolios: For each of the first three quarters, students are required to complete three to four published writing portfolio products. Quarter 4 is devoted to completion of the Laureate Research Project. . Pacing: This map is one suggestion for pacing. Springboard pacing guides precede each unit in the “About the Unit” sections and offers pacing on a 45-minute class period length. Prentice Hall Literature – Use selections from Prentice Hall throughout the quarter to reinforce the standards being taught as well as the embedded assessments within the SpringBoard curriculum. QUARTER #1 SpringBoard Curriculum Pacing Guide August 23 – October 22 Standards and Benchmarks | Unit Pacing Guide | SpringBoard Unit/Activities | Assessments | SpringBoard Unit 1Literature * The students will analyze and compare significant works of...
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