The "Quiet" Blog

Some people are saying that Wednesday will be a day where saving the front page of your newspaper would be a good idea. It will be an historic day.

One of you questioned the assignment's focus on an American election. I argue that we will be profoundly affected no matter which way the election goes. As a Canadian, I need to remember that American policy affects me and that my country borders the USA. 

If you would rather (rather than look for persuasive techiques), make a comment on the upcoming election. Are you curious, interested? What do you think of the American way of campaigning? Will anything really change in America?

I await your responses as comments to this post. We'll have much to discuss on Tuesday, no doubt.

 

hello, brad...

the title is called "The Country I Love," on Obama campaign... He uses "strength" by speaking bold, and straightforwardly about himself to be a perfect next president. Also, he speaks firmly about cutting taxes for working families and help the country's needs, including health care, and help the poor neighbourhoods.

NOTE: To add a link, click on the link icon to the right the "T" and to left of the "left justify" icon. I've added a link for Esther. Be sure to give a good title to your post. You can re-edit anytime, unlike for comments. Brad

Videos from the Presidential Campaign (Finding Persuasive Techniques)

You could spend your whole time watching videos at these two sites. It shouldn't be too hard to find examples of the persuasive techniques from your handout. In fact, most of the videos use more than one!

Presidential General Election Ads: Obama vs. McCain
Note that the list of videos has a scroll bar on the right side of the box for viewing even more. If you find a video you'd like to share, make a comment to this post and give the video title so we can view it also.

C-Span Politics
Includes the most up-to-date videos from the election. Includes links to longer videos as well. There are examples of Testimonial here if you look!

The Week Ahead; The Week Behind

Last week’s paragraphs were a mixed bag: some better than others. The major problems are not (in most cases) grammar or spelling related. They are, instead, related to communicating clearly your thoughts on a complex piece of work and on your overall comprehension. Some students got bogged down in the “correct” answers (no doubt influenced by my teaching and secondary sources). Others showed more original thinking. To do well, do your own thinking.

Some of you are giving a “signal” before quoting the text and then going on to explain the significance of your quote. If you are, congratulations! I expect a ratio of at least 2 to 1 of original content to quote. Thus, if you quote 20 words, your signal (introduction to) and explanation (after the quote is used) ought to be 40 words or so.

Overquoting makes it harder to pick out your thoughts from those of the writing to which you refer. I also encourage those of you who paraphrase well, especially for factual matters that are not important to quote. Beware the tendency to tell me what a quote says and then hitting me with a quote that says the exact same thing! I’m much more interested in why you’ve chosen it, actually.

 Another area students could improve on is reading the question carefully. When I asked about a character and then specified that you look at “two actions” and what each one shows, some of you responded only to the beginning of the question, thus avoiding the requirements! 

 

This week, we’ll be looking closely at our current story, using a specific way of reading a text: writing annotations. We will also be working in groups to compare our annotated versions.

 I’ll be giving out some resources for writing good comparison/contrast paragraphs as Friday’s class will be more challenging than usual: writing paragraphs that compare and contrast stories we've studied.

After the break on Friday, I will give you a media-based assignment and resources to help you complete it. Your work will be posted to the blog. Since the American election will occur between our Friday and Wednesday classes, the media will be abuzz with information that we can discuss on November 5. It should be interesting!

To see an easy-to-follow example, check in the comments section below. It's on a story you may not have read, but can be read by any reader (as should your work!). 

Blogging Journal Questions for "A Spoiled Man"

Please answer one of the following questions for the story, "A Spoiled Man." Make your answer a comment to this post. Write between 150 and 200 words; provide your word count at the bottom of your paragraph(s). Please finish your work by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28.

1. Write about something you learned from the reading.

2. Write about something that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction as you were reading. Write about anything that stays on your mind after reading.

3. Write about the most effective things you notice in the writing.

4. What does the work mean and why do you think that?

Blogging Journal Questions for "A Jury of Her Peers"

Please answer one of the following questions for the story, "A Jury of Her Peers." Make your answer a comment to this post. Write between 150 and 200 words; provide your word count at the bottom of your paragraph(s). Please finish your work by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21.

1. Does this story confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.

2. Write about an idea expressed in the writing (or in your group) which you either disagree or agree with.

3. Explore a social or ethical issue raised in the writing. Judge the behaviour of the characters or the views of the author. Are they right or wrong in your opinion?

4. In what ways does the writing reflect the time it was written?

Marking the Biographies: A Teacher's Commentary

Marking your biographies was an interesting and humbling experience. The lives of the varied (diverse is the Ministry of Education term) students made me feel that I'd led a rather boring, provincial life here in Canada.

I appreciated all your work getting the facts and details straight and was struck by the empathy (yes Bray's word) shown to others in the writing. Some of you have a clear "voice" in writing already; others are working on it.

One problem was the number of "corrections" I needed to do. If you are one of the few students who wrote virtually error-free prose I thank you! I know that some errors are unavoidable due to your being unable to see them in the writing but do wish to see fewer in future assignments. I'd much rather spend my time framing a useful comment. The way I look at it is the more correcting I'm doing for you, the less time and energy I have to comment on the more interesting stylistic and organizational aspects of your writing.

A number of you did not present your work as requested (in 12 point font and double spaced) and made my life difficult trying to make corrections and fit in my comments. Next time I've decided to not mark anything that is not presented correctly. You've used your one free pass guys!

Please be aware of the meaning of the marking system I am using so that you can better judge your result. I used the rubric to guide me and often used it to provide a comment. Remember also that the letter grade, "A," should mean that a student exceeds expectations in all areas. Since English is a skill-based course rather than one that tests a certain content, it is more difficult to demonstrate excellence. 

Build on this experience and use it to get better. My final judgements on your overall performance are not made until January of next year. You have plenty of time to improve!

Rewritten Answers for "Caught in a teacher's web"

Please post your rewritten answers for any of the four questions provided to you in your October 3 in-class writing. Give your word count and stay under the maximum count allowed in the original topic. Post answers by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14.