A Memorable Scene: "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans"

Post your comment here by next Wednesday. Answers should be approximately 200 words, plus or minus 10%.

Here's a link to the film at YouTube: "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans"

Personal Reaction to Class Activity and William Zinsser's "Writing Good English"

What is your personal reaction to what you learned about writing from your peers and from William Zinsser? Did anything surprise or puzzle you? Do you strongly agree or disagree with any rule or suggestion? 

Explain why in a paragraph of between 150 and 200 words. 

Quote Zinsser twice and include at least one quote from pages 1 through 7 in your answer.

Here I Am

Write your version of "Here I Am" here as a comment to this post. Remember to follow the format of my examples exactly (use the same punctuation and word forms etc.).

I will provide my new version here as well.

NOTE: Be sure to post your "Here I Am" here as a comment and not to "post" to the blog.

Remember to bring a copy on paper to class for your performance. No need to double space your poem (either here or on paper). Good luck!

NOTE: Please check your formatting when pasting your poem. Poems should have a space between stanza one and stanza two; there is another space between stanza two and three. If you paste from word, you'll have to put them in manually. Otherwise, the poems are hard to read easily.

Sharing our Memoirs

If you like, post your memoir to share with your classmates. Not required, but it would be nice for everyone to see more than the two or three from group work today.

Something New; Something Memorable

Write two paragraphs, one for each topic, one for "something new" and one for "something memorable." You may mention multiple examples or expand on one example. Your paragraphs should be a minimum of 150 words and maximum of 200 words for each topic.

Be specific and detailed in your writing. Use your best sentences and proofread carefully. Work is due before class time on Wednesday, January 13. Post here and bring a copy, properly formatted, to class to hand in that day. Thank you everyone.

My comments will follow yours and will be posted before the end of next week.

Writing a List Poem based on "A Note"

Beginning with "Life is the only way," write your own list poem using "A Note" as a model. Your poem must use the same (with minor variations) number of words and structure as Szymborska's. Use what you learned this week to compose a stronger poem.

Try to find a rhythm to the words you choose (note the number of syllables as well as the number of words). Be careful to punctuate exactly the same way and be aware of how the poet has used punctuation to divide and compare ideas. Post a copy of your poem to the blog before coming to Wednesday's class.

Be prepared to do a recital of your poem (please practice ahead of time!) and speak for one to two minutes on the process you followed and any difficulties you experienced.  Marks will be assigned as follows: quality of poem—50%; recital—25%; remarks on process—25%. Marks will be entered as a Unit Test, so do your best!

NOTE: Check your formatting carefully after copy and pasting your poem. You'll need to add spacing. Try to have your poem look exactly the same as the original handout if you can!

Choosing a Favourite Poem

To help you find a poem, here are three online sources of quality poetry. You must find a poem from one of these three sources. Remember that we will work with the poem in group work that day, so be sure to choose well and remember your classmates as an audience. Remember to print a copy to bring to class that day.

Poems at Slate.com (each poem is read by the poet; a good way to decide if you like the way it sounds)

Canadian Poetry Online (from the University of Toronto library; a list of poets that links to poems from each one)

Poetry Daily Archive (alphabetical archive of poems by title; here you can look for an interesting title and see if you can find a poem you like)

Student Writing on Beauty: Just published today, Emma's work, "Finding Beauty" shows how to use Patrick Lane's speech to create a unique work of your own. Remember that your first drafts are due next Friday. It's well worth reading to help you understand how to proceed with your memoir.

Personal Reaction to Class Activity and William Zinsser's "Writing Good English"

What is your personal reaction to what you learned about writing from your peers and from William Zinsser? Did anything surprise or puzzle you? Do you strongly agree or disagree with any suggestion? Explain why. Answer in a paragraph. Write no fewer than 150 words and no more than 200. You may also mention any differences or similarities to you or your group's opinions on Wednesday.

Due in time for Wednesday, March 2 class. Bring a copy, word processed and double spaced, please.