Watch a favourite TV show (including the commercials). Count the number of advertisements shown. What products or services are being sold? What messages are you being given by the ads? Do you or would you use any of these advertised products? Why or why not? Did you see any advertisement twice? Write about your experience in paragraph form. (150 to 200 words)
Here is the link to his lecture, Changing Education Paradigms
Address one of the following questions in a paragraph answer of 150 words.
Why are drop out rates so high (in secondary and postsecondary education) in your opinion?
What is more important to our future, the arts or the sciences?
Find out more about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). What is your reaction to this information?
Post your answer here as a comment and please bring a word processed and printed copy to class on Wednesday.
Write a short, 100-word, paragraph response to one of Kurt Vonnegut's suggestions about style. Include at least one short quote from Vonnegut (not one of his rules; choose from one of the sentences instead) and be sure to incorporate it into your own sentence. Respond to what he says either positively or negatively and explain why you think that.
Put your finished work here as a comment.
Your words to us and to the class that follows you. Remember what Kurt Vonnegut advised: "Sound like yourself" and "Say what you mean." Oh, and "Keep it simple" too.
1. What does the work mean and why do you think that? Explain the writing's overall significance or message to its readers.
2. Tell about how you feel toward this writing or its author and why.
3. Does this work confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.
Write about 150 to 200 words in one or several paragraphs. Refer directly to the story at least once in the form of a quotation.
Online copy of story (for easier copy and paste quoting)
*I've given you the wrong location for Yiyun Li's residence on our worksheet, sorry. She currently lives in Oakland (across the bay from San Francisco) and teaches at the University of California. She's 37 years old and has written fiction only in English and never in Chinese.
Also of great interest is the fact that Yiyun Li is a huge fan of William Trevor, the author of "The Woman of the House"! She, in fact, pays tribute to him in the story in its design. If that idea intrigues you, read this interview with her (the comment on Trevor is about half way down the page). Interview with Yiyun Li
Write about any ideas or facts 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.
Refer directly to the text using quotation, but only quote about 10 to 15% of your total word count. Write a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 250. You may use multiple paragraphs if that suits your comments.
Bring your completed work, printed and double spaced, to class next Wednesday.
