Libraries on the Web

Hello!  I hope everyone has had a nice weekend! I have listed some links to potential on-line sources for your research during the coming week. If you need any further guidance, please feel free to contact me by e-mail or my cell phone.  (This number is on your syllabus.)

The following sites will lead you to quality full-text sources for your research essays.  You may have to register or become a member to search them, but it will be worth it!   Start with the Internet Public Library, but take some time to look at the others, as well.  Remember also, that it is always good to visit an actual library because there are friendly and helpful librarians that can guide you in the right direction! 

The Internet Public Library  
http://www.ipl.org/ 


Net Library
www.netlibrary.com/

The Free Library
 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ 

Questia
www.Questia.com/Library

Topic of Your Persuasive Essays

Please comment to this post with the topic of your Persuasive Essay(s).  I have also included the link to the Ebscoe database, but you may want to bookmark the site on your own, so that you do not have to access it from this blog every time. Thanks! See you next week!

You will be asked to verify some personal information, and then you will be re-directed to another site for Educational links for Tennesseans. At the bottom of this page is a link to Ebsco's Points of View reference center. 
http://tntel.tnsos.org/failed_authentication.htm

Helpful Links

On the right of the screen, you will see several helpful links to site that will help you with your project/ papers that are due next Friday. Particularly the Berkley link for evaluating sources should be of interest to you.

Have a great week!

The Hunger Games Journal Assignment

Answer the following questions in paragraph form in the journal section of your notebook.

Journal 1—Chapters 1-3
“May the odds be ever in your favor”

1. Katniss tells her story in first person (I, me) and present tense. What effect does this have on your reading of the story? Does it engage you more or less than a book with a different approach? Why?
2. What can you tell about Katniss’s family situation? What roles does she fulfill in her family? Why?
3. Is the Reaping a fair way to choose tributes? What other traditions or practices does the Reaping  resemble? What is usually “reaped”?
4. Effie Trinket, along with other Capitol representatives, often uses the phrase, “May the odds be ever in your favor!” What role do chance, destiny, and fortune appear to play in this story so far?
5. Katniss reveals, in rapid succession, her love for her sister and her role as an often ruthless hunter. How does this shape your perception of her and your expectation for her story’s outcome?
6. What do you think the Capitol Anthem sounds like? What other images–visual, auditory, gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell),  and tactile (touch)—do you have while reading this story?
7. Why is Katniss upset that Peeta Mellark is her fellow tribute? What reaction does the crowd have to Katniss’s volunteering and Peeta’s selection?

Journal 2—Chapters 4-6
 “like a long dream that deteriorated into a nightmare”

1. Why did it take Katniss so long to think of entering the forest alone?  What skills has she gained by providing food for her family?
2. Why do you think Haymitch is always drunk and irritable?  What changes his attitude toward Katniss and Peeta?
3. What is Katniss’s first glance of the Capitol like?  What does her evaluation tell us about her?  About the Capitol?  District 12?
4. What kind of “prep” does Katniss undergo?  Why is this part of the tribute preparation?  What does the process reveal about Capitol ideals of beauty? Do these resemble our own?
5. How do Katniss and her prep team view one another?  What prejudices do they each labor under?
6. Cinna states that Katniss must find the Capitol people “despicable”;  does she?  Do you? What does this statement reveal about Cinna?
7. Cinna creates the unforgettable image of the “girl on fire” in the opening ceremonies of the games.  Why does he use this imagery instead of the usual?  What other instructions does he give Katniss and Peeta?
8. Effie is wrong about coal turning to pearls, of course, but how is a pearl actually formed?  What connections are there between a pearl’s formation and what has happened in our story so far?
9. How has Katniss met the Avox girl before?  What are Katniss’s feelings about this?  Why does she tell Peeta?

Journal 3—Chapters 7-9
“ She came here with me”

1. Is the treatment of the tributes what you would expect of people who are being sacrificed for the rebellion of their ancestors and the entertainment of their oppressors? What other sorts of people or animals get treated this way?
2. Why is it considered “rebellious” for Peeta and Katniss to appear as a team? What are their feelings on this portrayal?
3. What was Peeta’s special job in the bakery? How can that be considered a survival skill? How does it affect your perception of him?
4. Why does Katniss think Rue is like a bird? What do you know about the plant called Rue?
5. Why does Katniss perform as she does before the Gamemakers? What does she think will be the result? What actually happens? Why?
6. Why is Katniss so upset over her performance with the Gamemakers? What cheers her up?
7. Haymitch has trouble finding an “angle” for Katniss’s interview. How does she finally work  the interview? How would you coach her?
8. On page 124, Katniss explains about the Capitol’s obsession with plastic surgery.  How are the Capitol’s views radically different from those of people in District 12?
9. Were you surprised by Peeta’s interview revelation?  How does it alter your perception of him?  What effect does it have on your expectations for the rest of the story?

Cause and Effect Assignment

The following assignment comes from The Norton Sample, an on-line resource that is very useful. I recommend browsing the website for other helpful information about the various rhetorical strategies we are focusing on this semester.

Please send your answers to questions 1-4 to me in the text of an e-mail. (mmcneely04@gmail.com) 

Chapter Eight

Cause & Effect

A nondescript, fly-on-the-wall kind of guy is nominated for a Grammy and becomes a huge success in the glitzy music industry. One of the world’s largest steel manufacturers closes its doors, leaving thousands unemployed. How did these events happen? Were they brought about by accident or fate, or were there complex, underlying causes that need to be considered? The authors of the essays below suggest a number of causes to help explain the effect of sudden fame and equally sudden loss. You may find that the authors have met the two conditions that prove causation; that is, the causes are both sufficient and necessary. On the other hand, your careful analysis may reveal that the authors have not considered all of the possibilities, or that some of the causes are not correlated. A successful cause-and-effect essay can give the reader a model of success to follow or a lesson in avoiding failure.
Pop star Moby is the subject of this article for Wired magazine online. Author Ethan Smith uses a cause-and-effect strategy to explore the secrets to Moby’s success.
4http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/moby.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=

1. What does Smith posit as the immediate and ultimate causes of Moby’s success as a musician? List these causes and, in a short paragraph, see if you can describe the complex cause.
2. On page 2 of this article Smith introduces a concept put forth by the sociologist William Whyte. Why does Smith include this particular idea, which may seem, on the surface, to be completely unrelated to music? How does Smith elaborate upon the effects of this specific cause?

One of the largest and most well-known steel manufacturers, Bethlehem Steel, closed its massive doors in 1995. Writing for Wired magazine, Richard Martin explores the how and why of Bethlehem’s closing, attributing its demise at least in part to its resistance to globalization.
4http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/steel.html

3. What are the issues that contributed to Bethlehem Steele’s closing? Do you find the causes Martin offers to be both sufficient and necessary?
4. Martin’s article is rather brief. Are there points in this essay that deserve further clarification or elaboration in order for you to be persuaded that Martin’s analysis of the situation is correct? Describe the characteristics of the audience that would find Martin’s argument most persuasive.

Link to Textbooks.com to buy Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar grade 12

If you are still having trouble locating the Prentice Hall textbook, below is the link for the book.

this is what the book looks like, it was published in 2008.

http://www.textbooks.com/ISBN/9780132009676/Carroll/Writing-and-Grammar-Grade-12_-_0132009676.php?CSID=QMD0CAT0CDD0CAUCMUCCT2KTO

This I Believe Project

Our first assignment of the semester is going to be a personal essay entitled, This I Believe. This will be an extremely short essay (between 350 and 500 words), but it will help us to get to know each other and to explore the concept of voice and tone in our writing.  Below is a description of the project as found on This I Believe's website.

"This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. More than 90,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here on our website, heard on public radio, chronicled through our books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow" (http://thisibelieve.org/).

This assignment is a great way to find your voice as a writer. Please visit the link above and listen to at least two essays (by one male and one female) before class on September 3, 2010. Please let me know which essays, authors, and your thoughts about what you read/ heard in the comments section below.

Mrs. McNeely

Start of Term Notices

Hello, students and parents! 

       The start of the semester for Advanced Composition is rapidly approaching, and I want to keep you informed from the beginning about my hopes for each of you.  My supreme hope for the students at this point is that everyone arrive to class prepared for edification. The following information will be helpful in achieving this goal.

• Arrive on time.  (This generally means before class is to officially begin...one second past 10:30 is late.)

• Bring the following:
•      pen or pencil (or both if you would like to be an over-achiever)
•      Prentice Hall Grammar and Writing Textbook 
•      a three-ring binder with sections for:
• note-taking (this section ought to include notebook paper)
• hand-outs
• course syllabus/ calendar
• journals
• personal/ professional research

•  a writing sample (preferably an essay written during your time served in basic composition)

       I am looking forward to getting to know each of you throughout the course of the year.  Please contact me at mmcneely04@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments. 

Thanks!

Mrs. McNeely