Agree or Disagree Questions
Assignment: Essays - Search either of
the two sources below for a quote. Tie the topic into a larger concept.
Then write a carefully reasoned, persuasive essay which defends, challenges,
or qualifies this concept as you have defined it. Be sure to use
evidence from your observations, experience, or reading to develop your
stance.
Bartlett's Familiar
Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs
Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by John
Bartlett.
Simpson's Contemporary
Quotations
Over 10,000 quotes from over 4000 sources,
including 25 categories of quotes, and 60 sections.
Close Reading
Assignment: Learn the skill of close
reading.
The Reading Process:
Reading, Re-Reading, Explorations Uses Kate Chopin's "The Story
of an Hour"
Columnists
Assignment: Browse through the newspaper
columnists linked below. Read something daily. Various tasks
could include writing an agree or disagree essay on a topic covered by
an article read, evaluating the effectiveness of the argument raised
in a particular editorial, etc. The possibilities are endless.
American Media Columnists
Online Newspaper Columnist and Commentator
Index Hundreds of North American newspaper columnists and commentators.
Also political and editorial cartoons and cartoonists, political scientist
resources, political sites.
Boston Globe Online
/ Columnists
Choose from a list of all Globe columnists
and writers who publish occasional columns.
Chicago Sun-Times
columnists
Choose from a list of all Sun-Times columnists
who publish occasional columns.
Newspaper Columnists
Pages and Op/Ed Pages from Around the World
Editorials, opinions and commentaries, columns
and columnists from English newspaper and magazine Web sites.
Boston Herald.com
Columnists
Select article by topic and columnist.
The Denver Post Online
- Columnists
Select from Columns, Discussions, Editorials,
Growth forum, Mike Keefe , Letters, Perspective.
Houston Chronicle.com
Select an editorial by title.
SF Gate - Columnists
Select a columnist by name and subject.
Dallas Morning News Select an editorial
columnist by name and subject.
The College Application Essay
Assignment: Practice personal expression
by writing a college application essay. Seniors should use these
sites to help write essays they are going to submit.
Writing the College
Application Essay
Covers Brainstorming, Selecting An Essay Topic,
and Writing the Essay, Tips for Success
Your College Essay
- Excellent site from the College Board.
Comparison and Contrast
Assignment: Compare treatments of a
news item from one newspaper columnist to another. Find those that
have varying opinions on the same subject. Evaluate these opinions
and develop your own personal stance.
Creative Suggestions
Assignment: Write a short story.
Twenty Fives Ways
to Find Story Ideas Creatives suggestions about where to find story
ideas by Michelle Giles.
Assignment: Write cartoon captions.
USA Today Cartoon
Contest Different cartoons are pictured periodically.
Students in two age categories (age 13 and older or under age 13) are invited
to submit captions for the cartoon.
Assignment: Write persuasion.
Post Your Opinion
USA Today has an interactive forum on the day's critical issues where
you are invited to post your opinion.
Drama
Antigone(Grades 9
- 12) An introduction to moral dilemma in Greek theater.
The Crucible
(Grades 10 - 12) Arthur Miller's play is studied in conjunction with
McCarthyism. An excerpt from Cotton
Mather's The Wondersof the Invisible Worldis used as a
companion piece.
Hamlet on Trial
(Grades 9 - 12) The students enact a courtroom trial where Hamlet
is tried for multiple murders.
Extended Writing Projects
Assignment: Use the following authoritative
sites to research good writing practices.
The Writing Process
This page is designed to aid students at various points in the writing
process.
On the Art of Writing
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1916. This collection of lectures
capture the artistic and vital nature of language.
Fables
Assignment: Read fables of your choice;
write fables, etc.
Aesop's Fables
Grammar Usage
Assignment: Use the following authoritative
sites to guide your grammar usage.
The American Heritage®
Book of English Usage A Practical and Authoritative Guide to
Contemporary English.
Big Dog's Grammar:
A Bare Bones Guide to English Maybe some dull stuff here, but
I know how to get to the meat of any subject. Join me as I nose my way
through the least you need to know to bluff your way through Freshman comp
or any general writing task. Here you have a list of the bare essentials.
These are the things that English teachers love to comment on in your papers.
They really are important, and, no, those profs don't just mark them so
they can keep you from ever getting anything higher than a C on a paper.
The Elements of Style
William Strunk, Jr. 1918. Believing that one must first know
the rules to break them, this classic reference book is a must-have for
any student, writer and conscientious writer.
English Grammar Links
on the World Wide Web John P. Broderick, Ph.D. Several
of the most relevant links to prepare college students to be English
teachers either in K-12 or English as a Second Language. The links
sort themselves out into the following four broad areas.
Glossary of Grammatical
Terms Scroll Down or click on the first letter of the word to
find the definition of just about any grammar term.
Glossary of Grammar
Terms Grammar, Punctuation, and Diction Instruction.
Glossary of Grammar
Terms Grammar Bytes: An Index of Grammar
Terms
Glossary of Grammar
Terms A little ove twenty terms defined.
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Grammar
Now This is a free site dedicated to answering specific grammar,
composition, research or formatting
questions.
Guide to Grammar
and Writing Sentence, paragraph, and essay levels of instruction.
The Kingís
English, 2nd ed. H. W. Fowler, 1908. This reference
work has remained a standard resourceóserving generations of students and
writers with commonsense rules of style and grammar.
Punctuation, 11 Rules
of Writing Concise guide to some of the most commonly violated
rules of writing, grammar, and punctuation. It is intended for all writers
as an aid in the learning and refining of writing skills. Explore each
of the rules to see examples of its application, and use the references
to find additional explanations and examples on the Web or in print. Look
up grammatical terms in the glossary. For a wider variety of information,
check related FAQs and other writing resources.
Rules for Comma Usage
Eleven Basic Rules and Many Quizzes.
Verb Forms
This site lists the "to be" verbs and other irregular verbs.
Journal Writing
Literary Movements
Romanticism
Realism and Naturalism
Mythology
Assignment: Use the following authoritative
sites to research the allusions in your reading.
The Age of Fable Thomas Bulfinch, 1913.
Revised and enlarged four-volume edition of the classic work on the mythology
and fable of the ages.
Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable Brewer, E. Cobham. 1898. Comprising over 18,000
entries that reveal the etymologies, trace the origins and otherwise catalog
ìwords with a tale to tell.î
Newspapers
Assignment: The following newspapers
can be read for pleasure, for news , and as texts for thousands of
assignments. Just search each newspaper for ideas. They are
already there!
Newspapers.com
A lengthy list of newspapers can be found here. The Top Ten
Newspapers Online is updated on a weekly basis, and posted every Friday
at 5:00 p.m. US Central Time. Newspaper links are listed in order of most
visited to least visited from Newspapers Online!. Here is the
list for June 2000. They are listed in order of most visited to least
visited from Newspapers Online!.
THE ATLANTAJOURNAL
NEW YORK TIMES
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
LOS ANGELES TIMES
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
THE WASHINGTON POST
BALTIMORE SUN
THE BOSTON GLOBE
NEW YORK POST
MIAMI HERALD
Nonfiction
Novels
Poetry
Reading
Assignment: Use the following authoritative
sites to research good reading practices.
On the Art of Reading
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1920. This series of lectures is rich with
insight on the activity of effectual and intelligent reading.
Research Paper
Assignment: Use the following sites
to help get started:
Term Paper Help
An excellent site to begin the paper and to guide each step of the way.
This is a must visit site!
A Basic Guide to
Term Papers An excellent introduction to term paper writing for
the novice student.
Assignment: Use the following sites
to help choose term paper topics:
The Best Information
on the Net
This site lists a lot of workable topics.
A Simple, Six-Part Method for
Choosing Term Paper
Topics This site can be a help too.
Assignment: Use the following Styles
Guides to complete your written manuscript.
Citations Styles
Online This site includes links to world wide web sites
that document how to use the MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE Styles and other sources
for online styles to cite and document sources.
A Guide for Writing
Research Papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation
Prepared by the Humanities Department and
the Arthur C. Banks, Jr., Library, Capital Community College, Hartford,
Connecticut. (An excellent source for works cited and in text citations.)
Columbia Guide to
Online Style
Presents a guide to locating, translating,
and using the elements of citation for both a humanities style (i.e., MLA
and Chicago) and a scientific style (APA and CBE) for electronically-accessed
sources.
Preparing a "Works
Cited" Section Help for making a working bibliography.
A Sample Works Cited
Page
A Writer's Practical
Guide To MLA Documentation Good illustrations of Works Cited
and In-Text Citations
Working with Quotations
Instruction on the correct use of quotation marks.
A Statement on Plagiarism
Satire
Short Story
Style
Syntax
Test Preparation
Study Guides for
Testing, Reading, and Writing Classroom Participation Units include:
Preparing to learn, Participating in Classrooms, Studying,
Reading Skills, Webtruth: a guide to the understanding and design
of websites, Math testing, Preparing for Tests, Taking Tests,
Writing Skills, Writing Essays
Vocabulary
Writing
Young Writer's Club
Writing about Literature Good
Instruction on Analysis and Interpretation |
