Translate Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare Thee To a Summer's Day" into contemporary speech

Sonnet XVIII: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day?
by William Shakespeare

STRUCTURE: Sonnet XVIII is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet. It consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, and has the characteristic rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. Sonnets typically discuss the love and beauty of a beloved, often an unattainable love, but sonnets can be written about any topic.

Iambic Pentameter
Shakespeare wrote his sonnets and most of his plays in Iambic Pentameter. It is a specific pattern of beats to a line. Iambic pentameter consists of five “feet” – short-long, short-long, short-long, short-long, short-long.

An iambic “foot” is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The rhythm can be written like this:
da DUM

A line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row:
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ /
Shall I com- pare thee to a Sum- mers day?
Thou art more love- ly and more temp- per- ate.
Rough winds do shake the dar- ling buds of May,
And Sum - mer’s lease hath all too short a date.

Assignment: What techniques can we use to translate Shakespearean language into today’s standard English? Answer the following questions to find out!

1) What words do you know in today’s English that can help you understand Shakespearean English?
a. Define “temperate” ____mild temperature, showing moderation or self-restraint______________
b. Define “darling” ___affectionate form of address____________
c. Define “complexion” _____color of your skin______________
d. Define “decline”___reject, get lower, go down__________
e. Define “untrimmed” – remember that the prefix, “un,” means “not.” You may not find “untrimmed” in the dictionary, but you will certainly find “trim.” You may already know what “trim” means! What does it mean? ______________________
f. What literary element is used in the phrase “Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade?”___Personification____
g. What is “this” that is referred to in the last line of the poem? _________________________________________________ (this cannot be answered until you have completed your translation!

Assignment: Using your notes above, your intelligence, and the FOOTNOTES, translate this poem into modern Standard English.

Sonnet XVIII Your Translation
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate1:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date,
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion2 dimmed,
And every fair3 from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed.4
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st5,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

- William Shakespeare, about 1609
___________________________________

FOOTNOTES

1 In the time of Shakespeare, "temperate" carried both outward and inward meanings (externally, a weather condition; internally, a balanced nature),

2 as did the word "complexion,” in line six, which can have two meanings: 1) The outward appearance of the face as compared with the sun ("the eye of heaven") in the previous line, the first meaning is more obvious, meaning of a negative change in the person’s outward appearance, or 2) The second meaning of "complexion" would communicate that the beloved's inner, cheerful, and temperate disposition is sometimes blotted out like the sun on a cloudy day.

3 The word “fair” can be translated as “lovely,” or “beautiful.”

4 The word, "untrimmed" in line eight, can be taken two ways: First, in the sense of loss of decoration and frills, and second, in the sense of untrimmed sails on a ship. In the first interpretation, the poem reads that beautiful things naturally lose their fanciness over time. In the second, it reads that nature is a ship with sails not adjusted to wind changes in order to correct course. This, in combination with the words "nature's changing course", creates an oxymoron: the unchanging change of nature, or the fact that the only thing that does not change is change. Both change and eternity are then acknowledged and challenged by the final line.

5 "Ow'st" in line ten can also carry two meanings equally common at the time: "ownest" and "owest". Many readers interpret it as "ownest", as do many Shakespearean glosses ("owe" in Shakespeare's day, was sometimes used as a synonym for "own"). However, "owest" delivers an interesting view on the text. It conveys the idea that beauty is something borrowed from nature—that it must be paid back as time progresses. In this interpretation, "fair" can be a pun on "fare", or the fare required by nature for life's journey. Other scholars have pointed out that this borrowing and lending theme within the poem is true of both nature and humanity. Summer, for example, is said to have a "lease" with "all too short a date."

Progress Check

Work that must be in folders:

1. Where I like to hang out

2. Dorothy Parker interpretation

3. Nymph to Sheppard 2 stanza translation

4. Your “archaic” love poem

5. Slang translation of your “archaic” love poem. You must translate it into as much slang as possible. Most of it must be in slang. Use as little Standard English as possible.

6. Print out of the “archaic” love poem

7. Print out of the slang poem.

Slang Poem

Now take your "archaic love poem" and translate it into modern slang! Try to use as many slang terms as possible, but no curses, please! :)

Tips for Writing Your "Archaic Language" Poem

WHEN TO USE “THOU” AND WHEN TO USE “THEE,” and also WHEN TO USE “THY”:

The word "thou" is a second person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in almost all contexts by you.

"Thou" is the nominative form: the subject of the sentence.
Example: Thou hast such lovely eyes.
(modern translation: You have such lovely eyes.)

Verbs following thou often have the endings -st or -est; for example: "thou goest."

"Thee" is the oblique/objective form. Use it when the target is the object on which the verb acts.
Example: I give my love to thee.
(Modern translation: I give my love to you.)

"Thy" is the archaic equivalent of “your.” It is the possessive.
Use "thy" to replace “your,”
but use “thine” if the noun following starts with a vowel.

Example a) Thy face is lovely.
(Modern translation: Your face is lovely.)

Example b) Thine eyes art lovely.
(Modern translation: Your eyes are lovely.)

“Thine” is also used to replace “yours”
Example: My heart is thine.
(Modern translation: My heart is yours.)

Originally, “thou” was simply the singular counterpart to the plural pronoun “ye.”
“Thou” was later used to express intimacy, familiarity or even disrespect,
while “you” was used for formal circumstances.

Writing Poetry

#1: Take out "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd. Note the Rhyme Patterns.

#2: Label the rhyme pattern next to each line, as we do it together on the board, and then finish the labeling on your own.

The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
If all the world and love were young, A
And truth in every shepherd's tongue, A
These pretty pleasures might me move B
To live with thee and be thy love. B

Time drives the flocks from field to fold, C
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold; C
And Philomel[1] becometh dumb;[2] D
The rest complains of cares to come. D
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields E
To wayward winter reckoning yields:[3] E
A honey tongue,[4] a heart of gall, [5] F
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. F

etc. -- continue labeling the poem on the copy you have in your folder, or get a copy of the poem from me if you do not have it.

One Perfect Rose – Rhyme Pattern:
A single flow'r he sent me, since we met. A
All tenderly his messenger he chose; B
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet - A
One perfect rose. B

etc. Please continue labeling the rhyme pattern the the copy in your folder. Get a copy of the poem in class if you do not already have it.

There are other rhyme patterns! A SONNET is: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG

Assignment: Write two poems
Poem #1: Use at least 6 archaic words in your poem. The poem must be at least 12 lines long, and must have a rhyme pattern!

Poem #2: Use at least 6 slang words or terms. No curses, references to “weed” or sexually explicit slang, please. The poem must have a rhyme pattern, and it must be at least 12 lines long.

Language Change

How does language change? We looked at some archaic words that are common in poetry, drama and religious literature.

Translate these words into modern English:
Thus
Doth
Hath
Thou
Thou art
Thy
Thee
Hideth
Taketh
Whence
Whither
Shall
Goest
Becometh
e’en
thereon

How is language changing today? Teenage slang today is different from slang from 20 years ago. Make a list of 15 examples of slang words and translate each one into standard English. Please utilize good judgement in picking your slang words. Stick to appropriate topics, and no curses, please!

The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd - by Sir Walter Raleigh

Assignment:
1. Read the poem.
2.Translate and explain the meaning of the poem in essay form.

THE NYMPH'S REPLY TO THE SHEPHERD

If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.

Time drives the flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;
And Philomel[1] becometh dumb;[2]
The rest complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields:[3]
A honey tongue,[4] a heart of gall, [5]
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.
The gowns,[6] thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies [7]
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,—
In folly ripe, in reason rotten. [8]
Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.
But could youth last and love still breed,
Had joys no date nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.
- Sir Walter Raleigh, before 1599

FOOTNOTES
1 In Ovid's Metamorphoses, in Greek mythology, Philomela (Φιλομήλα) was a daughter of Pandion I, King of Athens. Philomela's defiant speech is rendered (in translation) as:
Now that I have no shame, I will proclaim it.
Given the chance, I will go where the people are,
Tell everybody; if you shut me here,
I will move the very woods and rocks to pity.
The air of Heaven will hear, and any god,
If there is any god in Heaven, will hear me.

She was a woman who would speak her mind!

2 “dumb” meaning silent. Check a dictionary!
3 “wanton” = unrestrained, reckless, also sexually promiscuous, when applied to a person, “wayward” = difficult to control or predict. “reckoning yields” = figuring out how much they’ve got (usually used in farming, about how much they have harvested.
4 “honey tongue” = smooth talking (person)
5 “gall” =illness, disease (in a plant), but also rude arrogance, in a person
6 “gowns”= elegant clothing, can be male or female
7”kirtle”= belt, “posies” = a bunch of flowers, given as a gift
8 “folly” = lack of good sense, as a foolish idea

----------------

Dorothy Parker's Rose

We read "One Perfect Rose" by Dorothy Parker.

One Perfect Rose

A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet -
One perfect rose.

I knew the language of the floweret;
'My fragile leaves,' it said, 'his heart enclose.'
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.

- Dorothy Parker

Assignment: Write four paragraphs, responding to these questions:

1.What does the "one perfect rose" symbolize, in the poem?
2. What is the message of the poem?
3. What is Dorothy Parker saying about love?
4. What is Dorothy Parker saying about men?
5. What is Dorothy Parker saying about her life?

Camilla's Grammar and Spelling Rules and Tips

In class today we covered a wide range of common grammatical and spelling errors.  Here is the text of the handout.  You may also get a copy of the handout in the classroom, or under "handouts" on this blog page.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
there = location
their = possession
they’re = they + are

to = connection
too = also, in addition
two = the number 2

your = belonging to you
you're = you+are

then = under those conditions/at that time
than = in comparison to  (one thing compared to another: “This is better than that.”)

its = belonging to it
it's= it+is

Your example:

COMMONLY MISSPELLED CONTRACTIONS:
CORRECT: could've WRONG: "could of"
CORRECT: should've WRONG: "should of"

Your Example:

DOUBLED CONSONANTS CHANGE THE VOWEL SOUND AND THE MEANING:
hopping
hoping

rapping
raping

filling
filing

Your example:

PLURAL RULES: PLURAL means MORE THAN ONE. Use a plain s (or -es or -ies) to form the plural. Do not form the plural by adding 's!

Your examples:




HOW TO FORM THE PLURAL OF WORDS ENDING WITH “Y”:
community - communities
opportunity – opportunities
family – families
responsibility – responsibilities

Your example:

WHEN TO USE "an": Use "an" when the noun begins in a vowel, for instance:
an apple
an egg
an incident
an opinion
an umbrella

Your examples, one for each vowel:

1a:

2e:

3i:

4o:

5u:

EXAMPLES OF SOME WORDS THAT SOUND THE SAME, ARE SPELLED DIFFERENTLY, AND MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS:
write = inscribing
right = correct

whether = comparison
weather = type of day it is

weigh = measurement
way = direction, method

through (thru) = traveling
threw = to throw something

hear = with your ears
here = at this place


SOME EXAMPLES OF WORDS THAT SOUND THE SAME AND ARE SPELLED THE SAME BUT MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS:
light = bright
light = weight

right = correct
right = direction

Your example:

WORDS YOU CAN ONLY INTERPRET THROUGH CONTEXT - THEY ARE SPELLED THE SAME BUT PRONOUNCED DIFFERENTLY:

read = verb to read in the present tense
read = verb to read in the past tense (pronounced “red.”)

resume = to start again
resume = a document about your work history

Your example:

WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE THEY AUGHT TO BE ONE WORD, BUT ARE ACTUALLY TWO:
No one
A lot

Your example:

A question you have, or an example of a grammar problem not mentioned in this handout:

WELCOME TO CYCLE 4, SPRING 2012

Cycle 4 - First Full Day Of Class

1)DO NOW: Wed. Feb 1 Writing Prompt:
On a lined piece of paper, describe your favorite place to hang out.
Describe it in detail.  Imagine you are describing it to a person who’s never been to any place or known any people like the ones you know.
What does the place look like?
What do the people look like?
What are they wearing?
What are they doing?
What are they talking about?
Then title the piece and hand it in.

If you were not in class today, you need to complete this assignment.  It should be one to one and a half pages long.

2) We began reading "World's End," by Neil Gaiman.

Learn How To Cite Web Sources in a Bibliography, Using MLA Format - College Style!

HOW TO CITE INTERNET SOURCES IN A PAPER

Assignment: Go to the links below and create the five citations in MLA format. Read the directions below carefully.

When citing Internet sources in a bibliography, you must be sure to answer the following questions:

1. Who wrote or edited it? (authors/editors/translators)

2. What is it called? (title)

3. What is the name of the Website (usually the name on the 'banner' on top.)

4. What is the name of the organization/company/person who runs the Website (look at the bottom of the page or click on "about us")

5. When was it published? (date)

6. Where did you find it in a book, magazine, website, newspaper, or dvd? (answer: Website.)

7. When did you access the site? (the date that you looked at it on the Internet)

8. The URL address (it must work and take you to the article, not just the home page!)

You must have this information cited in a bibliography in exactly this way:

The Author(s), Title of the Article, Name of web site. Name of organization or company that owns the  site, date published or updated. Where you found it (Book, DVD, Newspaper or Web.) Date of your access (when you looked at it), the URL address.

Here is an example:

John Walke, Extreme Pollution Agenda in Senate Targets Lifesaving Clean Air Standard, Grist: A Beacon in the Smog. Grist Magazine, Nov. 10, 2011. Website. Nov 27, 2011, http://www.grist.org/pollution/2011-11-10-extreme-pollution-agenda-in-senate-targets-lifesaving-clean-air-

It is important that the Internet address link actually work. It should take you or your college professor directly to that article on that website. (Test the one above!)

Create your five citations in the correct format using the web sites below:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/nasa-finds-arsenic-life-form/

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2011/05/the_discovery_of_arsenicbased_twitter.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/1202/How-does-an-arsenic-based-life-form-work-exactly

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/27/6730755-arsenic-life-debate-hits-a-new-level

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/12/02/mono-lake-bacteria-build-their-dna-using-arsenic-and-no-this-isnt-about-aliens/

NOTE: WHEN MAKING A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR YOUR PAPER, BE SURE TO:
1. Make a list of these sources on the last page of your essay.
2. Put your citations in alphabetical order according to the author's last name.

Writing Your Essay

Use this graphic organizer to write your Pro - Con essay.  Make sure you have evidence from AT LEAST two articles to support your opinion.  You can also find the organizer under "Handouts" to the right of this post.

Articles Needed

Once you have established your topic, develop KEY WORD SEARCH TERMS, and search Google for your topic.  Remember to use the "Good Internet Research" guidelines provided under "Handouts," or available in the classroom. 

Use a Cornell Notes sheet for each article you find.  You need to find one PRO and one CON article for your topic.  Once you have taken notes on your article, have them checked by me, and then you will begin to construct papers based on your topic. 

Practice Reading for Understanding

Read this article.  Make sure to complete the entire packet.  The purpose of this exercise is to make sure you are carefully reading articles for research.  The completion of this assignment is a required component of this unit on social networking and research.  Then you may go back to researching your topic culled from the "Occupy Wall Street" video and statements. 

Researching Your Topic

1) Find REPUTABLE articles online about your topic.  Use this sheet to know exactly how to search.  Be sure to use key words and vary your search terms.

2) You want to make sure you have two articles, one representing a "pro," and the other a "con" side of the issue. 

3) Use this Cornell Notes Sheet to take notes from each REPUTABLE article that you find.

What Controversial Issues Arise from "Occupy Wall Street"?

Participants in the "Occupy Wall Street" protests made the comments below.   They are topics that you can research online.  Pick a phrase below.  Translate the phrase into your own words. Then RESEARCH the topic. 

2. Identify the KEY WORDS in the phrase that you have chosen. 

3. Do a KEY WORD search in GOOGLE.  Click the links, and look for explanations of the issue or topic.

4. Take notes using the Cornell Notes sheet for each article that you find.  Be sure to list the key points of the article, and state whether you agree or disagree with the author on the topic.

5. Write an essay describing your opinion on the topic, based on your research.

1. Corporations are influencing our politics. End the influence of corporations in politics.

2. End corporate personhood.

3. Corporate greed is wrecking our planet.

4. Protesters practice non-hierarchical consensus-based decision- making.

5. There’s a huge inequality gap between Americans.

6. Politicians are creating bad legislation because they’re influenced by corporations.

7. Corporations in our politics have created the war on drugs and stopped us from nationalizing health care.

8. Fight, fight!  Housing is a human right.  Make Wall Street pay for the Depression that they caused.

9. There should be a 1% tax on all Wall Street Transactions.

10. We need student debt amnesty!

11. Stop all foreclosures.  Stop throwing hard-working Americans on the street because they can’t pay these fraudulent mortgages.

12. The government has to stop cutting funding for education, which will mean that they will have to cut the defense budget.  It's a tough choice, but they have to do it!

13. Tax the rich!  Make more education programs for the poor, make more programs for cleaning up the environment.

14. Enforce campaign finance limits.

15. Have only individuals be able to contribute to political campaigns.

Welcome to Camilla's College Writing for Cycle 2, Fall 2011

Hi, everyone!  We're starting this cycle off with a unit about Social Networking.  How do we use social media, and how are we affected by it?  Social media has the power to influence our lives socially, academically and politically.  In exploring this topic, we begin with an examination of the Occupy Wall Street protests.  Is social media a force for good or ill when it comes to politics?  Are we a better nation for having Facebook, Twitter and the like?

In preparation for our work on this unit, do the following, if you have missed our activities in class so far:
To find out more about "Occupy Wall Street," watch this video made by NYC public high school teenagers like yourselves.  Here's the link for the video.

To understand some of the effects of social media, do this worksheet.

Assignments Due for Cycle 1

In order to be eligible for a grade for Cycle 1, these assignments must be completed and in your folder: 1. The Road Not Taken Essay

2. “The Three Little Pigs” analysis worksheet

3. Tell Your Own Story Assignment

4. Read “Only Partly Here”

5. Character descriptions worksheet for Only Partly Here

6. Graphic organizer for "Only Partly Here”

7. Essay: “Only Partly Here”

Writing Your "Only Partly Here" Essay

Guiding Considerations For Your “Only Partly Here” Essay

Introduction:

1) What is the moral, meaning or message of this story?  Develop a thesis statement. Make your THESIS STATEMENT the "main idea" of your introductory paragraph.


In your body paragraphs:

2) Show EVIDENCE from the text to substantiate your argument.  

3) Give SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the story that show the development of the moral, meaning or message throughout the story.

4) Give SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the story that show the development of the relationship between Bobby and Alicia, and how it changes over the course of the story.


5) Give SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the story that show how the author, Lucius Sheppard, uses foreshadowing, setting, imagery, characterization and voice to make the story "come alive" for the reader.

Conclusion:

6) Conclude your essay by re-establishing your thesis statement and briefly substantiating it with the evidence you've enumerated in your essay. 

Literary Analysis and "Only Partly Here"

The more articulate you are, the more specific you can be about what you are trying to communicate.  Lucius Sheppard, in "Only Partly Here," uses sophisticated language to examine the complex nature of the relationships between the characters. 

Author Lucius Sheppard evokes the state of mind of the inhabitants of New York in the time directly after 9/11 with a simile.  He illustrates the frantic, purposeless and futile nature of their efforts by comparing them to drugged and over-stimulated rats in a maze.  He is able to bring that time to life for the reader because of his versatility with the language.

Which words that we use can we add to our word wall and vocabulary lists?  Pick 10 words you are not familiar with and look up the definitions.  You will be responsible for knowing these words as the cycle continues. 

As the story progresses we begin to see the nature of the relationships between the three recovery workers: Bobby, Mazurek and Pineo, and we also see the complexities of the interaction between Alicia and Bobby. 

What is happening between Alicia and Bobby?  As the story continues to unfold, examine the changing nature of their interaction.  How do they start out?  How does that change, and what happens in the end to change it even further?

Finally, what is the nature of this story, and what is its message?  A full understanding can only come from a full examination of the text.  We are reading together, but as you learn to study you must get to the point where you can go back and re-read parts of the text that you need to understand more fully. 

Learning to study a text in a deep and meaningful way is a critical skill for college.  In order to really function on the college level, you need to 1) Learn how to understand the text, and that means find the meanings of words you don't know and then understand the words in the context of the story, 2) Be able to uncover the personalities and motivations of the characters, based on the way they're described and the nature of their dialogue, 3) Examine the progression of the action in the story and note developments that occur, 4) Interpret the meaning, moral or message that the story conveys. 

When Reading, How Do You Figure Out Words You Don't Know?

How do we figure out words we don't know?  Here are some suggestions from the class:

1.Write it down and look up the definition

2.Context Clues:

3.Look at the sentences before and after it to see what the word might mean.

4.Look for footnotes

5.Use your knowledge of other languages (esp Latin languages)

6.Look for prefixes that you already know (un, and others)

7.Look for suffixes (ending of words) (like –ology, and others)

Theme and Symbolism in "Only Partly Here"

Essential Question: How do we analyze and interpret characters in story?

We read the beginning of "Only Partly Here" by Lucius Sheppard.  We identified certain repeating themes.  We noticed that certain items were blue.  The shoe Bobby finds is blue, the "silhouette of the dancing lady" is in blue neon, and the bar is called "The Blue Lady."  Our characters are at Ground Zero sifting through the rubble of 9/11.  They are recovery workers.

What can we tell about the personalities of the main characters of Bobby, Mazurek, and Pineo?  What is the lady at the end of the bar like?  Describe the characteristics of each character in this graphic organizer.  Cite specific examples from the text using page and paragraph number.

Assignment: Interpreting Fiction and Finding Metaphors

Pick your own fairy tale or another story that you like.  It must be a story that conveys an important message about life.  Complete the graphic organizer for the story.  That means you must include
a) A synopsis of the story, written in YOUR OWN WORDS (Plagiarism is not allowed -- and I do check!)
b) A list of at least five symbols (metaphors) in the story, and what they represent
c) A detailed description of the meaning, message and moral of the story.

Symbolism and Metaphor in Story

Choose a story.  It can be a fairy tale or another simple story with a message.  Write a synopsis of the story.  The story must have symbolic elements.  You must have a list of at least five things in the story that have a metaphoric meaning.  Make that list.  Then write a down the message or moral of the story.  Be prepared to share it with the class.

Interpreting Story - Looking for Symbols

We looked at the fairytale of The Three Little Pigs.  Then the class broke into groups and wrote a synopsis of the story, made a list of the symbols and their meaning, and described the overall message or moral of the story.  The story can be found here.  Class members in attendance completed the handout.  If you were not in class you need to make sure you do this in order to get credit. 

Assignment: Initial Writing Assessment: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

What is Robert Frost's metaphor for life?  Download this handout.  Look at the picture.  What is this "story" about, and what is Robert Frost trying to communicate about life?

Write an essay of at least a page and a half responding to Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.”  Be sure to look at the footnotes on the page if you do not know what some of the words mean. 

Please write in essay form.  Use the questions to help you with your writing, but do not re-write the questions.  Answer in one long essay.

Framing questions for your writing:

1. What is this poem about? 

2. What is the message it is trying to convey about choices in life? 

3. Which “road” have you chosen/travelled so far in your life?   “The road less taken,” or the road more commonly taken?  Explain why you picked that road, and what your life has been like because of that choice.

4.  Extra credit: Why is the poem called “The Road NOT Taken”?  Isn’t the poem about the road he DID take?  Why does he choose to call the poem “The Road Not Taken”?

 

What Makes Literature Good?

We had a discussion about what qualities make rap songs great.  The class came up with this list.  In order to have a great rap song, it needs to include the following elements:

Great delivery

They keep it interesting

Contains strong metaphors

You have to be able to relate to it

Humor

Strong Vocabulary

Personality

Tells a good story

Tells a message

Conveys a moral

Be true to yourself

Welcome to College Writing for Cycle 1, Fall 2011

Course Description:  

The purpose of this class is to prepare students for entry-level college work, with a focus on writing and research skills.  In the beginning of the course, students will expand their base-knowledge of words and their etymological roots, and begin to develop college-level vocabulary and comprehension through reading fiction. As students write, the class will focus on literary analysis, identification and correction of grammatical errors and editing skills, as well as proper utilization of grammar, punctuation and spelling. For the final part of the course, students will establish and utilize research methodology, critically analyzing and evaluating research sources, while developing note-taking and study skills. The course will conclude with an in-depth research project, culminating in the writing and editing of an entry-level college research paper, with MLA-style citations.

Requirements: 

Students must complete all required essays in order to receive credit. You must complete all in-class work in the classroom.  Students are also required to engage in class discussions, respond to in-class questions, and conduct themselves in a respectful and studious manner as you focus on the educational tasks and goals.

All essays and other coursework designated as in-class work must be completed in the classroom, unless otherwise negotiated with the teacher.  Essays and research papers cannot be done at home.  Students presenting completed essays not written in class will not receive credit.  

Completion of Paper - Due Dates

Your paper should have been turned in by Friday, June 10th.  If you were a late admit, you may finish your paper on the last two days of class.

As I have said numerous times before, I will not accept papers the majority of which were not done in class.  Students cannot expect to pass this class if they have not written the majority of their paper in class during class time.  I must have seen the paper in progress throughout the cycle.

I MUST HAVE SEEN AT LEAST TWO AND A HALF PAGES BY FRIDAY, JUNE 10th in order for you to be allowed to work on it over the weekend.  You may work to complete the paper in class on Monday, June 13th and Tuesday, June 14th, if you have given me sufficient work by Friday, June 10th. 

Students may be eligible for credit recovery depending on Cycle 6 class participation, and sufficient ongoing meetings with me regarding your work on this paper.

Where You Should be By Today, June 7th, 2011

You should have at least three pages completed of your paper.  Without having a majority of your paper completed, you will not be able to finish it in a timely fashion, meeting the criteria of the assignment.  See me if there are extenuating circumstances, and you need some extra help.  The paper is due by week's end, and corrections will be finalized next week. 

If I do not see the paper in progress, and/or if you have not written the bulk of the paper in class, you will not pass this class.  I will not accept a paper the majority of which has not been written in my class and with my supervision.  Also, in order to get credit you must have ALL the articles you are citing in your paper printed out and in your folder. 

Thank you for the hard work you are doing to complete this assignment.