How to Shape Your Literary Reflection Paper

Based on your Cornell Notes, you will be writing a paper interpreting the meaning of one of the stories that we've read from Neil Gaiman's Fables and Reflections. You must do your Cornell Notes sheets on ONE of the stories we've read. Once again, you may use "Fear of Falling," "Three Septembers and a January," "Thermidor," or "The Hunt." Once you have filled out your Cornell Notes (see directions in previous post), read the directions below and begin to write your Literary Reflection Paper on your chosen story. Begin by writing the introduction.

Here are the steps you need to include in your paper.

INTRODUCTION: Introduce the moral of the story. State the point of the story, as you see it. What is its message? This will be the paper's THESIS STATEMENT.

BODY PARAGRAPHS:
Describe how the author illustrates the moral through his words and pictures.

How does the setting reinforce or support the moral of the story?

Give details about the characters. How would you describe those characters? Describe them in your own words. Explain what emotional conditions were going on in the character’s mind that made him or her take certain actions.

What cultural and historical references are in the story? The more you can point out and recognize those, the better your work will be.

What other details in the story help convey the moral? Minor characters and sub-plots also make a story good and powerful. Explain how minor characters and/or sub-plots figure into the story.

CONCLUSION:
Restate the thesis and summarize your evidence and points.

Question: Students asked how many paragraphs the essay should be. My answer was and is: Make sure you include all the things I have listed above. Create as many paragraphs as is necessary to convey your assessment of the moral, and make sure you provide all the required supporting details from the story. Make sure you analyze and interpret what you read, rather than simply re-telling the story. I am not looking for a plot summary. I am looking for your interpretation of the story based on evidence from the text. Make sure to write a conclusion that supports your thesis statement.

Cornell Note Taking

Pick one of the four stories that we have read from "Fables and Reflections". Fill in a Cornell Notes sheet for it.

Think of at least four aspects of the story that struck you as significant. They can be a character, an incident, the setting, or some other aspect that seems important to you. For each of the four aspects, put down some thoughts, ideas or questions. Then, at the bottom of the Cornell Notes page, come up with your own overall analysis or reflection about the story. This can include writing about "text to self", "text to text", or "text to world". The Cornell Notes you create for this story will form the basis for an essay you will be writing.

Reading "The Hunt" in "Fables and Reflections"

We went on to read "The Hunt" in Neil Gaiman's "Fables and Reflections". You may use this story or any of the other three that we read ("Fear of Falling", "Three Septembers and a January", or "Thermidor") to do your next task, which is to prepare notes for a paper based on one of the stories. See the next post for details.

Reading the First Three Stories in Neil Gaiman's "Fables and Reflections"

Neil Gaiman is the author of The Sandman, a collection of stories involving seven characters. The main character is Dream (also called The Sandman or Morpheus), and his siblings are Despair, Desire, Delirium, Death, Destiny and Destruction. They are "seven anthropomorphic personifications of universal concepts." They each represent a realm of consciousness and an aspect of the human experience.

So far, we are reading the collection "Fables and Reflections." We read "Fear of Falling," "Three Septembers and a January," and "Thermidor." Please make sure you read these stories in the classroom, if you have not done so already. If you have been out, you may come at lunch to catch up on your reading.

"Fear of Falling" is about a young man who is having fears about producing his play.

"Three Septembers and a January" tells the story of a man whose life changes because of Dream, Despair, Delirium, Desire and Death.

"Thermidor" is about the head of the Greek immortal poet Orpheus showing up during the French Revolution.

Fill out the Fables and Reflections Handout #1. In order to fill it out, you have to have read the stories carefully. Make sure to fill out each part of the handout completely. Then put the completed handout in your folder in the classroom.

What You Must Have in Your Folder in Order to Pass Cycle 1, Fall 2010

1) Rose that Grew from Concrete essay

2) A rap, song, or poem (by someone famous, or by you) whose lyrics have a symbolic or metaphoric meaning

4) Visual Metaphors Response Sheet

5) Visual Metaphors Poem - written by you

5) Poison Tree response sheet

6) Mother to Son essay

7) “Negro Speaks of Rivers” essay

Literary Elements and Cultural References in Poetry: Assignment for Wednesday, Oct 6

Read this poem by Langston Hughes:

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

-- Langston Hughes, 1926

When Langston Hughes wrote this poem in the 1920's, he used the phrase "The Negro" to mean people of African descent.  This was, and still is, a poem about Black heritage.

Get the handout for this assignment here, or by clicking the link on the right side of this page.

2) What literary elements can you find in the poem, such as metaphor, simile, and imagery?  Find at least three literary elements and circle them.  Then, on the margins next to what you've found, name the literary element you’ve circled.

On the PAGE AND A HALF of lined paper I’ve included with the handout, or on regular lined 8.5x11 paper, describe the cultural references and overall meaning of the poem.  Answer these questions in essay form:

What cultural references can you find in this poem? 

To what actual historical facts and events is Hughes referring? 
Remember to look for words that are capitalized.  Do you recognize any of those names, and where are they from? 

Be sure to also include a description of what literary elements Hughes uses in this poem, and explain how he uses them to convey the message of this poem.

Interpreting "Mother To Son"

Get the handout for today's lesson here.  You may also get the Mother to Son handout by clicking the link for it on the right side of this page.  This time, write a full essay (at least five paragraphs) describing the meaning of this poem and explaining in what way it may or may not be true for you in your own life, or in the lives of people you know.  Be sure to proof-read your essay and correct for grammar, spelling and punctuation before turning it in. 

Interpreting "A Poison Tree"

We used this Interpretation Handout for William Blake's "A Poison Tree" to break down the task of figuring out a metaphor.  Download it from here if you don't have it.  We saw that 1) We must figure out words we don't know (do the vocabulary) and 2) Interpret the meaning by "getting" the metaphors used in the poem. 

These vocabulary words were selected:
wrath
foe
deceitful
veiled
wiles
outstretched


Use the handout.  Write your interpretation of the poem on it.  
What is the poem about?  Describe your interpretation of it.  As you write, consider the following:

Look at the title.  Why is the poem called "A Poison Tree"?
What does the tree symbolize?
Why is it "watered" and "sunned," and what does that mean, metaphorically?
What happened to the foe in the end of the poem, and why?

What's Due Today, and Tools You Can Use to Improve Your Writing

Your completed poems are due today.  They should be typed and I will come around to each of you and make sure they are saved onto my flash drive.  Next week we will read them aloud, and the class will determine which poem is about which class member.

We are also going to determine common errors that students make. Use my Use of the Comma, Use of the Apostrophe, and Grammar and Spelling Tips sheets to check your written work.

The Poison Tree by William Blake

Extra credit for this week: Read "The Poison Tree" by William Blake. 

What is this poem about?  What symbols and metaphors are in these poems, and what do they mean?  Write a short essay describing your understanding of the poem.

Some Hints for Writing Your Poem

How do you write a poem based on a visual metaphor?  We did it as a class, so that students would have an example about how to translate their visual metaphors into descriptive words.   Each class wrote a poem based on an animal a class member had chosen as a visual metaphor.  In Period 5, the class picked a lion, and wrote this poem:

I am King of the Jungle
Dangerous, fast in reaction

Aggressive, fast to attack

Courageous and

Impervious to distraction.

Though, growing up as a cub,

It was a mirror image of what’s happening now,

I was the deer, I was the gazelle, I was the zebra

Unable to avoid destruction.

I earned my crown creating treason,

Betraying my followers,

I learned how to become destruction

That’s why I’m King -

For a reason.

The students of Period 7 picked a crocodile, and wrote this poem:

I am a crocodile,

Patient, hungry and versatile.

I’m evil – there’s no denial.

I am keen to get my prey

And show only my eyes.

My sharp teeth will rip through your flesh

And my mind will get me to your death.

What kind of people are we describing here?  The lion, Period 5 decided, is a person who is fierce and ruthless.  The crocodile, according to Period 7, is a person who is cunning, devious and dangerous.

Reminder: Make sure you have a completed Visual Metaphors Response Sheet saved to your account.  Once that is completed you may begin writing your poem, based on the three visual metaphors in your Visual Metaphors Response Sheet. 

Visual Metaphors and You: Write the Poem!

Use the Visual Metaphors Response Sheet (on the right of this page), and paste your three visual metaphors symbolizing YOU into the sheet.  THEN write a poem (no less than eight lines) describing yourself in metaphor.  You may use rhyme or free verse.  You may use more than three visual metaphors, but you must use AT LEAST the three visual metaphors from your Visual Metaphors Response Sheet.

Songs, Raps or Poems to Analyze

You may provide songs, raps or poems to me for the class to analyze, but they must have symbols and metaphors in them that we can decipher.  Please submit those songs, raps or poems to me by the end of the day. 

Literary Elements and Techniques in Poetry

We identified symbolism, metaphor, simile, assonance, and personification in the poems "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost, "See You Next Year" by Judith Pordon, and in the song "All Good Things Come to an End," by Nelly Furtado.  We saw the metaphor of fire symbolizing passion emerge both in the Nelly Furtado song and the Robert Frost poem.  Tomorrow we will look at more poems and songs, uncovering their hidden meanings and interpreting their images. 

Dissecting the Test: How do you write an essay on a topic that is NOT of interest?

Now that the class has completed the baseline assessment and handed it in, we took a look at the test itself.  You may not have like the passages, but even if you are not interested in the topic, how can you make sure you write a good essay?

The directions for this ELA Practice Regents include a statement about the essay topic.  In this case, the topic was "possessions."  What did each passage have to say about the significance of possessions in a person's life? 

Some Reading Strategies:
Always look at the title of each passage.  Titles can give you ideas for your essay, and provide hints about the overall topic of the passage.  We looked at the passages in detail to determine how they relate to the topic of "possessions."  We began to figure out how to write a good essay, despite finding the readings dry or uninteresting. 

It would be great if, in college or work, you would never have to read anything boring, but I can assure you that you will encounter texts that are less than fascinating.  Make the topic work for you.  Discover the underlying meaning of the text, and then write your interpretation into your essay.  

When reading any literary work, remember to use the strategies we have discussed to decipher words that you don't know.  Those strategies include breaking the word down into parts,  using contextual clues, and seeing if you know a similar word in another language (for instance, Spanish, which has Latin roots.  Many more complex English words have Latin roots).

Comma Rules

Download my Comma Rules from this link, or get it from the Handouts list on the right side of this page.  You may also pick up a "hard copy" in the classroom. 

Assignment: Write two sentences exemplifying each comma rule.  In total, that makes six sentences.  Please write the sentences on lined 8.5x11 paper and put your paper in your folder.   

Homework

Bring in a poem, or the lyrics to a rap or song.  Make sure the song or poem has a deeper meaning, the way "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" does.  You may bring in a favorite song that you find online, or you may bring in a poem or rap that you have written yourself.  I will read all of the songs or poems that you bring in and choose one or two that we will analyze and interpret as a class. 

First Writing Assignment

We read "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" by Tupac Shakur.  Write an essay of a page and a half responding to the following questions:
1) What is the poem about?  What does it mean?
2) How do you personally relate to this poem?  Is it true in your own life?  In what way?

This assignment is due, completed and in your folder, by the end of the week.  If you were not in class, it is still required of you, and you are still responsible for having it in your folder. 

Welcome to Camilla's College Literature and Writing Class, Fall 2010, Cycle 1

Welcome to College Literature and Writing.  All students taking this class must have passed the ELA Regents exam. 

In order to pass this class you must do the following:
1) Complete all assigned work
2) Attend class regularly
3) Stay focused on classwork during class time
4) Complete assigned homework
5) Do your best work, not second-rate work.

Cell phones and other personal technology items are not allowed in class.  They cannot be out, visible, or in use at any time during the class.

Work That Must Be in Your Folder In Order to Receive Credit

1) Student paper specifically assigned to you, with your corrections and MLA citations, hand-written.
2) Student paper specifically assigned to you, with your corrections and MLA citations, typed, and added to the existing paper.
3) Bibliography, typed on a separate piece of paper, to go along with the paper that you corrected that was specifically assigned to you.
4) Corrections, hand written, on "Domestic Violence" and "The Reformation" papers.
5) Practice Bibliography with MLA citations from newspaper articles in the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor and Washington Post.
6) Visual Metaphors Response Sheet, completed.

Literary Interpretation: Symbolism and Metaphor in Poetry

In college you will be reading poems by Shakespeare, William Blake, Matthew Arnold, and others. Let's look at one of the most famous Shakespeare poems, Sonnet XVIII: "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?"

1) Can you read the roman numerals? What number sonnet is it?

2) Read the sonnet. What is it about? What metaphors does it use, and what do they mean?

3) You will recognize footnotes when reading this poem. We saw footnotes and discussed them when we were doing research for our papers. Use the footnotes to figure out the meaning of this poem.

________________________________
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."

Final Unit: Literary Interpretation

What metaphors best describe your personality?

In your writing journal, do a quick entry: If I were an animal, I would be a ______________, because...

In this unit, you will look at metaphors that describe your personality, and then we will look at how writers use metaphors and symbolism to express their feelings and thoughts about themselves and the world.

Download this Visual Metaphors Response Sheet and use it for this assignment. Go to Google Image Search and look for three pictures that "are" you. DON'T find things you like. Find things you ARE. That means, don't print out a picture of your favorite cell phone. What you need to find is a picture of something that expresses your self -- your personality. For instance, are you a rainstorm? Are you a rose? Are you a box of chocolates? Whatever you pick will tell us about the kind of person you are. A person who considers herself a rose is different from a person who considers herself a dandelion.

What it Takes to Make a Paper Good Enough to Hand In

We are correcting research papers, making sure the in-text citations are correctly done, and adding a bibliography.  If you wrote a paper in this class last cycle, you will be using that paper.  If you did not write a paper last cycle, you will be using someone else's folder.  In Period 2, the papers were assigned and worked on as follows, starting on May 24th, 2010:
John R. is working on Jodie's paper.
Doralee is working on her own paper.
Kassandra is working on Michelle's paper.
Anthony R. is working on Edwin's paper.
Rhenea is working on her own paper.
John G. is working on Carlos G's paper.
Torvari is working on Millie's paper.
Rachel is working on Kristie's paper.
In Period 5:
Jodie is working on her own paper.
Nelson is working on Edwin's paper.
Karesse is working on her own paper.
Duaine is working on Millie's paper.
Robert is working on Carlos G's paper.
Aaron D. is working on his own paper.
Tatiana is working on her own paper.
Justin is working on Shelbey's paper.
Christina M. is working on her own paper.
Christine S. is working on Xiomara's paper.
Carlos A. is working on Kristie's paper.

Evaluate Your News Sources

Now that you have looked at the websites of four of the most prestigious newspapers in the United States, write a journal entry describing which newspaper you like best, and why.  The newspapers are The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Wall Street Journal.

Assignment for Wednesday, May 19th

Find 5 articles from these websites:

The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
 The Washington Post

Create a bibliography citing these articles correctly.  You may read each article, but you do not have to print it out, unless you want to do so.  Then utilize the handout on the MLA format, which should be in your folder, but is also available here.  Use it to create a bibliography of the 5 articles.  Please follow the exact format as shown in the MLA handout.  That handout is also available in the classroom.

Cycle 6: Upcoming Work, Previous Assignments, Materials Needed

Because of the cycle system, some of you did not write papers last cycle, because you were not in this class.  You will be working with previous students' papers and research documents.  Your job is to create a bibliography for the paper you're working on, and make sure that the citations within the paper are correct.  We want to end up with the kind of paper that you could legitimately submit for an introductory college course.  Use the criteria outlined in the previous posts to correct the paper and create the bibliography.  Those materials are both available online, and in the classroom. 

PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS:
If you have not corrected the first two papers we did as a group - the one on the Reformation and the one on domestic violence, you need to have those corrected and in your folders by week's end.  Those papers are available in the classroom only. 

MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THIS CYCLE:
Notebooks were handed out today to each student who was in attendance.  They will be used for daily writing assignments.  If you do not have a notebook you need to make sure to get one from me.  Please write your name on the first page of the notebook, and nowhere else.  I would like to use the remaining pages for next year, so please do not deface the book.  Thanks!

Grading Papers - Assessing Work

We're looking at two papers written by anonymous class members.  Your criteria for assessment is the RUBRIC, and your instructions for writing the paper.  In addition:

Instructions For Grading:

Do you suspect they didn’t write it?  Highlight or underline it.

Is it confused, or confusing?  Write a question mark in the margin.

Circle things that you think have problems.

Write your comments in the margins.

You may use a question mark, exclamation point, smiley face –

whatever conveys your feelings about that section of the essay. 

You may use proof-readers marks.

Then use the RUBRIC for an overall assessment.

 

Welcome to Cycle 6

We have several goals for this cycle. Among them are:

1) To examine research methodology critically, and fine tune research practice.

2) To proof read and improve written work in order to become comfortable with college-level expectations.

2) To regularly practice college entry-level writing.

3) To continue to read suitable grade-level texts for understanding, and explain them in your own words, in order to become more comfortable with reading and writing on an entry-level college level.

Are You Reading for Understanding At Grade Level?

We read an article from the New York Times on the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What is the article about? What suggestions is the author making, and to whom? Your explication of this article should be done on this form.
Text-to-Self: Activating Prior Knowledge

Here's what we knew before reading the article:

• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
• They had to capture the fish to preserve the population
• It did a lot of damage to the land to the biology of the area
• Floating thing to try to stop the oil from flowing
• Besides them losing money, it’s polluting the water now.
• BP (the oil company) lost money, and so did the fishermen.
• Pollution
• They are trying to use a controlled fire to burn up some of the oil in the water.
• People might get sick
• We might not be able to eat seafood
• Animals might mutate

Here Are Our Strategies for Reading for Understanding:

• Figure out words you don’t know
• Determine the source of the complaint: what is the author criticizing?
• Draw conclusions based on the reading
• Predict possible solutions

How to Cite a Source in Your Paper and in the Bibliography, MLA Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is widely used for identifying research sources. In MLA style you briefly credit sources with parenthetical citations in the text of your paper, and give the complete description of each source in your Bibliography, which is a list of all the sources used in your paper, arranged alphabetically by author's last name, or when there is no author, by the first word of the title (except A, An or The).

FOR OUR PAPERS IN THIS CLASS, we are going to use the MLA style. MLA stands for “Modern Language Association.” Your citations in your bibliography for this paper must be in MLA style.

WEB ARTICLE CITATION, MLA STYLE:
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Name of publication. Date of publication. Web Site Name. Date of access with day, then month, then year .

Batchelor, Bob. "Bootlegging." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 Apr. 2010 .

Complete publication information may not be available for a Web site. Provide what is given.

Entire Internet Site: Scholarly Project or Professional Site

Title of the Site. Editor. Date and/or Version Number. Name of Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access .

Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. 13 May 2004 .

Document from a Web Site

Author. "Title of Web Page." Title of the Site. Editor. Date and/or Version Number.
Name of Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access .

Sherman, Chris. "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About URL." SearchEngineWatch. Ed. Danny Sullivan. 24 Aug. 2004. 4 Sept. 2004 .

Interview Conducted by the Researcher
Person Interviewed. Type of Interview (personal, telephone, email, etc.). Date.
Nakamura, Michael. Personal interview. 23 July 2004.

TELEVISION PROGRAM:
"Title of Episode or Segment." Title of Program or Series. Credit (Performer, writer, etc). Name of Network. Call Letters (if any), City of Local Station (if any). Broadcast Date.

"Daddy Knows Best." Cold Case Files. Narr. Bill Kurtis. A & E. 6 Sept. 2004.

"Why the Towers Fell." Nova. PBS. KHET, Honolulu. 7 Sept. 2004.

WITHIN THE TEXT OF THE PAPER, YOU SHOULD CITE THE SOURCES LIKE THIS:

Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was designated as a National Historical Site in 1959 (National Park Service).

Note: Personal or corporate author and page number should be given if they exist on the website.

FOR YOUR FURTHER INFORMATION:
The other two common styles used for citing sources in papers are Chicago Style and APA (American Psychological Association) style. You may be required to use those styles for some courses in college, but for now, I just want you to see what they look like, and how they’re different from MLA.

Here are some examples of how these different styles look:

WEB ARTICLE CITATION IN A BIBLIOGRAPHY, CHICAGO STYLE:
Batchelor, Bob. "Bootlegging." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (April 26, 2010). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800513.html

WEB ARTICLE CITATION IN A BIBLIOGRAPHY, APA STYLE:
Batchelor, Bob. "Bootlegging." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved April 26, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800513.html