Homework Due 9/19-9/21

1. Send me your Portfolio link by Friday, 9/14 at 3pm.  If you hear back from me that I cannot read your page due to privacy settings, please fix that and re-send it to me.  If you do not hear from me, that means that your blog is ready to go!

Due by Sunday, 9/16 at 8pm:

2. Journal #1 (2 Lies and 1 Truth: Learning to Lie):  Please make sure that your entries are detailed.  Do not just list a sentence.  Each entry should be about 4-5 sentences.

3. Journal #2 (List of Things: 10 Categories, 10 Lists and 10 paragraphs).
Here are the categories I gave you in class:
Things that:
***Make me angry.
***I wish had never been said.
***I dream about.

You must create 7 more categories of your own.
For each category, you must make a list underneath it.

For example (this is the one I had on the board in class):
Things that I am afraid of:
-Spiders
-Death
-Heights
-Failure to accomplish my dreams
-Guns

Then, you pick one of the mentioned items, and you write a memory...a vivid memory full of details:
This is an excerpt that I wrote: Smack!
The child lifted her left hand and brought it down upon the fury tarantula which clung to my arm.  My breath quickened and sweat began to drip from my brow as the hot Cambodian sun beat down.
"No, no, ma'am," the child said.  "It's okay; it's a bad spider!"

When you are finished with this assignment, you will have 10 categories with 10 lists and 10 paragraphs.  All are expected to be true.

Please bring one category and one paragraph to share with the class for next week.

Due 9/19-9/21  (There are no classes on Monday 91/7,  and Tuesday 9/18!  Also, Section 6 will not meet next Wed from 10-11. Hunter College is closed!):

Read "American History" (I will send this to you on Google Documents) and take notes on what affects you. What can you relate to in this story? What fiction writing elements are found within this story? Why does this story take place during a public crisis? What elements of symbolism are found within this story?
***Remember, the questions I give you are merely meant as a guide. I will not collect them.

It will take me some time to grade the work on your Portfolio. I grade it using the guidelines that we went over in class, so expect to see a content grade and a grammar grade, which will add up to a grade out of 10.

Homework Due 9/14-9/16

Homework Part I:
***Please remember that what I list below is merely a suggestion for taking notes, and the questions are there to merely focus you on what you should be thinking about as you read. Whatever notes you do take, I expect that you will bring them to class with you in your notebook so that you can be part of a lively discussion in class.

***Read Chapter One in the Textbook.

***For each Chapter Heading (Get Started, Keep Going, A Word about Theme), you are to pull 2 sentences which interest you or teach you something or inspire you.

***For each of the sentences or quotes that you chose, you are to write 4-6 sentences explaining: -Why did this sentence seem important? -What does it teach you about fiction writing? -What did this sentence teach you about yourself? -Why does it inspire you? Why is this sentence interesting to you?

***You should have 6 sentences and 6 paragraphs explaining why you chose what you chose at the end of this assignment.

***You can also annotate your notes using post-it notes, ask yourself questions about the reading, highlight passages of interest and write in the margins. Whatever you choose to do, I expect you to read carefully.

Homework Part II: Use the following questions to guide your reading.

"Shitty First Drafts":

1. Anne Lamott is a famous author. Is the writing process easy for her? List 3 ideas she has to help her battle with the process.

2. What are your personal expectations for your first draft of writing?

3. Who are your biggest critics that you need to silence?

Questions from "Why I Write"
1. According to Didion, how is grammar important within fiction writing?

2. How did Didion get her ideas for the opening of her novel Play It as It Lays?

3. On page 21, reread the paragraph beginning "The picture that did..." What does Didion use in order to create the "norteamericana woman" for her novel A Book of Common Prayer?

Homework Part III:
Create your Online Portfolio using the guidelines listed below.  Send me the URL in an email by Friday, 9/14 at 3pm.  When I click on the link to your Portfolio, I should see your first post about your goals for English class.