Writing Project Instructions
Below are the writing project directions. You must write a five paragraph essay for each unless noted otherwise.
After turning in a rough draft, please continue on in the class.
If you have a Gmail account, I would prefer that you send your essays to me that way rather than using Odyssey Writer.
After turning in a rough draft, please continue on in the class.
If you have a Gmail account, I would prefer that you send your essays to me that way rather than using Odyssey Writer.
Poetry Project
For this project, you're going to be writing four poems.
The focus of this poem will be description. You're going to be describing four different things:
Beyond that topics will be fairly open ended.
You will write four different types of poems for each thing you will be describing. All were types of poems you learned about in this folder. They are:
The choice in poem-topic combos is up to you. You can write an English sonnet about an emotion, or a tanka about a place, or a free verse poem on an important time in your life. Those options are up to you, but you must cover all of the possible poem types and topics.
You'll be graded on your ability to:
Each poem will receive a separate grade based on the above three criteria. The totals of all four poems will then be added up and your score will come out as a percentage of total points earned and total points possible.
The focus of this poem will be description. You're going to be describing four different things:
- A person in your life who is important to you (e.g. parents, friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, etc.).
- A place in the world that is significant to your life (e.g. summer camp, your room, a place in nature, etc.).
- The experience of feeling an emotion. (e.g. Describe what is it like to feel morose, lethargic, furious, nostalgic, or elated?) Emotions like happy, sad, angry are all off limits for this assignment. You need specific emotions.
- An event in your life that changed who you are.
Beyond that topics will be fairly open ended.
You will write four different types of poems for each thing you will be describing. All were types of poems you learned about in this folder. They are:
- Sonnets, either English or Italian.
- Haiku or tanka.
- Lyric poem.
- Free verse poem.
The choice in poem-topic combos is up to you. You can write an English sonnet about an emotion, or a tanka about a place, or a free verse poem on an important time in your life. Those options are up to you, but you must cover all of the possible poem types and topics.
You'll be graded on your ability to:
- describe your chosen topic,
- follow the rules of the poems,
- and clearly articulate each of the poem topics.
Each poem will receive a separate grade based on the above three criteria. The totals of all four poems will then be added up and your score will come out as a percentage of total points earned and total points possible.
Nonfiction Project
For this project, you will be writing an expository essay.
Expository essays are informative; they're meant to explain and inform the reader about a topic. The topic, in this assignment, will be about a topic of your choosing but must be approved by me. Your topic must be specific and about something that is broad enough to give you a lot to write about, but specific enough to be focused. Think less "I want to write about the history of the world" and more " I want to write about ancient Greece." Specific topic, but big enough to give you a lot to write about.
Probably the most well known, or at least most recognizable, expository text would be Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a collection of articles all giving a brief overview of a number of topics. They give you an easy to read summary of something. The audience of an expository text should be someone who knows nothing about your topic, has never been exposed to it. You won't use a lot of jargon or specific terms here. Be detailed in your explaining and leave nothing out.
Some example topics might include, but are not limited to:
As you can see, you have a lot of variety to work with so finding a topic might seem daunting. I mean, you've got some history options, a biography, how something works, a book summary, and even an analysis of how something had an effect on something else. Make a list of things you're interested in, and when we conference, we'll see if we can find a topic in there.
Before you start your essay YOU MUST CONFERENCE WITH ME. If you are at school now, come find me and we’ll talk. If it is after school, you send me an e-mail or text ([email protected] or (517) 667-8468 ), and request a day and time. If it is during my after-hours times (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 5 to 7 PM), we can talk then.
Conferencing is not optional. If you choose to start your essay without conferencing, your rough draft will be rejected and given back to you, and at that point we would conference. I do conferences to help students find a good, viable topic, and to help you fully understand what you will be doing and answer any questions you may have.
Here is a useful resource for you to use:
http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/expository-essay/
Expository essays are informative; they're meant to explain and inform the reader about a topic. The topic, in this assignment, will be about a topic of your choosing but must be approved by me. Your topic must be specific and about something that is broad enough to give you a lot to write about, but specific enough to be focused. Think less "I want to write about the history of the world" and more " I want to write about ancient Greece." Specific topic, but big enough to give you a lot to write about.
Probably the most well known, or at least most recognizable, expository text would be Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a collection of articles all giving a brief overview of a number of topics. They give you an easy to read summary of something. The audience of an expository text should be someone who knows nothing about your topic, has never been exposed to it. You won't use a lot of jargon or specific terms here. Be detailed in your explaining and leave nothing out.
Some example topics might include, but are not limited to:
- The history of Spanish colonization in the Americas.
- How computers have changed education.
- A biography of Abraham Lincoln.
- How a combustion engine works.
- The history of the American flag.
- Summary of the story Divergent.
As you can see, you have a lot of variety to work with so finding a topic might seem daunting. I mean, you've got some history options, a biography, how something works, a book summary, and even an analysis of how something had an effect on something else. Make a list of things you're interested in, and when we conference, we'll see if we can find a topic in there.
Before you start your essay YOU MUST CONFERENCE WITH ME. If you are at school now, come find me and we’ll talk. If it is after school, you send me an e-mail or text ([email protected] or (517) 667-8468 ), and request a day and time. If it is during my after-hours times (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 5 to 7 PM), we can talk then.
Conferencing is not optional. If you choose to start your essay without conferencing, your rough draft will be rejected and given back to you, and at that point we would conference. I do conferences to help students find a good, viable topic, and to help you fully understand what you will be doing and answer any questions you may have.
Here is a useful resource for you to use:
http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/expository-essay/
Epic, Legend, and Myth Project
For this assignment, you're going to be writing a myth.
Myths are stories which center on a heroic character. The character often has some special talent or abilities that helps them in their conflict with the story's villain or villains. Those special talents or abilities are not always supernatural, though they can be. In some cases, as you would have seen in the reading about Christopher Reeve, that heroic ability may be a trait like bravery or persistence.
You will be creating your own myth. Like any story, it must have a plot. Your protagonist, the hero of the story, will be in conflict with someone or something, and the story should end with a resolution of that conflict.
Along with a plot, your story must include these elements:
To submit your assignment, either create a blank Odyssey Writer document or e-mail your assignment to me at [email protected].
Myths are stories which center on a heroic character. The character often has some special talent or abilities that helps them in their conflict with the story's villain or villains. Those special talents or abilities are not always supernatural, though they can be. In some cases, as you would have seen in the reading about Christopher Reeve, that heroic ability may be a trait like bravery or persistence.
You will be creating your own myth. Like any story, it must have a plot. Your protagonist, the hero of the story, will be in conflict with someone or something, and the story should end with a resolution of that conflict.
Along with a plot, your story must include these elements:
- A hero or heroine as the protagonist.
- Your protagonist must have some trait or ability you feel is important for a hero, or even just a person to have. You may give your character superhuman traits, but they must also possess a trait in either their values or personality that you feel makes someone a hero.
- A fatal flaw, a personality weakness which your hero or heroine must overcome to help them succeed.
- The story must be two pages, double spaced when submitted.
- Most importantly, have fun with it! Be creative in your story. Don't stick with the simple hero with strong physical traits that just beats up bad guys. Create the type of hero or heroine with traits you feel all heroes and heroines should really have.
To submit your assignment, either create a blank Odyssey Writer document or e-mail your assignment to me at [email protected].
Drama Project
For this assignment, you're going to be creating your own 1 act play.
As you'll remember from reading William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a play is formatted like a script. It is made up a lines spoken by characters, also known as dialogue, as well as stage directions which are notes for the reader indicating any significant movements of the characters who would be on stage if this were an actual performance (Jim exits, Jim enters, Jim swings his sword at Joe, Jim passes out, etc.).
Your play will be a 1 act play with at least 4 scenes and must tell a complete story. The characters and events are left to your imagination. You will be writing and creating the script which will tell a complete story. Your script must include stage directions signalling when people enter, exit, or perform significant action.
In addition to the writing, I will give you an additional 20 points to the overall score of your play if you perform the play. You can either perform it in person or you can film it and turn it in that way.
As you'll remember from reading William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a play is formatted like a script. It is made up a lines spoken by characters, also known as dialogue, as well as stage directions which are notes for the reader indicating any significant movements of the characters who would be on stage if this were an actual performance (Jim exits, Jim enters, Jim swings his sword at Joe, Jim passes out, etc.).
Your play will be a 1 act play with at least 4 scenes and must tell a complete story. The characters and events are left to your imagination. You will be writing and creating the script which will tell a complete story. Your script must include stage directions signalling when people enter, exit, or perform significant action.
In addition to the writing, I will give you an additional 20 points to the overall score of your play if you perform the play. You can either perform it in person or you can film it and turn it in that way.
Research Project
For this assignment, you’re going to be writing a research paper. A purpose of a research paper is to perform research to draw a conclusion. Often, you’re seeking to answer a question. You should not know the answer to this question already; you may have an idea of what the answer is, but you don’t actually know for certain.
For this assignment, you will conference with me before starting. You must conference with me. If you submit a rough draft before conferencing, I will not accept it.
The purpose of conferencing is to find a topic you would like to research. You are allowed to research anything. I just want to help you find something that you can actually write about substantially.
Some possible research topics include:
One key thing to avoid is picking something that you have an opinion on to avoid bias. A research paper is meant to present findings, not promote how you already think. Oftentimes, students will use their research paper as a soapbox for their opinion. That should not be your focus. Choose a topic you are interested in, and then work your way to a question you want to answer.
Because it is a research paper, you will have to do research. Your paper must include information from at least three credible sources. Use the CRAP test to judge your sources. If you are still not certain on if what you are using is a reliable source, speak with me. You must identify your sources in text with parenthetical citations (come talk to me if you don't know what those are), as well as a bibliography cited in MLA format. For creating a bibliography, I always recommend easybib.com. Be sure to save the sources you use and turn in a bibliography with your final draft. "I didn't write my sources down so I can't make a bibliography" is not an acceptable excuse for not making a bibliography. Save your sources!
I look forward to reading what you write :)
For this assignment, you will conference with me before starting. You must conference with me. If you submit a rough draft before conferencing, I will not accept it.
The purpose of conferencing is to find a topic you would like to research. You are allowed to research anything. I just want to help you find something that you can actually write about substantially.
Some possible research topics include:
- The effect of Abraham Lincoln’s leadership on the Union’s victory in the American Civil War.
- The difference between how men and women communicate through body language.
- How Americans perceive America in music.
- How Edgar Allen Poe’s life experiences influenced his writing of The Tell-Tale Heart.
- The effect of video games on the mind.
One key thing to avoid is picking something that you have an opinion on to avoid bias. A research paper is meant to present findings, not promote how you already think. Oftentimes, students will use their research paper as a soapbox for their opinion. That should not be your focus. Choose a topic you are interested in, and then work your way to a question you want to answer.
Because it is a research paper, you will have to do research. Your paper must include information from at least three credible sources. Use the CRAP test to judge your sources. If you are still not certain on if what you are using is a reliable source, speak with me. You must identify your sources in text with parenthetical citations (come talk to me if you don't know what those are), as well as a bibliography cited in MLA format. For creating a bibliography, I always recommend easybib.com. Be sure to save the sources you use and turn in a bibliography with your final draft. "I didn't write my sources down so I can't make a bibliography" is not an acceptable excuse for not making a bibliography. Save your sources!
I look forward to reading what you write :)