Creative Writing & APUSH

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Peer Editing Guide

This guide will help you to make thoughtful comments about another's work. First, read through a group member's piece in order to get a general idea of the writing. Does the piece make sense? Can you, without reading the work, summarize its main point or points? The paper doesn't have to convince you of a particular viewpoint, but it should seem a thoughtful, coherent piece of writing that you can readily understand.
Thesis Statement
Can you find it? Does it accurately voice the main idea of the paper? Does the thesis state the main idea and some of the reasoning behind that idea? Is the thesis supported in the body of the paper? Is there any evidence or support for the thesis that is missing? Is there any information that contradicts the thesis? Is all of the textual evidence clearly related to the thesis? If some information is not relevant, can it be cut from the paper? If this information is necessary, how could the writer include it without undercutting his or her main ideas? (Hint: look at transitional phrases within sentences.)
Coherence and Clarity
Do any ideas seem vague? What can the writer explain more thoroughly that would help the reader?
Can you determine the paper's audience?
Is the purpose of the essay clear?
Does the introduction give the reader "clues" about the subject of the essay?
Content
Is the conclusion a conclusion or a mere summary? Does the conclusion refer back to the introduction, helping to round out the essay?
As a reader, do you sense a structure in the paper? Can you determine a logic behind it? Are the ideas easy to follow in their arrangement?
Do the transitions (both between sentences and between paragraphs) help to connect ideas? If not, what other structural changes could the writer make? Would other transitional devices be more appropriate?
If the writer is working with fiction, is the plot summary of that fiction too lengthy? Or does the writer strike a good balance between his or her ideas and details from the story?
Is the paper interesting? What are the most interesting/convincing sections of the paper? How could the writer expand upon these sections or make the rest of the paper as interesting?
Are there sections of the paper that are better written than others? If so, do you think these sections are better focused, with the ideas more completely defined? How can the writer bring the rest of the essay up to this level?
Style
Is the style understandable? Also, is the style appropriate for the intended audience? Are there too many linking verbs (is/are/was/were) in the writing? Check, too, for overuse of the passive voice ("was written").
Is the writer too tentative about her thoughts? Does she rely heavily on phrases such as "I think.." or "It seems" or "approximately"?
Is the research thoroughly documented?
Is the research integrated into the paper, or does it "weigh down" the paper, obscuring the writer's ideas? How could the writer more successfully integrate sources into his or her paper?

by Melanie Dawson

Ten Minute Video

Ten Minute Video Play
Each student is to produce a scene for a class video project. Students may choose one of the listed options below or write a new piece of their choice. Students may work in pairs. The time limit for each piece is 30 seconds. Our initial video dates are Wednesday, September 29 and Thursday, September 30.
Option #1:
Create an imaginative scene.
Option #2:
Create an imaginative situation.
Option #3:
Create an imaginative character.
Option #4:
Predict what might happen under a hypothetical circumstance.
Option #5:
Creatively solve a hypothetical problem.
Option #6:
Write an imaginative poem.

Option #7

Use one of your blog posts.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Class Blog Addresses

http://www.ambeiiluvsyhu.blogspot.com/

Friday, September 10, 2010

When I was Brave

Every now and again a situation arises that requires an enormous amount of strength and courage. Over the course of my life I have been faced with these challenges that have changed my perspective and given me a new awareness of who I am and how far far I have progressed in my life journey. One such instance occurred when I was in my junior year of high school. The morning started routinely. My brother and I awaken to the smell of bacon frying. My mother called to us to get up, get dressed and ready for school. It was snowing lightly, so I knew we had to hurry before it really started coming down. My brother and I grabbed our lunches and put them in our bags. Mom handed us the bacon and egg sandwiches wrapped in paper towels, told us to hurry, and kissed us goodbye. We were going to take the stairs but, we decided to take the elevator. We walked across the breezeway to the elevator. My brother pressed the button and we waited. After a few moments the elevator door slowly slid open and for a second; everything seemed to be in slow motion. Our vision seemed to be obstructed as the lights in the elevator car were dim and yellowed, one of the lights was missing adding to the uneasiness. The air had a strong unfamiliar smell. As we stepped into the car, I heard a moaning. I looked to my right and in the front corner there lie one of the brothers from downstairs. He was semiconscious his eyes had a icy glare and his mouth slightly parted. I could see saliva moving slowly down the side of his face. Around his arm was a belt and hanging from his arm was a hypodermic nettle. My brother gasped and a chill shot through my body. My brother whispered, "...is he dead?" I bent over and looked the boy in the face. I could feel breath ever so slightly. "No, he's still breathing. He's overdosed on heroin." During the late 1960s and early 1970s, heroin was the drug of choice in poor urban cityscapes. Troops recently home from Viet Nam brought with them a new, stronger drug that became the scourge of the poor. The spread of addiction invaded many homes and cut short many lives. The young man on the elevator floor was about to join those no longer above ground unless someone could revive him. That someone was me. I did not wake up with the intention of saving anything or anyone but there was no time to think I had to act. As the elevator door closed everything I ever knew and was taught flooded my entire being. As the elevator came to rest at the ground floor a sudden calm swept through me and I barked to my brother to knock on the apartment door to my right and ask for a tray of ice, some table salt and warm water. He followed my instructions and seconds later he handed me the item. I then rinsed out the bloody heroin filled needle and replaced it with a salt solution. I then re tightened the belt that was around my friend's arm and continued to inject the salt solution into his lifeless arm. We put the ice wrapped in a towel around his and in his pants in the crouch area. Within seconds the young man started to stir. I signaled to my brother to help me get him to his feet. Still groggy, he started to respond. He started to mumble incoherently, we walked him outside into the lightly falling snow. The reality of we we had just done sent a chill through my body. My brother looked at me and smiled. We were brave that day and came to understand that we were a little different from that day forward.