Today in class we started off my learning how to build your essay. Mrs. Flournoy taught us the buildingsroman, which means the coming of age. She explained how our basic essay should include an Introduction and sentences that go from very basic information to a narrowing focus. Then we learned that a body must include a Topic Sentence, 1 Commentary Detail, and 2 Commentary Sentences. There can be up to four body paragraphs in this essay. After finishing the body paragraphs, you need to write a conclusion that connects and finalizes your whole essay. Mrs. Flournoy told us to question our conclusion and say "so what?". This helped us question our whole essay and give it a great point. In class, we are told to write our thoughts for our essay down. We are constantly reminded that writing your thoughts down is very significant because you find great ideas and writings from letting your ideas out. After we discussed the Buildingsroman, we discussed our heading and header for our paper and how it should be formatted on a word document. Mrs. Flournoy informed us that the Heading is different from the Header because the heading is only on the first page and includes: Your name, Subject, Teacher, and Date of Due Assignment. The header is on ever page and for this paper our header is including our last name and the page number. We then included our Title and have our double space paper! Even though we already know the basic format of an essay, this was a great review and there were several questions asked, so this cleared everything up. We then were given the rest of class to continue our essays and work on strengthening our body paragraphs. Getting time in class to work on our essays is essential because we are able to ask questions and work diligently. The Scarlet Letter essays are coming out great and we are all working hard in class. This essay is our last one before the semester ends and our printed completed essays are due on Monday as Rough Drafts. We made a lot of progress today because we had a lot of time to work on our drafts!
I thought that the review of the format of our essay was extremely helpful! I did not know the proper heading, so I am glad that we went over it in class. I really like having time in class to work on our essays. I think that all of us value the time in class that we have to write. Writing in class gives us the opportunity to really concentrate in a good environment and progress. This allows us to ask questions and work on the needed areas in our essays. A quote that I believe is a good connection is, “Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.” -Francis Bacon. We are told to write down our thoughts and ideas. Even though we may think that we are not on the right track or that our writing is irrelevant, it is actually great. As we prepare to complete our drafts, it is good to remember that we need to keep our ideas fresh and let them out.
The vocabulary term that I think defines what we did in class is "headway". This term means a forward movement or progress. My Sample Sentence for headway is: We were making headway in working on finishing our Rough Drafts today in class. Overall, today’s class was very productive and I think that we all made progress on our essays.
I totally agree with Natalie. The review on the physical body of the essay was really helpful and writing down thoughts is really inspiring. I also like the quote Natalie chose because it is so true. Ideas that are spur of the moment can often be the best ones!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying. I really liked revewing the structure of our essays because sometimes you forget those tiny little details that can make or break your organization. Also, it may seem as if nothing is coming out of just writing down certain thoughts or ideas that are stuck in our heads, however, in the long run, those minor thoughts could be the core of our paper and we will be very grateful that we wrote them down while they were fresh in our minds. Get out your ideas first, then focus on organizing them after you've gotten all your thoughts in line.
ReplyDeleteI like the post. The vocab term reminds me of procrastination and how I should avoid it. Time in class to work on the essay really helps me. In class, I do not get off task, while at home it is much easier to. We have made a lot of progress this year not only on the essay but as english students. Hopefully it will continue next semester.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote because it is relevant to me. I tend to have a great idea, get distracted, and for get it. This is especially frustrating while writing a paper, for it affects your analysis and commentary. I am going to try and start writing down all my little thoughts, and hopefully this will help me on my papers!
ReplyDelete