Dear seniors,

Friday we began planning our approach to writing an essay, and Tuesday of next week we will begin an in-class outline and thesis statement.

Please come prepared with specific passages and examples so that you can refer to the text as you write.

Below is the writing prompt.

Hamlet Conventions of Drama Essay Prompt

Also, remember that you have a reading and response assignment (about 20 minutes total time) due Monday at 8 pm. Check the previous post for more information.

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Mr. Coey

Greetings seniors,

There are virtually countless resources for studying Shakespeare’s plays, so please don’t view this as a complete list. Also, remember that in college it is expected that you will be doing research and bringing your ideas to the class discussion.

1. Please select one or more of these resources to read and discuss

DIAGNOSING AND TREATING THE OPHELIA SYNDROME

Essay on Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

The Tragedy According to Aristotle

The Tragedy of Hamlet

Folger Theater Hamlet Overview

Questions the play Hamlet asks

Reading plays

Symbolism in Hamlet

Psychoanalysis of Hamlet

2. Which ideas from the above resources specifically has shaped your understanding or interpretation of the play?

3. Provide a comment on this post with specific references to the resource and to specific examples from the play

4. Reply to one or more of your classmates’ comments.

Due: Monday, February 20th @ 8pm

Neruda, Pablo. The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems. Ed. Mark Eisner. San Francisco: City Lights, 2004. Print.

Ninh, Bao. The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam. Trans. Frank Palmos. New York: Pantheon, 1995. Print.

Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Trans. Jay Rubin. New York: Vintage International, 1998. Print.

Use one of the above citations for your works cited page.

Dear Seniors,

Here you will find the

individual-oral-commentary-schedule-2017

for January 12-19. There will not be a reschedule; you’ll need to arrive at the specific date and time indicated. Thanks for all of your hard work, and I look forward to your best ideas!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Greeting all!

We continue to have thought-provoking discussions and insightful observations about African-American poet, Nikki Giovanni, and the historical times in which she wrote and published. To further support our research of her, I would like to offer these resources:

Nikki Giovanni Biography on Poetry Foundation

Giovanni reads her poems

Giovanni reads her poems and is interviewed by Bill Moyers

Thank you for all of your valuable contributions each day.

Warm Regards,

Mr. Coey

Dear Seniors,

The “Roaring 20’s” was a time of great wealth for some privileged Americans, and a time of great hardship for others. Wall Street speculation led to a series of financial market collapses that eventually led to the great economic crash of 1929, a time that marks the beginning of the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Below are several resources to help you understand the historical context of The Great Gatsby.

Fitzgerald-biography

Fitzgerald-and-his-other-works

Fitzgerald-and-the-jazz-age

Echoes of The Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Prohibition

Gatsby’s Guide to Manhood

Harlem in the Jazz Age

Plot summary, characters, and themes

Dear seniors,

As we begin our study of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, there are a variety of important ancillary resources I would like for you to read and be able to discuss within the historical context of the 19th century.

reading-schedule

19th-century-american-history-timeline

characteristics-of-the-slave-narrative

frederick-douglass-and-the-art-of-persuasion

frederick-douglass-summary-and-character-list

narrative-of-the-life-of-frederick-douglass-summary

slave-narrative-samples

timeline-of-the-life-of-frederick-douglass

understanding-racism-to-end-its-effects

vocabulary-related-to-study-of-frederick-douglass

It is my expectation that you not only come to class having read the assigned chapters, but also that you are doing research on Frederick Douglass OUTSIDE of class without direction from me. This is what is expected when you attend a top college or university.

I look forward to your insights, comments, and questions!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

IB Juniors,

Many of you have asked about how to properly cite poetry, especially the line numbers. Well, these examples at Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab can help answer your questions.

For more information about Neruda, his beliefs, and his poetry, read this in-depth interview from 1970! It’s very enlightening!

Our Interactive Oral Presentations are Monday, so be prepared!

Have a great weekend!

Mr. C

Greetings! I’m writing from my hotel room in San Francisco, and I’m so pleased to see all of the great ideas and questions you have posed! Look for my reply to your comments.

Today our focus is on the introduction and specifically the idea of “orienting the reader,” which means telling the reader what you hope to accomplish with your essay. In the United States, we often write objectively, yet internationally it is more common to write (at least for part of the essay) from the first person point of view. We are writing to an international reader, so let’s adhere to international standards.

Introduction Paragraph:

1. Identify the author, novel, and central conflict. Be sure to italicize the novel’s title.

2. Identify the central question your essay hopes to answer.

3. Explain the approach you will take in your essay and why you believe that this approach will best satisfy your central question.

4. Share a brief or abbreviated answer to your central question. (This is your thesis statement!) If you don’t have your thesis statement at this time, it’s okay. You can return later and insert it here in your introduction.

Body Paragraphs:

1. Provide the answer to one of your supporting questions (you worked on these yesterday)

2. Develop support of your interpretation with specific references to the text. Remember to write with your book open and cite examples. Provide the context (who, what, when, where, why) PRIOR to your concrete detail. You need to guide the reader to your example.

3. Comment on your example (1-2 sentences)

4. Comment on Murakami’s choices (1-2 sentences)

5. Repeat steps 2-4 as necessary. You should have a balance of context, concrete detail, commentary, and author commentary in your essay.

Exemplary Essay

If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to read Nick Peters’ essay, which scored a perfect score from the IB examiner. You’ll have a good sense of what you’ll need to to do. Keep your voice academic and sustain your interpretation.

I’m so glad to know that you having success with starting your essays! What a relief!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

Greetings IB Juniors:

You have recently completed your supervised writing of your Murakami essay. Congratulations! Remember to develop your essay from your supervised writing; the IB organization wants to deter plagiarism and promote academic honesty. DO NOT, under any circumstance, copy any sentences, paragraphs, or entire essays from any online essays. IF YOU do this, you are cheating and you will earn a failing mark for the assignment and be referred to the principal and IB coordinator. I only mention this, not for the majority of you, but for the minority. Sadly, there have been two recent examples of such plagiarism. Overall, however, I am very pleased with your creativity and your perseverance. Great ideas!

Outlining Your Essay:

In the past, I have asked students to outline with topics and supporting examples. For this essay, however, I would like you to instead use questions as the guiding ideas for your essay. For example, let’s say my essay topic is “darkness in Murakami’s novel, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.” I might outline my essay with the following questions:

1. What role does ‘darkness’ play in Toru’s search for the truth?
2. How does Murakami use the image of darkness to create tension and ambiguity?
3. How does the ‘darkness’ associated with the woman in Room 208 relate to not only Toru’s search but also his state-of-mind?
4. What role does ‘darkness’ play in Kumiko’s life?
5. Why does Murakami include this motif? How might it be related to the novel’s themes?

You can see that from these questions, I will generate several answers, and these answers will become my topic sentences for the development of my paragraphs and my essay. Think of your topic sentences as mini-thesis statements (Topic, opinion, and support). If you approach the outline and development of your essay this way, I am certain that you will have a well-developed and well-organized essay, which is ONE of the CRITERIA you will need to address.

1. Respond to this post with 4 or more questions about your essay topic. They need to be good questions, related to literary concepts/aspects of the novel as a genre. Two of the questions should mention Murakami by name. Remember, this is an essay about the author’s choices, namely Murakami’s choices.
2. Click on the “comments” at the bottom of this post and submit your questions. We can comment on each other’s questions and provide suggestions or feedback as necessary.
3. Due Monday, March 7
4. After submitting these questions, please begin developing your essay, and use these questions to organize and develop your essay!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey