Composition Enrichment, Grade 11 - Glencoe

Grammar and Composition

CompositionEnrichment

Grade 11

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the following copyrighted material. Every effort has been made to determine copyright own-

ers. In the case of any omissions, the Publisher will be pleased to make suitable acknowledg-

ments in future editions.

p. 21 From A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Copyright ©1947 by Tennessee

Williams. Published by The Modern Library.

p. 28 From Plays by Susan Glaspell. Copyright ©1920 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc.

Published by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc.

p. 45 From The Washington Post, January 7, 1992. Copyright ©1992 The Washington Post

Writers Group. Reprinted with permission.

p. 52 From Unpopular Opinions by Dorothy Sayers, 1947.

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce material contained herein on the condition that such material bereproduced only for classroom use; and be provided to students, teachers, and familieswithout charge; and be used solely in conjunction with Writer’s Choice. Any other reproduction, for use or sale, is prohibited without written permission of the publisher.

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iii

Personal Writing1.1 Writing to Discover I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 Writing to Discover II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.2 Keeping a Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.3 Writing to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4 Writing a Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.5 Writing a College Application Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.6 Writing About Literature: Writing About Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.7 Writing About Literature: Writing About Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Writing Process2.1 Writing: A Five-Stage Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.2 Prewriting: Finding Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.3 Prewriting: Questioning to Explore a Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.4 Prewriting: Audience and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122.5 Prewriting: Observing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132.6 Drafting: Achieving Unity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162.8 Drafting: Writing with Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.10 Editing and Presenting: Completing Your Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202.11 Writing About Literature: Analyzing a Character in a Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Descriptive Writing3.1 Creating Vivid Description I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223.1 Creating Vivid Description II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233.2 Using Sensory Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243.3 Creating a Mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253.4 Writing a Character Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.5 Describing an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.6 Writing About Literature: Writing About Mood in a Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Unit 3

Unit 2

Unit 1

Contents

iv

Narrative Writing4.1 Characters in Biographical Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.2 Writing a Biographical Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.3 Structuring the Long Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314.4 Writing About Literature: Identifying Theme in a Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . 324.5 Writing About Literature: Responding to Narrative Poetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Expository Writing5.1 Writing Expository Paragraphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.2 Explaining a Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.3 Analyzing Cause-and-Effect Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385.5 Analyzing Problems, Presenting Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.6 Using Time Lines and Process Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.7 Building a Reasonable Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415.8 Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Two Authors . . . . 425.9 Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Two Poems. . . . . . 43

Persuasive Writing6.1 Stating Your Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446.2 Sifting Fact from Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456.3 Evaluating Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486.5 Recognizing Logical Fallacies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496.6 Writing and Presenting a Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506.7 Writing a Letter to an Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516.8 Evaluating a Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Unit 6

Unit 5

Unit 4

Contents

Writer’s Choice: Composition Enrichment, Grade 11, Unit 1 1

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Patterns in Experiences

Read the excerpt below. In the space provided, explain how Eudora Welty uses fiction writingto find patterns and meanings in her experiences.

■ B. Writing About Your Life

On a separate sheet of paper, spend five minutes writing about events from your life. Use anyform you wish. See if you can find links among the events. For example, you may find yourselfrecalling an experience from elementary school and linking it to an experience with a part-time job and an experience that you had yesterday in your math class. Can you identify a singlecause behind these events? (For example, does your curiosity sometimes win you praise andother times land you in trouble?) Then describe any insights that you have gained about your-self through this process.

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1.1 Writing to Discover I

Develop your insights from Part B into a story, poem, or essay that you would like to show to others.Ask a few friends to read your writing before you present it in a more formal manner. Make sure yourreaders understand the pattern you are trying to describe by asking them to restate the point of yourstory, poem, or essay in their own words.

On Your Own

Writing a story or novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling uponcause and effect in the happenings of a writer’s own life. Connections slowly emerge. Like

distant landmarks you are approaching, cause and effect begin to align themselves, draw closertogether. Experiences too indefinite of outline in themselves to be recognized for themselves con-nect and are identified in a larger shape. And suddenly a light is thrown back, as when your trainmakes a curve, showing that there has been a mountain or meaning rising behind you on the wayyou’ve come, is rising there still, proven now through retrospect.

Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings

Literature Model

2 Writer’s Choice: Composition Enrichment, Grade 11, Unit 1

■ Creating a Personal Time Line

Sequencing the events in your life may help you recognize patterns and connections betweenpersonal experiences. Create a personal time line using the framework below. Write dates andsignificant events on corresponding rules next to the time line. Begin with the year of yourbirth and end with the current year. If you prefer, you may focus on similar experiences, suchas those related to school, home and family, or friendships.

Before you begin this assignment, you may find it helpful to talk to a parent, sibling, or oldfriend. Your conversation may remind you of events to include on your time line. Family photo-graph albums may also help jog your memory.

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1.1 Writing to Discover II

As you continue to recall events and to talk to family members and friends about the events in yourlife, you will want to expand your time line.

On Your Own

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Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Choosing a Purpose for Keeping a Journal

Writers may keep a journal or a diary. Some writers use journals to find out more about them-selves. British author Marion Milner started a diary when she was in her twenties “to look atmy life as preliminary to deciding what I should do to make it as I wanted.” FyodorDostoyevsky, the Russian novelist, jotted down “everything that strikes me or that gives mecause for thought.” Other writers have a narrower focus, using a journal only when traveling orconducting some type of experiment or scientific study, for example.

In the space provided, list additional reasons writers, including yourself, might have for keep-ing a journal, diary, or log.

■ B. Writing a Journal Entry

Select one of the purposes identified above for keeping a writer’s journal. In the space provided,use this purpose as the basis for writing one or more “entries” in your own journal or diary.


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1.2 Keeping a Journal

In the library, find a diary or a journal kept by someone you have studied in American literature or inAmerican history class. Read excerpts from the journal to learn about a different side of the person. Asyou read, try to identify the writer’s purpose for keeping such a journal. How is this writer’s purposesimilar to or different from the reasons you might have for keeping a journal?

On Your Own


■ A. Using a Learning Log

Use a learning log to analyze how you process information. Select your most difficult subject,and evaluate your progress in that class over a period of at least one week (including the week-end). On a separate sheet of paper, record concepts that you found especially difficult to learnand the strategies you used to understand them. For example, did you learn a difficult conceptor skill by working on an assignment with a classmate, by outlining the material, or by askingyour teacher for extra help? Analyze the information you recorded, and then write a learninglog entry below. What insights have you gained about yourself as a learner in the class youselected?

■ B. Planning for a Test

Use the insights you have gained about yourself to develop a helpful procedure you could fol-low when studying for an exam in the subject you analyzed in Part A. Describe the procedurein the space provided.

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1.3 Writing to Learn

Imagine that you have been asked to tutor a group of incoming freshmen on study skills. Write guide-lines that you might distribute to these students explaining how they can get more out of the timethey spend studying.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Planning a Letter

Imagine that you are planning to write a letter about a political, social, or ethical issue of par-ticular interest to you. This issue can be related to your school or community or to a club or anorganization of which you are a member. In the space provided below, list issues you couldwrite about and the people to whom you could write.

■ B. Writing a Letter

After you have chosen the issue and the person to whom you will write, think about the pur-pose of your letter. Is it to inform, persuade, narrate, or describe?

Once you have determined the purpose, write your letter below.


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1.4 Writing a Letter

Think about a major decision that you have just made or must make in the near future. Discuss thisdecision in a personal letter to a friend, close relative, teacher, or coach.

On Your Own


■ A. Preparing to Write a College Application Essay

Imagine that on a college application form you have been asked to answer one of the followingquestions:

• If you could spend an entire day with a famous person, whom would you choose and why?• If you could live in any period of history, which period would you select and why?• If you were collecting artifacts for a time capsule that would represent “growing up in

America at the beginning of the twenty-first century,” what would you include and why?• If you could invent something that the world really needs, what would it be and why?

Remember that the point of the essay is to reveal a unique aspect of your personality. Chooseone of the questions above and freewrite the ideas and details you might want to include inyour answer.

■ B. Writing the Essay

Now use your ideas and details from Part A to write a first draft of the opening paragraph ofyour college application essay. Use a separate sheet of paper if you need more space.

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1.5 Writing a College Application Essay

Exchange the first draft of your college application essay with a classmate. Review one another’s essay,making concrete suggestions for improvement and revision. Then write a second draft of your essayon a separate sheet of paper.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Analyzing and Responding to an Article

Look through the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature or Infotrak to find a magazine ornewspaper article on an issue such as one of the following:

• the use of television as a teaching tool• the pros and cons of a reduced minimum wage for teenagers• the advantages and disadvantages of large universities versus small colleges• the advantages and disadvantages of school uniforms• the positive and negative influences of professional sports on youth

First, explore your initial reaction to the article by writing a letter to the editor that expressesyour response to the information presented or to the position taken by the writer. Be sure tocite reasons to support the points that you make in your letter.

■ B. Exploring Your Response Further

Expand the above response through another type of writing. You might choose to write a skitthat illuminates the issue discussed in the article you read, or you might like to read a fewmore articles about the issue and write a research paper. Use the lines below to describe thekind of writing you plan to do to explore your response further. Then carry out this writingproject using as many additional sheets of paper as necessary.

I will explore my response to this issue by writing __________________________________________


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1.6W R I T I N G A B O U T L I T E R A T U R E

Writing About Nonfiction

The next time you read a piece of nonfiction to which your immediate response is either strongly posi-tive or strongly negative, record your reactions in a journal. Collect and read other articles relating tothe topic. Then reread the first article and record your responses once again. Compare these responseswith your first impressions.

On Your Own


■ Analyzing and Responding to a Poem

Read the poem below several times. Think about what the poet is trying to communicate andthe imagery he uses. Then respond to the poem in one of the following ways:

• Write song lyrics that parallel the meaning of the poem.• Create a poem of your own that expresses your feelings about this poem.• Write an essay analyzing the literary elements and meaning of the poem.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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Writing About Poetry

Imagine that you are writing a play based on the image of the caged bird in “Sympathy” for yourschool’s celebration of African American History Month. Your job is to write a letter or journal entry,inspired by the poem above, that could have been written by the main character in your play.

On Your Own

Iknow what the caged bird feels, alas!When the sun is bright on the upland slopes:

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,And the river flows like a stream of glass:

When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wingTill its blood is red on the cruel bars:

For he must fly back to his perch and clingWhen he fain would be on the bough a-swing:

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scarsAnd they pulse again with a keener sting—I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore—

When he beats his bars and he would be free:It is not a carol of joy or glee,

But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—I know why the caged bird sings!

Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Sympathy”

Literature Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Planning a Writing Process

Choose a subject with which you are familiar, such as a person (a family member), a process(how to change the oil in a car), or a history (the development of music videos), and outlinewhat you will do in each stage of the writing process to bring the subject from a vague idea toa finished piece. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write an introductory paragraph for youressay.

■ B. Using the Writing Process

Part of using the writing process effectively is knowing which stage to return to when you getstuck. Below are listed the first four stages of the writing process. In the space provided, writean example of a problem that would send you back to a previous stage.

Prewriting: ________________________________________________________________________

Drafting: __________________________________________________________________________

Revising: __________________________________________________________________________

Editing/Proofreading: _______________________________________________________________


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2.1 Writing: A Five-Stage Process

Imagine that you are instructing a younger brother or sister about the basics of writing. Using themetaphor of a road trip or another metaphor of your own, write a one- or two-paragraph creative descrip-tion of the five stages of the writing process that will bring the process to life for the beginning writer.

On Your Own


■ A. Using Freewriting or a Tree Diagram

Select one of the following seemingly ordinary events or an event of your own choice. Onanother sheet of paper, either freewrite about it for ten minutes or explore it in a tree diagram.

■ B. Choosing Details

Examine the details generated in your freewriting or tree diagram, and choose those detailsthat will lead a reader to see the topic from your unique perspective. Write your details on thelines below.

Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................


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2.2 Prewriting: Finding Ideas

eating breakfast on a school daystanding in line for a popular moviebuying a winter coatmaking a few purchases at a grocery storetalking on the phone to a close frienddoing homework

You are a newspaper reporter who has a last-minute assignment to fill a small space in tomorrow’sedition. You decide to write a short article (one to two paragraphs) on an aspect of one of the follow-ing topics or on an aspect of a topic of your own: how the health of the local economy affects teen-agers, your opinion of the local high school basketball team, how to keep up with the latest fashioncrazes. Choose a topic and explore it in a tree diagram. Then write the filler, using details that emerge.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Questioning to Find Ideas

Think of a person whose appearance is familiar to you. Ask yourself at least four questionsabout this person, one from each of the four following categories: personal, creative, analytical,informational. Write the questions on the lines below. Then look over your questions and writedown two possible writing topics.

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________________________

Topics:____________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Questioning to Develop Detail

Read the following passage, taking mental note of the kinds of details the writer has provided.Then on the lines below, write at least four questions the writer may have asked as she wrotethis description. Include at least one analytical, one informational, and one creative question.


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2.3 Prewriting: Questioning to Explore a Topic

Mrs. Viola Cullinan was a plump woman who lived in a three-bedroom house somewherebehind the post office. She was singularly unattractive until she smiled, and then the lines

around her eyes and mouth which made her look perpetually dirty disappeared, and her face lookedlike the mask of an impish elf. She usually rested her smile until late afternoon when her womenfriends dropped in and Miss Glory, the cook, served them cold drinks on the closed-in porch.

Maya Angelou, “My Name Is Margaret”

Literature Model

You are one of ten teenagers chosen from diverse areas in the United States to write an essay for ahouse and gardening magazine about your house or apartment. Write ten questions about yourhome, at least two questions from each of the four categories. The magazine editors want both objec-tive and personal perspectives on your home, from its basic function as a shelter to the feelings itevokes in you. Then write the first paragraph of your essay, incorporating the most striking details yourquestions generated.

On Your Own


■ A. Deciding on the Purpose

What aspect of the topic would each of the following audiences find interesting? Write a state-ment expressing your purpose for presenting the topic to each of these audiences.

1. Topic: the rising popularity of making clothing at home

a. clothing store executives ________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

b. fashion-conscious teenagers_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. Topic: teaching children to play the drums

a. the neighbors of a drum teacher who teaches out of his home __________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

b. professional drummers who want to teach children how to play ________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Topic: a simple device for giving medicine to pets

a. executives of a pet supply company _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

b. pet owners __________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

■ B. Writing for an Audience and a Purpose

Write a paragraph about an aspect of one of the topics above, using one of the audiences andcorresponding purposes to guide your writing.

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2.4 Prewriting: Audience and Purpose

Select a science topic, and write a paragraph about it to be read to a group of seven-year-olds at sum-mer camp. Because you must assume the audience has a limited science background, you must pre-sent the topic in simple terms. Your purpose can be to explain your topic (why it rains), to describe adramatic event (a volcanic eruption), to narrate a fictional or factual story (animals as characters or thediscovery of penicillin), or to persuade the audience to do something (to study ants).

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Writing from Observation

Examine the following ordinary subjects with the designated sense. Note as many details asyou can about the subjects. Observe those subjects that are to be perceived with the senses ofsight and hearing from several different angles and distances. Then, using the given sense, writetwo sentences describing each subject.

1. Sight: the inside of your school locker

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2. Hearing: the school hallways between classes

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3. Touch: a desk or a chair

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4. Smell: the school cafeteria as lunchtime approaches

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5. Taste: your lunch

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2.5 Prewriting: Observing

Imagine that a crime has been committed in a place you know well, and you have to describe thescene to the investigating detective. If possible, go to the scene to observe sensory details. Then usethe sensory data as a basis for developing mental associations. Record your impressions, metaphors,emotions, and analyses about the scene. Finally, write a description of the crime scene.

On Your Own


■ Writing a Unified Paragraph

The following notes contain information about the hummingbird and were taken in prepara-tion for a one-paragraph article to be published in a science magazine for elementary schoolchildren. Read the notes to determine a focus that will appeal to your audience. Then eliminateirrelevant information, and write the paragraph, stating the main idea in a topic sentence.

1. The tremendous speed at which the hummingbird flaps its wings requires enormousenergy.

2. The wings of the smallest species of hummingbird move about sixty to seventy times asecond.

3. The rapid movement of the wings enables the hummingbird to suspend itself in midair.

4. The speed with which a hummingbird can dart vertically and forward and backward isamazing.

5. The smallest bird in the world is the bee hummingbird, a native of Cuba.

6. The bee hummingbird is about two inches long and weighs about one tenth of anounce—about the weight of a copper penny.

7. A hummingbird’s tiny nest is the size of a walnut shell.

8. A hummingbird’s egg weighs less than two hundredths of an ounce (a chicken egg weighsabout two ounces, and an ostrich egg weighs about three pounds).

9. A hummingbird’s egg measures less than a half inch in length—about the size of a navybean.

10. A newly hatched hummingbird is about the size of a bumblebee.

11. One teaspoon will hold four newly hatched hummingbirds.

12. Hummingbirds sometimes steal insects that have been captured in spiders’ webs.

13. Hummingbirds live exclusively in the Western Hemisphere.

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2.6 Drafting: Achieving Unity

A foreign student with whom you correspond has expressed a curiosity about American sports. Writea letter of at least two paragraphs about an American sport you are familiar with. Focus on anyaspect of this topic you wish—a popular sports hero, the sport as it is played in your high school, thehistory of the sport in the United States, or the sport’s popularity compared to the popularity of othersports. Develop a main idea, state it in a topic sentence, and support it with relevant details, facts,and examples.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Using the Appropriate Organizing Technique

Where would you rather live: in the city, where the population density is high, human activi-ties are many and varied, and the pace is fast; in the country, where the population density islow, spaces are wide and open, and the pace is slow; or in the suburbs, the medium groundbetween city life and country life? Write two or three paragraphs to answer this question, usingone of the following organizing techniques: compare and contrast, order of importance, or proand con.


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2.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay I

You have just been rescued after being stranded on a lush but deserted tropical island. Several well-known magazines have contacted you about (1) a description of the island (a travel magazine), (2) anassessment of your state of mind before and after your rescue (a psychology magazine), (3) a detailedstory of your adventure (a children’s magazine), (4) the good and bad aspects of life on a desertedisland (a magazine for explorers), (5) a plea for preservation of untouched areas (an environmentalmagazine). Choose one of these topics, determine the appropriate organizing technique, and write aone-page article.

On Your Own


■ Writing an Essay

Select one of the following purposes and techniques, or choose a purpose and technique ofyour own, as a plan for a two- or three-page essay. Jot down some ideas for the data you willuse. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write an introduction, body, and conclusion that fulfilltheir functions. Remember that the introduction must, among other things, engage the interestof the audience and the conclusion must present a new view of the subject, perhaps with ananecdote, an analysis, or a striking fact.

Purpose: To explain how the weather affects me

Data: _________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Organizing Technique: Order of importance

Purpose: To explain that taking care of a pet is more work than taking care of a younger sib-ling (or vice versa)

Data: _________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Organizing Technique: Compare and contrast

Purpose: To describe the location of my home in relation to other buildings and landmarks

Data: _________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Organizing Technique: Spatial order

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2.7 Drafting: Organizing an Essay II

You are working on a composition textbook for high school students, and you need to show studentshow to write an effective introduction. Read several essays from magazines, anthologies, or the editor-ial section of a newspaper. Choose an introduction that strikes you as particularly effective and onethat strikes you as ineffective in engaging your attention, stating the essay’s purpose, making clear theorganizing technique, and setting style and tone. Then write a short essay (one page) comparing andcontrasting the two introductions.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Improving Coherence

The following paragraph can be made more coherent by the use of transitional words andphrases, consistent language and imagery, and correct pronoun references. Write a more coher-ent version of the paragraph on the lines below.


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2.8 Drafting: Writing with Coherence

A group of high school students are collaborating on an evening of Halloween entertainment foreight-, nine-, and ten-year-olds. You are writing a one-page description of a spooky event. Choosecharacters and a setting, provide details about how the event unfolds and how the characters movethrough space and time, and experiment with language and imagery. You will probably use a com-bined spatial and chronological organization. Finally, select transitional words and pronoun referencesto clarify the sequence of events and positions of characters.

On Your Own

How do you handle an insult? One can ignore an insult by pretending that you never heard theinsult, letting the insult go by you like a bad pitch in a baseball game. Ignoring an insult is not

half so satisfying as changing the direction of the dance by countering an insult with a witty, devas-tating insult of your own. You have to have a magician’s sleight of hand to be able to turn an insultaround on the insulter. You need to think of a clever insult on the spot. Thinking up a clever insultin the middle of the game is not easy to do when one is still suffering from the sting of the originalinsult.

Model


■ Improving a Piece of Writing

Your work has just been returned from a review by one of your peers. The following paragraphappears as you wrote it; the reviewer’s comments appear below your paragraph. Revise yourwork according to the review’s recommendations.

Your original paragraph:

An example of very complex behavior is spinning a web. A spider correctly spins a web the firsttime it tries it. The spider does not need to learn how to spin a web. The spider takes nolessons and it needs no practice. Different web structures are made by different species of spi-ders. Spinning a web is an instinct in spiders. An instinct is an inborn behavior. An instinct is amore complex kind of behavior than a reflex. Another example of an instinct is when birds flysouth for the winter.

Reviewer’s comments and suggestions:

The most interesting part of your paragraph was the fact that the spider is born knowing howto build a web, almost like knowing how to breathe. Begin by describing a spider spinning aweb, and the vivid image will increase the reader’s admiration for the process and capture thereader’s attention. The supporting evidence, such as the sentences about instinct at the end ofthe paragraph, should be tied more strongly to the main idea to improve the unity and logicalflow. Combine some of the short sentences about web-spinning as an instinct into a morecohesive longer sentence. Tie the statement “Different web structures are made by differentspecies of spiders” more directly to the main idea. Provide a brief definition of reflex to give thereader a better understanding of the similarities and differences between reflex and instinct.

Your revised paragraph:

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2.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses I

Make two copies of a short article from a local newspaper and give one copy to a classmate. You andyour classmate can then individually review the piece. (If necessary, you may refer to the reviewer’schecklist on page 87 of your textbook.) In reviewing the article, first make editorial notations and thengroup your comments logically, such as by level of interest generated, by support of the main idea, orby logical flow. Then compare your comments with those of your classmate.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Reviewing an Introduction to an Essay

A classmate has asked you to review the following introduction to an essay about fainting.First, read the paragraph without commenting on it. Next, examine it more closely, and writeyour comments in the margins. (You may use the reviewer’s checklist on page 87 in your text-book as a guide.) Then write your overall assessment on the lines below.

General Comments:


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2.9 Revising: Using Peer Responses II

Book, movie, and drama critics use criteria similar to the criteria you use when you write a peer review.Imagine that you are the arts critic for a national magazine. Review an essay, a short story, a movie, ora play, using the same procedure you use in peer reviews. You may refer to the reviewer’s checklist onpage 87 in your textbook. Then use your notes to write a three-paragraph review. Be sure to supportyour evaluation with specific examples.

On Your Own

Do you know what happens when you faint? Most people have no idea. A fainting spell occurswhen your brain asks too much of your heart. You probably have only seen people faint in

movies. Fainting is actually not uncommon. Sometimes when a person is afraid or has been dealt asudden shock, your heart cannot keep up with the demands of your brain. So the heart takes abreak. I don’t like the idea of my heart taking a break. That’s why people who faint usually fall,preferably (like in the movies) onto a waiting chair or into someone’s arms. When people faint inreal life, however, they can get badly bruised.

Model


■ Editing and Proofreading Paragraphs

Using a blue pencil for editing errors and a red pencil for proofreading ones, edit and proof-read the following paragraph with the correct editing and proofreading marks. Then give it anappropriate title.

Title:____________________________________________________________________

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2.10 Editing and Presenting: Completing Your Essay

You are the marketing director for a publishing house, and you need to come up with titles that willhelp sell three new books. The first is a children’s story about a young dinosaur who cannot find itsmother; the second is a collection of essays on mountain-biking skills; the third is a history of the CIA,directed at a general audience. Suggest at least two possible titles for each book, and give reasons foryour suggestions in a one-page memo to the editor in chief.

On Your Own

Before the invention of refrigerators, many people died or became seriously ill by eating food

that had not been properly stored. Freshness is a constant concern, and throwing away spoiled

food was expansive. We thought of the modern-day refrigerator as the perfect solution to these

problems, however, the refrigerator was not initially a successful invention. At first, food stored in

the early refrigeratormodels dried out. saving a piece of meat hardly seemed worthwhile if they

ended up like beef jerky. Later when developers tried increasing the humidity, food became moldy.

People might have chosen to stick with the old fashioned icebox if it had not been for Dr. Mary

Engle Pennington, first chief of the U.S. Food Research Laboratory in the early 1900s who was hired

by the borrough of Agriculture to research the new refrigeration methods, she sovled the humidity

problem and developed techniques that were adopted by the food, packaging, transportation, and

storage industries. Her innovations were so vital during World War I, President Hoover awarded her

a Notable Service Medal.

Model


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Analyzing a Character in a Play

Read the following passage from the second scene in Tennessee Williams’s play A StreetcarNamed Desire. Here, Stella has just informed Stanley that her sister Blanche has “lost” the fam-ily home. Stanley asks for more information. On the lines below, write a paragraph analyzingStanley, using the dialogue as evidence.


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Analyzing a Character in a Play

STANLEY: . . . Let’s have a few more details on that subject. . . . [L]et’s have a gander at that bill of sale.STELLA: I haven’t seen any.STANLEY: She didn’t show you no papers, no deed of sale or nothing like that, huh?STELLA: It seems like it wasn’t sold.STANLEY: Well, what . . . was it then, give away? To charity?STELLA: Shhh! She’ll hear you.STANLEY: I don’t care if she hears me. Let’s see the papers!STELLA: There weren’t any papers, she didn’t show any papers, I don’t care about papers.STANLEY: Have you ever heard of the Napoleonic code?STELLA: No, Stanley, I haven’t heard of the Napoleonic code and if I have, I don’t see what it—STANLEY: Let me enlighten you on a point or two, baby. . . . In the state of Louisiana, we have theNapoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband, and viceversa. For instance if I had a piece of property, or you had a piece of property—STELLA: My head is swimming!STANLEY: All right. I’ll wait until she gets through soaking in a hot tub and then I’ll inquire if she isacquainted with the Napoleonic code. It looks to me like you have been swindled, baby, and whenyou’re swindled under the Napoleonic code I’m swindled too. And I don’t like to be swindled.

Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

Literature Model

Read a short play and select a character to analyze. You might begin with your reactions to the char-acter; freewrite or use a cluster diagram to help you develop ideas. Then look over your prewriting,develop a thesis statement, and write a one-page essay analyzing your character.

On Your Own


■ A. Using Order of Importance

Imagine you have just won a contest sponsored by a group of local retailers. The prize is acomplete redecoration of any room in your home, including such items as furniture, lighting,curtains, pictures, stereo equipment, and rugs. Write a plan describing how you want theredecorated room to look. Use order of importance to organize your paragraph. Use additionalpaper if necessary.

■ B. Using Spatial Order

Imagine you have just reached the top of a mountain and are viewing the valley on the otherside for the first time. Write a paragraph describing the features of the valley, such as bodies ofwater, hills, buildings, roads, and vegetation. Use spatial order to organize your paragraph. Useadditional paper if necessary.

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3.1 Creating Vivid Description I

While traveling, you visit an unusual house. You want to describe the house in a letter to a friend backhome. So that your friend can know what your experience there was like, use order of impression toorganize details. On a separate sheet of paper, write the letter, basing your description on a realhouse, a house you’ve read about, or a house from your imagination.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Using Order of Impression

You have awakened on the morning following a blizzard, hurricane, or another kind of severestorm. Write a paragraph describing what you notice as you look out your front door at thesurroundings of your home and neighborhood. Present the details in the order of impression.

■ B. Using Order of Importance

As the mayor of your community, you must devise a general plan to repair the damage anddangerous conditions left by the storm you wrote about in Part A. Use order of importance towrite a description of the storm damage to the community.


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3.1 Creating Vivid Description II

You are one of a small group of people invited to view a special exhibit of stamps, dolls, cars, moviememorabilia, computer equipment, or some other objects you find interesting. Think about whichitems in the exhibit would interest you most and which would interest you least, how they might bedisplayed, and the response of your fellow exhibit-goers. Then write a paragraph describing theexhibit. Use either order of impression or order of importance.

On Your Own


■ Developing the Art of Description

You are observing a scene of bustling urban activity that bombards your senses. You might bein a downtown shopping area or at a tourist attraction, or you might be observing a holidayparade or a marathon race. Use two different paragraphs to describe this scene. In the firstparagraph, use sensory details to describe a wide view of the urban scene, encompassing asmuch as possible. In the second paragraph, focus on one small aspect of the scene, perhaps asingle person, one storefront, or the activity at one street corner. Use details appealing to asmany senses as are appropriate for each perspective. Revise carefully to sharpen your focus. Useadditional paper if necessary.

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3.2 Using Sensory Details

Imagine that you are a member of a committee seeking a site for a new park or recreation area inyour town or neighborhood. Select a likely site, and describe it at two different seasons of the year.Use sensory details to convey the features that will make the site an attractive recreation area.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Analyzing Mood

Read the following passage carefully. On the lines below, briefly state the mood created by thewriter, and support your statement with specific examples of words and phrases used toachieve this effect.

■ B. Creating a Mood

Write a description of the scene from “The Masque of the Red Death,” but transform it to create an entirely different mood. First, decide what mood you want to create. Then change theway in which the curtains, windowpanes, lighting, and coloring are described to create themood you select. Use additional paper if necessary.


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3.3 Creating a Mood

You are writing a story that takes place in only one room. The perception of the room changes as thesituations and feelings of the characters change. Select a room you know well, and write two differentdescriptions of it from the perspectives of two different characters or of one character at differenttimes. For example, you might choose a character who has just fallen in love and a character who isabout to betray a friend.

On Your Own

The . . . apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceilingand down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. . . . The

panes here were scarlet—a deep blood-color. . . . There stood . . . a heavy tripod, bearing a brazierof fire, that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room. . . . [I]nthe . . . black chamber the effect of the firelight that streamed upon the dark hangings through theblood-tinted panes was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the counte-nances of those who entered that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot withinits precincts at all.

Edgar Allan Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death”

Literature Model


■ Analyzing a Complex Character Sketch

Read the following sketch of the character Jay Gatsby, and then answer the questions below.

1. What is the narrator’s first impression of Gatsby’s underlying personality? On what detailsdoes he base that impression?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the narrator’s next impression of Gatsby’s underlying personality? On whatdetails does he base that impression?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. Consider the narrator’s two reactions, and draw your own conclusion about the characterJay Gatsy. What do you think he’s really like? On what details do you base that impression?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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3.4 Writing a Character Sketch

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smileswith a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It

faced—or seemed to face—the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on youwith an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be under-stood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had preciselythe impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished—and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck . . . whose elaborate formality of speech justmissed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that hewas picking his words with care.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Literature Model

Imagine you have been asked to write a letter of recommendation for a friend who is applying for ajob. Write a character sketch of your friend that begins by focusing on one striking characteristic oflooks, speech, or behavior (the way Fitzgerald begins with Gatsby’s smile). Use that characteristic toilluminate your friend’s underlying personality.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Describing Continuous Action

The following events can be described in terms of continuous action. Select one of them orone of your own choosing. Then write a brief description of the event from the point of viewof someone involved in the action.


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3.5 Describing an Event

a fight between two dogs a violent thunderstorm

part of a sports event a quarrel among several people

You are a reporter for a newspaper. Imagine that you are covering the event that you described above.As a witness to the event, you have a different vantage point and a different perspective from that ofthe participant who narrated the previous description of the event. Write your newspaper articledescribing the event as a witness would see it.

On Your Own


■ Analyzing the Elements of Dramatic Mood

Read the following opening scene and dialogue from Susan Glaspell’s Trifles. Then completethe activities below.

1. Describe the mood of this opening scene and dialogue. To support your description,explain how Glaspell uses setting and gestures to create this mood.

2. This opening scene does not include notes on lighting and music. If you were to directthis play, describe on a separate sheet of paper the type of lighting and music you wouldinclude to enhance the mood.

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Writing About Mood in a Play

SCENE: The kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of JOHN WRIGHT, a gloomy kitchen, and leftwithout having been put in order—unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside thebreadbox, a dish towel on the table—other signs of incompleted work. At the rear the outer dooropens and the SHERIFF comes in followed by the COUNTY ATTORNEY and HALE. The SHERIFF and HALE aremen in middle life, the COUNTY ATTORNEY is a young man; all are much bundled up and go at once tothe stove. They are followed by the two women—the SHERIFF’s wife first; she is a slight wiry woman,a thin nervous face. MRS. HALE is larger and would ordinarily be called more comfortable lookingbut she is disturbed now and looks fearfully about as she enters. The women have come in slowly,and stand close together near the door.

COUNTY ATTORNEY (rubbing his hands). This feels good. Come up to the fire, ladies.

MRS. PETERS (after taking a step forward). I’m not—cold.

SHERIFF (unbuttoning his overcoat and stepping away from the stove as if to mark the beginning ofofficial business). Now, Mr. Hale, before we move things about, you explain to Mr. Henderson justwhat you saw when you came here yesterday morning.

Susan Glaspell, Trifles

Literature Model

Imagine that you are working as an intern for an arts program in your town or state. Your job is towrite a description of a dramatic production that will persuade a foundation or agency to continue toprovide funding for your organization. After attending a play, ballet, or other live dramatic production,analyze the elements that contributed to the mood of a portion of that production. Then write adescription of the mood of this production. Discuss the way each element you identify contributes tothe mood you are describing.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Strategies to Reveal Character

Read the following selection from a biography of the writer Gertrude Stein. On the linesbelow, describe what the passage reveals about Stein. What techniques does the biographer useto reveal her character?

■ B. Using Details and Imagery to Describe a Character

Each of the statements below identifies a specific human characteristic. Write a second sentencethat shows the reader this characteristic.

1. He resembles a rabbit, especially when he eats.

______________________________________________________________________________

2. She has an aloof, condescending manner toward the other members of the group.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. His tall, thin figure reminded me of a scarecrow.

______________________________________________________________________________

4. She takes excellent care of her car.

______________________________________________________________________________


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4.1 Characters in Biographical Narratives

People who met Gertrude Stein for the first time were usually impressed with her remarkablehead; the broad, smoothly modeled brow, the full, straight nose, the deep-set, candid, and

sometimes mischievous eyes, a mouth that was generous but uncompromisingly straight. Somelikened it to the head of a Roman emperor—but carved from American granite. Others werecharmed by the lightness and suavity of her voice, by the irresistible fullness of her laughter. It wasa laugh, one of her friends remarked, “like a beefsteak”—juicy and solid. Another thought it waslike the fire kept banked in the studio’s cast iron stove. A sudden burst of inspiration could fan itinto a roaring blaze, spreading a genial warmth.

James R. Mellow, Charmed Circle

Literature Model

You have just started working for a talk-show host who has asked you to write a brief charactersketch about a celebrity who is to be on the next show. Read at least two interviews of a well-knownperson in a newspaper or magazine. Then write a page-long sketch that includes at least three of thefollowing means of characterizing your subject: physical description, the subject’s own words, the sub-ject’s actions, and your opinion.

On Your Own


■ Developing a Thesis and Choosing Information

You have read or heard the following information about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Decide whichaspect of her life would be most interesting to research and write about, and frame a sentenceor two to guide your reading. Then do the appropriate research and write a short biographicalsketch of Eleanor. Continue on another sheet of paper if necessary.

• Unlike many women of the twelfth century, Eleanor was well educated. She could read andwrite and run a baronial household.

• When Eleanor was fifteen, her father died; he left the rich lands of Aquitaine—roughly one-quarter of modern-day France—to the lively, restless, and undisciplined girl. Control ofthese lands made her a central figure in the power struggles between France and England.

• Eleanor’s first marriage, to Louis VII of France, ended in divorce.

• Eleanor’s second husband, King Henry II of England, imprisoned her for supporting a revoltagainst him in 1173; she was released after his death in 1189.

• Eleanor was a strong influence on her two sons, the English kings Richard the Lion-Heartedand John.

Guiding sentence: _________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

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4.2 Writing a Biographical Sketch

You have been asked to contribute an essay to a children’s book on the early lives of famous men andwomen. Use an encyclopedia or other sources to gather information about a historical person of yourchoice, and develop an appropriate thesis based on the information you have gathered. Keep youraudience in mind. Then write a brief biographical sketch, selecting only relevant details from yourresearch.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Developing a Time Line

Use the information from the sentences below to complete the following time line for James K.Polk, the eleventh president of the United States.

Time line for James K. Polk, 1795–1849

Born Died

1790 1810 1830 1850

1. In 1818 James Polk was graduated at the top of his class at the University of NorthCarolina, and he soon became active in the local politics of his hometown in Tennessee.

2. In 1820 he was admitted to the bar, and he was elected to the Tennessee House ofRepresentatives in 1823.

3. Beginning in 1825, Polk served seven consecutive terms in the United States House ofRepresentatives, and in 1835 he became Speaker of the House.

4. When he returned to Tennessee in 1839, he was elected governor after running on a states’rights and pro-slavery platform.

5. In 1844 Polk ran for president of the United States, and his strong argument that Texasand Oregon should belong to the United States helped him win the election, even thoughhe was almost unknown outside of Tennessee.

6. Under Polk the United States and Great Britain signed the Oregon Treaty in 1846, givingthe United States the land of present-day Oregon and Washington and part of Idaho andMontana.

7. In 1846 Polk asked Congress to declare war against Mexico.

8. The United States won the war, and in the peace treaty of 1848, Mexico gave up its claimto Texas and ceded the land that forms present-day Arizona, California, Colorado,Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

■ B. Identifying Trends and Themes in a Time Line

Using the information from the time line, on a separate piece of paper, write a brief paragraphdescribing Polk’s lifelong career.


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4.3 Structuring the Long Narrative

For your yearbook, you and a group of other students are writing a collection of humorous narrativesthat speculate about your future careers. Using yourself as the subject, project details about yourfuture, and create a time line to illustrate major events and time periods. Then write a one-page narra-tive about yourself in your projected career.

On Your Own


■ Analyzing a Narrative to Determine Theme

Fables often have clearly defined themes expressed as morals. Select a fable you are familiarwith, such as “The Fox and the Grapes” or “The Tortoise and the Hare,” a fable from anotherculture, or a fable of your own choosing. Take careful notes on how each of the narrative ele-ments contributes to illustrating the theme. Then write a brief analysis of the fable, focusingon thematic development.

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Identifying Theme in a Narrative

Imagine that you are one of several editors of a proposed collection of short stories. Each section ofthe collection will concentrate on a particular theme. Choose a story that you particularly like, andanalyze it in terms of theme. Then write a memo to the other editors explaining which of the collec-tion’s thematic sections the story belongs in and how it illustrates that particular theme.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

Walt Whitman captured his vision of America in Leaves of Grass, a book-length collection ofpoems. The nineteenth-century poet, who traveled extensively, helped to define America forEuropeans and for Americans. The following stanza records Whitman’s impression ofAmerica’s reaction to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Read the stanza, and answer thequestions below.

1. What is your impression of the mood of the poem? What language does Whitman use todescribe the setting, including lighting, sound, and other physical details?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Briefly describe the pace of the coffin’s journey as it moves across America to its final rest-ing place.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. How would you characterize the response the coffin elicits as it passes through the towns?What does this response say about America’s attitude toward the assassination of Lincoln?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


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Responding to Narrative Poetry

Coffin that passes through lanes and streets,Through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land,

With the show of the States themselves as of crape-veil’d women standing,With processions long and winding and the flambeaus of the night,With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of faces and the unbared heads,With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces,With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn,With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour’d around the coffin,The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs—where amid these you journey,With the tolling tolling bells’ perpetual clang,Here, coffin that slowly passes,I give you my sprig of lilac.

Walt Whitman, from “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”

Literature Model

Read the narrative poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Write one or twoparagraphs explaining how the rhythm and the setting contribute to the poem’s effect. Use specificexamples from the poem to support your explanation.

On Your Own


■ Planning and Writing an Expository Paragraph

Imagine that your town has asked you to write a paragraph in which you explain the origin ofa distinctly American holiday, such as the Fourth of July or Martin Luther King Day. Yourparagraph will be reproduced on a leaflet to be distributed at the town’s holiday celebration.Plan your paragraph on the lines below. Define your topic and audience, decide on the appro-priate type of expository writing, and list the details you will include in your paragraph.

Topic:_____________________________________________________________________________

Audience:__________________________________________________________________________

Type of Expository Writing: ___________________________________________________________

Details: ___________________________________________________________________________

Draft your essay in the space below. Use an additional sheet of paper if necessary.

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5.1 Writing Expository Paragraphs

Imagine that you are a teacher’s aide. You have been asked to explain what a natural history museumis to a group of second-graders whom you will be taking on a field trip. Write an expository paragraphthat will serve as the basis for your introductory talk.

On Your Own


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■ A. Listing the Steps in a Process

Imagine that you are a camp counselor in charge of a group of ten-year-olds. You have beenasked to explain to these young campers how to play a specific game or sport, and you decideto write out your explanation in advance so that you don’t forget any information. Choose agame or sport that interests you, or create one of your own. On the lines below, list the steps inthe process you plan to explain. Use an additional sheet of paper if necessary.

■ B. Explaining the Process in Writing

On a separate sheet of paper, write an expository paragraph or essay based on the steps listedabove. Before you begin, fill in the information on the lines below.

Topic:_____________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: __________________________________________________________________________

Audience:What they already know ______________________________________________________________

What they need to know ______________________________________________________________

Terms to define _____________________________________________________________________


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5.2 Explaining a Process

Your painting has been chosen for a special exhibition in a nearby town, and you have four tickets todistribute to the gala opening. You are giving two tickets to your parents and two to out-of-townfriends who have never been to the area before. Choose a plausible site for the exhibit, such as aschool, library, or town hall. Then write two sets of directions from a central location to the exhibit.One set of directions is for your parents, who know the nearby town well, and the other set is for yourout-of-town visitors. Write each set of directions in paragraph form.

On Your Own


■ Analyzing Cause-and-Effect Connections

In 1990 most of the industrialized nations of the world agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs) and other chemicals that are damaging the earth’s atmosphere. Now, however, scientistsare discovering that by solving one problem they may be creating another. Cause-and-effectconnections related to changes in the earth’s atmosphere can be summarized as follows:

If CFCs and other chemicals that contribute to global warming are eliminated:

1. The ozone layer will repair itself.

2. A repaired (thicker) ozone layer screens out more UV radiation than a thinner layer.

3. Less UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface means fewer cases of skin cancer andcataracts.

4. A repaired ozone layer will trap polluted air near the earth’s surface, thus contributing toglobal warming.

5. A warmer atmosphere keeps more heat in, increasing average temperatures.

6. Increased average temperatures may alter the climate and cause drought and elevated sealevels.

Imagine that you have been asked to write a science feature for a newspaper describing thepotential cause-and-effect relationships relating to global warming. Use the information pre-sented above and additional research if necessary. Draft your article on the lines below. Use anadditional sheet of paper if necessary.

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5.3 Analyzing Cause-and-Effect Connections

Write a factual explanation for one of the cause-and-effect relationships listed below or a factualexplanation of your own choosing.

1. missing curfew and its consequences

2. a particular federal, state, or local law and its causes or consequences

3. a winter of very little snow in the Rocky Mountains and the economic or environmental con-sequences

4. a job well done and unexpected results

On Your Own

■ Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Below is a Venn diagram that a student constructed to compare two great leaders of the twenti-eth century. Use the information in the diagram and additional research, if necessary, to writea short essay comparing and contrasting Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Beforeyou draft, develop a thesis statement and decide how you want to organize your essay. Use thelines provided below and additional paper as needed.

Thesis Statement: ___________________________________________________________________


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5.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast I

Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two historical figures who interest you, such as GeorgeWashington and Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth I and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ofGreat Britain, or the Antarctic explorers Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen. You may wish to do libraryresearch to gather information about your subject.

On Your Own

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(1929–1968)African AmericanBaptist minister; worked for civil rights; moving orator; won 1964 Nobel Peace Prize

Mohandas Gandhi

(1869–1948)native of India;

British-educated lawyer; followed the Hindu faith; a spiritual leader; called Mahatma;renounced Western life style;

worked for theindependence

of India

believed in nonviolence and

passive resistance; used civil

disobedience as a form of protest; led strikes, boycotts,

and protest marches; jailed several times; assassinated


■ Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Imagine that you are the host of a television talk show. Select two people from the same field—sports, science, or politics, for example—whom you would like to interview together on yourprogram. On the lines below, write an introduction in which you compare and contrast thesetwo guests for your audience. Choose an appropriate organization and observe the rules ofcoherence. Use an additional sheet of paper if necessary.

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5.4 Writing an Essay to Compare and Contrast II

Imagine that you and your family are about to make a major purchase (for example, a car, a refrigera-tor, a computer, or a washing machine). Choose the item that you want to buy, and construct a chartor a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting two brands or models of that item. You may want todo some research in newspapers and consumer magazines. Use your diagram or chart as the basis forwriting a compare-and-contrast essay.

On Your Own


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■ Identifying Problems and Possible Solutions

The chart below provides an overview of the trash-disposal problem in the United States.Complete the first part of the chart by elaborating on the dimensions of the problem and list-ing additional causes and effects. Complete the second part by listing advantages and disad-vantages of the possible solutions. Add any other solutions you think are worth exploring. Ifnecessary, research the subject to collect more information.


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5.5 Analyzing Problems, Presenting Solutions

Imagine that you are a guidance counselor at a high school. For the next parents’ association meeting,you have been asked to speak about a problem that parents should be aware of that concerns manystudents. Compile a table or chart previewing the problem you will discuss, its causes, and possiblesolutions. Conclude with your recommendation for solving the problem.

On Your Own

Problems and Possible Solutions

Problem:

The amount of waste from homes and businesses in the United States has more than doubled since 1960.

Causes of Problem: Effects of Problem:

Increase in U.S. population creates increase in Communities are running out of land trash and disposable items. More elaborate available for solid-waste sites. Incinerators, packaging of products and more products on which are used to burn trash, pollute the the market create more potential trash. air. Cost of waste disposal continues to rise.

Possible Solutions:

Advantage(s) Disadvantage(s)

1. Recycle

2. Reduce

3. Reuse


■ A. Writing a “How to” Paragraph

Imagine that you are a health instructor. You have been asked to conduct a workshop for stu-dents and their parents on emergency medical techniques. In your workshop, you will demon-strate the processes that are listed below. Select one of these emergency techniques or one ofyour own choosing. On the lines that follow, write a “how to” paragraph that will form thebasis for your workshop discussion. You may wish to do research for additional information.

• artificial respiration• cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)• the Heimlich maneuver• treating a burn victim• treating a victim of heatstroke

■ B. Creating a Process Diagram

Create a process diagram for a poster to illustrate the steps in the process you have selected.

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5.6 Using Time Lines and Process Diagrams

Imagine that you are the graphic designer for a newspaper. Your job is to provide charts, diagrams,and other artwork to accompany articles. Look through newspapers and magazines, and select a cur-rent event that interests you. On a separate sheet of paper, construct a time line that illustrates at leastone cause-and-effect relationship between incidents leading up to that event.

On Your Own


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■ Formulating a Hypothesis

Read a detective story by a mystery writer of your choice. Then answer the questions below.

1. What is the detective trying to explain?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the important data (clues, evidence)?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What pattern or trend does the detective (or you, the reader) notice in the data?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the most reasonable explanation for the data?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. How does the detective test the hypothesis?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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5.7 Building a Reasonable Hypothesis

Imagine that you are one of the screenwriters for a television mystery series. The other writer for theseries has become ill before finishing a storyline due tomorrow. You have been asked to finish it.

Choose a published mystery story to serve as the unfinished storyline. Read part way through thestory, stopping before the crime is solved. Then, using questions 1–4 above as a guide, determinewhat you think is the most reasonable explanation. Write your hypothesis, support it with data, andsuggest a way that the detective might test the hypothesis. In other words, sketch out a conclusion tothe story. You may want to finish reading the original story to see whether the author reached thesame conclusion.

On Your Own


■ A. Creating a Chart to Compare and Contrast Two Authors

To plan an essay comparing and contrasting the work of two authors, select one of the optionslisted below or one of your own choosing. In the space below, make a chart to organize simi-larities and differences. Consider each author’s position, tone, writing style, word choice, andimagery, as well as the impact of each selection on you, the reader.

• two descriptions of the same city• two accounts of the same historical event• two editorials on the same topic or issue• two profiles or biographical sketches of the same person

■ B. Writing the Essay

Use your chart to write an essay comparing and contrasting the authors of the selections youselected. Use an additional sheet of paper if necessary.

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Comparing and Contrasting Two Authors

Imagine that you are compiling a guide for the frequent moviegoer or movie renter. To help your read-ers sort through all the material about films, you are writing brief essays about different movie review-ers. Find two reviews of the same movie, and write an essay comparing and contrasting the reviewers.Keep in mind that your purpose is to help readers evaluate the reviewers, not the particular film.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Comparing and Contrasting Two Poems

Do library research to find anthologies of poetry by writers representing various ethnic groups.Select two poems that are from different ethnic groups but that share a common subject ortheme. Use the chart below to help you compare and contrast the poems. Fill in the othercolumns marked Poem A and Poem B.

■ B. Writing an Essay About Literature

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the two poems you have chosen. Use a separatesheet of paper if necessary.


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Comparing and Contrasting Two Poems

Imagine that you are writing the introduction to a book called Favorite Poems. Interview family mem-bers, friends, or teachers about their favorite poems. Ask them to explain their reactions to the poemsthey selected. Choose two of the poems that are about the same topic or by the same author, andwrite an essay comparing and contrasting them. Use your own insights and the insights of the peopleyou interviewed.

On Your Own

Feature Poem A Poem B

Title

Subject

Tone

Figurative language

Theme

Sound effects:rhyme and meter


■ Writing to Persuade a Dissenting Audience

Many school systems in the United States are funded primarily by local property taxes. As aresult, rural and inner-city school systems tend to be less well funded than their wealthier sub-urban counterparts, where higher property values generate more revenue. In an effort toachieve a more equal distribution of school funding, many state governments are consideringwhether to shift money away from wealthy suburban school districts to inner-city and ruralsystems. Yet the money to be shifted away is money that was paid by suburban residentsthrough taxes on their property, and they will be denied the benefits of it for their own schooldistricts.

Choose a side to represent in this controversy: an inner-city or rural resident who would liketo see the funds shifted to his or her district, or a suburban resident who does not want to losefunding for local schools. On the lines below, write two paragraphs presenting your argumentto the opposing side. If necessary, continue on a separate sheet of paper.

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6.1 Stating Your Case

You represent the unpopular side of a controversial issue that is currently under debate in your highschool. Prepare a speech to present to your classmates, keeping in mind that most of those you willaddress do not agree with you. Learn as many facts as you can about both sides of the controversy soyou can use them as supporting evidence, as assertions, or as points for rebuttal in your argument.

On Your Own


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■ Assessing Facts and Opinions

Read the following excerpt from an article that comments about the salaries of high-level exec-utives in the American automobile industry during a time when jobs for blue-collar and low-and mid-level white-collar workers are disappearing. Then answer the questions below.

1. List the facts mentioned in the excerpt. ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. List the opinions in the excerpt. ____________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. An authoritative study states that the failure of the domestic automobile industry is certain.Knowing this information, which of Cohen’s statements are most likely informed opinions sup-ported by facts or experts? Which are not?

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Of the author’s uninformed opinions, which are based on generally accepted assumptions andwhich are based upon the writer’s personal assumptions? ________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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6.2 Sifting Fact from Opinion

Robert Stempel, chairman of General Motors . . . earned $2.8 million in salary and other sorts ofcompensation last year. This year he announced the downsizing of the company—the closing of

twenty-one plants, the loss of 74,000 jobs. He did not announce a cut in his own pay or any high-level firings. On the contrary, the very men who have run GM into the ground are being retained,and we can guess, well rewarded.

. . . Your average top-level Honda executive brought home less than $150,000. On the other hand,they make a terrific car. . . . Americans look on with both dismay and anger as things get worse inthis country but corporate pay goes up and up. How can Stempel get more than $2 million a year($962 an hour!) for presiding over the ruination of a once-great company? . . . The answer is thatthese corporate executives are being judged by their buddies and peers who see nothing wrong inoutrageous salaries—and no connection between those salaries and the layoffs the same companyis often announcing.

Richard Cohen, “CEO Selfishness,” Washington Post

Literature Model

If you were Richard Cohen’s editor, how would you strengthen his presentation? Rewrite the excerptby adding facts and expert opinions. You might use magazine articles about executive salaries and theeconomic health of the American automobile industry as well as articles about the quality of Americanand Japanese cars.

On Your Own


■ Assessing Different Types of Evidence

Read the following selection arguing for the existence of solar systems other than our own.Then write a paragraph evaluating the evidence offered. What kinds of evidence does thewriter use? (Look for examples, analogies, and reasons, as well as facts and opinions.) Whatfunction does each kind of evidence serve in the argument?

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6.3 Evaluating Evidence

Many people have long believed that our solar system is not alone. Solid evidence of the exis-tence of other planetary systems, however, has until recently eluded us. Astronomers have

recently discovered evidence of two planets revolving around a massive dead star, or pulsar.A pulsar sends out a regular pattern of radio waves across space. In the same way that the

rhythmic beam of light from a lighthouse reaches a ship at night, the pulsar’s radio waves eventu-ally reach Earth, where radio telescopes can measure their precise arrival time. When radio tele-scope technicians monitoring a pulsar in the constellation Virgo noticed variations of about .003seconds in the pulses, astronomers began to suspect the presence of two planets. Something wascausing the pulsar to wobble, they reasoned. They were able to show that if the pulsar was beingtugged by the gravitational forces of two orbiting planets, the result would be the small regularwobble the technicians observed.

Model

You are a research assistant for a famous science magazine, and you are to assist an author writing anarticle on the reality of extraterrestrial visitors. Gather a range of evidence from magazine articles orinterviews of people who say they have seen UFOs. Then write an essay evaluating the evidence youhave collected, and, on the basis of your evaluation, recommend whether the writer should argue foror against the existence of extraterrestrials.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Developing an Inductive Argument

List positive and negative aspects of your community, drawing your ideas from the categoriesbelow. Then write a paragraph in which you use these facts to draw a general conclusion aboutyour community.

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

■ B. Developing a Deductive Argument

Write a deductive argument about the quality of life in your community. Begin by making ageneral statement about communities, such as, “A community that offers many social services,job opportunities, and a safe environment is a good place to live.” Use another sheet of paper ifnecessary.


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6.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning I

Aspects of My Community

condition of streets and sidewalks

quality of environment

condition of buildings and grounds

quality of school system

availability of recreational activities

availability of employment

You are a representative to the local town council. A significant segment of your community does nothave access to one of the following: legal services, health care, food, shelter, education, safe drinkingwater, or jobs. You want to persuade the other council members to turn their attention to this defi-ciency. Prepare a speech to present to the council, arguing that every person has a right to these ser-vices and to a decent standard of living. Use either inductive or deductive reasoning as the basis foryour argument.

On Your Own


■ A. Writing Conclusions for Inductive and Deductive Arguments

Write the correct conclusion for each of the following:

1. All events at the stadium are held on Saturdays. The spring concert will be held at the stadium.

Therefore, _____________________________________________________________________

2. New store merchandise arrives only on Friday. The store manager just received a shipment of CD

players. Therefore, _______________________________________________________________

3. Joan is either lying or deluded. Joan is not deluded. Therefore, ____________________________

4. In 1799 near Rosetta, Egypt, archaeologists discovered a stone tablet engraved with three texts inthree distinct languages. All three texts were approximately the same length. The stone was discov-ered in an area that was once the crossroads of three distinct cultures. The archaeologists hypothe-size that _______________________________________________________________________

5. No shopkeepers are members of the committee. I am a member of the committee. Therefore,

______________________________________________________________________________

6. Every judge has a law degree. Barbara is a judge. Therefore, ______________________________

■ B. Identifying Fallacies

Identify the fallacy in each of the following arguments.

1. All people who wait on tables are either unemployed artists, dancers, or actors. Anne waits ontables. Therefore, Anne is an unemployed artist, dancer, or actor.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Prior to the earthquake, my dog was nervous, my neighbor’s dogs and cats were nervous, and mymother-in-law’s chickens were nervous; yet I wasn’t a bit nervous and neither was anyone else Iknow. Animals can sense the approach of an earthquake, whereas humans cannot.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Many scientists are brilliant. My sister-in-law is a scientist. Therefore, my sister-in-law is brilliant.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. All American medical doctors are people who were rigorously trained. Francis was rigorouslytrained. Therefore, Francis is a medical doctor.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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6.4 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning II

You are the editor of an alternative school newspaper. Read two or three editorials recently publishedin your regular school newspaper. Then write a parody of one of them by incorporating deliberateflaws in logic that are inductive, deductive, or both.

On Your Own


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ A. Identifying Logical Fallacies

Underline the fallacies in the paragraphs below about setting up a town compost center. Aboveeach fallacy, indicate its type.

■ B. Writing Logical Fallacies

Write examples of the following logical fallacies:

1. Circular reasoning: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Either/or fallacy: ________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Cause-and-effect fallacy: __________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Red herring:____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Bandwagon fallacy: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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6.5 Recognizing Logical Fallacies

You are assisting a psychologist who is doing a study on the use of logical fallacies to persuade. Yourassignment is to listen to conversations for the next day or two and record each logical fallacy youhear. Then write a report describing the most commonly used fallacies.

On Your Own

All environmentally conscious towns and cities in the United States are opening compost cen-

ters where citizens can deposit their leaves, grass clippings, and organic lawn debris. Using a com-

post center is one way to help solve the mounting trash problem. On a special town ballot, the

citizens of Wiltmore will decide whether to set up a compost center.

The center will involve the entire community because all citizens can participate. Statistics from

across the country show that communities with compost centers did not raise their trash fees,

whereas many other communities did raise fees.

I urge you to vote “yes” on question 3. Without the compost center, our community will not

move ahead environmentally.

Model


■ Practicing Speech Writing

Choose one of the following positions and audiences, or come up with your own. On the linesbelow, write the opening paragraph of your speech and an outline for the rest of its contents.

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6.6 Writing and Presenting a Speech

On a separate sheet of paper, design two visual aids you could use to enhance the presentation of thespeech you outlined above. As you did when you wrote the opening paragraph of your speech, keepthe level of understanding and interests of your audience in mind. Explain in a sentence or two howyou would use the visual aids.

On Your Own

Topic Audience

Large cars are generally safer for occupants Parents of eleventh-grade driversthan small cars.

Teenagers are too easily swayed by advertising A group of thirteen-year-olds into following thelatest fads. from the local middle school

Finding ways to reduce the pollution from An environmental group opposed to the use of burning coal would encourage the use of coal coal because of air pollutionand make us less dependent on foreign oil.

Adopting a pet from the local animal shelter is a A group of your peershumanitarian act and a great way to get a pet.


Name ...................................................................................... Class .................................................. Date ................................

■ Writing a Letter to the Editor of a High School Newspaper

Choose one of the positions below or think of a position of your own, and write a letter to theeditor of your high school newspaper arguing for or against the proposal.

• A vegetarian menu should be offered in school cafeterias.• Music should be broadcast over the PA system between classes.• The junior and senior proms should be held together.• A recycling program should be instituted in school.• Driver’s education should be eliminated in school.• The administration should be allowed to censor the school newspaper.


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6.7 Writing a Letter to an Editor

You are assisting a journal or magazine editor in evaluating the quality of the readers’ correspondencepage. Read the letters published in one or two recent issues of a journal or magazine to which youhave access. Then write a two-paragraph critique of the best and worst letters. In your critique, con-sider language, tone, use of opinions and facts, and overall persuasiveness.

On Your Own


■ Evaluating a Speech

Read the following excerpt, and then evaluate it for clarity of purpose, strength of evidence,appropriateness of language and tone, coherence, and use of rhythm. Note that by 1938Germany had become a powerful dictatorship that threatened world peace.

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6.8 Evaluating a Speech

Imagine you are a newspaper reporter in England during World War II. You are assigned to reviewWinston Churchill’s speech Until Victory Is Won, which he delivered to the people of Great Britain. Geta copy of the speech from a local library. Write a one-page evaluation of the speech using the criteriaon page 302 of your textbook.

On Your Own

It is my experience that both men and women are fundamentally human, and that there is very little mystery about either sex, except the exasperating mysteriousness of human beings in general.

And though for certain purposes it may still be necessary, as it undoubtedly was in the immediatepast, for women to band themselves together, as women, to secure recognition of their require-ments as a sex, I am sure that the time has now come to insist more strongly on each woman’s—and indeed each man’s—requirements as an individual person. . . . To oppose one class perpetuallyto another—young against old, manual laborer against brain-worker, rich against poor, womanagainst man—is to split the foundations of the State; and if the cleavage runs too deep, thereremains no remedy but force and dictatorship. If you wish to preserve a free democracy, you mustbase it—not on classes and categories, for this will land you in the totalitarian State, where no onemay act or think except as the member of a category. You must base it upon the individual Tom,Dick, and Harry, on the individual Jack and Jill—in fact, upon you and me.

Dorothy Sayers, from a speech to a women’s society, 1938

Literature Model

Documents

Composition Enrichment, Grade 11 - Glencoe