ASSIGNMENT # 18 Take a Walk in My Shoes

Write a multi - paragraph description of your mall subject.

* Title
* First person
* Physical description
* Mood / inner thoughts
* Background
* Reason for being at the mall
* Plans for later

Include a few lines of dialogue.

Consider the following. Use each sparingly.

Sentence variety. Be aware of beginning too many sentences with"I".
Sentence length
Diction
Imagery - similes, metaphors
Five senses
Parallel structure

HAND IN A COMPLETE DOUBLE SPACED COPY AT THE END OF THE PERIOD.

ASSIGNMENT # 17 cliches Of Mice and Men

ASSIGNMENT #17 Cliches - Of Mice and Men

A good writer strives to be original. Too often papers that I evaluate are filled with cliches, overused expressions. Usually, students don't realize that they are even using cliches. So this writing exercise is designed to not only make you aware of what a cliche is, but to allow you to purge them from your system forever.

Choose one of the following opening lines to create a new scene in the novel and use at least 12 cliches in your paragraph.

You may want to google cliches to find lists from which you can choose.

Italicize each cliche or change the color so that it's easy for me to see how many you have used.

Scenario one: George looked up from shoeing the horse to see the outline of Curley's wife in the doorway of the barn. They were alone.

Scenario two: Slim and George sat down at the bar. Slim put a hand on George's shoulder and stated, "Like I said, George, sometimes a guy's gotta."

If you include dialogue (conversation), remember to indent and start a new paragraph withn each new speaker.

ASSIGNMENT # 16 Poetry Puzzle

Mr. Van Camp wants me to write a poem. Where do I begin?

Often a good starting point is to write down images related to your topic. Then move them around like a puzzle until the parts fit. As an exercise in this, your task is to choose ten interesting images from the short story Identities. Now piece them together to form a completely new story or to describe a scene that is different than what is developed in the story.

You may use a few lines or words of your own to help the images flow together. Put your own words in italics. Of course you may also change the tense or form of a word slightly by placing the word in square brackets[  ].

Pay particular attention to the layout of the poem. This is verse not prose. Do not write a paragraph.

Your title must be a word or line from the story but not Identities.

This is a good process for writing your own poetry, songs, or other pieces of creative writing

Assignment # 15 A Taste of Language

Your task is to write a paragraph that describes the experience of the beverage you have just tasted. The emphasis is to write precisely and creatively. If you can describe the taste of something out of a Dixie cup, you can describe anything!

Criteria Checklist

Dynamic intro and conclusion.

You must involve 4 of 5 senses. Taste, touch, smell, sound, feel.

Include at least one simile and one metaphor.

Crossover – describe your drink using jargon normally associated with something unrelated to a liquid ( sports, cars, music, law…)

Give your beverage a personality.

Choose interesting verbs, adverbs and adjectives.

Include one example of parallel structure.

Use some longer sentences and at least one very short sentence to create impact.

Make sure your paragraph is at least 10 sentences long.

Your first assignment is to write a paragraph that accomplishes at least one of these purposes:

1. Entertain me
2. Persuade me to do something
3. Teach me something.
4. Present me with a new perspective on a topic.
5. Inspire me.
6. Impress me.
7. Show me your depth of knowledge.

DO NOT BORE ME!

Your topic: Grade 12

Good luck.

Assignment #13 Similes and Metaphors

Assignment # 13 similes and metaphors









The first basic rule of good description is keep it original - do not use cliches. Good description also depends on imagery. Make sure your diction is interesting and specific. We also discussed what makes a good analogy - similes and metaphors. Compare two ideas that are different but related in some way. Don't compare apples to apples, but don't compare an apple to an elephant unless there is a connection. Make your analogies detailed, but don't get carried away.


Your task is to write a paragraph describing one of the characters in the picture. Consider this an excerpt from your latest best-selling novel. It needs an interesting introduction and a concluding sentence, but the emphasis is on description, not plot. Include one or two similies and one or two metaphors. Your description should follow some sort of logical order, top to bottom or bottom to top.

Student example: Note- too many sentences begin with "His" - a common weakness.

I thought I had escaped. The noise of his boots cut through the silence that surrounded me. I turned my head around to see his old, worn out hat sliding down, shadowing his face. His eyes were deep holes, burying down to his skull, staring at me. His shabby jacket smelled heavily of cigarette smoke and whiskey. He held his guns with great confidence, like nothing he could do, could go wrong. His skin red and rough from the elements of the earth around him. His beard was like brown grass sprouting from his cheeks. His eyebrows were like two cateripillars crossed over his eyes, raising slightly as they glazed my way. His jeans were worn and dirty, hanging from his waist. He cornered me against a barrel and the gun was held to my face

ASSIGNMENT #12 SATIRE

Satire is everywhere in our society: Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Rick Mercer Report, Saturday Night Life. Using humor and sarcasm is an entertaining way to criticize some aspect of our society. You may want to consider a satirical approach to the original composition section of the provincial exam. It's an opportunity to showcase your creativity and wit.

Your task for this blog is to write a detailed paragraph that is critical of some aspect of Princess Margaret Secondary. One of the challenges is to pick a topic that has some importance. It could be a criticism of the culture of our school, or of the education system more generally.

Another challenge of this assignment is to use heavy sarcasm - but not come across as whinny. If your focus is that classes start too early in the morning (8:40am), you may come across as a complaining adolescent rather than an intelligent young adult with an insightful observation about education.
Don't forget to put some thought into your title!