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.