Summer Reading, Book II

This summer you had the unique opportunity to choose both of your summer reading books for English class.

• Is this a better alternative to having books assigned to you?  Why or why not? 
• What was your favorite book of all the books you read this summer?  Explain in detail.
• Explain why your favorite book  should be assigned reading for next year's freshmen. 

Please respond to all three questions above, dedicating at least one paragraph to each.  You may want to draft your response in Word first so that you do not lose your text.  DUE BY THE END OF CLASS.

What makes a hero?

Everyone has a hero or two who inspires them.  Describe one of your heroes.  It can someone real or fictional, mortal or immortal.  Do you best to detail their heroic traits.  What makes them a hero?  What is their quest or objective?  What weaknesses or imperfections do they possess?  One paragraph.   DUE 9/11/14 BY 7 A.M.

How to write a book by Mark Twain

For PERIOD C- DUE SEPTEMBER 11, 7:00 A.M.

Widely regarded as the greatest American writer of his time, Mark Twain was often asked for advice on the art and craft of writing. Sometimes the famous humorist would respond seriously, and sometimes not. Here, in remarks drawn from his letters, essays, novels, and speeches, are ten of Twain's most memorable observations on the writer's craft.

1. Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
2. Use the right word, not its second cousin.
3. As to the Adjective: when in doubt, strike it out.
4. You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by.
5. Substitute damn every time you're inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
6. Use good grammar.
7. Damnation (if you will allow the expression), get up & take a turn around the block & let the sentiment blow off you. Sentiment is for girls. . . . There is one thing I can't stand and won't stand, from many people. That is, sham sentimentality.
8. Use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English--it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in.
9. The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.
10. Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.

Read ten tips shared by Mark Twain during his lifetime.  Some of these will not be relevant to you as a freshman in high school, but most of them can directly impact your experience in English class.  Which one might you disagree with?   Which tip is most surprising?  Which one of these are most important to your writing this year and why? ONE PARAGRAPH.

Creative Blast, September 8

Read the quote below:

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” 
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Interpret this quote.  What does it mean?

Apply it to your own experiences as a writer.  When you are asked to write about yourself, does it relate to the way you feel?

Go the extra step:  What is the most difficult thing about evaluating another student's writing?


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