We continued with Beowulf, slowly, and tomorrow we will definitely be caught up through Section 14 and then proceed pretty rapidly. 1st and 3rd did well with the first of the battle sections, and I think 1st even successfully tore off Grendel's arm. 5th is in forever catch-up mode: at least we got through Unferth's taunt and up to the point that Hrothgar says goodnight to Beowulf. (Don't remember if that happened, or was about to happen, but you can set me straight.
FOR TOMORROW
No new reading, because I want you to focus on the final draft of your personal essay, which is due on THURSDAY< Oct. 18. Hard copies (plus the first draft and the peer response) are due in class; the turnitin.com submission must be by 11:59 that night. (Future work will revert to "night before"--but for various reasons this is the night OF.)
With regard to the essay, I'm posting something for you to look at only if you're sort of stuck or wanting more information. I do not have students look at lots of other examples first, because I think it's limiting. And if you're feeling solid about what you're doing, you are not even required to do this. However, I'm making some samples and some links available to you.
Links to Some Essays
First, here is the successful "Disease" essay. It is the Student #1 example in this document. For now, ignore the other two in this group.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r8HzaojUoX49JziaxK0ZnVkd9ePdyMThJ1TNnNwYa0g/edit?hl=en_US
And here is the essay that responds to Common App Question 4 by writing about the protagonist of Legally Blonde:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jsJpB4I2_yqr84yihHgARN3ojVPiD5gZkcICrZDqxc4/edit?hl=en_US
And here are some further links that you might want to examine for ideas, tips, samples, etc.
I can't believe I'm recommending something on about.com, but this really is a good compilation. It starts with some general tips, but it also has a section on specific guidelines for the various Common App topics, and gives examples (of varied strength, yes, but still something to go on). Scroll down to see the range of topics/sub-topics on this site--it's fairly rich.
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/essay_tips.htm
Here's the specific set of tips on the Common App prompts; I think it's pretty good advice.
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/EssayPrompts.htm
So to balance about.com, be sure to check out the College Board's advice:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/
But on the whole, I don't think you should go overboard in reading advice or looking at sample essays. Focus on YOURS.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r8HzaojUoX49JziaxK0ZnVkd9ePdyMThJ1TNnNwYa0g/edit?hl=en_US
And here is the essay that responds to Common App Question 4 by writing about the protagonist of Legally Blonde:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jsJpB4I2_yqr84yihHgARN3ojVPiD5gZkcICrZDqxc4/edit?hl=en_US
And here are some further links that you might want to examine for ideas, tips, samples, etc.
I can't believe I'm recommending something on about.com, but this really is a good compilation. It starts with some general tips, but it also has a section on specific guidelines for the various Common App topics, and gives examples (of varied strength, yes, but still something to go on). Scroll down to see the range of topics/sub-topics on this site--it's fairly rich.
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/essay_tips.htm
Here's the specific set of tips on the Common App prompts; I think it's pretty good advice.
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/EssayPrompts.htm
So to balance about.com, be sure to check out the College Board's advice:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/
But on the whole, I don't think you should go overboard in reading advice or looking at sample essays. Focus on YOURS.
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