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Letters of recommendation

Having recently been asked to write several letters of recommendation, I thought that this blog posting would be useful for everyone.  While I am always happy to write letters for my students, there are several items that make the process easier for everyone and can get your letters written in the most effective way.  Please take a look at this blog and keep it in mind when asking faculty to write letters for you.

AP3 E FINAL PRESENTATIONS

You have done an amazing job, I am proud of you all! I wish you all the best and keep in touch.

Post your portfolio links here- April 23 (before class)

Feel free to get creative with your portfolios, post pictures that you took, etc.
If you have any questions about your portfolio and technology, let me know BEFORE the deadline.

Have a Nice Weekend!!!!!- Punctuation of Adjective Clauses

WRITE A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH and ONE RESPONSE PARAGRAPH- Monday before class

Teens and Drugs

Today, when people talk about teenagers taking drugs, they often talk about what the drugs do.

However, we should also take a look at why teenagers start taking drugs in the first place; there are two  main reasons.

First of all, it is all too easy for many young people to get their hands on drugs. Drugs are

available almost anywhere: at a school yard, in line for a movie, or at a football game. To find drugs,

teens do not have to risk going to the seedy parts of town or deal with shady characters on street

corners. Often times, they are offered free drugs by their friends. Also, because many teens have

parents who work, they have too much free time. They tell their parents that they are at the library in

the afternoon, when they are really at their friend’s house or at the park. Thus, while their parents are

busy and hard at work, their children are becoming addicted as well.

 

Most importantly, teenagers have enormous pressure to conform—to behave the same way

their peers behave. Teenagers often have close friends or best buddies with whom they share

everything, including drugs. They also tend to go to a lot of parties and other social events where it is

most important to be one of the crowd, to be “cool.” Even the most mature teen may be tempted to do

drugs at a party rather than risk being called names and treated as an outsider. For all these reasons,

getting involved with drugs is a growing problem for teenagers.

 

AFTER reading, think about the following questions (we will discuss them in class on Monday):

1. What is the topic sentence of the composition? What is the main idea?

2. How many supporting ideas are there? What are they?

 

3. How are the supporting ideas introduced? What transitions connect them?

4. What is the concluding statement?

WRITE A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH (7-10 sentences) AND A RESPONSE PARAGRAPH (7-10 sentences) and post it on the blog.

Summary Paragraph: answers the who, what, when, where, why, and how. You can also check your notes and handout on this topic.

Response Paragraph: your perspective on the issue. There are four parts to a critical response paragraph: 1) an argumentative topic sentence, 2) evidence in the form of quotations or paraphrases for the argument you are making, 3) interpretation of your evidence in relation to the argument, and 4) a strong concluding statement. You can find more information here.

HOW TO WRITE A RESPONSE PARAGRAPH

 

You need to come up with an informative introduction giving the name of the “Short Writing” or Book and author as well as and telling us what the rest of the paragraph will prove.  TRANSITION, Now introduce the quote, leading into the “first piece of evidence which is your quote and remember to wrap it into the sentence and give the page number”(p.22).  Now you must analyze the quote, meaning reveal something about character motivation, relation to theme, why it is ironic, etc, remembering this is you thinking and should not be completely evident in the text. TRANSITION, Now introduce the 2nd quote, leading into the “second piece of evidence which is your 2^nd quote and remember to wrap it into the sentence and give the page number”(p.24).  Now you must analyze the quote, meaning reveal something about character motivation, relation to theme, why it is ironic, etc, remembering this is you thinking and should not be completely evident in the text. TRANSITION, Now introduce the 3rd quote, leading into the “third piece of evidence which is your 3^rd quote and remember to wrap it into the sentence and give the page number”(p.28).  Now you must analyze the quote, meaning reveal something about character motivation, relation to theme, why it is ironic, etc, remembering this is you thinking and should not be completely evident in the text. TRANSITION, You need to come up with a concluding statement which summarizes everything you just talked about, nothing fancy, but just add some clarity and maybe a bit of food for thought.

FURTHER HELP

The above can be summarized using ACRONYMS.  Several are used, choose one below and stick with it

PEE – Point, Example, Explain

ACE – Assertion, Cite, Explain

TIQA – Transition, Introduce quote, Quote, Analysis

It is possible to not always use the quote but you must be very clear exactly what point you are talking about.  This should not replace good quoting practice, but occasionallyyou may find it easier to give the example in your own words.

 

More Writing Tips and Extra Point Assignment- Monday

Here is a video on writing tips you might find useful.

Extra point assignment DUE MONDAY before class.  You have the choice to turn in ONE well-written essay using the topics listed on your handout. The essay should be five paragraphs long (please look at the grading scale I sent you after I graded your assignments).

ALI G ON DANGEROUS DRUGS

Questions:

How much would the drug cost in the street?
16 or 17 pounds
60 or 70 pounds
1670 pounds

Which of these effects is NOT mentioned?
you can go paranoid
your heart beats faster
you feel in good spirits

The expert says that...
having drugs for personal use is illegal
having up to half a kilo is legal
is legal if its for religious reasons

Which drugs is Class A?
Marijuana and hash
Extasy and LSD
Cocaine and Heroine

A worrying effect of Extasy is that...
it helps you concentrate at home
it makes you enjoy house music
it alters your perception

How did Ali's friend, "Dangerous Dave", feel after having 22 E's in one night?
He had sleeping disorders
He had a driving accident
He had a big headache and felt dizzy

What happened when a friend of Ali's gave his dog an E?
The dog died soon
The dog tried to rape a cat
The dog went mad and bit him

What is the lesson people can learn from this?
You can hurt yourself if you are under the effects of substances
You run the risk of having a heart attack
Substances affect the way your body work


Listen to this short files and do the quiz.

Take the internet addiction survey.   How did you do on the survey? Do you agree with the results? Why?

More sources on addiction

One more video

Final Exam and other important dates

-The final exam is on April 18th.
-The portfolio is due on April 23rd.  Here are some example portfolios done by two of my former students who learned weebly.com on their own.
Georges
Caro
Please come to class with QUESTIONS and laptop/iPad and show me that you created a log in on weebly and you posted some of your work.

Resource for vocabulary learning and an alternative tool for your presentations

I found this website for vocabulary learning. It seems that they have vocab for SAT, GMAT and other tests. It also has mobile apps and it is FREE! Enjoy!

Easelly is a website that allows you to create visual presentations and share it with your peers!

History of Easter