1. ConvinceorPersuade?You really needa vacation, Youwork too hard!Hmm, am Ipersuaded orconvinced?

2. Strictly speaking, one convincesa person that something is truebut persuades a person to dosomething.Pointing out that I wasoverworked, my friends persuaded[not convinced] me to take a vacation.Now that Im relaxing on the beachwith my book, I am convinced [notpersuaded] that they were right. Read more: Easily Confused or Misused Words | Infoplease.comhttp://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0200807.html#ixzz2T7jurahi 3. Chair poetryIntroduction to Essay #1 Due Friday, May 24th at midnightHow to write a response toliterature.Gatsby: Friday, 11:00 am at theAMC Cupertino. I will be there at10:30. 4. [[Poetry is]...therecord of the best andhappiest moments ofthe best and happiestminds... - Shelley 5. There are many essay topics to choose from.On the webpage, click on Essay Prompts and then Essay#1 You will see another list of choices specific to our texts.Click on any of them to explore topics You may write an essay on any of these topics. You may write an essay on a topic of your choice. You may use fodder from one of your posts. The essay is due Friday, May 24th at midnight.Send it as a word document to palmorekim@fhda.edu 6. In this first half of our quarter, we have read anddiscussed multiple texts, theories, and opinions onboth literature and literary analysis, and for thisreason, I offer you many choices for your firstessay. In a thesis driven essay of 500 to 750words, respond to one of the prompts I haveoffered or one of your own. You need only theprimary text for this essay, but you may incorporateother stories, manifestos, or critical theory asadditional support. Remember, you can also drawon your own experiences and knowledge todiscuss, explain, and analyze your topic. 7. All of the action in this play takes place in a singlesetting: the home of the murdered man and his wife, whothe reader learns is his killer. The men and women whoenter the home after the crime see totally differentscenes in this same setting, though. What each set ofcharacters sees is limited by his or her gender. Thewomen notice certain itemspreserved fruit, a sewingbox, an empty bird cagethat the men completelyoverlook because they consider the domestic space ofthe woman of the house to be worthless in terms ofoffering clues about the crime. Write an essay in whichyou define and explain the two gendered spaces andtheir significance in the development of the plot and theplays outcome. 8. In a 1915 interview, Cather commented, "No one without agood ear can write good fiction." In The Novel DemeubleCather writes, Whatever is felt upon the page without beingspecifically named therethat, it seems to me, is created. It isthe inexplicable presence of the thing not named, of the over-tone divined by the ear but not heard by it, the verbalmood, the emotional aura of the fact or the thing or thedeed, that gives high quality to the novel or the drama, as wellas to poetry itself. What particular passages in My Antoniashow Cathers "good ear" for the sound of language? Whichshow her ability to create the thing not named? Discusshow and why these passages capture the moods and themes ofthe novel. How do they contribute to the idea of the modernistnovel? 9. In class, we covered eight ways todetermine character. Do parallel charactersketches of Tom Buchanan and GeorgeWilson; compare them to show theirsimilarities. 10. Adapted from a handout from TheWriting Center, University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill 11. A good, valid, and interesting interpretation will do thefollowing:avoid the obvious (in other words, it wont argue aconclusion that most readers could reach on theirown from a general knowledge of the story)support its main points with strong textual evidencefrom the story and/or secondary sources.use careful reasoning to explain how that evidencerelates to the main points of the interpretation. 12. A good paper begins with the writer having asolid understanding of the work. Being able tohave the whole text in your head when you beginthinking through ideas will actually allow you towrite the paper more quickly in the long run. Spend some time just thinking about the story.Flip back through the book and consider whatinterests you about this bookwhat seemedstrange, new, or important?Be Familiar with the Text 13. Even though you have a list of topics from whichto choose, you must develop your owninterpretation. Consider how you might approach each topic.What will your answer to each question show about thetext?So what? Why will anyone care?Try this phrase for each prompt to see if you have anidea: This book/poem/play/short story shows______________________. This is important because______________________. 14. Narrow down your list ofpossible topics by identifyinghow much evidence or howmany details you could use toinvestigate each potentialissue. Keep in mind that papers relyon ample evidence and thathaving a lot of details tochoose from can make yourpaper easier to write. Jot down all the events orelements of the story thathave some bearing on thetwo or three topics thatseem most promising. Dont launch into a topicwithout considering all theoptions first because youmay end up with a topicthat seemed promisinginitially but that only leadsto a dead end.Select a Topic with Plenty of Evidence 15. Skim back over the story or poem andmake a more comprehensive list of thedetails that relate to your point.As you make your notes keep track ofpage numbers so you can quickly find thepassages again when you need them.Make an extended list of evidence 16. Once youve made your expanded list ofevidence, decide which supporting details are thestrongest. First, select the facts which bear the closest relation toyour thesis statement. Second, choose the pieces of evidence youll be able tosay the most about. Readers tend to be more dazzledwith your interpretations of evidence than with a lot ofquotes from the book. Select the details that will allow you to show off your ownreasoning skills and allow you to help the reader see thestory in a way he or she may not have seen it before.Select your evidence 17. Now, go back to your working thesis and refine itso that it reflects your new understanding of yourtopic. This step and the previous step (selectingevidence) are actually best done at the sametime, since selecting your evidence and definingthe focus of your paper depend upon each other.Refine your thesis 18. Once you have a clear thesis, go back to your list ofselected evidence and group all the similar detailstogether. The ideas that tie these clusters of evidencetogether can then become the claims that youll make inyour paper. Keep in mind that your claims should not only relate to allthe evidence but also clearly support your thesis.Once youre satisfied with the way youve grouped yourevidence and with the way that your claims relate to yourthesis, you can begin to consider the most logical way toorganize each of those claims.Organize your evidence 19. Avoid the temptation to load your paper with evidence fromyour story. Each time you use a specific reference to yourstory, be sure to explain the significance of that evidencein your own words.To get your readers interest, draw their attention to elementsof the story that they wouldnt necessarily notice orunderstand on their own.If you are quoting passages without interpreting them, yourenot demonstrating your reasoning skills or helping the reader.In most cases, interpreting your evidence merely involvesputting into your paper what is already in your head.Interpret your evidence 20. Dont forget to consider the scope of yourproject: This paper is short! What can youreasonably cover in a paper of that length?Eliminate wordiness and repetition toensure that you have room to make all ofyour points.See me if you are lost or confused! 21. Write about literature in present tense Avoid using thing, something, everything, andanything. Avoid writing in second person. Avoid using contractions. Cut Wordy Sentences Avoid run-on sentences and fragments. Check for misused words Put commas and periods inside of quotationmarks 22. Does the paper follow MLA guidelines? For help, click on MLA Guidelines and view the Basic MLAformat video. Is the page length within assigned limits? Is the font type and size within the assignedguidelines? Does the Header follow the assignment guidelines? Is the professors name spelled correctly? Kim Palmore Is your name spelled correctly? Does the paper have a title? Is it a good title? Is the titlein the appropriate location? Have you italicized book and movie titles and putstories, articles, and poems in quotation marks. 23. Friday: The Great GatsbyMonday is an advanced skills researchworkshop. This is mandatory for theHonors cohort. Attendance by otherstudents will yield participation points. Wewill meet in the library lobby at 11:25am.Tuesday, we will have a guest observer.Be prepared! 24. Read American Literature since 1945 pp. 3-19 Honors Group: Read Annotated Bibliographyassignment Post #24: Begin essay 1 (This is not an optional post):Write your thesis/argument. Provide textual evidencethat supports your assertion. Include both quotationsand analysis of the text. Remember, We will meet in the library lobby at 11:25amon Monday! Remember, we have a guest on Tuesday so come toclass!