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High School Essay Intensive The 12-Week Course by Andrew Pudewa Second Edition © October 2017 Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. These are Sample Pages for preview only. Copyrighted Material. Sample
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Page 1: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

High School Essay Intensive The 12-Week Course

by Andrew Pudewa

Second Edition © October 2017

Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C.

These are Sample Pages for preview only. Copyrighted Material.

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Page 2: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

Also by Andrew Pudewa

Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style OverviewAdvanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive, Levels A, B, CBible-Based Writing Lessons Student Writing Intensive Freedomship & Entrepreneurial Education Continuation Course, Levels A, B, CLinguistic Development through Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Poetry Memorization Rather Make Forts All DayOn Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing Teaching Writing: Structure and StylePhonetic Zoo Spelling, Levels A, B, C The Two Andrews: On Writing The Profound Effects of Music on Life and Teaching WritingSpeech Boot Camp

Copyright Policy High School Essay IntensiveThe 12-Week CourseSecond Edition version 2, October 2017Copyright © 2006, 2017 Andrew Pudewa

978-1-62341-269-2

Our duplicating/copying policy for this Student Material:

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except as provided by U.S.A. copyright law and the specific policy below:

Home use: The purchaser may copy this material for use by multiple children within his or her immediate family. Each family must purchase a handout.

Small group or co-op use: Student material must be purchased for each participating student.

Classroom use: Student material must be purchased for each participating student.

Library use: This material may be checked out of a lending library provided patrons agree not to make copies.

Additional copies of this material may be purchased from IEW.com/HSE-S.

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW®)8799 N. 387 RoadLocust Grove, OK [email protected] IEW.com

Printed in the United States of America

IEW® and Structure and Style® are registered trademarks of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C.

SAT® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

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Page 3: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

Contents Scope and Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Essay Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5DVD Time Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Suggested HSE Course Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Week 1 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 “On Lying in Bed” by G . K . ChestertonWeek 1 Essay AssignmentPlanning Your Essay Essay Spotlight: “The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf

Week 2 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16The Introduction Paragraph Week 2 Essay Assignment Essay Spotlight: “How to Tell a Story” by Mark Twain

Week 3 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Sentence Openers: Additional Practice Essay Spotlight: “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell

Week 4 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Week 4 Essay Assignment Composition Checklist Essay Spotlight: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr .

Week 5 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25ACT Resources Essay Spotlight: “Total Eclipse” by Annie Dillard

Week 6 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27The ACT Essay: Planning The ACT Essay: Timed Writing Essay Spotlight: “Three Days to See” by Helen Keller

Week 7 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Compare-Contrast Essay Assignment Composition Checklist Essay Spotlight: “Labor, Leisure, and the Liberal Education” by Mortimer Adler

Week 8 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34SAT Resources Essay Spotlight: “Lovely Stones” by Christopher Hitchens

Week 9 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The SAT Essay: Planning Essay Spotlight: “It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three . . . ” by Richard Feynman

Week 10 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38The College Application Essay Essay Spotlight: “Once More to the Lake” by E . B . White

Week 11 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Essay Spotlight: “On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion

Week 12 Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Composition Checklist

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Page 4: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 4 High School Essay Intensive

Week Part Topic DVD Lesson

Sources

1 General Strategies for Essay Writing

Planning the essay DiscPart 1a

“On Lying in Bed” by G . K . Chesterton“The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf

2 General Strategies for Essay Writing

Essay structure DiscPart 1a

“How to Tell a Story” by Mark Twain

3 General Strategies for Essay Writing

Stylistic techniques DiscPart 1b

“Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell

4 General Strategies for Essay Writing

Writing practice None “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr .

5 Understanding and Preparing for the New ACT Essay

ACT prep DiscPart 2

“Total Eclipse” by Annie Dillard ACT Resources page

6 Understanding and Preparing for the New ACT Essay

Additional ACT prep None “Three Days to See” by Helen Keller

7 Compare-Contrast Essay Writing practice None “Labor, Leisure, and the Liberal Education” by Mortimer Adler

8 Understanding and Preparing for the Redesigned SAT Essay

SAT prep DiscPart 3

“Lovely Stones” by Christopher HitchensSAT Resources page

9 Understanding and Preparing for the Redesigned SAT Essay

Additional SAT prep None “It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three . . . ” by Richard Feynman

10 Strategies for the “Personal Essay”

College Application Essay prep

DiscPart 4

“Once More to the Lake” by E . B . White

11 Strategies for the “Personal Essay”

College Application Essay practice

None “On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion

12 Final Practice Writing practice DiscPart 4

None

HSE Scope and Sequence

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Page 5: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 5 High School Essay Intensive

Week Title Author Links

1 The Death of the Moth Virginia Woolf ebooks .adelaide .edu .au/w/woolf/virginia/w91d/chapter1 .html

2 How to Tell a Story Mark Twain twain .lib .virginia .edu/onstage/how2tell .html

3 Politics and the English Language

George Orwell faculty .washington .edu/rsoder/EDLPS579/HonorsOrwellPoliticsEnglishLanguage .pdf

4 Letter from Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr . web .cn .edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail .pdf

5 Total Eclipse Annie Dillard theessayexperiencefall2013 .qwriting .qc .cuny .edu/files/2013/12/total-eclipse_annie-dillard.pdf

6 Three Days to See Helen Keller www .afb .org/info/about-us/helen-keller/books-essays-and-speeches/on-the-senses/three-days-to-see-as-published-in-atlantic-monthly-january-1933/12345Then click on “Three Days to See” in the sidebar .

7 Labor, Leisure, and the Liberal Education

Mortimer Adler en .wikisource .org/wiki/Labor,_Leisure,_and_Liberal_Education

8 The Lovely Stones Christopher Hitchens www .brown .edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/worldofmuseums09/files/9698262.pdf

9 It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three . . .

Richard Feynman calteches .library .caltech .edu/607/2/Feynman .pdf

10 Once More to the Lake E . B . White genius .com/E-b-white-once-more-to-the-lake-annotated

11 On Keeping a Notebook Joan Didion accessinghigherground .org/handouts2013/HTCTU%20Alt%20Format%20Manuals/Processing%20PDF%20Sample%20Files/00%20On%20Keeping%20a%20Notebook .pdf

HSE Essay Spotlight

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Page 6: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 6 High School Essay Intensive

Disc Part 1a

0:00 Initial Exercise

4:47 A Hurt and Rescue Operation

10:05 What Is an Essay?

24:15 Two Questions Writers Need to Ask

30:05 Translating Assignment Length to Paragraphs

42:02 Types of Paragraphs

54:14 The TRIAC Paragraph Model

1:08:18 Essay Models

Disc Part 1b

0:00 Canons of Rhetoric

12:11 Invention

23:55 Practicing Common Topics of Invention

36:24 Practice with TRIAC Outline

41:08 Style

50:07 Sentence Patterns

1:30:35 Literary Devices: Schemes and Tropes

1:46:23 Practice with Sentence Openers and Figures of Speech

Disc Part 2

0:00 ACT General Guidelines

10:05 The Assignment

22:00 Strategies for Planning

41:27 Strategies for Writing

44:11 Strategies for Proofing

Disc Part 3

0:00 General Guidelines

8:05 The Assignment

15:52 Annotating

22:20 Handy Annotation System

26:26 Annotating Practice

1:00:30 Strategies for Planning

1:21:17 Strategies for Writing

1:25:52 Using Effective Vocabulary

1:28:57 Strategies for Proofing

Disc Part 4

0:00 General Guidelines

6:24 Sample Essay Prompts

16:06 Strategies for Planning: Pop Out from the Crowd

26:01 Strategies for Writing, Editing, and Proofreading

28:47 A Not-So-Secret Secret

32:26 Final Practice

37:20 Concluding Comments

43:44 Last Bits of Advice for Life

HSE DVD Time Signatures

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Page 7: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 7 High School Essay Intensive

Week Day DVD Lesson Homework

1 1 Initial Exercise, Hurt and Rescue Operation [Disc Part 1a, 0:00–10:05]

Write the practice essay in 20 minutes .

2 What is an Essay? [Disc Part 1a, 10:05–24:15]

Read the example descriptive essay “On Lying in Bed” by G . K . Chesterton .

3 No DVD lesson Complete the “On Lying in Bed” assignment to write a short descriptive essay .

4 Two Questions Writers Need to Ask, Translating Assignment Length to Paragraphs [Disc Part 1a, 24:15–42:02]

Complete the “Planning Your Essay” assignment to determine your personal average of words/paragraph .

5 No DVD lesson Read “The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

2 1 Types of Paragraphs [Disc Part 1a, 42:02–54:14]

Go over the “Introduction Paragraph” handout . Begin the Week 2 Essay Assignment—complete the Day 1 assignment of choosing a topic and writing an introductory paragraph .

2 The TRIAC Paragraph Model [Disc Part 1a, 54:14–1:08:18]

Complete Day 2 of the Week 2 Essay Assignment, writing one body paragraph following the TRIAC model .

3 Essay Models [Disc Part 1a, 1:08:18–end]

Complete Day 3 of the Week 2 Essay Assignment, completing the rest of the body paragraphs following the TRIAC model .

4 No DVD lesson Complete Day 4 of the Week 2 Essay Assignment, finishing the essay. Edit the essay, and turn it in.

5 No DVD lesson Read “How to Tell a Story” by Mark Twain, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

3 1 Canons of Rhetoric, Invention, Practicing Common Topics of Invention [Disc Part 1b, 0:00–36:24]

Complete the practice with division, comparison, application, and significance in the handout.

2 Practice with TRIAC Outline, Style, Sentence Patterns [Disc Part 1b, 36:24–1:04:48]

Begin the “Sentence Openers: Additional Practice” exercise .

3 Sentence Patterns [Disc Part 1b, 1:04:48–1: 1:30:35]

Complete the “Sentence Openers: Additional Practice” exercise .

4 Literary Devices: Schemes and Tropes, Practice with Sentence Openers and Figures of Speech [Disc Part 1b, 1:30:35–end]

Complete the writing assignment given at the end of the disc, practicing all techniques learned thus far .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

Suggested HSE Course Schedule

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Page 8: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 8 High School Essay Intensive

Week Day DVD Lesson Homework

4 1 No DVD lesson Edit the writing assignment with a parent or teacher . Underline dress-ups, and mark sentence openers and literary devices .

2 No DVD lesson Begin the Week 4 Essay Assignment . Complete Day 1— choose a prompt from page 1 of the handout . Plan and outline your paper .

3 No DVD lesson Continue the Week 4 Essay Assignment . Complete Day 2—write!

4 No DVD lesson Complete the Week 4 Essay Assignment . Check your essay against the composition checklist, make any edits needed, and turn it in .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr ., and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

5 1 ACT General Guidelines, The Assignment [Disc Part 2, 0:00–22:00]

Take notes .

2 Strategies for Planning [Disc Part 2, 22:00–41:27]

Complete the outline using the given prompt . You may write it along with Mr . Pudewa or write your own .

3 Strategies for Writing, Strategies for Proofing [Disc Part 2, 41:27–end]

Take 20–30 minutes, and write the essay from the outline you completed yesterday .

4 No DVD lesson Have a teacher or parent score your essay as an ACT grader would, using the “How to Score an ACT Essay” rubric from the ACT website . Reread your essay and mark improvements that could be made in clarity, logical progression, and style .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Total Eclipse” by Annie Dillard, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

6 1 No DVD lesson See the ACT Resources page to access the sample ACT essays on the ACT website . Read a few of them, and then read the scoring explanations .

2 No DVD lesson Complete “The ACT Essay: Planning” exercise .

3 No DVD lesson Complete “The ACT Essay: Timed Writing” exercise . Take 40 minutes to plan, write, and proofread the essay just like on the ACT .

4 No DVD lesson Have a teacher or parent score your essay as an ACT grader would .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Three Days to See” by Helen Keller, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

Suggested HSE Course Schedule

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Page 9: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 9 High School Essay Intensive

Week Day DVD Lesson Homework

7 1 No DVD lesson Begin the “Compare-Contrast” assignment . Complete Steps 1–2, and begin Step 3—choose an essay, reread it, annotate it, and begin planning and outlining .

2 No DVD lesson Continue the “Compare-Contrast” assignment . Complete Step 3, and begin Step 4—finish outlining and begin writing .

3 No DVD lesson Complete Step 4 of the “Compare-Contrast” assignment . Finish writing .

4 No DVD lesson Check your essay against the composition checklist, Make any edits needed, and turn it in .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Labor, Leisure, and Liberal Education” by Mortimer Adler, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

8 1 General Guidelines, The Assignment, Annotating [Disc Part 3, 0:00–22:20]

Take notes .

2 Handy Annotating System, Annotating Practice [Disc Part 3, 22:20–1:00:30]

Follow along with Mr . Pudewa and annotate “For a Better Society, Teach Philosophy in High Schools .”

3 Strategies for Planning [Disc Part 3, 1:00:30–1:21:17]

Follow instructions on the SAT Resources page . Practice annotating two of the essays you print off . On a separate sheet of paper, group your findings from each essay into categories of evidence, reasoning, and style . Refer back to page 11 of the handout to see the list of literary devices .

4 Strategies for Writing, Using Effective Vocabulary, Strategies for Proofing [Disc Part 3, 1:21:17–end]

Write an essay about “For a Better Society, Teach Philosophy in High Schools .” Take no more than 30 minutes .

5 No DVD lesson Read “The Lovely Stones” by Christopher Hitchens, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

Suggested HSE Course Schedule

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Page 10: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 10 High School Essay Intensive

Week Day DVD Lesson Homework

9 1 No DVD lesson Look over your essay on “For a Better Society, Teach Philosophy in High Schools .” With a parent or teacher, grade your essay in each of the three areas: reading, analysis, and writing . For instructions on how to score, see the SAT Resources page .

2 No DVD lesson Read sample SAT essays today and their scoring explanations . See SAT Resources page for instructions on where to get the sample student essays online . Read three of the sample essays; then read the scoring explanations provided .

3 No DVD lesson Complete the “SAT Essay: Planning” assignment .

4 No DVD lesson Practice taking the SAT essay . Take a full 50 minutes, and complete everything in one sitting . See the SAT Resources page for a reminder of where to access the practice prompts .

5 No DVD lesson Read “It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three . . . ” by Richard Feynman, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

10 1 No DVD lesson Have a parent or teacher score your practice essay as an SAT grader would . Notice what improvements could be made .

2 General Guidelines, Sample Essay Prompts, Strategies for Planning, Strategies for Writing, Not-So-Secret Secret [Disc Part 4, 0:00–32:26]

Take notes .

3 No DVD lesson Look over “The College Essay” handout . Read the example essays to see what they did well .

4 No DVD lesson Choose a prompt from pp . 23–24 . It is best to choose a prompt that could be featured on the Common Application . Brainstorm and plan your essay .

5 No DVD lesson Read “Once More to the Lake” by E . B . White, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

Suggested HSE Course Schedule

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Page 11: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 11 High School Essay Intensive

Week Day DVD Lesson Homework

11 1 No DVD lesson Create a key word outline for your college application essay, and begin writing the body paragraphs .

2 No DVD lesson Continue writing your essay . Finish the rough draft, if possible .

3 No DVD lesson Have several people proofread your essay . Look to improve clarity, interest, and style .

4 No DVD lesson Make any final changes, and turn it in.

5 No DVD lesson Read “On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion, and complete the “Essay Spotlight” questions .

12 1 Final Practice [Disc Part 4, 32:26–37:20]

Choose a prompt from the handout you have not responded to yet, and follow the steps of planning the essay .

2 No DVD lesson Create a key word outline, and begin writing the body paragraphs .

3 No DVD lesson Finish writing .

4 No DVD lesson Check your essay against the composition checklist, make any edits needed, and turn it in .

5 Concluding Comments, Last Bits of Advice for Life [Disc Part 4, 37:20–end]

Suggested HSE Course Schedule

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Page 12: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 12 High School Essay Intensive

HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY INTENSIVE 12-WEEK COURSE

Week 1 Lesson Plan

Day 1

Watch “Initial Exercise” on Disc Part 1a .

Pause disc to complete 20 minutes of timed writing .

Watch “Hurt and Rescue Operation” on Disc Part 1a . Day 2

Watch “What is an essay?” on Disc Part 1a, and take notes .

Read the example descriptive essay “On Lying in Bed” by G . K . Chesterton .Day 3

Complete the Week 1 Essay Assignment .

Write a 1- to 3-paragraph descriptive essay as assigned .Day 4

Watch “Two Questions Writers Need to Ask” and “Translating Assignment Length to Paragraphs” on Disc Part 1a, and take notes .

Complete the “Planning Your Essay” assignment to determine your personal average number of words per paragraph .

Day 5

Read “The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf .

Complete “The Death of the Moth” “Essay Spotlight” questions .

“On Lying in Bed” by G. K. ChestertonLying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a coloured pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling . This, however, is not generally a part of the domestic apparatus on the premises . I think myself that the thing might be managed with several pails of Aspinall and a broom . Only if one worked in a really sweeping and masterly way, and laid on the colour in great washes, it might drip down again on one’s face in floods of rich and mingled colour like some strange fairy rain; and that would have its disadvantages. I am afraid it would be necessary to stick to black and white in this form of artistic composition . To that purpose, indeed, the white ceiling would be of the greatest possible use; in fact, it is the only use I think of a white ceiling being put to .But for the beautiful experiment of lying in bed I might never have discovered it . For years I have been looking for some blank spaces in a modern house to draw on . Paper is much too small for any really allegorical design; as Cyrano de Bergerac says, “Il me faut des géants” [“I need giants”]. But when I tried to find these fine clear spaces in the modern rooms such as we all live in I was continually disappointed . I found an endless pattern and complication of small objects hung like a curtain of fine links between me and my desire. I examined the walls;

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Page 13: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 13 High School Essay Intensive

I found them to my surprise to be already covered with wall-paper, and I found the wall-paper to be already covered with uninteresting images, all bearing a ridiculous resemblance to each other . I could not understand why one arbitrary symbol (a symbol apparently entirely devoid of any religious or philosophical significance) should thus be sprinkled all over my nice walls like a sort of small-pox . The Bible must be referring to wall-papers, I think, when it says, “Use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do .” I found the Turkey carpet a mass of unmeaning colours, rather like the Turkish Empire, or like the sweetmeat called Turkish Delight . I do not exactly know what Turkish Delight really is, but I suppose it is Macedonian Massacres . Everywhere that I went forlornly, with my pencil or my paint brush, I found that others had unaccountably been before me, spoiling the walls, the curtains, and the furniture with their childish and barbaric designs .

* * * * *Nowhere did I find a really clear space for sketching until this occasion when I prolonged beyond the proper limit the process of lying on my back in bed . Then the light of that white heaven broke upon my vision, that breadth of mere white which is indeed almost the definition of Paradise, since it means purity and also means freedom . But alas! like all heavens, now that it is seen it is found to be unattainable; it looks more austere and more distant than the blue sky outside the window . For my proposal to paint on it with the bristly end of a broom has been discouraged—never mind by whom; by a person debarred from all political rights—and even my minor proposal to put the other end of the broom into the kitchen fire and turn it to charcoal has not been conceded . Yet I am certain that it was from persons in my position that all the original inspiration came for covering the ceilings of palaces and cathedrals with a riot of fallen angels or victorious gods . I am sure that it was only because Michael Angelo was engaged in the ancient and honourable occupation of lying in bed that he ever realized how the roof of the Sistine Chapel might be made into an awful imitation of a divine drama that could only be acted in the heavens .The tone now commonly taken toward the practice of lying in bed is hypocritical and unhealthy . Of all the marks of modernity that seem to mean a kind of decadence, there is none more menacing and dangerous than the exultation of very small and secondary matters of conduct at the expense of very great and primary ones, at the expense of eternal ties and tragic human morality . If there is one thing worse than the modern weakening of major morals, it is the modern strengthening of minor morals . Thus it is considered more withering to accuse a man of bad taste than of bad ethics . Cleanliness is not next to godliness nowadays, for cleanliness is made essential and godliness is regarded as an offence . A playwright can attack the institution of marriage so long as he does not misrepresent the manners of society, and I have met Ibsenite pessimists who thought it wrong to take beer but right to take prussic acid . Especially this is so in matters of hygiene; notably such matters as lying in bed . Instead of being regarded, as it ought to be, as a matter of personal convenience and adjustment, it has come to be regarded by many as if it were a part of essential morals to get up early in the morning . It is upon the whole part of practical wisdom; but there is nothing good about it or bad about its opposite .

* * * * *Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before . It is the great peril of our society that all its mechanisms may grow more fixed while its spirit grows more fickle. A man’s minor actions and arrangements ought to be free, flexible, creative; the things that should be unchangeable are his principles, his ideals . But with us the reverse is true; our views change constantly; but our lunch does not change . Now, I should like men to have strong and rooted conceptions, but as for their lunch, let them have it sometimes in the garden, sometimes in bed, sometimes on the roof, sometimes in the top of a tree . Let them argue from the same first principles, but let them do it in a bed, or a boat, or a balloon. This alarming growth of good habits really means a too great emphasis on those virtues which mere custom can ensure, it means

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Page 14: Sample - Institute for Excellence in Writing · Also by Andrew Pudewa Advanced Communication Series Structure and Style Overview Advanced Spelling & Vocabulary Student Writing Intensive,

© Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C. 14 High School Essay Intensive

too little emphasis on those virtues which custom can never quite ensure, sudden and splendid virtues of inspired pity or of inspired candour . If ever that abrupt appeal is made to us we may fail . A man can get used to getting up at five o’clock in the morning. A man cannot very well get used to being burnt for his opinions; the first experiment is commonly fatal. Let us pay a little more attention to these possibilities of the heroic and unexpected . I dare say that when I get out of this bed I shall do some deed of an almost terrible virtue .For those who study the great art of lying in bed there is one emphatic caution to be added . Even for those who can do their work in bed (like journalists), still more for those whose work cannot be done in bed (as, for example, the professional harpooners of whales), it is obvious that the indulgence must be very occasional. But that is not the caution I mean . The caution is this: if you do lie in bed, be sure you do it without any reason or justification at all. I do not speak, of course, of the seriously sick. But if a healthy man lies in bed, let him do it without a rag of excuse; then he will get up a healthy man . If he does it for some secondary hygienic reason, if he has some scientific explanation, he may get up a hypochondriac.

Week 1 Essay AssignmentReview Chesterton’s essay and consider the following questions:

How does Chesterton describe lying in bed?

According to Chesterton, what is the value of lying in bed?

What does Chesterton mean when he says, “Our views change constantly; but our lunch does not change”?

Chesterton claims, “If there is one thing worse than the modern weakening of major morals, it is the modern strengthening of minor morals .” Can you think of any examples? As you read, be sure to look up any words or references you are unfamiliar with .

Assignment: Choose an everyday activity that you are familiar with (e .g ., walking the dog or cleaning your room), and write a short descriptive essay of 1–3 paragraphs. Remember to appeal to as many senses as are applicable, and use descriptive words . Like Chesterton, you may use your essay as a springboard for discussing what is really important in life, but this is not required . Either way, your essay must create word pictures around your topic .

Planning Your Essay“To save time, write more clearly and convincingly, and avoid endless rewrites; come up with a plan . Your plan can be as simple as a list of points you want to cover or as complex as a detailed outline .”

—Victor Pellegrino, A Writer’s Guide to Powerful Paragraphs

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