Thurs 4:00-4:50, Friday 3:00-4:50

Final Test

Next week, you will take the final. Please remember that we will do the standard test on Thursday and the essay test on Friday. Below are the the rules for the essay test:

• You will write either a descriptive essay or a classification essay. 
• You may bring an outline to class. 
• The outline needs to be a summary of the main points of your essay. (Do not write a complete essay and call it an outline. If your outline is a complete essay, you will not be able to use it for the test.)
• The outline can only be on one side of one piece of paper. 
• You will give your outline to your professor when you finish the test.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the final. Study hard and prepare well.

Portfolio--Due: 12/7

The last assignment for this semester is the writing portfolio. This is a collection of the four essays you have written this semester. Please edit your essays (I proofread and handed them back to you) and include them in the portfolio. Below are portfolio requirements:

• Plastic Cover or Binder-- Use a plastic cover or a 3 ring binder to keep your work. 
• Cover Page-- This needs to have a title (ie. Kim Min Soo's Essay Writing Portfolio), your name, your class day and #, my name, and the date. 
• Descriptive Essay
• Comparison Essay
• Cause-Effect Essay
• Classification Essay

If you have any questions about portfolios, please let me know. Also, there are many tutoring times available in the Global Zone. Check here for times. Last, the portfolio is a collection of the work you have done this semester. Please take your time and do quality work. This is something you should be proud of. 

Unit 7, Homework

Below are the due dates for the classification essay: 

• 11/23 Friday-- Brainstorming and Outline Due
• 11/29 Thursday-- Rough Draft Due
• 11/30 Friday-- Final Draft Due

Here are some tips to keep in mind when you brainstorm, outline, and write your essay.

• Try to narrow your focus. If you write about a topic that is too broad, it will be difficult to include most categories. 
• Your organization should include most categories of your main topic. For example, if you write about Korean food, you should not classify by ramyeon, kim-bab, and juk, as these categories do not cover most of Korean food. (Also, Korean food as a topic is probably too broad.)
• Be careful not to write a comparison essay. Classification essays and comparison essays are similar. Both describe differences but a classification essay also tells how the categories work together in a topic. Remember the analogy of the puzzle? The categories of your classification essay are like the puzzle pieces and the topic is like the puzzle itself.  Describe how the pieces are different but also how they work together in the puzzle. 

Unit 6, Homework 3--Due: 11/22

Please bring your final draft of the cause-effect essay to the next class. Use the information in your book and in Homework 1 (see below) to help you write your essay. 

Unit 6, Homework 2-- Due: 11/16

For the next class, please bring a rough draft of your cause-effect essay. You should proofread and edit this at least once before class. See the guidelines below for help in writing your essay. 

Unit 6, Homework 1-- Due: 11/15

For the next class, please brainstorm and create an outline for the cause-effect essay. Please be aware that there are 3 topics you cannot choose: declining birthrate in Korea, causes or effects of obesity, or any topic you have written on before. Below is a timetable of due dates so you can work ahead if you want.

• 11/15 Thursday-- Brainstorming and Outline Due

• 11/16 Friday-- Rough Draft Due

• 11/22 Thursday-- Final Draft Due

Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a topic and writing an outline. 

• Choose a topic you are interested in. 

• Research your topic. Even if you think you know a lot about your topic, double check your knowledge. 

• Organize your essay by category, chronological order, or order of importance. 

• Make sure your topics in your body paragraphs are not too specific. Remember when we brainstormed for "declining birth rates in Korea"? Using the topic "changing family dynamics" is better than "rates of divorce are increasing". "Rates of divorce are increasing" is probably too specific and is better as a supporting detail. 

Unit 5, Homework 2--Due:11/2

For the next class, please bring a rough draft of your comparison essay. You should proofread and edit your essay at least one time before you come to class. Also, please follow the guidelines below, in Homework 1, when writing your essay. 

Unit 5, Homework 1 

For the next class, please brainstorm a topic for your comparison essay and write an outline. You may choose any topic that you have not previously written about. Use P.105 and 106 to help you. 

Here is the schedule for the comparison essay. You may work ahead if you wish.

• 11/1 Thursday--Brainstorming and Outline Due
• 11/2 Friday--Rough Draft Due
• 11/8 Thursday--Final Draft Due

Also here are some things to consider when choosing a topic and creating an outline.

• Choose two things that do not have obvious similarities or differences. Remember the cats and dogs activity that we did? Actually, cats and dogs is not a good topic unless you have some surprising and new information. A better topic is pigs and dogs, or ferrets and cats.
• Decide if you want to only write about similarities (compare), only write about differences (contrast), or write about both similarities and differences (compare / contrast). 
• Decide if the block method or the point-by-point method is the best way to organize your essay. Use P.106 to help you. 

Midterm and Descriptive Essay

Below is the schedule for next week:

• Descriptive Essay Conferences--  10/18
• Midterm-- 10/19

Midterm

The midterm will have the following questions:

• Multiple Choice (a, b, c, d)
• Fill in the Blank
• Short Answer
• Error Correction (one paragraph that you will correct)
• Paragraph Writing (We have studied 4 types of paragraphs: description, comparison, cause / effect, and classification. I will choose 2 of these as a writing option. From those 2 options, you will choose one to write about. The topic will be your choice as well.)

To study for the midterm, review the book. Look at the sections we talked about. Any part that I said is important, or we went over multiple times, will be on the test. Also, practice writing the paragraphs and have an idea of what your topic will be when you come into class. 

Descriptive Essay Conferences
Bring your outline, rough draft (with a peer edit worksheet), and your final draft to the essay conferences. Also, please attach a cover sheet to these items and staple them all together. If you lost your cover sheet, you can download one here: essay cover sheet. Please show up on time with ideas about what you want to discuss. You will turn in your essay at this time. 

Unit 4, Homework 2--Due: 10/11
Hi students. Look below to see your homework for the next week. 

Paragraph Rewrites
If you want to increase your scores on the cause-effect or classification paragraphs, you may rewrite them and turn them in next class. If you like your score, you do not have to rewrite your paragraphs. 

Descriptive Essay
For this essay, please do 3 things: brainstorm, create an outline, and write a rough draft of your essay. Bring your brainstorm, outline, and rough draft to the next class. 

Format:
Please type this essay using 12 point font and double space. Also, follow the 5 paragraph essay format below.

1. Introduction Paragraph--Hook and Thesis Statement
2. First Body Paragraph--Topic Sentence, Supporting Sentences, and Concluding Sentences
3. Second Body Paragraph--Topic Sentence, Supporting Sentences, and Concluding Sentences
4. Third Body Paragraph--Topic Sentence, Supporting Sentences, and Concluding Sentences
5. Concluding Paragraph--Restatement, Opinion, Suggestion, or Prediction

Proofreading:

You should also proofread your essay. Check for the following punctuation and grammar mistakes. 

• Verb fragments
• Count nouns with plurals
• Clear, descriptive language
• Verb agreement
• Clear pronoun references
• Subject verb agreement
• Correct word form
• Conjunctions--do not overuse or use to start sentences

Unit 4, Homework 1--Due:10/5

For this homework, please do pages 81-87 in the book.


Unit 3, Homework 2-- Due: 10/4

Hi students. For this homework please do 3 things: rewrite the comparison paragraph, write a cause-effect paragraph, and write a classification paragraph.

Comparison Paragraph Rewrite
Please correct your content, organization, and grammar mistakes and bring in one typed copy of this paragraph. 

Cause-Effect Paragraph
Please write a cause effect paragraph. Use P.67-71 to help you. Please type this using 12 point font and double space your paragraph. Also, please bring 2 copies of this paragraph with you to class. Below are the cause-effect topics to choose from:

• Learning a foreign language well
• Car accidents
• Obesity
• ›Smoking
• ›Over testing on students
• Gachon grading curve
• ›Etc.

Classification Paragraph
Please write a classification paragraph. Use P. 74, 75 and the instructions below to help you.  Please type this using 12 point font and double space your paragraph. Also, please bring 2 copies of this paragraph with you to class. Below are the classification topics to choose from:

• Phones
• Transportation
• Dog Breeds
• Types of Photography
• Fashion
• Video Games
• Musical Instruments
• Types of Kimchi
• Etc. (choose something you know well)

Checklist
Students, when you write, please make sure your paragraph contains the following things:

• An indent.
• An effective topic sentence that contains a topic and a controlling idea. 
• Supporting details that answer the questions-- who, what, why, when, where, and how. (Remember, not all of these questions need to be answered in paragraph, only the relevant ones.) Make sure these details are well organized. Use transitions to help your reader. 
• A concluding sentence that restates your topic sentence, offers a suggestion, gives an opinion, or predicts a future event. 

Use P.23 for more details on how to write a great paragraph. 

Also, when you proofread your paragraph, check for the following grammatical errors:

• Verb fragments
• Count nouns with plurals
• Clear, descriptive language
• Verb agreement
• Clear pronoun references
• Subject verb agreement
• Correct word form

Please bring this paragraph to the next class. 

Unit 3, Homework 1, Due 9/27

For this homework, please do 2 things: 

- Rewrite the paragraph returned to you in class. Please type these. 

-Write one comparison paragraph, but bring 2 copies of this paragraph to class. This paragraph must be double spaced with 12 point font. Please choose from one of these topics--What are the similarities or differences between:

• high school and college.
• Korea and _____.
• Tae Kwon Do and _______.
• Korean professors and foreign professors.
• the older generation and your generation.
• _______ and _______. 

Please make sure your paragraph contains the following things: 

• An indent.
• An effective topic sentence that contains a topic and a controlling idea. 
• Supporting details that answer the questions-- who, what, why, when, where, and how. (Remember, not all of these questions need to be answered in paragraph, only the relevant ones.)
• A concluding sentence that restates your topic sentence, offers a suggestion, gives an opinion, or predicts a future event. 

Use P.23 for more details on how to write a great paragraph. 

Also, when you proofread your paragraph, check for the following grammatical errors:

• Verb fragments
• Count nouns with plurals
• Clear, descriptive language
• Verb agreement
• Clear pronoun references

Please bring 2 copies of this paragraph to the next class. 

Unit 2-- Homework 1, Due 9/20

For this homework, please do this homework: 

• P.18, Brainstorming 
• P. 21. (see instructions below)
• P. 40, Activity 7
• P. 41, Read the article and answer questions 3, 4, 5, and 6.

 For P. 21, please do not write in your book. Please type this assignment using the proper format:

• Indent the first sentence. 
• Use 12 pt. font. 
• Double space your paragraph. 
• Use an English writing program. (Some people are still using Hansoft. Do not use this program.)

Please turn in this typed paragraph for next class. 

When you write this paragraph, make sure you include these things:

• A good topic sentence that contains a topic and a controlling idea. 
• Supporting details that answer the questions-- who, what, why, when, where, and how. (Remember, not all of these questions need to be answered in paragraph, only the relevant ones.)
• A concluding sentence that restates your topic sentence, offers a suggestion, gives an opinion, or predicts a future event. 

Use P.23 for more details on how to write a great paragraph. 

Unit 1--Homework 1, Due 9/13
Hi students. Please do the Book Work and the Letter to Yourself for next class:

• Book Work: "Writing Topic Sentences" on P. 9 and 10, as well as the "Brainstorming Practice" on P. 11 and 12.
• Letter to Yourself (follow the example I gave in class). Please use the appropriate format: 12 point font, double spaced. Your letter should also contain an introduction, a paragraph about your strengths, a paragraph about your weaknesses, goals you want to have accomplished by the end of the semester, and a closing. 

If you have any questions about the homework, or about the class in general, please let me know. I look forward to having a productive and fun semester with all of you. 

Welcome

Hi students. Welcome to writing class. For the next class, please buy this book:

• Great Writing 3: From Great Paragraphs to Great Essays (2^nd Edition) by Keith S. Folse, Elena Vestri Solomon, and David Clabeaux, ISBN: 1-4240-7113-5

If you have any questions about the class, please let me know. I look forward to having a productive and fun semester with all of you.