Parallel Structure

Today we are going to do some exercises on parallel structure and then work on your essays.

Parallel Structure Exercise

Revise each of the following sentences for parallel structure.

    The best music is loud, fun, and you can dance to it.
    Tomorrow afternoon I will shop for groceries, eat lunch with my brother, and be running all sorts of errands.
    That book we read for class was really long, wordy, and didn’t make any sense.

First what is parallel structure (review):

and

MLA and Parallel Structure

MLA

1) Last Name/First Name of Author
2) Title of article or title of webpage
3) Title of book or website
4) Place of publication
5) Publisher
6) Date of publication
7) Page number
8) Source of publication (example: Web, Print, DVD, etc)
9) (Internet) Date of access.

go here for sample MLA Citation pages or in-text citations.

Here are two short - but decent - videos are in-text citations and works cited page

Go HERE and Also go here for an additional video on WORKS CITED PAGE 

The best place to go for help with MLA structure or any other essay question is Purdue OWL online.

For Parallel Structure go HERE

Thesis Statement Due

Today - your thesis statement is due.

We will look at it and move on to having your write your opening paragraph with a hook, thesis statement, and order of development.

Expository Essay

Today we are going to go over your topics and discuss what makes a good thesis statement, and what makes a good hook.


Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement directs all of the ideas, quote selection, and commentary in your essay. Therefore, a muddled or imprecise thesis statement will lead to an unclear or meaningless essay.

A thesis statement is NOT:

1. An abstract concept. For example, “Greed” is not a thesis statement.

2. A general “universal” truth. For example, the following sentence is not a thesis statement: “For thousands of years, man has been greedy.”

A thesis statement IS a statement that provides direction for the analysis of a theme or idea presented by a particular text. Therefore, in order to construct an effective thesis statement, you must first determine what a text is suggesting about an abstract concept (like greed, for example).
Your thesis statement will address an abstract concept PLUS the evaluation of that concept through a particular text.

A thesis statement for “The Pardoner’s Tale” might address the abstract concept of greed as it is handled in the story. The first two examples are NOT thesis statements. The third one is a complete thesis statement:

a. Greed is something that man has struggled with for centuries, as demonstrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Chaucer. (Abstract Concept Only)

b. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, is a story about how three men kill one another while looking for Death. (Plot Summary)

c. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” written by Chaucer, suggests that the “deadly” sin of greed is stronger than any oath of friendship, and will ultimately lead those who give into its allure to their own destruction.

Expository Essay Unit

Unit Learning goal: Students will be able to research, write and perform an original expository essay that informs or explains some idea, task, or problem of the student’s choice. 

Scale/Rubric relating to learning goal:

4 – The student can write and perform an original expository speech that both informs/explains and persuades some idea or problem of that the student is interested in.  The writing and performance are both exemplarily effective. 

3 – The student is able to write an original expository speech that informs or explains something that the student is interested in.

2 – With some direction/help from the teacher the student is able to write an original expository speech that informs or explains something that the student is interested in.

1 – Even with help from the teacher the student is unable to write an original expository speech that informs or explains something that the student is interested in.

Students will be able to

1) Write a hook, thesis statement, and order of development

2) Organize an essay according to introductory paragraph, body paragraphs and conclusion

3) Write a proper conclusion

4) Use specifics to back up ideas

5) Use the order of development as a map for the essay

6) Cite sources according to proper MLA format

7) Deliver a speech by making eye contact, using proper pronunciation and effective enunciation, and avoiding the use of “uhms” or other filler words or sounds.

3/23 - Overview of Expository Essay and thesis statement.

3/24 - Topics due

3/25 - Thesis statement due

3/30 - 1st Draft due

4/6 - 2nd draft due

4/14 - Final Essay due

4/16 - Presentations of Essays 

Tuesday and Wednesday

Classwork if I'm not here on Tuesday:

Tuesday – take practice test and talk about it as a class

Wednesday – create Quizlet flashcards for Test

If you finish earlier they can watch THE REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

(TEST WILL BE ON THURSDAY)