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EWC 4U Folder Page |
| [ criteria ] [ folder list ] [ descriptions ] |
One of the most important things you will do in this class is develop a folder or portfolio of your work. All of your formative writing will take place here. Folder exercises are not marked summatively. They are marked for completion only. It is a chance for you to learn about a genre, a device or a technique by reading about it, analyzing examples and then synthesizing on your own before you are evaluated on it. Therefore, you should "take chances, make mistakes and get messy..." (Ms. Frizzle)
Folder exercises do not have to be posted but I would encourage you to post some of them, simply because you will then have access to them anywhere (like when you are completing assignments at home). A minimum of five folder exercises must be posted for the semester. You may decide which ones. Please note that all assignments must be posted.
| Free Writes | topical brainstorming ideas |
| Good Writing | an excerpt from an author you admire |
| Mood | abstract feelings - (e.g.) hatred, joy, pain |
| Editing | several exercises based on poetry line length and diction |
| Diction | synthesis (3 sentences) and evaluation (3 poems) |
| Musical Muse | using music as inspiration/impetus to write |
| Clichés | create a list and a description using clichés |
| Tandem Write | two people creating two different stories in tandem... |
| Rhythm | several exercises in scansion, analysis and synthesis |
| Imagery | using figurative language to create images |
| Description | analysis (2 examples) and synthesis (place, event, person) |
| Style | 2 exercises - synthesis (3 examples) and evaluation |
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Free writes (directed stream
of consciousness)
DESCRIPTION: For this exercise you are given a
topic and then asked to write down as many ideas as possible about that topic -
wherever your thoughts take you. There is no editing of any kind in this
type of free write. Editing is a different stage of the writing
process. Write (type) the ideas down as fast as they come to you without punctuation, without
focusing on organization, without searching for the "perfect
word". This is a glorified brainstorming session allowing you to
write in a free association or stream of consciousness format based on a given
topic.
We have now completed free writes on the following topics:
Semester One:
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Semester Two:
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DESCRIPTION: Find an excerpt of what you consider to be good writing (by an established author). Reproduce the excerpt on a separate page and explain why you think it's good. Your analysis should be about a page. Be specific! Make sure your excerpt is good enough and long enough for you to discuss.
We will be comparing these excerpts in class. Please make sure this exercise is completed on time so that you have something to contribute.
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DESCRIPTION: Write a few sentences that capture these abstract feelings. Remember to show the reader what each one feels like. Do not explain the feeling. Write something that incorporates it. Try to describe each feeling concretely.
Semester One:
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Semester Two:
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DESCRIPTION: Complete each of these exercises on line length in poetry (found here). There aren't necessarily right answers here, so make sure you give reasons for your choices in determining line length for the poems. Do All THREE!
 | poetry line length only (I almost went to bed...) |
| poetry line length and diction (The dark and lonely streets...) |
| poetry line length and diction (red wheel barrow, shark, toad...) |
* please complete the sheet entitled "Editing - concrete diction" from your intro package
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DESCRIPTION: Find a "subject". In a minimum of three sentences, describe the subject using clear, concrete, effective diction. Give your subject a "fresh" perspective by avoiding plain or overused words.
DESCRIPTION: Read these three poems (found here). Decide which one makes the best use of diction. As with the previous folder exercise, there are no right answers, so justify your choices by giving specific examples from the poems.
| Blue Mountains |
| To Hold in a Poem |
| Boy at the Window |
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DESCRIPTION: In the other directed free writes that we have done, a word or phrase has been the inciting force that has guided our stream of consciousness writing. In this folder exercise, as you listen to a piece of music (no words), try to write concretely what you think the music is expressing abstractly. This is not easy, but it does reveal the power that music has to communicate ideas and emotions. The excerpts for this exercise are from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I will not list the titles because I don't want to influence what you think the music is about. This incredible piece of music was inspired by a series of drawings done by the composer's friend. Mussorgsky captured the music from the art. Your job is to capture the mood from the music and express it concretely through your prose. Good luck.
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Clichés - (a) compile a list (b) free write
DESCRIPTION: (a) Make a list of common expressions that you use in everyday speech.
These could be worn-out metaphors, over-used sayings and dead comparisons. Here are a few examples:
dead as a doornail
it sucks to be you
been there done that
my heart was beating like a drum
raining cats and dogs
shivers down my spine (ick...)
(b) Free write - Complete the free write on "trouble" where you recall an experience where you got in trouble for something. Rewrite the free write incorporating clichés into your description (if they're not already there...). For the assignment on clichés, choose something other than getting into trouble as your focus. The trouble example is for folder only.
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Tandem Writing - and now for something completely different...
DESCRIPTION: This was an exercise in creativity and teamwork. Writing in pairs (A and B) students began two different stories - one about love (A), the other about war (B). After four or five minutes, A and B exchange papers, read what the other has written and then continue the story where their partner has left off. A and B end up switching back and forth about four times, at which point they end up with their initial story back and they must provide some kind of closure. Stories are read aloud to the class and then placed in folders (and posted...)
When you're done posting, click here for an example of what not to do in tandem writing...
Rhythm - Complete all three of these before attempting the assignment!
DESCRIPTION: Re-read the handouts from class on rhythm, meter and scansion and complete the exercises listed below. This is not easy - be careful!
| Writing in different meters (exercise one) |
| Poetic words and establishing rhythm (exercise one) |
| Analyzing rhythm in Rime of the Ancient Mariner (exercise two) |
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DESCRIPTION: Read the passage called "Bathing Suit Time" on the imagery page to get an idea of what effective imagery actually is. Note the effectiveness of the hi-lighted words as you read. Take a look at the student examples as well to see how concrete imagery is used within a poem.
After reading these, find your own example of imagery in a
piece of prose and type it out. Hi-light the section(s) that you feel are effective and explain why
they are good imagery. The bathing suit example is effective because the figurative
images she uses are not really related to bathing suits at all. The comparisons work well because objective images are used to
create fresh similes and metaphors. The result is vivid description through
imagery.
Put the completed analysis in your folder and then do the assignment.
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Description -
Analysis
Read both descriptions found below and notice how the authors develop character, setting and
mood as a result of their effective use of diction, rhythm and imagery. Pick your favourite and in your
folder, discuss why you chose that example. If you have a better example of description, you may
put it in your folder and use it instead of my examples.
| excerpt from Fathers and Sons (Turgenev) |
| excerpt from The Fall of the House of Usher (Poe) |
Remember to read as much as possible - avid readers make the best writers
DESCRIPTION: In each of these descriptions, it is important that you vary your sentence length, structure, and use your imagery skills to create a concrete piece. Appeal to the senses.
(a) PLACE - For this piece, you need to create a setting for your reader. Use the concrete techniques you have been developing to avoid listing locations and items abstractly. Give "extra" information about the things you are describing that will provide a complete picture of the scene. You may want to "pan" the room (or place) revealing only what you would see through the lens of a video camera. Do not, however, limit yourself to the sense of sight...
(b) EVENT - For this piece, you may choose to describe a sporting event, a party, an "excursion" to the mall - anything that involves a progression of time. Unlike the place description, this one will require more of a "play by play" approach. Use third person if possible for your description of an event. Objectify (no "you" or "I") - hey that rhymes...
(c) PERSON - For this piece, force yourself to look past the obvious to create a true picture of the person you are describing. Go beyond physical characteristics! How a person looks is a very small part of who s/he is. A novelist develops character in many ways. Consider what a person says, does, thinks etc.. Show me what the person is like.
Please complete all three descriptions and put them in your folder before attempting the assignment.
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The style assignment is difficult and will require you to combine all of the skills you have acquired so far in the smaller assignments. Make sure you complete each of the folder style activities and put them in your folder before attempting the assignment.
DESCRIPTION - Exercise
One - capturing style in three different examples by extending each
passage. Examples include a prose piece, a poem and a
"hybrid." (yes, I wrote them...)
DESCRIPTION - Exercise Two - explanation of style and the four main types of criticism. Complete the group activity and the individual evaluation. * Note - you will be using these same criticisms for both parts of the style assignment.
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