MY GLOG..I HAD TO KEEP IT IN HTML 5 FOR IT TO WORK

SYMBOLISM TUTORIAL

CLICK THIS LINK FOR AN AWESOME SYMBOLISM TUTORIAL: http://youtu.be/9-F599mU6L4

Excellent Teacher Tutorial on How to UnEarth a Theme

Click this link: http://youtu.be/p4qME64SkxM

Glogster directions: Your Glogster poster is worth one reading quiz grade. It must include the following: 1. Your completed group paragraph that synthesizes general quotes about the symbol's archetypal meaning and specific quotes that allow us to see references to the symbol in context of Brave New World. 2. Three images that visually represent your symbol. 3. A title for your poster that emphasizes a main idea about your symbol in sentence form. 4. An appropriate background that makes solid use of color for readability and clarity. 5. Solid font selection. 6. Cohesive design elements. 7. Two subtitles...one for each aspect of the symbol. One for the universal aspects and one for the textual aspects.

Wall Street Journal writer gives awesome essay writing advice

Florida State University College Essay

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY

CHELSEA SNIDER

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Florida State University College Essay

“Florida State University is more than just a world-class academic institution preparing you for a future career. We are a caring community of well-rounded individuals who embrace leadership, learning, service, and global awareness. With this in mind, which of these characteristics appeal most to you, and why?”

Honestly, service didn’t become a huge part of my life until I began high school. From elementary to middle school, I was always too shy or too scared of the strangers met while volunteering to care about the impact of the work done or who it benefitted. In fact, it wasn’t until my junior year of high school, through a unique opportunity wrapped up in an odd package, that I realized the full impact of volunteer work.

We were on a family vacation to SeaWorld when my grandpa pulled me to the back of the group as we walked between rides. "Your National Honor Society does service projects outside of school, right?" I met his quizzical stare with an eyebrow raise of my own and gave a slow yes. "And as an official member, you can propose a donation, correct?" With another yes Papa gave me a smile that furthered my confusion. He had been a member of his own National Honor Society and already knew the answers to his own inquires. "Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is this. I would like you to organize a book drive to plump up the ward library. The men need somewhere to spend time and better themselves; neither of which they can accomplish with a library of twelve books.” In a vain attempt to buy some time to think, I took a sip of water before replying. Papa worked as the ward psychologist at Coffee Correctional Facility in Georgia and I had always held fanciful illusions concerning his profession. His ward was probably full of tough burly men who had plenty of time to plan the demise of the small marshmallowy girl who recommended that book they didn't care for. Mouth open and half-brained excuse at the ready, Papa stared straight down into my eyes. The look he gave me was more than just a man waiting for an answer; it was one of trust, of expectation. In that gaze I saw the confidence that Papa had in me, even if I couldn't see it in myself. So, with a heart thumping like a piston in overdrive, I presented the idea to our branch of the Society the next opportunity at school. To my surprise a chorus of 'yays' followed my tentative explanation of Papa's request and no one seemed to mind that the recipients of our donation were both out of state and incarcerated within a mental ward. With renewed spirit, the real work of the donation began. A cardboard box was placed in each of the English teachers classrooms and instructions for the collection soon followed. On one hand, I knew that my school was a tight community but I wasn't sure how enthusiastically they could fall behind a cause that was both far from home and mildly scary if misconstrued. After fourteen days of incessantly checking boxes, the final count wiped every doubt from my mind. It took two trips between my house and the school, four extra boxes, and five sweaty football players to haul all of the books safely into my garage. Weeks later when Papa came to collect all thirteen boxes, his smile brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t feel like just his granddaughter anymore, I was someone who had made a difference. Finally, with a hug and a 'job well done', two weeks of work was on its way to Georgia. Weeks later after I had nearly forgotten about the whole undertaking, a letter came. Inside of the envelope was a manila folder, cut into an even rectangle and lined with yellow construction paper. A large rose was drawn on the front of the card with the name of an author written on each petal and delicately shaded with colored pencils. Two puppies were playing underneath the rose and across the top "Thank You National Honor Society" was drawn in elegant script. Inside, each of the inmates had signed their name and those that couldn't were helped by a friend. Some of the signatures were in perfect handwriting, others were in a scrolling hand that you see on formal documents, and still others were in the shaky handwriting of someone just learning their letters. Now, at almost every family event, Papa updates me on the status and growth of the library as well as how the men treat the books like porcelain. Each of these conversations recalls the satisfaction of making my grandfather proud when he had expected so much was nothing compared to the joy brought by that letter. There is something innately gratifying in bringing a stranger joy; no matter that person's background, their past indiscretions, or their current situation.

Word count: 780

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY

 

College Essay

Kate English                                                                                                               College Essay

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. – Common App (250- 500 words)

     The summer before my freshman year of high school, I learned from my friends that Bishop Verot had a cross country team. My friends had received phone calls from the coach, inviting them to summer workouts. Although not a runner at the time, I had previously participated in 5Ks and triathlons and was therefore intrigued, plus it was another excuse to hang out with my friends. Nevertheless, by the end of the summer, all my friends quit, I was unsure if I wanted to pursue this without them, but I chose to stay and that undoubtedly was one of my best decisions. Three years later, I am the last member of that original team my freshman year. I have experienced sweltering heat, a medley of teammates, runner’s high, and the passing of coaches. All of which has shaped me to be a determined, strong, caring person.

            I have a love- hate relationship with cross country. Honestly, after some long days of school, the last thing I want to endure is an intense two hour practice where the hot Florida sun pounds on me, causing me to sweat so profusely, I wish my eyes had windshield wipers. The physical hindrances such as side pains or shin splints however are nothing in comparison to the mental “wall”. With each pounding step, your brain mocks you, telling you to quit. Pain tries to overcome me; I breathe out, relax my shoulders and battle back, believing my task is overcome able and reminding myself this is worth it. Every mile logged in brings me one step closer to my goal. Pushing harder and harder, I found myself saying, “Only two miles” and have progressively worked my way to the “only four miles” stepping stone. With this, I approach each tasks, whether academic, athletic, etc. with fervor. No task is too great, unless I think it is.

            Although personal perseverance can take one far, tough practices are definitely much easier with great teammates. A plethora of personalities, we have found a way to blend, calling ourselves a “dysfunctional family”. Spending countless hours together at practice, meets, pasta nights, etc., we unavoidably get on each other’s nerves ( some of us aren’t morning people), but in the end we have each other’s backs. While running, the encouraging voices of my teammates energize me like a shock of electricity. We push each other not only to be the best runners we can be, but also the best persons and students, as we have been ranked as the second smartest team in Florida Class 2A. I’m better in all aspects of life because of them, but most of all they have taught me the importance of compassion, support, and service.

            In an effort to give back to them what they have given to me, I implore to be a great captain like my previous teammates. Because we are so close, I have learned how to best inspire our team. With Lauren, nice, soft encouragement works; Kirstin, breaking down each run into tinier goals; and with Brooke and Cathrine, just plain beating them does the trick. Words let me encourage by telling them, but my actions show them what we need. In a sport, where almost every day you want to quit, a positive attitude is your strongest defender. No complaining, no cutting corners, running strong each time.

            Fr. Joseph Beattie and Father John Beattie founded the cross country programs at Bishop Verot. Both coached me and both passed away in my time at Bishop Verot. Their dedication has allowed me to experience the wonderful sport of cross country. Their deaths took a heavy toll on my heart, but each one also rededicated me to the sport we all loved. Cross country has allowed me to learn qualities such as endurance, responsibility, and kindness. With these growing abilities, it has inspired me to serve and make some sort of positive difference like Fr. Joseph and John did for me. I am no longer my freshman self who questioned and doubted whether she should try something new all by herself. Unafraid, seeking new opportunities and experiences, I know I will make an impact.

AHH!!! 693 words, 193 too many. I think I can abbreviate the intro and congregate the 3^rd and 4^th paragraph into one shorter one.

2 comments:

1. 
   Sam DaviesSeptember 5, 2011 at 12:28 PM

   Hey Kate! I really, really like this! I think your personality really shines through in your essay with the combination of great big words and then ones that you would normally speak in. That alone gives a good insight into you. I think that the two paragraphs about the team would be good combined, like you said. They would flow together nicely and would probably allow you to cut your word count, since you could easily substitute some things that are slighty repetative when talking about your team. I think this was a great choice for you to write about:)!

   
   
2. 
   PatienceSeptember 9, 2011 at 1:02 PM

   Nice essay Kate!! You showed your leadership skills really clearly when you talked about the ways you motivate different people, and that line: "Three years later, I am the last member of that original team my freshman year." - Hot dang! that's impressive determination! You may want to shorten and edit your intro- there's a few run-on sentences. But awesomely awesome job :)

   Reply

Upcoming due dates...

1. Summer reading essay exam: August 13th
2. Blog created by: August 13th. Send your link to Mrs.Elmeer
3. Voki avatar created by: August 15th.
4. College essay posted by midnight on August 16th.
5. First vocabulary quiz: August 20th
6. Group paragraph and Roots/ conflict poem typed and submitted on paper by August 21st. This particular assignment is worth two grades.

Welcome to AP English Literature !!!!

Our unifying "subject" for the year is ROOTS...those of our family, our faith, our heritage, and our culture. How do these roots shape who we are?

We will be sharing much but not all of our writing. You will have a summer reading exam on Tuesday, August 13th. For the first quarter, English will be testing on the odd days. We have major exams, vocabulary and word of the day quizzes, multiple choice quizzes, and various writing assignments that involve digital media, creative writing, and analysis. The first book we cover will be Brave New World; next, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; and last in the third quarter, Wuthering Heights. Your success depends upon close reading of all the texts. On average we will read three novels per quarter. We have some lofty works to comprehend, but you will all rise to the challenge.

Your first three blog assignments:

1. Create a blog and send me a link so that I can connect you to our main blog by Tuesday, August 13th.

2. Post your college essay by Friday, August 16th at midnight. Before posting your essay consider looking into the essay requirements for your top school. Length of essays vary, so research the word count before you write. We will be working on one essay, but I will happily look at any other essay you need to write for your college application. Make sure your essay has VOICE and personality, but don't overdo it. Consider your use of DICTION in terms of strong verbs, specific nouns, and strong vocabulary. Remove forms of be, excess prepositions, and words like who, which, and that if you do not need them. Vary your syntax and employ parallelism for effect. Make sure your purpose is clear, deep, and meaningful. You can make good use of humor; some of the best essays do. Not all personal essays need to revolve around tragedy or death. I will be giving you some basic building blocks to work with on Monday and Wednesday of next week during class.


3. Create a voki avatar that welcomes people to your blog by Thursday, August 15th at midnight. You've used voki before, www.voki.com, so you hopefully remember how it works. You will need to copy the embed code and embed it on your blog. This is worth a homework grade and will enable you to start becoming more comfortable with technology. We will use several technological tools this year in class. iPads and laptops are always welcome, and we do have six computers to work on in class. You may also use your phones.

Vocabulary Lists for Quarter One

There are three lists for each novel. We may not make it through every one, but for now...here they are: 

Brave New World: 1. Utopia, dystopia, largesse, florid, prodigious, decant, suffuse, officious, aperture, surreptitious, evocation, pneumatic, soma, incessant, annihilate. 2. Imperious, plangent, solecism, intrinsic, predestine, effusive, surrogate, paradoxical, Demi-John, tactile, viviparous, sibilant, maudlin, discarnate, monogamy. 3. Truculent, promiscuous, simian, ruminate, ascetic, satiate, fulminate, pueblo, precipice, incredulity, prone, asceptic, obsidian, vestal, languish, eminence.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: 1. Cagey, brassy, ornery, defunct, sinewy, overzealous, protocol, taut, veritable, ethereally, matriarchy, placate, prattle, thwarted, aplomb. 2. Mete, indigents, forlornly, philanthropy, chicanery, effrontery, arbitrate, courtesan, atrocities, dogged, Jezebel, irrevocable, hovel, circumvent, flouting. 3. Apathy, knead, schematic, nemesis, squalid, sadistic, wheedle, ramshackle, ineffectual, jounce, gaff, prototype, folio, lobotomy, punitive.

Wuthering Heights: 1. Virulency, canister, ensconce, condole, actuate, churlish, guffaw, signet, gaiter, laconic, slovenly, reprobate, disparity, vex, flummox. 2. Evince, miscreant, morose, taciturn, physiognomy, interpose, encroach, tacit, conjecture, parry, hale, rheumatism, copious, surmise, vigilant. 3. Solace, griffin, beneficent, deign, stalwart, amiss, austere, malignant, haughty, tumult, tempest, provincial, pious, obscure, retort.