What is wrong with this picture? (Click for larger image)
UPDATE: I suggested that if you did not know what to write on your blog that you consider the photo above, placing it within broader conversations related to the horrors perpetuated in the name of Nazism; you may also want to consider the use of Nazi chic, something that has appeared in Korea as well (many more links available upon request).
A student asked for some context to the image, and seemed rather 'surprised' that I could not immediately answer their question as to what building is in the background. I understand having some information about where a photo was taken can indeed add more dimension to analysis, and as the student has probably been too busy preparing their speech to search for this information, I decided to help out.
After conducting an image search through Google, I've been able to determine that this may be part of an advertising campaign from a Russian clothing manufacturer. We could assume the building may be somewhere in Russia, although I will apologize that I cannot tell for certain. I would ask if any student can determine without doubt what building is in the background, along with the exact details of the model (name, age, family background, etc.), that they share this information with the class. These small details could indeed help us all in our writing. Also, don't forget to address the content of the photo itself, focusing on the impact of the image and how it is related to history and the present.
Over the next few classes, you will be given the opportunity to deliver a speech. Writing a speech is quite different from other types of writing, so I've put together a few tips here to help you out.
Voice
There is nothing more boring than listening to someone drone on in a robotic monotone for five minutes. Check your intonation and inflection! Make it sound natural, with some emphasis on key words; don't overdo it! When you speak to your friends, do you sound like a robot? So why deliver your speech like one? Consider that really, even everyday speech is like a song, with the emphasis on different words and parts of speech used to convey feelings. That said, I think I'd rather claw my eyes out than listen to someone put on a fake overdone tone to their speech, or someone who is just too excited!
In other words, don't be like this guy:
Nor like this:
As shown in class, something like the David Sedaris videos we watched is not a bad approach, as he is natural and develops a rapport with the audience. That said, you don't need to read from a script :)
Organization and Content
This really should be self evident, but avoiding basic errors in logic by not unknowingly contradicting yourself is pretty important. Don't repeat yourself unless the repetition is serving some particular purpose in the delivery of your speech. Watch your diction and syntax. In other words, be sure you've edited your speech for clarity and flow.
For content, avoid truisms as well as blase or common topics. Don't know what a truism is? Look it up! Don't use them in your writing or speeches, again unless they serve a particular purpose.
Rapport
Developing a rapport with your audience is key to a great speech. This means that your speech should have engaging content while keeping the audience interested and attentive. This takes practice, but here are some things to consider:
Who is your audience? Who are you speaking to?
Will they get your
jokes, the references you make, the types of vocabulary you use?
What type of speech are you giving? Don't speak like a debater if you are not in a debate!
Is the content of the speech relevant to the audience on any level?
What type of environment are you giving your speech in?
What is appropriate and what is not?
These are some tips, but the most important one is to simply be comfortable. The audience can pick up when you are nervous. If you are nervous, this will affect your overall speech and how it is received. So. . .
RELAX!
Think happy thoughts and be in a happy place :P
Of course, the more you speak publicly, the easier it gets, so consider the assignments for our class simply a few steps towards becoming a better speaker.
Over the next week or so we will have our first TOEFL workshop. Here is an outline of the procedure:
I - Be sure you've read all the TOEFL responses in your class only, and
that you have posted comments to three individual responses. Remember,
once a post has three comments, the comments on that post are closed!
You will need to find a post that does not have three comments and post
there instead.
II - Bring to class a copy of what you think is a good response to the
prompt. You should have marked it up, highlighting strengths. You
should come up with three solid reasons why you thought this response
effective.
III - In groups of four, you will then discuss the merits of your
selected response. In your group, find commonalities with your group
members as to what makes an effective response. These could range from
selection of examples, argumentative strength, style, etc. The point is to identify the strategies that work most effectively for a solid TOEFL essay.
IV - Your group will choose a representative to present your findings to
the class. Feel free to use specific examples from the responses you
brought to class. Be prepared to hand in your final presentation. It
doesn't need to pretty, as long as I can easily understand your main
points.
V - Be positive. For the purpose of this exercise, you should focus on
what works as opposed to what doesn't. This will hopefully help
everyone in the class write more effective TOEFL prompt responses.
You will be graded on your preparation for the assignment, as well as
your participation in the group exercise. Part of your grade will be an
assessment of how well your group works as a whole, so please consider
that if you are not prepared or do not participate, you affect your
group's score as well as your own.
I would like to thank all those who sent in their comments and who completed the first assignment (self introduction) in a timely fashion. I have posted all comments that included the information I requested: name, student number, class, link to blog. Please check that your blog is listed under the correct list. If your blog is not listed here, please send me an email with the information requested or come see me during class time.
I would like to mention that ensuring I can easily identify you on your blog would make things easier. If you are concerned about privacy, using perhaps only your initials or first name would be fine, or the last three digits of your students number.
For the record, all posts were in moderation, meaning they needed my approval before they were visible. I am surprised at the number of students who kept posting comments asking when their blog would be visible. I began putting the lists up Friday afternoon; if you sent your comment late in the afternoon or in the evening, it would not have appeared until this morning. I know, I know, how terrible that I didn't spend time this weekend making sure your blog appeared on the list! Apologies! I was quite busy with my daughter's birthday party, making a pinata and filming them as they sang ganggangsullae. . .
On that note, I would like to offer students an opportunity for extra points: I was attempting to fully translate and understand the song mentioned above, so if anyone would be keen enough to have a go at explaining it on their blog, I would be most appreciative. . . I really like posts explaining Korean folk traditions. (hint hint)
On a side note, if you will be officially absent from a class and are unable to do an inclass writing, you have two options:
Accept the class average
Make an appointment to write the essay at a mutually convenient time
If you do not make an appointment before your official absence, I will automatically give you the class average as your score, so please be sure to contact me if you do intend on writing the assignment.
So starts your first semester at KMLA. Hopefully you'll settle into a
good routine, make some good friends, and are ready to face all the new
challenges that await you. Let me say:
Welcome to all Frosh!
What is a Frosh? Basically, you. It is a gender neutral term to
describe all new incoming first year students. Since you are either
male or female, calling you freshmen seems a bit off, hence the term
Frosh. It actually is a very common term on many North American
university campuses.
Who am I? While my actual moniker is Richard Menard, on this blog I am
known as El Generalissimo, Benevolent Dictator. The image is of Hank
Scorpio, one of my favorite Simpsons one off characters, found in the
episode "You Only Move Twice" (s08e02).
This blog will serve as the common home for the Frosh writing classes of
10V1, 10V2, 10V3, and 10V4. All assignments for the class will be posted
here for your convenience and easy referral. Check the syllabus posted
below for detailed information. ***PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SYLLABUS LISTED BELOW IS MERELY A GUIDE, AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH SOME OR LITTLE NOTICE***
To join the class, you will need to create a blog on this site. I find a
gmail account makes things simpler, so if you don't have one, consider
creating one. After, go to the Blogger home page and follow the
instructions. Once you have done this, I'd ask that you post in the
comments section to this post your name, student ID, class, along with the link to your blog. I will add you to the blogroll on the right side column.
I do have some bad news: here is your first assignment (haha). One of
your assignments will be to post a monthly response to a TOEFL prompt to
your blog, to which you will receive peer feedback. You will also be
responsible to post reviews to three different blogs. Once a blog has
received three comments on their TOEFL post, comments will be closed on
that blog and you will need to post to a different blog. Once comments
have been added, you will then participate in a Peer Editing / Essay
Workshop. This month's prompt is:
Essay Prompt #1
Describe a custom from your country that you would like people
from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific
reasons and examples.
Word Count: 500-600 words. No more/no less.
To be completed before: Class 7
Your Blog Post should be clearly labeled with the following title:
Monthly TOEFL Essay #1: (creative title that reflects thesis)
Essays should reflect traditional TOEFL structure as follows:
Introduction: Theintroduction
is the first paragraph of your essay. The first few sentences of this
paragraph simply introduce the reader to the topic. The last
sentence is
called the thesis statement and clearly
states your opinion. This is the most important sentence in the essay.
Body: The body of the essay is usually two to three paragraphs long. Each paragraph begins with a topic
sentence that tells the reader
what the rest of the paragraph is going to be about. The remaining sentences are called supporting ideas because
their main function is to "support" and expand the ideas related to the topic sentence.
Conclusion:The conclusion
is the last paragraph of the essay. It restates the thesis and gives
the reader a brief summary of the essay's main points. This paragraph is
usually about 3 sentences long.
Reading of a short
story/article with 40 minute timed in class response.
Second drafts must be
typed and uploaded to blogs.
-Speech:
5%
One 5
minute creative speech. Must be narrative/anecdotal.
-Group
Skit: 5%
Students dramatize themes and key words chosen
from a hat.
-Blogs:
30%
1.Reflections
on material / discussions from class, free writing (5%)
2.Second
drafts of in-class essays must be typed and uploaded with grammatical edits and
content improvements. (10%)
3.Monthly
TOEFL prompt will be assigned.Students
have one month to respond to the prompt.These will be peer edited at the end of the month: students will be
expected to write comments on minimum three peer blogs (2*5%).Students will learn by example.
Blogs
will be checked regularly by teachers.Late submissions will be docked. Formatting, attention to detail, and
presentation (hyperlinks, multimedia enrichment) will contribute to part of a
holistic score. (5%)
-Take
home essays: 1 @ 5%, 1@ 10% = 15%
Documentary
Review (The Age of Stupid) (5%) + Reflection on the concept of Minjok (10%).
Second drafts must be uploaded to blogs.
-Participation:
5%
Grading for essays, including midterm and final exam, will generally receive one of the following grades: 95 – 92
– 89 – 86 - 83. Late submissions, work of poor quality, or work that has been plagiarized will receive a lower grade, with the latter earning a score of 0 without exception.
To succeed,
students should carefully plan their in-class essays outside of class before
writing them in class.This
emphasizes essay organization and thinking.
To ensure
honesty and integrity, essays written in class will not be able to be edited or
improved by other students or outside teachers. This improves test writing
ability.
Homework: Setting up blogs at Blogspot.com.
Students must write a short post
introducing themselves, and “My Goals” post that outlines how theywant to improve their writing, and what needs
to improve. Self-evaluation.
Class 2 content:
First essay
reading assigned: The Personal Narrative.
-Students read and discuss “Fish
Cheeks” by Amy Tan.
-Students plan and design their
essay for next class.
Week 2:
Class 3 content:
In
Class Writing: Personal Narrative (first essay)
Class 4 content:
Writing exercises
-correct
the mistakes/structure/organization in sample writings
-verb
tenses, concision
-misused
articles
Week 3:
Class 5 content:
Writing exercises/quiz
Class 6 content:
Review of
strengths / weaknesses of graded Narrative essays.Students must then post revised and corrected
version of their essay to their blogs
Week 4:
Class 7 content:
Introduction
to Public Speaking.
-Expectations,
topic selection, delivery. Review famous speeches.
Class 8 content:
Impromptu
exercises. Speech schedule set.
1st
Monthly TOEFL Essay Workshop. Discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Speeches
completed. Discussion of strengths and weaknesses of speeches
Class 12 content:
Discussion/preparation
for take home essay: Writing an Academic Review
-Introduction of
the documentary The Age of Stupid. Students
must watch entire film outside of class, and write a review submitted through
their blogs. Focus on emotional, ethical, and logical appeals.
Week 7:
Midterm exams
Week 8:
Class 13 content:
Students
submit take home essay writing through their blogs.
In
class impromptu essay (2nd essay): Developing a Voice and
Perspective
-Students read a
short essay in class and write a response, to be submitted by the end of class
time.
Class 14 content:
2nd
Monthly TOEFL Essay Workshop. Discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Peer Editing-correct
the mistakes
-verb
tenses
-misused articles
-use of pronouns for antecedents
-concision
Week 9:
Class 15 content:
Group
Skits assigned.
Students
post revision of their essays on blogs.
3rd
Monthly TOEFL Essay assigned.
Class 16 content:
Skits
(2-4 groups)
Week 10:
Class 17 content:
Skits
(2-4 groups)
Class 18 content:
Discussion on
strengths and weakness of skits
Third in class essay
assigned: Creative Writing
-Students read
the story “The Open Window” by Saki
-Brainstorm new
characters and setting based on structure of the story.
Week 11:
Class 19 content:
Third in class assignment:
Students write a creative adaptation of “The Open Window” making use of an
information gap.
Class 20 content:
Work
shopping the short stories. Students share and comment on each other’s work, discussion
of approaches
Week 12:
Class 21 content:
3rd
Monthly TOEFL Essay Workshop. Discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Peer Editing-correct
the mistakes
-verb
tenses
-misused articles
-use of pronouns for antecedents
-concision
Class 22 content:
Writing exercise/quiz
Week 13:
Class 23 content: 4th
Monthly TOEFL Essay assigned.
Critical
analysis of a text
Historical, social, political
Class 24 content:
How to choose a
source
Embedding cited
sources using MLA (Modern Language Association) format.
Week 14:
Class 25 content:
Discussion and
preparation for second take home essay: Critical analysis and research essay
(The history of the concept Minjok)
Class 26 content:
Discussion and
preparation for second take home essay: Critical analysis and research essay (The
history of the concept Minjok)
Week 15:
Class 27 content:
Students
submit second take home essay
Discussion/Evaluation
of approaches, sources used
Class 28 content:
Writing
exercises/quiz
Week 16:
Class 29 content:
4th
Monthly TOEFL Essay Workshop. Discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Peer Editing-correct
the mistakes
-verb
tenses
-misused articles
-use of pronouns for antecedents
-concision
Class 30 content:
Review
– “What I Learned” discussion.Students
must later write about their
experience in this class on their blogs. Self-evaluation on how they improved and will continue to improve.
Week 17: Final Examination
If you made it this far, your reward is this amusing cat fail video:
