Thursday's lesson

Editing Checklist

“Imaginative response”

1. Sentence length – varied length or deliberately chosen length.

2. Sentence openings – varied openings.

3. Punctuation – used correctly?

4. Have you tried to use something other than commas and full stops?

5. Vocabulary – try to find two or three places where you can use a more effective word – look at verbs particularly.

6. Can you identify clearly what the response says about your neighbourhood? Write a sentence summarizing this. Post this to your blog with the new version of your imaginative response.

Thursday's class work

Go into the folder "Australian Short Stories" on Blackboard. Read the story "Neighbours" by Tim Winton. This story presents a clear representation of a neighbourhood. Try writing a response which consructs a clear version of your neighbourhood or of a neighbourhood you know well. You will need to be clear in your own mind about what that representation is before you start. You may choose to just write a description of the neighbourhood and the people in it or you may choose to construct the repsresenation as Winton has done through the medium of another genre such as a story. Post to your blog before next lesson.

Wednesday's homework

Write a paragraph comparing the way country Australia is represented in "Clancy of the Overflow" with the way it is represented in the opening scenes of "My Brilliant Career". Provide a thisis in your topic sentence. Then refer to the texts to support your thesis. In the poem, you might mention specific words or phrases and in the film, you might mention particular shots or dialogue.

Representations of Australia

Write about 300 to 400 words analysing the representation of Australia and Australians promoted by the "ibelieve" advertisement which we have watched in class. Aim for 300 to 400 words in a well-structured response. Draw on examples from the advertisement to support your view. Post to your blog by Thursday's lesson.

Week 5 essay preparation

Below is the question for your practice essay. Construct a detailed plan which includes a thesis, main points, topic sentences for your body paragraphs and relevant quotations. I will email you a planning sheet on which you can base your plan. Post to your blog by 4.00pm Wednesday afternoon. You should then only need one lesson in class to write your practice essay. Othello is a play about good versus evil. Discuss with reference to at least one major character. Your answer should make mention of some of the positioning techniques used in the play besides characterisation and refer to at least one theme.

Week 4 homework

Why does Othello react so quickly and so strongly to Iago's manipulation? Does the problem lie within Othello? Is Iago just too good at what he does or is it a combination of the two? Argue your case and justify your point of view in a well-structured and detailed paragraph. Refer to at least one theme and one positioning technique. Incorporate a quotation, preferably within the sentence and referenced correctly. Post to your blog by 8.20 Thursday morning. I will be checking before the lesson.

Week 3 homework

Choose a theme in "Othello" and write a paragraph in which you discuss how the theme is introduced to the audience in Act 1 and the first few scenes of Act 2. Discuss at least one positioning technique by which the audience is positioned to understand the play's representation of the theme. Include at least one quotation, trying to incorporate it into a sentence, and punctuating and referencing correctly.