Week 7 and 8 Writing practice.

How important a character is Mr Collins?

Write a paragraph in response, clearly arguing your point of view. In developing your thesis, include a discussion of the way the reader is positioned to respond to him and the importance of this for dealing with the ideas about class which underpin the novel. Consider the work we have done in class on satire and irony.

Week 7 Writing practice

Pride and Prejudice Paragraph Writing

For homework – write a well-structured paragraph response to the following:

"Elizabeth Bennet is a character to whom today's young women can relate very easily because she refuses to meet society’s expectations with regard to both gender and class."

Complete by Wednesday and post to your blog or email to me. 

REMEMBER THE TEC STRUCTURE

TOPIC SENTENCE

This outlines what you are talking about and may restate the question in your own words, explaining your point of view of the topic.

ELABORATION AND EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION

Here you expand or elaborate on your topic. You might make several points about the same topic. With each point you make you should use direct quotations with references from your text/novel to support your discussion. Ensure you evaluate or synthesise your points, don’t just reword the quotation.

CONCLUDING/CLINCHING SENTENCE

Finally your paragraph must have a concluding sentence that sums up your discussion relating directly to your point of view on the question.

 

Persuasive devices

Persuasive techniques

In your script

In your delivery

·         Rhetorical questions ·         Language choices ·         Quotations ·         Emotive language (language to appeal to our emotions) ·         Colloquial language to connect with the audience ·         Use of personal pronouns (you and we) ·         Appeal to other senses (power point) ·         Appeal to reason and ability to think ·         Statistics ·         Underline words for emphasis ·         Hyperbole ·         Anecdotes ·         Quotations ·         Concrete evidence to support your connections

·         Sound confident ·         Hand gestures ·         Projecting your voice ·         Eye contact ·         Emphasis on particular words ·         Speed (slow down!) ·         Expression ·         Using your power point refer to it! ·         Pause ·         Body language ·         Facial expression ·         Sound like you want to persuade the audience PPT ideas ·         Copy of your poem ·         Images relating to your discussion ·         Bullet points reinforcing key points of your discussion ·         Quotes – singled out or highlighted in the poem ·         Sections of the poem with annotations on the screen ·         Evidence of connection between the poems ideas, values and attitudes and 21st century material ·         Headings ·         Summary points ·         Table – use of 2 columns showing poem ideas and 21st century connections ·         Mind map ·         Stats or facts

This is an example of how you might approach the task for the poem Ozymandias - which you may not do!

Practice notes

 

Ozymandias

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear --

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

 

Introduction:

Persuasive device – Perhaps a 10 second clip or still photo from the scenes of the appointment of the new North Korean leader? Rhetorical question – “When we look at the world around us, isn’t an examination of the way human beings exercise power still something that we can, and perhaps should, engage in?"

 

Thesis: In his poem, Ozymandias, Percy Shelley certainly presents an idea which has relevance for the global citizens of the 21^st century.  In just 14 lines Shelley captures the essence of a particularly prominent human characteristic – the tendency to allow power and status to go to one’s head. The poem positions readers to understand that such pride in one's power and belief in its longevity is a delusion.

 

Who will connect with this: Almost anybody alive could be expected to connect with this idea. In the 21st century we see examples every day in the media of people who seem to have exactly Ozymansias' view of themselves. (List some examples). Those interested in politics and the history of politics might be especially interested. The poem could almost be read as a warning to those in positions of power or who desire power that it is more ephemeral than we think and our view of ourselves may not be shared by others.

 

 

Body:

The poem is a sonnet and the first section presents readers with an interesting scenario but not one in which the idea is clearly relevant to those of us living in the modern world. We need to read through to the end of the poem before this relevance becomes completely apparent. Shelley does immediately engage our attention though through the use of the first person pronoun as he begins to tell his story – “I met a..”. We immediately feel as if we are involved in a chain of storytelling. It’s a little like hearing the story of a friend’s adventure from a third party. So, in fact, it is “the traveller” who is speaking to us, not the poet. To the 21^st century reader who is perhaps a little wary of poetry as a medium, this might in fact help to overcome some of our natural suspicion.

 

We are also immediately taken to the “antique land” where the events have taken place and the traveller begins a description of what he or she saw. Although we are not yet sure that we can connect with the ideas, we know we can connect with the imagery used to present this scene to us. We have a sense of having been transported to some desolate area in the Middle East, Egypt or Saudi Arabia or some exotic place where these two “vast and trunkless legs stand in the desert”. Perhaps the 21^st century reader, with the advantage of memories of having seen the sphinx and the pyramids at least on television or at the movies, if not in real life, is in a better position to relate to this than Shelley’s 19^th century reader. Even without this, the language used  creates a vivid picture – the “trunkless legs ” and the “shattered visage” can be imagined because of the power of the language choices to create a visual image for the reader.

 

Week 4 Task 3

Write a paragraph in which you compare the attitudes of Johnnie and Bubba to the lives of the main characters, especially the lay-off.


                                                          

Week 4 Task 2

Write a paragraph comparing Barnie's and Roo's attitudes to the current lay off.

To help you get started think about the following:

How do they each perceive the experience of this 17th lay off season?
How do we know this? Identify some evidence from the play.
What do you think is the reason behind each character's attitude?

Week 4 - Task 1

Write a paragraph in which you compare Olive and Pearl's attitudes to relationships as we see them in Act 1. Remember to write an effective topic sentence and to support your point with evidence from the play.