For Feb. 11 class

Writing
Feb. 5, 2010
Character Sketch Essay

Due: Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m.

Your Character Sketch essay is to be 4 paragraphs long, but no longer than a page. It should include the usual header at the top of the page, be double spaced, in 12-point Times Roman or like font, with 1-inch margins. The essay itself is worth 30 points, and a brief prewrite is worth 5 points and due on Thursday, Feb. 11 in class. If you are late, you lose 2 points.

For your essay, you should observe someone briefly, write down your observations, then sketch them with your pen, so to speak. Do not do a classmate. You may write about a friend, neighbor, relative or someone you meet out in public,such as a grocery clerk, a waitress or someone you meet on the street.

Read the two handouts to get tips on writing the essay. An example of a character sketch is included in the attached PDF files. You are not simply describing the person with adjectives or descriptive terms, but rather, you are describing them by telling about their speech, their mannerisms,etc. You decide which qualities you want to emphasize in the sketch. Make your character come alive through his words, actions, thoughts (or someone else's comments) or a combination of these. Try not to use stereotypes for your character. Do not combine two characters into one.

For those of you who missed class, view the accompanying photo on the blog of Mrs. Thomas Gage, circa 1771 (in the post above this). First, write down as many adjectives or descriptive terms you can, then write a paragraph about her,using some of your observations. Email that back to me by Monday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. It is worth 5 points.

Vocabulary
The following vocabulary terms are due on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. The vocabulary quiz will be on Thursday, Feb. 11.

bilk
bombast
burgeon
byline
cacophony
deplore
depravity
deprecate
deride
desecrate
despondent
falter
fanaticism
fastidious
flustered
forfeit
Intransigent
intrepid
intuitive
irony

Field trip
The field trip to Stanford to view the Martin Luther King Papers is on for Thursday, Feb. 18. To give us a little more cushion time-wise, we will meet at 8:45 at the church and leave at 9 a.m. I anticipate getting back between 2:30 and 3. Here are the key details:

Mrs. Diehl and are planning to drive, and we can get 13 combined in our two cars. There are 12 kids and two adults. If one kid is sick, we're ok. If everybody goes, we'll need another driver. That week, we will be keeping a close head count of who is going.

Cost is $5 per student, which covers gas,tolls and parking. Bring a sack lunch and a drink, which we will eat there on campus together. I am trying to arrange with a friend to give us a short tour of the campus, as Stanford is one of the most picturesque campuses, as well as one of the foremost learning institutes in the world.

Here is the web site link:



http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php

Holler if you have questions.