Henry David Thoreau quote - Library Way - NY City

The end point for our study of Dear America is that you are going to end up writing an essay for this text. Your text response essay will need to discuss:

- how the text constructs meaning
- how a text conveys ideas and values
- how a text is open to a range of interpretations

(Beardwood, 09, p.67).

Our learning/study of the text is about preparing for this. It is about getting to know the text well so that you will develop ideas and points of view about it that can be discussed in an essay.

Of course, to be able to discuss one's ideas and points of view in an essay one needs to have strategies and skills for approaching essay writing. This blogspace will discuss what an essay is, ways one can approach writing an essay and the little tips and tricks that one can use to help prepare for writing essays under SAC and exam conditions.



Thursday, December 16, 2010

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Practice SAC marking scale

These are a mark range out of 10 that I will use when I look at your Practice SACs. They are a scale that examiners use when they look at your exams at the end of the year. Basically, a break down of the performance descriptors.

Expected Qualities for Text Response Mark Range

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

VCE ENGLISH - UNIT 3 - OUTCOME 1 - PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS

It is always important to consider the criteria that your assessors will use to determine your outcome. The above are the performance descriptors that will be used to categorise your essays into high, medium and low level responses. Get to know what is required for a high level response and aim to provide it in your SAC and exam responses. Click on the link to find the page are on at the VCAA website.

Dear America Perform Descriptors

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Quotes for quotes posters

'Each letter in this volume represents a human life,' (p. 12), Senator John McCain.

'My parents, like everyone with a child or a husband or a father in Vietnam, were hostages to the war,' (p.14), William Broyles Jr.

'Some things don't erode with the passage of time,' (p.15), William Broyles Jr.

'Well, in 360 days, I'll be home,' (p.38), 1Lt. Robert Salerni.

'I killed my first gooks last night - about 20 of them,' ((p.46), Lt. Desmond Barry, Jr.

'I think I'd be much happier helping people than fighting the gooks,' (p.63), Lance Corporal Cameron MacDonald.

'Last might I killed and everyone has been patting me on the back,' (pp. 94-5), 1Lt. James Simmen.

'I was thinking that I have never written to anyone about how much I like this country,' (p. 108), Sergeant Tom Fitzharris.

'We speak different languages, but we're all the same kind of people,' (p. 113), Chief warrant officer Bruce McInnes.

'This is an unusual time in our nation's history,' (p. 137), Captain Rodney R. Chastant.