In preparing to draft your own college essays, read some successful samples online. Get an idea for what they include, how they are organized, and what they reveal about each student.

Read as many as you can in a class period, and select two that you like to share with the class. Print a copy of each so we can read them together and discuss what makes them work--what makes them good writing.

Try these two sites out first:

From Johns Hopkins University.
From Connecticut College.
​From Tufts.
From Hamilton College.

Feel free to check out the websites of some colleges you have interest in--and see if they have a page dedicated to successful college essays.

Print two selections for class for tomorrow. Make copies for your classmates if possible.

Here's the link to our survey.

1. Create a character and his/her backstory. Use the character worksheet. Fill it out completely. (Consider these demographics, traits, and quirks as you make him/her speak.)
   
2. Think of a story/event that has happened in his/her life--a moment where “something” memorable happened. Look at your character details for ideas.
   

• a hard choice
  
• a disagreement he/she had with someone else
  
• a childhood memory that lingers
  
• a regret
  
• a great success that’s in the past now
  
• a “life event” -- marriage, trip, birth, etc.
  
• reminiscing about a love
  
• the moment where they settled on some personal outlook or philosophy
  
  4.  Think of a setting and a “listener” for this story. Is the listener a friend or a stranger? A part of their story or not? What setting would allow for a long story to be told.
  
  5. Have your character tell the story. He or she should need to tell the story. The story should go onto a second page--and can be longer. Get into the rhythms of storytelling. You may have the listener interject with a question, comment, or encouragement, but only sparingly. Include a few stage directions--a description of the setting, and any important actions the character or listener takes. Just remember: the focus is the story.
  

Things to think about:

• It might be a good idea to tell the story out loud to yourself or someone else. Maybe even record yourself, if you have the means.
  
• Give your story a beginning, a middle, and an end. Think about what the audience needs to know. (However, remember that leaving some details out might interest us, too--like our flash fiction stories, for example.)
  

Requirements:

• 1-2 pages
• Celtx stageplay format
• includes stage directions
• focuses on the telling of one story
• storyteller has a desire to tell this story

Due: Wednesday, March 9th. 

For assignment #2, we will write two different versions of the same scene.

Let's take a familiar dialogue--one we've seen repeated in countless movies and plays, and in our own lives--and adapt it a few different ways.

Select one of the following two prompt ideas:

1. a child-parent conversation, where a child needs something from the parent
2. or, a meeting between two people, where one is interested in asking the other out on a date

To explore these scenarios, let's consider what a cliche and unoriginal version of this scene might look like. (We'll complete this in class.)

You must complete two versions of this dialogue--at least 2 pages of Celtx formatted script.

1. A realistic/naturalistic version -- like our overheard conversations, go for as accurate a portrayal as possible; include all the potential difficulty and awkwardness of this conversation. 
2. An idealized version -- How could you make your realistic version more dramatic or comedic? Write a version where one of the characters becomes their best self. In other words, your character on his/her best day, when he/she is able to say exactly what needs to be said. Consider giving one of your characters more control, more lines, etc. 

Both versions should be at least 2 pages. Title each one.

A good play or screenplay can usually offer a balance of these two approaches. In working towards writing a short one-act of your own, consider how to give your audience (and your characters) this balance. 

We'll finish our poetry unit up by exploring some other poetic forms. Each student will pick one of the forms described HERE  to compose a poem.  (More info on forms can be found HERE .) Read through some of the descriptions and samples and find a form you'd like to try.

PART ONE: 
Do the following:

• pick a poetic form; learn its construction; read samples
• compose a poem in the form
• create a document that includes the following: the name and explanation of the form + your own original poem in that form
• be prepared to explain the poetic form to your class

[Note: you can pick any form EXCEPT for "Acrostic."]

PART TWO: 
Come up with your own form!

• devise the rules, restrictions, and grammar for your own form of poetry
• come up with a name for it
• write one of your own

PARTS 1 + 2 are both due on WEDNESDAY, 2/10. Typed, neatly presented. (Make sure to include explanations.)

This week we are working on two different poetic forms: the haiku and the limerick. You are responsible for completing 5 haiku and 3 limericks. Use your class handout for information about the form--its construction and its "purpose."

They should all be typed and titled.

Haiku should be:

• 3 lines, 5-7-5 syllables 
• more concrete than abstract
• simple--maybe show "cause and effect"; how one things affects another

Limericks should be:

• 5 lines, 8-8-5-5-8; with a AABBA rhyming scheme
• try to match the meter of stressed and unstressed beats described on the handout
• comical, surprising, etc.

​

Let's write another poem--a poem about winter.

• Look back through your winter poetry packet for some inspiration.
  
• Consult your writer's notebook entry about winter and its associations. 
• Maybe pick a moment to describe as the other poets did: a snow day, outside as the snow approaches, in bed, drinking something warm, some snow activity, some moment of quiet, with your dog or cat, etc.
• Slow time; use sensory images; figurative language; try a first line zeugma (or a bunch of them), etc. 
• Avoid cliche -- if it sounds too familiar, change it or tweak it

Start paying attention to the shapes of poems. Think about:

• a good place to end a line and begin another
• a place to break a stanza
• use punctuation to help shape thoughts -- more commas and periods and dashes, etc.
  

Begin a draft today in class. Bring a draft to school on Tuesday.

Choose one of the two objects you've written about as the subject for your final object poem.

The requirements for the poem are:

• focused on a single object
• evidence of figurative language
• in a "poetic form" -- use class examples for ideas
• remember to show, and not tell

There is no required length--just long enough to capture some memorable trait or traits about the object.

Our Flash Fiction unit will ask you to write 5 different stories. Each will have its on prompt and inspiration. They include:

• a 100-200 word story inspired by a photo from www.shorpy.com
• a 100-250 word story inspired by moment from a fairy tale
• a 100-250 word story inspired by an historical event and/or person
• a 100-250 word story inspired by a current celebrity
• a 200-300 word story inspired by a personal photograph

Work on the next one can begin after you've revised a few drafts--and met with me and fellow students for feedback.

From Tuesday 11/10 to Friday 11/13, you will be drafting, revising, and workshopping these stories. (We will have the computers in the classroom.)

In the style of good flash fiction, your stories should:

• focus on a narrow moment in time
• concentrate on concrete details
• have few characters
• often start in the "middle" of the story
• have varying syntax
• have good titles

At the end of the unit, you hand in all 5 stories, selecting one for me to grade. I'll be checking in during the week to make sure you're inspired, writing, and revising.