SAT: Spring Break Writing Assignments

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ASSIGNMENTS:
DUE: The day we return from break.
GRADING: This will count as a test grade.

1. CHANGE THE WORLD
This is an SAT type writing.I'll provide the prompt, you supply a two to three paragraph response.
Prompt 1
"Change in this world has come about solely through the efforts of the few. Indeed, it is the only means through which the world has changed."
Agree or disagree. Discuss your opinion using examples from history. politics, religion, the arts, etc... Use three examples

2. DIARY OF A (fill in the blank)
a. Write 10 diary entries for any person, place or thing you choose

b. Each entry must be at least 50 words long.

c. You may write a "Chain Diary" in which you assume the identity of other people, places or things that appear in previous entries. This will bolster your understanding of Point of View.

3. AN AWKWARD DIALOGUE
You accidentally dialed the wrong number, but the person who answers sounds familiar. Immediately, he or she recognizes you but, because you made the call, you are too embarrassed to ask who it is. Using only dialogue, figure out who the person is.
a. Write at least twenty lines of dialogue
b. Identify each speaker ME: and OP (other person):
c. Write neatly

4. SAT WRITING
Prompt 2
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

The discovery that someone we admire has done something wrong is always disappointing and disillusioning. Yet even when people we consider heroes have been tarnished by their faults, they are no less valuable than people who appear perfect. When we learn that an admired person, even one who is seemingly perfect, has behaved in less than admirable ways, we discover a complex truth: great ideas and great deeds come from imperfect people like ourselves.

Assignment:
Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

5. SAT WRITING
Prompt 3
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Some people say you should be content with what you have and accept who you are. But it is possible that too much self-acceptance can turn into self-satisfied lack of ambition. People should always strive to improve themselves and to have more in their lives—friends, things, opportunities. After all, where would we be if great people, both in history and in our own time, did not try to have more and to improve themselves?

Assignment:
Is it best for people to accept who they are and what they have, or should people always strive to better themselves? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

6. SAT WRITING
Prompt 4
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

So-called common sense determines what people should wear, whom they should respect, which rules they should follow, and what kind of life they should lead. Common sense is considered obvious and natural, too sensible to question. But people's common sense decisions may turn out to be wrong, even if they are thought to be correct according to the judgment of vast majorities of people.

Adapted from Alain de Botton, The Consolations of Philosophy

Assignment:
Can common sense be trusted and accepted, or should it be questioned? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

7. SAT WRITING
Prompt 5
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Winning does not require people to be against someone else; people can reach their goals through cooperation just as well as they can through competition. Winning is not always the result of selfish individualism. People achieve happiness by cooperating with others to increase the happiness of all, rather than by winning at others' expense. Ours is not a world in which the price of one person's happiness is someone else's unhappiness.

Adapted from Gilbert Brim, Ambition

Assignment:
When some people win, must others lose, or are there situations in which everyone wins? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

SAT VOCAB 6

bouffant: puffed out; full
boutique: small shop specializing in fashionable clothes
chemise: loose-fitting dress
coiffure: hair style
corsage: small bouquet
cravat: necktie
ensemble: complete costume
flamboyant: showy; vivid
toupee: wig
vogue: fashion; accepted style
ambience: surroundings; environment
apropos: by the way; incidentally
avoirdupois: weight; heaviness
bagatelle: trifle
canard: false rumor; hoax
etiquette: code of behavior
fete: festival; party
milieu: setting
queue: line of people
rendezvous: prearranged meeting place
riposte: report; repartee (conversation)
sobriquet: nickname

SAT VOCAB 5

Abstruse: difficult to comprehend

Acumen: sharpness of mind

Adroit: skilful

Anachronistic: out of normal time range

Arcane: obscure; known only to few people

Autonomy: self-government

Belittlers: people who criticize/disparage

Byzantine: excessive; decadent

Consecration: dedication

Corollary: consequence; inference

Curtail: cut short

Debunkers: people who expose/throw out old ideas

Didactic: intending to preach or teach

Effacement: wiping out; (self-effacement = excessive modesty)

Egotistical: selfish

Embodiment: living example of

Epitome: essence; typical example or symbol of

Esoteric: obscure, hard to understand

Extrapolate: predict on the basis of existing data

Foster: encourage

Inane: silly

Incoherence: lack of clarity

Inconspicuous: not easily seen

Indiscriminate: without thought; random; careless

Ingenuous: naïve

Insolence: lack of respect; rudeness

PERKS PROJECT

Hi Class!

This project will be completed in-class. After each section of The Perks of Being A Wallflower you must choose one letter from that section and write a letter back to Charlie.

An “A” response will do all or most of the following:

1. Begin your letter, “Dear Charlie,”

2. Date the letter one day after the date of the letter written to you

3. Sign your letter, “Love always, your friend”

4. Address specific events that happened in each letter

5. Relate those events to real events in your life or to similar events that have happened to people you know at school

6. Offer Charlie advice on how to deal with what happened in each letter

7. Connect what happened in one letter to other events in the story

8. Write at least 150 words

Period 5: Feb - June 2011

CATCH-22
J49: DEFINE: Catch-22. What does it mean in your life
HW49: Read chapters 1 & 2 and answer study questions. Due Thursday.
J50: What is Jonas's conflict?
HW50: Read chapters 3 - 6
J51: What is irony?
HW51: Read chapters 7 - 10
J52: Free Write
HW52: Free Write
J53: Why do we like to challenge authority?
HW53: Describe several ways YOU challenge authority.
J54: Describe a time you felt out of place.
HW54: What is a snob?
J55: Define: Insanity
HW55: How should society measure “normalcy”?
J56: Why is McMurphy the hero of Cuckoo’s Nest?
HW56: Describe Nurse Ratched.
J57: What is “fairness”?
H57: What does the glass cage symbolize for the patients; for Nurse Ratched?
J58: How does the Chief achieve “invisibility”?
HW58: What is the relationship between McMurphy and Billy; McMurphy and Chief Bromden
J59: What is true strength?
HW59: Which part of the movie was your favorite?
J60: Why do we dislike Nurse Ratched?
HW60: Who wins at the end?

CATCH-22: The Movie
J61: How is Yossarian an "everyman"? Why do we identify with him?
HW61: What is Milo's role? Do we see him in society?
J62: Describe Major Major's absurd logic.
HW62: Is the old man a prophet?
J63: Is Catch-22 a metaphor for life?
HW63: How did Milo pull this off?
J64: Who is the worst character in Catch-22? Why?
HW64: Does Yossarian win in the end?

SHERLOCK HOLMES
J65: Who is Sherlock Holmes?
HW65: Why does Sherlock endure to this day?
J66: Do you believe in magic?
HW66: Is our world really controlled by a secret society?

A SOLDIER'S STORY
J67: Free Write
HW67: Free Write
J68: Why is Captain Davenport's job so difficult?
HW68: How do we fight segregation?
J69: What are the roots of prejudice?
HW69: Why is Sgt. Waters the person he is?

MEN OF RESPECT
J70: Why does violence fascinate us?
HW70: How does the filmmaker heighten the violence?
J71: If you send someone to do your dirty work, who’s responsible?
HW71: Who is a more powerful character: Mike or his wife (Ruth)?
J72: Why is Mike losing his grip?
HW72: What is the difference between a leader and a tyrant?
J73: Who are the good guys?
HW73: Describe the strange behavior of Mike and his wife.
J74: Should ambition be checked by morality?
HW74: Free Writing
J75: Do you believe in visions?
HW75: Is Mike insane or just feeling guilty?
J76: Can the truth hurt as well as help?
HW76: Discuss: Mike is more to blame than Ruth.
J77: Do you believe in charms and amulets?
HW77: How do the predictions come true?

THE CHOCOLATE WAR: The Homeworks

1. Why did Jerry say no?
2. Free Write
3. Does your answer to Journal 9 say something about you?
4. Free Write
5. Is there a saying or phrase that applies to you?
6. Is Jerry following a wise course of action?
7. Describe an awkward conversation you have had.
8. Free Write
9. Why is TCW set in a private school?
10. Would you rather be an Archie or a Jerry?
11. Should Jerry have just given in?
12.Which did you prefer the book or the movie?

THE CHOCOLATE WAR: The Journals

1. How are Archie and Leon similar?
2. What is more effective: physical or mental torture?
3. Does McKee have traditions?
4. Would you fight the Vigils or give in?
5. Describe the scene in Brother Eugene's room?
6. Free Write
7. Should students raise money for their schools?
8. Free Write
9. What would you do with Archie's power?
10. Have you ever been used by another?
11. How and why does Jerry disturb the universe?
12.Should society allow for full individuality?
13. Does Jerry have inner strength?
14. Free Write
15. Have you ever felt ostracized?
16. How come some people never lose?
17. Are people really greedy and violent?
18. What did you like or dislike about The Chocolate War?