When the bell rings, start a new page headed with today’s date. Answer this question: What skills, knowledge, abilities, etc. do you have that will help you and your classmates succeed in this class?

Your Critical Friend

Today’s Menu Expectations and Goals Website Introduction Essay Editing Cornell Notes What is an essay? Types of essays Homework: “Two ways of Seeing a River” read chpt. 1 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay Revision

IB Coming to Park High School Fall 2010

The learner profile states IB students are: Inquirers Knowledgeable Thinkers Communicators Principled Open-Minded Caring Risk-Takers Balanced Reflective

Peer Editing: Mechanics, etc. First Step! SENTENCE FLUENCY: 1. Underline any sentences that are either AWKWARD, RUN-ONS, COMMA-SPLICES, OR SENTENCE FRAGMENTS. Explain what is wrong with the sentence in the margin of the paper. 2. Draw a box around transitions in the essay.

CONVENTIONS: 1. Correct any punctuation errors you find throughout the paper. 2. Circle spelling errors in the paper.

Peer Editing: ORGANIZATION AND IDEA DEVELOPMENT Introduction: 1. Does the paper begin with an attention getter? Rate the attention getter on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being “awesome” 2. Write the paper’s thesis statement at the top of the first page. 3. Did the entire paper address the topic and opinion expressed in the thesis statement? Yes or No—write at the top.

For Each Body Paragraph: 1. Underline the first sentence of this paragraph. Is this a topic sentence or is it a sentence that includes specific details that belong later in the paragraph? If not a topic sentence, write TS? in the margin. 2. Star at least two supporting details the writer used to support the topic sentence. 3. Did the writer support point number one from his/her thesis statement?

Concluding Paragraph: 1. Number the points the writer summarizes in the conclusion: 2. Put brackets around the closing statement the writer uses to bring the paper to a close.

The Cornell Note-Taking System This note-taking strategy offers a way to take notes and review them without recopying them onto note cards. This time saver allows you to spend more time actively reviewing your notes rather than mindlessly recopying them.

Format The format for the Cornell system is the key to success. The left margin is marked with a line 2.5 inches from the edge; this is called the cue column. The note-taking column is the remaining 6 inches of the page. Draw a horizontal line 2 inches from the bottom of the page to mark off the summary.

Topic What’s it about? Summarize Subtopic Main Idea #1 Facts Incidents Reasons Examples/Evidence Statistics Main Idea #2 Detail

Record Use the larger note-taking column to record notes during the lecture, leaving a space when you miss information in class. You can then to fill in any missed information after class. These spaces are also useful so you can and add reflections made later.

Question Soon after class, use the cue column to formulate questions about the notes. Formulating these questions not only helps you prepare for studying later, but also helps you make important connections and understand the information better. At the end of your notes for that class write, in you own words, a brief summary of your notes and any comments you have about the ideas. This, more than anything, will help you memorize and learn class material. This step will also act as a warning signal for students who do not understand the material. Can’t summarize = Don’t understand

Recite When you study your notes cover the note- taking column, revealing only the questions. Answer the questions out loud and in your own words, only looking at the notes if necessary.

Reflect Think about the ideas in your notes by asking yourself questions such as "What is the relevance of these ideas?" "How do they relate to other information and what I already know?" This process will solidify the material in your memory and enable you to move beyond merely memorizing the material. Your ideas can then be written into your note-taking column to draw the connections made and to review them.

Review Doing a weekly review of your notes will help you retain much of the information in your long term memory and make exam studying much easier.

Topic Preview Narration Description Process Definition Division/Classification Compare/Contrast Cause and Effect

Some Essay Topics Narration Ex: "My uncle was a Vietnam War veteran who died in the war; I would like to see the Memorial." Description Ex: "I would visit the FDR Memorial to see the cascading waterfalls, the bold engravings, and the amazing sculptures." Process Ex: "To decide on what to visit, I would first buy a guide to the Washington D.C. area; I would mark the pages for the places I would like to visit. Next, I would research them further on the Internet before making my final decisions."

Some More Essay Topics Definition Ex: "The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is less museum and more memorial, as evidenced by its dedication to the memory of all the innocents who were killed in Nazi Germany's attempt to create a "pure" race." Division / Classification (as explained in Silva Rhetoricae) This "topic is very closely related to the topic of Definition, but differs in that it is not attempting to classify something by placing it as a species within a genus." This topic focuses on "describing a whole and its constituent parts, or the parts that make up a whole."Definition Ex: "The Museum of Natural History is the best museum to visit because it has sections dedicated to Dinosaurs, a whole new area for Mammals with lots of stuffed examples, and has the best cafeteria in the entire Smithsonian system."

Even More Essay Topics Compare / Contrast Ex: "The Lincoln Memorial's Greek style is less appealing to me than the garden feeling inspired by the FDR Memorial, with its open style and rushing water." Cause and Effect Ex: "I want to visit the Vietnam War Memorial because it was built as both a monument to the soldiers' sacrifice as well as a testament to the severe cost of the war, reflecting without bias the tensions surrounding the conflict in an effort to bring reconciliation and healing."