The Weeks of March 30 & April 6

Thesis Paper

We will continue to work on thesis papers the next two weeks. We will begin the week of March 30 by discussing plagiarism. We will then begin the research aspect of this paper on Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday. The class will meet in the library on these three days. We will work on peer evaluations and revisions during the week of April 6. The due dates for this paper are as follows:
Thursday, April 2 --Part II of thesis paper
Wednesday, April 8 -- Completed rough draft (print out a revised copy of the outline, works cited page, and the completed rough draft)
Wednesday, April 22 -- Final thesis paper due (Need to hand in a revised copy of the outline, works cited page, & final draft of the paper)

Website for plagiarism test: http://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/item1.html

Unit 3: The Effects of War on a Culture

The final unit of the year -- The Effects of War on a Culture -- will begin by the class reading the novel Night. I will be giving you this novel on Monday, April 6 and will discuss your responsibilities while reading the novel. The book needs to be completed by Monday, April 20.

Assignments for the Week of March 23

This week we will end our discussion on The House on Mango Street. Creative vignettes are due Friday, March 27. Reminder -- Vignettes handed in on Monday, March 30 will be penalized 2 letter grades lower & no papers will be accepted after that date. Please review the assignment sheet for the requirements for this creative project. This will be the last major grade for the marking period.

We will also begin working on our The Treatment of Women in Other Cultures thesis paper. This will be a comparison/contrast paper & will involve some research material to use as secondary sources. You will have to complete an organizational outline, a works cited page, and a rough draft for this paper. Due dates for each will be given in class. Although most of the process of this thesis paper will be included in the 3rd marking period, the final draft of the thesis paper (100 points) will be included in the 4th marking period.

Assignments for the Week of March 2

We will be finishing Romeo and Juliet by the end of this week. Therefore, you will need to complete your character log entry by Monday, March 9. Keep in mind this log entry is to be a formal writing. I have noticed the log entries from Nectar in a Sieve and The Namesake seemed rushed, lack focus and organization, and do not have quotes from the work to support your points. This is a must. We are now in the second half of the year and you should know the requirements for a log entry. Keep in mind that to document a quote from a play is different from a novel. Look at your instruction sheet for the log entry in order to properly document from Romeo and Juliet. I have also noticed in my gradebook that many of you are not doing your assignments or are handing them in late. Both of these things will obviously lower your grade significantly. I will provide you with an updated grade on Friday. This will be the grade you will be getting on your progress reports. As far as a final assessment for Romeo and Juliet goes, we will be doing an alternative end assessment. Although this is a creative activity, it will include a great deal of work. I have high expectations for the end results. More will follow on this end assessment at the end of this week or the beginning of the next week. Have a great week. I will be out of class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If you need me on those days, you may find me in my office at the end of the day.