Category: Writing

Define an articulator. Label all the articulators in a diagram. What are the three very important articulators? Why would it be extremely difficult for human beings to speak without the tongue?

Be a Gamer, Save the World by Jane McGonigal
1.     You could argue that the claim “gamers can save the world” is a bit of an OVERSTATEMENT. Why do you think Jane McGonigal uses this title in an essay on the benefits of playing computer and video games?
2.     At the end of paragraph 1, McGonigal’s CLAIM has been narrowed down to a more manageable (and defensible) topic. What is it?
3.     “Many critics consider such games a mind-numbing waste of time”. Referring to an opposing position like this in order to refute it is called “introducing a naysayer.” Where else in her ARGUMENT does McGonigal introduce naysayers? How effective is her use of this technique? Why do you say so?
4.     According to McGonigal, the number of hours that gamers worldwide have spent playing a single popular game “adds up to 5.93 million years” Point to the other places in her essay where McGonigal uses statistics like this to support her argument. How convincing do you find this EVIDENCE? Why?
5.     “Games,” says McGonigal, “provide us with the four ingredients that make for a happy and meaningful life”. What are those ingredients? How might someone like David Brooks (“What Suffering Does,”) respond to this claim?
6.     McGonigal closes her argument with a number of EXAMPLES. Which examples do you find most effective? Do they support the claim that gamers have already begun to “harness” the power of gaming “for real good”? Explain.

What is a central idea of the excerpt? Answer choices for the above question
A. Many of the most valuable lessons Harriet learned came from her parents.
B. Harriet did not trust either of her parents.
C. Other than talking to their immediate families, slaves on the plantation tended to keep to themselves.
D. When the slaves were together, they had nothing to worry about.
Which passage from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to the Question above? Answer choices for the above question
A. “Everyone on the plantation admired this skill of Ben’s. Even the master, Edward Brodas.”
B. “There was something free and wild in Harriet because of Ben.”
C. “He said the Big Buckwater River, which lay off to the southeast of the plantation, was just a little stream compared to the Choptank, and the Choptank was less than nothing compared to the Bay.”
D. “Old Rit taught Harriet the words of that song that the slaves were forbidden to sing, because of the man named Denmark Vesey, who had urged the other slaves to revolt by telling them about Moses and the children of Israel.”
By the time Harriet Ross was six years old, she had unconsciously absorbed many kinds of knowledge, almost with the air she breathed. She could not, for example, have said how or at what moment she learned that she was a slave. She knew that her brothers and sisters, her father and mother, and all the other people who lived in the quarter, men, women and children, were slaves. She had been taught to say, “Yes, Missus,” “No, Missus,” to white women, “Yes, Mas’r,” “No, Mas’r,” to white men. Or, “Yes, sah,” “No, sah.” At the same time, someone had taught her where to look for the North Star, the star that stayed constant, not rising in the east and setting in the west as the other stars appeared to do; and told her that anyone walking toward the North could use that star as a guide. She knew about fear, too. Sometimes at night, or during the day, she heard the furious galloping of horses, not just one horse, several horses, thud of the hoofbeats along the road, jingle of harness. She saw the grown folks freeze into stillness, not moving, scarcely breathing, while they listened. She could not remember who first told her that those furious hoofbeats meant the patrollers were going past, in pursuit of a runaway. Only the slaves said patterollers, whispering the word. Old Rit would say a prayer that the hoofbeats would not stop. If they did, there would be the dreadful sound of screams. Because the runaway slave had been caught, would be whipped, and finally sold to the chain gang. Thus Harriet already shared the uneasiness and the fear of the grownups. But she shared their pleasures, too. She knew moments of pride when the overseer consulted Ben, her father, about the weather. Ben could tell if it was going to rain, when the first frost would come, tell whether there was going to be a long stretch of clear sunny days. Everyone on the plantation admired this skill of Ben’s. Even the master, Edward Brodas. The other slaves were in awe of Ben because he could prophesy about the weather. Harriet stood close to him when he studied the sky, licked his forefinger and held it up to determine the direction of the wind, then announced that there would be rain or frost or fair weather. There was something free and wild in Harriet because of Ben. He talked about the arrival of the wild ducks, the thickness of the winter coat of muskrats and of rabbits. He was always talking about the woods, the berries that grew there, the strange haunting cries of some of the birds, the loud sound their wings made when they were disturbed and flew up suddenly. He spoke of the way the owls flew, their feathers so soft that they seemed to glide, soundless, through the air. Ben knew about rivers and creeks and swampy places. He said that the salt water from the Bay reached into the rivers and streams for long distances. You could stick your finger in the river water and lick it and you could taste the salt from the Bay. He had been all the way to the Chesapeake. He had seen storms there. He said the Big Buckwater River, which lay off to the southeast of the plantation, was just a little stream compared to the Choptank, and the Choptank was less than nothing compared to the Bay. All through the plantation, from the Big House to the stables, to the fields, he had a reputation for absolute honesty. He had never been known to tell a lie. He was a valued worker and a trusted one. Ben could tell wonderful stories, too. So could her mother, Old Rit, though Rit’s were mostly from the Bible. Rit told about Moses and the children of Israel, about how the sea parted so that the children walked across on dry land, about the plague of locusts, about how some of the children were afraid on the long journey to the Promised Land, and so cried out: “It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” Old Rit taught Harriet the words of that song that the slaves were forbidden to sing, because of the man named Denmark Vesey, who had urged the other slaves to revolt by telling them about Moses and the children of Israel. Sometimes, in the quarter, Harriet heard snatches of it, sung under the breath, almost whispered: “Go down, Moses …” But she learned the words so well that she never forgot them. She was aware of all these things and many other things too. She learned to separate the days of the week. Sunday was a special day. There was no work in the fields. The slaves cooked in the quarter and washed their clothes and sang and told stories. There was another special day, issue day, which occurred at the end of the month. It was the day that food and clothes were issued to the slaves. One of the slaves was sent to the Big House, with a wagon, to bring back the monthly allowance of food. Each slave received eight pounds of pickled pork or its equivalent in fish, one bushel of Indian meal (corn meal), one pint of salt. Once a year, on issue day, they received clothing. The men were given two tow-linen shirts, two pairs of trousers, one of tow-linen, the other woolen, and a woolen jacket for winter. The grownups received one pair of yarn stockings and a pair of shoes. The children under eight had neither shoes, stockings, jacket nor trousers. They were issued two tow-linen shirts a year—short, one-piece garments made of a coarse material like burlap, reaching to the knees. These shirts were worn night and day. They were changed once a week. When

Elaborate: Use the graphic organizer below to describe Rolf Carle, the main character in the story. You may write
outside of the circles or use another piece of paper if you need more space. Physical Description Personality Traits
Rolf Carle Feelings Behavior

What is the theme of “Dish Night” by Michael Martone? How does the image of dishes & china develop the theme? Paragraph response–two pieces of evidence.
Image transcription text
Dish Night Michael Martone Every Wednesday was Dish Night at the Wells Theatre. And it worked because she was there, week in and week out. She sat through the movie to get her white bone china. A saucer. A cup. The ushers stood on chairs by the doors and reached into the big wooden crates. There was straw all over the ?oor of the lobby and bals of newspaper from strange cities. I knew she was the girl for me. I’d walk her home. She’d hug the dish to her chest. The street lights would be on and the moon behind the trees. She’d talk about collecting enough pieces for our family of eight. “Oh, it’s everyday and I know it,” she’d say, holding it at arm’s length. “They’re so modern and simple and something we’ll have a long time a?er we forget about the movies.” I forget just what happened then. She heard about Pearl Harbor at a Sunday matinee. They stopped the movie, and a man came out on stage. The blue stage lights ?ooded the gold curtain. It was dark in there, but outside it was bright and cold. They didn’t ?nish the show. Business would pick up then, and the Wells Theatre wouldn’t need a Dish Night to bring the people in. The one we had gone to the week before was the last one ever and we hadn’t known it. The gravy boat looked like a slipper. I went to the war, to Europe where she’d write to me on lined school paper and never failed to mention we were a few pieces shy of the full set. This would be the movie of my life, this walking home under the moon from a movie with a girl holding a dinner plate under her arm like a book. I believed this is what I was fighting for. Everywhere in Europe I saw broken pieces of crockery. In the farmhouses, the cafes. Along the roads were dri?s of smashed china. On a beach, in the sand where I was crawling, I found a bit of it the sea washed in, all smooth with blue veins of a pattern. I came home and washed the dishes every night, and she stacked them away, bowls nesting on bowls as if we were moving the next day. The green ?eld is covered with these tables. The sky is huge and spread with clouds. The pickup trucks and wagons are backed in close to each table so that people can sit on the lowered tailgates. On the tables are thousands of dishes. She walks ahead of me. Picks up a cup then sets it down again. A plate. She runs her ?nger around a rim. The green ?eld rises slightly as we walk, all the places set at the tables. She hopes she will ?nd someone else who saw the movies she saw on Dish Night. The theater was ?lled with people. I was there. We do this every Sunday after church.
Show less

1. What is “collection” in the rain cycle?
2. No living thing would be able to ___________ without the water cycle
3. At the end of the show, Bill Nye says, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some ___________ percolation range to compute”

“IMAGINE THE ANGELS OF BREAD” poem by Martin Espada
1) The simile comparing squatters to admirals (lines 1-2) creates an image of a world that is
a)comical.
b)realistic.
c)malevolent.
d)topsy turvy.
2) Espada’s repetition of the phrase “This is the year” throughout the poem suggests that each event the speaker imagines must happen in order to
a) eliminate suffering and right the injustices in the world.
b) wrench power from the people who really deserve it.
c) punish the people who have created such a harsh world.
d) inspire people to vent their anger against an unfair system.
3) In lines 12-16, the speaker imagines that “raging cops” discover that their guns and nightsticks
a) have been collected and destroyed.
b) have been given to refugees by judges.
c) can no longer be used to oppress others.
d) give them a great deal of power.
4) The image of the ghosts of murdered black men (lines 17-22) sipping “coffee / quietly with the apologizing descendants / of their executioners” ends the first stanza on a note of
a) retribution.
b) hope.
c) injustice.
d) anger.
5) In lines 23-25, “those / who swim the border’s undertow” refers to
a)fish that live in the Rio Grande.
b)people who sneak across the border.
c)thugs who engage in shady dealings.
d)the alligator problem in the South.
6) Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole. In the second stanza, the speaker says “this is the year that the hands / pulling tomatoes from the vine / uproot the deed to the earth that sprouts the vine.” What part is being used to represent a whole?
a) “earth” represents people
b) “tomatoes” represents vines
c) “deed” represents law
d) “hands” represents farm  workers
7) The description of “eyes / stinging from the poison that purifies toilets” (lines 35-36) creates a vivid image of
a)a person who works as a house cleaner.
b)a person who owns a chemical factory.
c)someone who seeks medical attention.
d)an immigrant who works in a cannery.
8) In lines 50-61, Espada’s repetition of the words
if
and
then
a)makes the reader doubt that any of these things can happen.
b)creates a feeling of hopelessness and despair.
c)sets up a rhythm that builds momentum and dramatic tension.
d)intensifies the feelings of rage and retaliation.
9) The words
vision, imagination,
and
idea
in the next-to-last stanza convey a tone that can best be described as
a)fanciful.
b)hopeful.
c)pensive.
d)uncertain.
10) In the last stanza, the speaker wishes for
a)headstones to be repaired.
b)bread to be given to the hungry.
c)the oppressors to be humiliated.
d)the downtrodden to be uplifted.

There are many types of rain, and they all are different mood. Spring rain on fields and flowers can feel refreshing. On the other hand, cold, steady rain in the middle of winter can make you feel a little sad. A thunderstorm might feel frightening, or it might feel exciting. All types of rain are necessary to water the earth’s grasses and plants. No matter where you are, you can use the mood created by rain as an inspiration to start writing.
What sentence is the topic sentence of the paragraph.
What sentence is irrelevant to the topic and can be eliminated.
List four types of grammatical or punctuation errors to look for when you’re proofreading.
Complete the following two steps:
Define the term
cliché
.
Give an example of a cliché. Write one sentence using the cliché and another that replaces the cliché with your own original wording.
Name and explain two types of prewriting.
Choose one of the following prompts. Write five-sentence paragraph using chronological order and including a topic sentence to explain the steps you would take to complete one of the following tasks.
Preparing for a test
Preparing to host a party or an event
Getting ready for work
Cleaning your room or your home
Building a snowman, sandcastle, or sculpture
Creating a budget
Choose one of the following topics. Write eight-sentence paragraph that fully develops the topic.
Following instructions is very important.
Job-training programs (such as Job Corps) are valuable to both employers and potential employees.
Advances in technology have changed the way people interact with each other.
A high school diploma is important to my future.
For some people, entering the work force is a better choice than going to college.
Having strong writing skills will improve both my personal and professional communication.

We Used to ‘Cane’ in America; Let’s Do it Again
By Ed Koch, mayor of New York from 1978-89.
The caning sentence in Singapore of a young American for vandalism ignited an emotional debate about the deteriorat­ing state of law and order in our own society. Caning was legal in the United States until it was ruled unconstitutional in 1948. We ought to amend the Constitution and bring caning back to help restore order to our streets.
The caning I have in mind doesn’t have to be the Singapore type, brutally adminis­tered to the point of physical shock. It could be a more severe version of the belt lashing my father used to give me.  And I am not alone in my view. Every time I go out on a speaking engagement, I poll my audience: If you knew that you were to cane every convict­ed drug dealer and that would vastly reduce drug dealing and recidivism, would you support the reintroduction of caning? Overwhelmingly people, including liberals, raise their hands in affirmation.
People in America are fed up with the fact that crime and recidivism – 50% of criminals in America are repeat offend­ers — continue to mount no matter how many people get sent to jail. Imprisonment has become our penalty of choice for almost every offense in the criminal code. Commit murder; go to prison. Sell cocaine; go to prison. Kite checks; go to prison. It is an all-purpose punishment. Some 1.6 million Americans are behind bars today. That represents a 150 percent increase since 2000, and the number is climbing. Yet there is no other form of punishment available but the death penalty, which applies, as it should, to only a limited number of crimes. And then we don’t even execute people very often. There is a federal law that allows the death penalty for major drug kingpins. I wish we would use it, but we never have.
Clearly, we need some form of punish­ment between death and ineffectual jail sentences. From my experience as mayor of New York, I know that judges are prone to send people to jail only for the worst crimes. They say that we must save the overcrowded jail space for the more violent offenders or that prison turns juveniles into adept criminals. Well, let’s do the right thing and give the justice system another option. I have little doubt that the fear of being caned would deter people from engaging in the kinds of crimes they now do with impunity.
The price of keeping criminals in cages is appalling – about $40,000 per inmate per year. And for many offenders a stint in prison becomes a sign of manhood, a status symbol. But there would be no status for the criminal if he were chained to an outdoor post and flogged. If young punks were horsewhipped in public after their first conviction, fewer of them would harden into lifelong felons. A humiliating and painful paddling can be applied to the rear end of a crook for a lot less than $40,000 – and prove a lot more educational than ten years’ worth of prison meals and lockdowns.
“Too degrading,” some will say. “Too brutal.” But where is it written that being whipped is more degrading than being caged? Why is it more brutal to cane a wrongdoer than to throw him in prison – where the risk of being beaten, raped, or murdered is terrifyingly high? The
Globe
reported in 2004 that more than 200,000 prison inmates are raped each year, usually to the indifference of the guards. “The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who…are convicted of nonviolent offenses,” former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman has written, “border on the unimaginable.” Are those horrors preferable to the short, sharp shame of corporal punishment?
There are deeper causes to the deterioration of social order in America that Singapore’s elder statesman, Lee Kuan Yew, pointed out in a recent interview. He says that civil society has broken down in America because the freedom of the indi­vidual has become so inviolable as to be elevated to a dogma at the expense of society and because the family, “the sur­vival raft of the individual,” has fallen apart in too many cases. This has led, he says, “to the erosion of the moral underpinning of American society and the dimi­nution of personal responsibility.” The arch-left-wing philosophy in this country that held sway in criminal justice until recently was that the rights of society are not as important as the rights of the individual. I don’t buy that and neither do most thinking Americans today. I agree with Lee that the belief that society would flourish if everybody did their own thing is wrong and contrary to human nature.
The breakdown of the family in America is not a fact just in the minority communi­ties, but across the board, among the white population as well. If the parent is not there to discipline the kids when they do something wrong, that must be done by the state. Part of the arch-left philosophy is the idea that kids from broken families are victims. Here I also agree with Lee: Being a “victim of society” is no excuse. If you do something wrong, you should be punished. Personal responsibility must be restored. The state can’t put the family back together. But it can teach values in the public schools. Some people think you can’t teach values without teaching religion. That is baloney. Values transcend religion. To teach that “thou shall not kill” or “thou shall not steal” doesn’t mean you have to teach the Ten Commandments as given to Moses. To teach love and respect for your parents isn’t teaching Confucianism.
I am not advocating that America become a Singapore. I am saying that there are alternatives within the beloved U.S Constitution to cope with the out-of-con­trol criminality that makes us fear for our lives in our own neighborhoods. Crime is out of control, despite the deluded happy talk by some politicians about how “safe” cities have become. For most wrongdoers, the odds of being arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated are reassuringly long. Fifty-eight percent of all murders do not result in a prison term. Likewise 98 percent of all burglaries.
The ACLUs and the Ted Kennedy liberals are still holding on. But the sympathy being shown in America for common sense in Singapore indicates that our troubled society is at a turning point.  Americans know we must balance the interests of society and the individual. Lee has said that America will change because it doesn’t want to fail in the world by sticking to a losing formula. I couldn’t agree more, and that is the basis of my hope for this great country.
Directions: Analyze and evaluate “We Used to Cane in America; Let’s Do It Again.”
Issue:
Conclusion:
Reasons:
(R1)
(R2)
(R3)
(R4)
(R5)
(R6)
Ambiguous Terms (Term + clarification questions)
1.
2.
Value Conflict:
Descriptive Assumptions (unstated):

1.    We have a mouse in the house.________, we should get a cat.
a.    Unfortunately
b.   Therefore
2.    Lisa got into a car accident. _________, her insurance rate increased.
a.    Furthermore
b.   As a result
3.    Linda is very athletic and plays on the school basketball team. ____________, her brother just stays at home and plays video games all day.
a.    However
b.   In addition
4.    There are many occupations today._____________, you can become a doctor, engineer, teacher, artist, athlete, musician, or chef, just to name a few.
a.    Such as
b.   For example
5.    The US government has been spending its money recklessly for too long. _____________, the plans that Congress proposes are destined to put the nation at great economic risk in the future.
a.    Furthermore
b.   As a result
6.    Getting a college degree is important. __________, building a good network of friends is crucial to future success.
a.    In conclusion
b.   More importantly
7.    Hawaii is a beautiful place to live. _______________, Siberia is a very inhospitable location.
a.    In addition
b.   On the contrary
8.    Eating well will help you live a healthier life. __________, exercising every day is also highly recommended.
a.  Moreover
b.  As a result
9.    Do you enjoy completing these grammar exercises? ________, you should be able to improve your writing skills in no time!
a.  Then
b.  Yet
10. Moving from one country to another can result in culture shock. __________, the language barrier that many immigrants face can lead to a long life of hardship
a.  However
b.  In addition
11. Polls show that Tony Blair is the most popular Prime Minister this century. ________________ , there are even members of his own party who are uneasy with his approach.
a.        In particular
b.        However
12. There are some slight variations in temperature. _______________ , 26 to 27ºC should be expected.
a.        consequently
b.        otherwise
13. The two main Channel Islands; __________, Jersey, and Guernsey are much closer to France than to England.
a.        for example
b.        namely
14. It was announced that nurses’ working hours would be increased by 25%. ______________ , even fewer trainee nurses are expected to join the profession.
a.        As a result
b.        So that
15. Sales of CDs have experienced a small but steady fall over the past 12 months. _____________ , vinyl records have seen an increase in their share of the market, up to 1.7%.
a.       Above all
b.        In contrast
16. The Vice Chancellor explained that in light of the current financial climate and because of unexpected bad debts, it would be necessary to peg salary levels at their current level for all grades of staff. _______, no-one was getting a pay rise.
a.       Nevertheless
b.          In other words
17. It is clear that the situation in Brazil will improve only slowly. ______________, the economic problems being experienced in Japan, the outlook is slightly more optimistic.
a.        In comparison
b.        nonetheless
18. In order to try to reduce car use in the inner cities, the government has announced new restrictions on company parking spaces and ______________ a new tax on individual car use.
a.        as well as
b.         in the same way
19. Essays must be handed in by the deadline. ______________ ,they will not be marked.
a.         obviously
b.         otherwise
20. ______________ it has been shown that fractures can occur at even relatively low pressures, the use of the material should not be completely discounted.
a.         Because
b.         Even though