Hello all! As we transition to the next unit, please be sure you have carefully read though the 5 options for the nonfiction text, and that you have your top 3 choices, in order of preference, ready for Tuesday/Wednesday.

THREE POSSIBLE ESSAY FORMATS: REMINDERS

For the Ender's Game essay on manipulation (due next week, ROUGH DRAFT due Thurs/Fri this week) there is not one format, since it will depend a great deal on your thesis statement.

• If you are writing a cause and effect essay, you will have a paragraph after the intro showing the cause(s) of whatever manipulation form you chose and then the effects will be at least another 3 paragraphs, maybe 4 depending on your focus and evidence, then a conclusion.
• If you are instead showing that manipulation is a human trait, it will be a straightforward 5 paragraph essay: intro, hinted manipulation, developed manipulation, fully realized manipulation, conclusion tying Ender's experience to our own world.
• Finally, you can compare and contrast two experiences of manipulation in the book (this is the hardest). After the intro, you would have 3 short paragraphs outlining how one character used or experienced manipulation (beginning, middle, end), a transition sentence or paragraph, then 3 more short paragraphs outlining hte same for another character, followed by a paragraph tying the 2 experiences into what we, as readers, learn from the contrasting characters, about manipulation.

These are the same directions I gave verbally last week, but a student reminded me that we all could use repetition, sometimes.

The second six week grades are fast approaching. PLEASE check your grades. 
Remember--All late work and revisions are due by Nov. 12 (A-days) and Nov. 13 (B-days). I will not make exceptions, as this is a chance for you to raise your original score, not a new assignment. If you want to guarantee a higher grade in this class, take advantage of this opportunity now. 

Your dialectic journal check #2 (at least 12 entries, ch. 10-15) is coming as soon as we are scheduled to complete the book (it will also help you complete your essay!). Let me know if you are struggling--all your entries for the second half should be focused on the single theme you turned in to me last week.

Essay rough draft? Yes! It is due on 11/14-11/15. We will be discussing format off and on all week. The final draft will be turned in on 11-19/11-20.