Here is a link to my powerpoint presentation, Writing Movie Reviews.
Remember that you should be able to write this essay without looking up information. By watching the movie, you should have enough information to write the whole essay and use your own words. Unless you are going to include broader information about the setting or the movie’s impact or the actors’ careers, you don’t need to do any research.
TOEFL Practice – Listening 2.2
Same instructions as last week’s lab (see here) but follow do this for #4:
Listen to the CD (Disk 1, Tracks 5 and 8-10) and answer the questions on the handout. (Exercises 2.2.A and 2.2.B are omitted from this lab. Do only 2.2.C, 2.2.D and 2.2.E for your practice.)
TOEFL practice – Listening 2.1
This is a lab that will help you practice listening and test-taking skills for the TOEFL iBT. It will also show you a variety of academic topics and skills, so it should help you even if you aren’t planning to take the TOEFL.
1. Before going to the lab, read the introduction and the instructions for each section.
2. Go to the Language Resource Center (Stabler Hall 201) during its open hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Remember that if you wait until Thursday and many others do the same, all of you may not be able to use the listening equipment.
3. Tell the lab worker you want to do Shayna’s lab. At least six people can listen at the same time, but it’s best if you all start together.
4. Listen to the CD (Disk 1, Tracks 1-4) and answer the questions on the handout (Exercises 2.1.A, 2.1.B and 2.1.C). You may listen more than once, but I recommend playing the tracks all the way through without stopping the first time. You do not need to do the Extension exercises on page 218.
5. After you do the lab, take your completed handout to Shayna’s office (203 O) and put it in the box next to the door. You must do your lab before class on Friday.
Participle: a verb form which is used as an adjective. These can be…
Participial phrase: a participle used in a group of words (phrase) which modifies a noun or pronoun.
A participial phrase usually modifies the subject of the sentence. If your participial phrase is meant to describe a noun that is not the subject, you may have a confusing sentence with a “dangling participle.”
Example:
Trying to answer the doorbell, my dog barked at me.
Who is answering the doorbell, you or your dog? Rewrite the sentence so that it is clearer. You may need to use an adverb clause, or change the participial phrase.
While I tried to answer the doorbell, my dog barked at me.
Barking at me, my dog prevented me from answering the doorbell.
Resources and practice:
“Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk
Vocabulary to discuss in class
Vocabulary to get from context
For each of these words,
- list the context clues that can help you determine the meaning of the word
- write what you think the word means (don’t use a dictionary!)
Things to notice while you read
Is this a personal essay?
Figurative language
– Words and phrases that create a mental picture of something by comparing it, directly or indirectly, to something else
In the essay, to what literal things do the following phrases refer?
Variation: the following phrase is concrete, but refers to something abstract.
Can you find other examples? Look especially in paragraphs 10 and 11.
North American Longtail Weasel (photo from U.S. National Parks Service)
Radio listening and writing – This I Believe
This I Believe is a project on NPR in which listeners can submit essays about their personal beliefs.
“[Host] Allison and [producer] Gediman say their goal is not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, they hope to encourage people to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”
These are good examples of personal essays.
A. Listening
Listen to the following essays once before you read them.
There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue (5:25)
“Jason Sheehan heard our series on his car radio and told us he liked the concept because for many people, belief is just a nebulous clutter of half-held convictions, but the process of putting them down on paper helps cement those few things a person truly believes: the core of a principled life.
“He also noted that the subject of his belief was sitting on the seat next to him in two plastic bags.”
Vocabulary:
How does Jason Sheehan believe that barbecue helped change culture in the Deep South, which was racist against African Americans?
The Connection Between Strangers (4:36)
“[Sometimes the most important events in our life are just short moments.] These moments may seem insignificant at the time, but they reverberate afterwards, and even become the basis of a life’s credo. This is what happened to Miles Goodwin.”
Vocabulary
Why was Miles Goodwin nervous on the airplane?
What happened that “touched” him (gave him a good feeling in his heart)?
B. Writing
Read the details about the rules these writers were using when they wrote their essays.
What would you say? Write a short essay about a belief you have. Try to be personal and specific. (More personal and specific than, for instance, “I believe in God” or “I believe in my country.”) Try to follow all of the rules above. Don’t forget to illustrate your belief with a story!
You may write or type your short essay, but please be legible!
Nonfiction Reading Series Article #3 – reading guide
“Unmarried, With Children” by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert – Newsweek May 28, 2001
Vocabulary
Topics to notice while you read
Cultural reference
At the beginning of the article, the writer refers to an American TV show from the 1950s, Leave It to Beaver. This family sitcom (situation comedy) featured a mother and father, Ward and June Cleaver, and their two sons, Wally and “Beaver” (“the Beav”). Here is a scene from Leave It to Beaver.
Nonfiction Reading Series Article #1 – reading guide
“A Zero-Emissions City in the Desert” by Kevin Bullis
Vocabulary
Topics to notice while you read
There will be a quiz and discussion on this article on Friday, October 30. On Thursday, October 29, you will have an opportunity to ask questions about the article.
We will finish Book 1 of our textbook soon and will have Exam 2. Following are the pages and topics you should study for the exam:
Unit 7
Unit 9
Unit 11
Other: Describing a process
We will have our first test on Friday, Sept 25. To prepare for this test, you may use the study guide I gave you in class and do activities in the workbook.
Unit 1
Unit 3
Unit 5
This is homework, due Thursday. We will talk about these exercises in class on Thursday, so please be prepared if you have any questions.
Also, see the previous post for information about our class listening activity.
