Weekly Paper

While we study World History, your homework will be the Weekly Paper. All papers are due on Mondays and I will not accept late papers. Please post the papers to me by email or submit them in class. You may comment on the readings on the blog for extra credit.

My objectives are for you to read a variety of text (novels, images, essays, films, articles, poems, stories and multimedia productions; to improve your writing; and to write about a subject that interests you. The text selections will be provided on this blog so everyone is expected to use the Internet to complete these assignments.

Step 1: Decide what you will read.
Step 2: Read the text. Jot down some questions about the text that will help you read it better.

Step 3: Write a 1-page paper that is:

• double spaced and typed, uses 12 point font and 1.25-inch margins
• Establishes a clear thesis in your opening paragraph
• Is organized into paragraphs, each with a main idea that relates to and builds on your thesis
• Includes examples from the text
• Includes a title that is helpful in the reader's understanding of your ideas
• Follows the format of the sample paper: headers, citation, recommendation
• Shows you know how to format titles: quotation marks for poems, articles, stories, essays, songs; Italics for books, cd's, movies, magazines, newspapers
• Is revised
• Is proofread

(excerpted and adapted from Jim Burke's The English Teacher's Companion, second edition)