Making a start.

Guest Post by Nothixo
Featured Image is “The Graduate” by Norman Rockwell

In class we have started looking at writings that give advice. The following is the first part of a speech ,taken from ‘writemypapers.org’, giving advice to students who are starting high school.
Comment on the language and style used to achieve its purpose.

“My Advice for First Steps in High School I sincerely congratulate you on your admission to start high school. As you begin, I invite you to ask yourself the following questions: What is my overall goal in this school? What friends will I have? Will I participate in extracurricular activities? How will I respond to my teachers and relate to my colleagues? Think deeply about these. Pause for a moment to give answers to some or all of them. And see if you can align your responses with my advice. High school calls for more responsibility from you than was required in lower grades. Now is the time to see life more clearly and get closer to choosing your interests. Education at this stage offers you an opportunity to discover yourself: explore it. Build on your strengths while you work hard on diminishing your weaknesses. I strongly advise you to set specific goals for yourself. Define your academic objectives. Aim to be the best student in your class throughout the grades. Start preparing for college. Write down these goals as you want them and post your write-up where you can always see it. You may also want to participate in one or two extracurricular activities, go ahead. Get as many awards as you can both in class and on the playing field. Look for friends that share these goals, and cooperate with them. Develop a team spirit as you work with your friends will help you later in life.”

Me, you and them.

Guest Post by Tanatswa
Featured Image by Jaisamp

Last week we were talking about Point Of View, which I enjoyed a lot. . They  are three types of POV which are : First person,Second person and Third person POV. In the extracts below would you ladies please comment on each of them stating the type of POV and why you are saying so. Thank you!!

Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

“I could picture it. I have a habit of imagining the conversations between my friends. We went out to the Cafe Napolitain to have an aperitif and watch the evening crowd on the Boulevard.”

 

Dr.Seuss Oh, the places you’ll go!

 

“You have brains in your head.You have feet in your shoes.You can steer yourself any direction you choose.You’re own your own.And you know what you know.

E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web 

“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite too her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself.It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.

Charlotte was both.”

A “fron­tier, a dangerous wilderness, a haven for outlaws”…

Welcome Class!

I hope this blog will be a useful tool for our class discussions, as well as a way to expand your knowledge of various texts and forms of language. Please check the blog regularly for any notices or updates on assignments. You can even comment or email our blog email address if you need any clarification on a topic.

In class we can discuss further how we will use the blog to augment our study of English language texts. For now, however, I thought I’d provide you with some written examples of some of the ideas we talk about in class. Having thought a lot about our “Romance novel set in the Wild West” writing assignment, I set out to find an example. I thought that the theme of the frontier might also suit our unlikely blog name, which is an even unlikelier name for stockings, if you ask me. If you’d like to indulge in some very racy and easy reading (and if you can stomach a book that might as well be subtitled “Such a Pity Slavery Had to End”), I’d recommend reading Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath, because it is a perfect example of the form/genre/purpose/tone that we discussed. Also, Texas is, as I’m sure you know, on the border with Mexico. #thematiccohesion

What do you think of these extracts? All of them, I assure you, are 100% real.

“Amelia’s eyes flew open as the deep voice enve­loped her like a warm blanket on an autumn eve­ning. Through her tears, she saw the profile of a tall man wearing a long black coat. His very pres­ence was strong enough to block out the after­noon sun. She could tell little about his appearance except that he’d obviously bought a new hat in order to impress her. He wore it low so it cast a dark shadow over his face, a shadow that shimmered through her tears. Although he wasn’t wearing her flowers on his hat, she was certain she was meeting her future husband. Brushing the tears away from her eyes, she gave him a tremulous smile. “Mr. Leigh?” “Yes, ma’am.” Slowly, he pulled his hat from his head. The shadows retreated to reveal a strong, bold profile. His black hair curled over his collar. A strip of leather creased his forehead and circled his head…” (Texas Destiny 18)

“Dear God, but she was lovely, like a spring sun­rise tempting the flowers to unfurl their petals. Her pale lashes rested on her pink-tinged cheeks. Her lips, even in sleep, curved into the barest hint of a smile. He had spotted her right off, as soon as she’d arrived at the door of the railway car. Beneath that godawful ugly hat, the sun had glinted off hair that looked as though it had been woven from moonbeams. The smile she had given the porter as he’d helped her down the steps—even at a dis­tance—had knocked the breath out of Houston..” (Texas Destiny 34)

What can you say of the vocabulary choices? How do they help to construct a sense of the characters in a way that maybe serves the form and genre? I’d relish to hear your thoughts! Comment below!

See you in class!

Ms Roberts