Excellent Exam Essay Samples

Another portrayal of how Prufrock's self worth is lowered is through is self-depreciative nature. After a line break, Prufrock explains, "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be." in his own life, Profrock still feels that he is not the main character, shown through his allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rather than believe his the Adonis to his someone, he believes that his simply alive to benefit others rather than himself. He additionally protests that he is "no prophet and here's no great matter." This backing his belief that he is simply ordinary and not a life that will result in changing others. This sense he has that he is not important is again a cause of his self worth being lowered. 

-Cullen Ogden

Ideas that are articulated through body paragraph format. Offers much evidence for support, and is clear through use of both giving context and follow up comment as to the effectiveness of the quote. High formal diction is mostly used. Topic sentence uses a transition to remind the reader of the thesis and redirect toward the subtopic that will be discussed.

      In the poem, The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, the poet T.S. Eliot uses the character Prufrock to illustrate that modern men have a mindset in which they are afraid of what others think of them. 
     Modern men, according to Eliot, are fearful of how they are viewed by others, and worry about being not only judged but also misunderstood. In the poem, J. Alfred Prufrock is wanting to ask a question that he is afraid to hear the answer to, and does not know how to pose it. He says, in Stanza 9, lines 7 and 8, "And how should I then presume and how should I begin?" Eliot conveys the modern man, Prufrock's hesitance by ...
     ...Prufrock, or the modern man, is not capable of blatantly blurting out what he means because of the innate fear of being misunderstood. The poet makes light of the fact that modern men are not necessarily afraid of material things such as guns or a lack of money, but that their plight is psychological, such as the fear of being judged by others. 

-Yoonjie Park
Language is in high formal diction and yet easy to follow through use of organized argumentation. A sense of control and understanding of deep implications of the poem is demonstrated.

Wordsworth is at once mesmerized by the magnificence of the urban environment. He establishes this reverence from when he first mentions the city in line 4 by expressing that "This City now doth, like a garment wear / the beauty of the morning, silent. bare." Wordsworth molds the city as a sacred environment by adding life to the inanimate city through personification. his choice to clothe the city with "The beauty of the morning" alos gives the impression that this beauty would ware off during the day and be redressed in the following morning. This conveys the sense that the city will hold its beauty eternally, but that this moment he is sharing the city is sacred nonetheless. He also expresses the city's many infrastructures as lying "open unto the fields and to the sky". Wordsworth deviates form the norm of describing the urban environment as one that causes claustrophobia and rather conveys the sense of freedom in the city through his use of "open" and "sky". he is able to find relieve in the setting itself. Through connect thing urban environment and juxtaposing it with the natural, he also touches on the fat that ...
     Wordsworth shows both his appreciate and irritation on the urban setting through his poem 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge'. His description fo the beauty of the city in the octet then his frustration in the sestet, it is obvious that he desire to remind the people of London of their ignorance for the beauty they are surrounded by. Pople have become so accustomed t the setting that they have become blind. Words worth makes light of this aspect of the human condition in which conditions bestowed upon for a long time are soon forgotten and unappreciated." 

-Hye Joon Lee
The writer takes a close look at the text to arrive at interpretation. Presentation is organized and concise. High formal diction is used, as if the writer is familiar with the use of it.

     "One of the most ironic events in literature is when two enemies are drawn together and form an alliance. Shakespeare, however, drafts the ultimate ironic alliance when in his drama, 'Much Ado About Nothing' pulls Benedick and Beatrice together to fall in love with one another beling self-proclaimed bachelors. 
     An example of the irony between Benedick and Beatrice is their stance on marriage. ..."

-Ben Kim
Nearly every sentence in Ben's essay is purposefully constructed according to the organized argumentation model. Concise and poignant.

There were several more of you that did a splendid job writing your essays. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to type them all up. =)

Tuesday, May 28th

Agenda: 

1. Missing blog comments were pointed out to students. Show Mrs. Lee work no later than Wednesday for grade update.

2. We finished our powerpoint and analyzed a two advertisements.

Advertisement Vocab / Terms:
1. Salient Feature
2. Photo Crop
3. Color Contrast
4. Color Meaning
5. Text Placement
6. Text Vector
7. Allegory
8. Efficacy
9. Audience
10. Purpose
11. Content

Homework: 

Evaluate the advertisement below for audience, purpose and content in 150 words or more. Turn in a hard copy in class. Use the terms and vocab familiar to visual rhetoric analysis. Also use vocab familiar to text analysis (conveys, suggests, infers, implies, connotes, underscores, makes light of, etc.).

from http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/51-most-popular-print-ads-of-2011/

Students who still need to take scansion quiz:
Section 3:
none!

Section 4:
none!

Comment on homework handed on for previous class:

Section 3: Comments are restricted to reaction to the video rather than close reference to what is actually going on in the video. Make sure to answer the question, then POINT OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE VIDEO so you can closely analyze the use of it. A description of a piece with no reference to it is like reading an with no quotes or analyzation. Also many have not turned this work in.

NO MISSING WORK BEYOND WEDNESDAY. SEE ME FOR QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS. 

Vocab Words Just for Fun (Fun, you say? Yes. Fun.)

This word may be helful in reference to J. Alfred Prufrock

from Dictionary.com Word of the Day

This word may be used when describing the tone of language used in an advertisement. 

from Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Thursday, May 24th

Students who STILL need to take the Scansion Quiz:

Section 3:
none

Section 4:
Daniel Choi (C2 - 015 /conference room)
Andrew
Juan
Brian Oh (C3 - 015)

Note: June 3rd, A5 (section 4) will meet in room 109 for class instead of 015 for final IGCSE examinations. Thank you for your flexibility.

Wednesday, May 22nd

Agenda: 

Today we had a class discussion regarding the worksheet on Benedick and Beatrice on Love.

Question you should be prepared to answer for your final: What is striking, ironic, comedic, romantic about Beatrice/Benedick's perspectives on relationships throughout the course of the play, Much Ado About Nothing. Be sure to make close and detailed reference to the text. Also, why does the aspect Beatrice/Benedick's perspective have an affect you?

Completed worksheet with two colors of pen (one for the work completed at home, one for the extra notes you have taken in class) for points.

Homework: 

Statistically, you are bombarded with 5,000 ads a day. Take a picture of one that you find the most striking. Bring a hard copy of it on Friday.

Students who have yet to take the Scansion Quiz:

Section 3:
Craig (A2)
Daniel Lee
Tommie (A2)

Section 4:
Daniel Choi
Andrew
Joanna
Juan
Brian Oh
Hyunna

Students who need to turn in a completed Benedick and Beatrice on Love worksheet: 

Section 3: 
Joachim 
Brian Lee
William Paek
Brian Rhee

Wednesday, May 15th

Agenda

1. We talked about how to use "Shakespearean Language", rewriting our own sentences using the following rules: 

From http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/

How to Talk Like Shakespeare

1. Instead of you, say thou or thee (and instead of y’all, say ye).
2. Rhymed couplets are all the rage.
3. Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
4. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms orpoisonous bunch-back’d toads.
5. Don’t waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" (’tis, t’will, I’ll do’t).
6. Verse for lovers, prose for ruffians, songs for clowns.
7. When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, hefalleth).
8. To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth orwherefore.
9. When wooing ladies: try comparing her to a summer’s day. If that fails, say "Get thee to a nunnery!"
10. When wooing lads: try dressing up like a man. If that fails, throw him in the Tower, banish his friends and claim the throne.

http://reference.yourdictionary.com/translation/shakespeare-translator.html

Shakespeare's Pronouns

Elizabethan English used a different pronoun set than we’re used to.

The first person—I, me, my, mine—remains basically the same.

The second person singular (you, your, yours) is translated to:

• “Thou” for “you” (nominative)
• “Thee” for “you” (objective)
• “Thy” for “your” (genitive)
• “Thine” for “yours” (possessive)

Other Shakespearean Vocab can be found here.

Homework: 

1. Write a comment below referring to your plans this summer of 50-75 words using Shakespearean language.  

Much Ado About Nothing Full Text

2. Read Act 2 Scene 1 lines 160 to 257 (2.1.160-257) of Much Ado About Nothing. 

  

Monday, May 13th

Agenda:

Final Wrap-up discussion on "Love-song".

Poem Full Text 

Homework:

Read the summaries on Much Ado About Nothing found on the following two websites:

Shakespearenet
playShakespeare

By your own design, create a character web, organizing the characters by relationships. Also give a brief description of distinguishing character traits, actions in the play or agenda for each character. 20 points. You will be graded by reference to the story and neatness. Reference should be accurate, often, and indicate the Act in which the action in reference takes place.

DUE MAY 17th via email. Digital design and hand-drawn are both acceptable formats. However, if you hand draw your submission, scan it as a PDF and send it to my email address. youngen.lee@seoulforeign.org

For ideas on how to create a web, here's one example:

http://jacobenglish11.wikispaces.com/Encounters+and+Foundations+to+1800

Tuesday, May 7th

Agenda: 

Students took a quiz about scansion based on a video posted in previous blog post.

The following students still need to take the quiz due to absences:

Section 3:
Craig
Joachim
Michael
William
Brian Rhee
Daniel Lee
Sean
Sarah Kim
Irissa
Ryan
Tommie

Section 4:
Daniel Choi
Andrew
Joanna
Juan
Brian Oh
Hyunna

2. We began our discussion on The Love-song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot

Homework: 

Re-read the poem. Mark the repetition and make a comment on your copy of the poem regarding the possible use of it.

Mrs. Lee's Schedule from May 6th - May 16th

Students,

Due to the IB exams taken in the basement of the HS, all of my classes have been rescheduled to other various locations for the next two weeks. Refer to the schedule below to see where class is, giving particular attention to the room changes as we may not meet in the same room each day. If you have questions, please let me know via face-to-face or via email.

Monday F-day	Tuesday A-day	Wednesday B-day	Thursday C-day	Friday D-day
F1 – Study Hall (300B) F2 – IGCSE.1 (302) F3 – Prep F4 Study Hall (300A) F5 – IGCSE.2 (library)	A1 – Gr. 10 -3 (103) A2 – Yearbook (Library) A3 – IGCSE.3 (Library) A4 Prep A5 – Gr. 10 .4 (109)	B1 – Prep B2 – IGCSE.1 (library) B3 – Prep B4 Study Hall (300A) B5 – IGCSE.2 (library)	C1 – Gr. 10 -3 (103) C2 – Prep C3 – IGCSE.3 (library) C4 Prep C5 – Gr. 10.4 (306)	D1 – Study Hall (304) D2 – IGCSE.1 (library) D3 – Prep D4 - Prep D5 – IGCSE.2 (library)
Monday E-day	Tuesday F-day	Wednesday A-day	Thursday B-day	Friday
C1 – Gr. 10 -3 (107) C2 – Prep C3 – IGCSE.3 (library) C4 Prep C5 – Gr. 10.4 (303)	F1 – Study Hall (300B) F2 – IGCSE.1 (302) F3 – Prep F4 Study Hall (300A) F5 – IGCSE.2 (library)	A1 – Gr. 10 -3 (103) A2 – Yearbook (Library) A3 – IGCSE.3 (Library) A4 Prep A5 – Gr. 10 English (109)	B1 – Prep B2 – IGCSE.1 (library) B3 – Prep B4 Study Hall (300A) B5 – IGCSE.2 (library)	Buddha’s Bday no school

Friday, May 3, 2013

Agenda:

Finish Poetry Stations. Finalize discussion on To a Poor Old Women by William Carlos Williams.

Homework:

1. There will be a quiz on Scansion on Tuesday based on the video in the previous post below. You can attempt a practice exam on the online quiz by going to the link HERE. 

2. Find a poetry book to keep in your back pocket and read during this very short unit. Post a poem you like from the selection below in the comments. Identify the rhyme scheme, rhythm and meter if there is one, and comment on the form of the poem.

3. Attempt to write a thesis based on the prompt in the previous post and three topic sentences. Have a hard copy ready to add to your notes regarding To a Poor Old Women by William Carlos Williams.

Wednesday, May 1

Happy May!

AGENDA: 

1. 5 minute Journal: Describe for a full five minute a seemingly uneventful moment or incident that you witnessed that had a profound effect on you.

2. Share with your peers.

3. Go the following google doc and create a poem form for William Carlos William's poem, To An Old Woman HERE. 

4. Musical Chairs Analyzation: open the following document and move from station to station independently and engage in conversation that pertains to the station. Complete the document found HERE in the time allotted.

5. Writing Assignment: Using high formal diction and write an outline addressing the following question. Worth: 25 points; 5 points for each well-executed section of your outline. Done in-class only. Another class period will may be allotted to give time to complete.

What arguable perspective on what topic via what situation does the poet convey through his poem? 

Homework: 

Watch the following video on scansion for Friday. Be able to identify the meter on an unseen poem.

Photo Credit: renata ® via Compfight cc

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Agenda: 

1. We went over Sonnet 130, adding the worksheet completed for homework with a different color pen.  Discussions were designed to uncover meaning in response to topics of beauty ideals and social norming.
2. We wrote a 5 minute Journal 1: Describe a beauty unappreciated. How does it make you feel?
3. We read "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth.

Vocabulary Words: 
Repitition
Enjambment
Couplet
Shakespearean Sonnet (features of)
End Rhyme
Iambic Pentameter
Unstressed
Stressed
Stanza
Rhyme Scheme

Homework: 
Complete a worksheet (attempt all questions!)
**Remember, do not use the internet to uncover meaning. Allow yourself to be the first authority to uncover meaning rather than giving over that authority to an external source. To uncover meaning on your own is empowering and important for analysis.

Portfolio Help

Chapter 1 Quiz
Chapter 2 Quiz
Chapter 3 Quiz
Chapter 4 Quiz
Chapter 5 Quiz

Checklist

Sample Letter:

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Dear George,

There is a grievance I must share with you that has made me re-evaluate the world I live in. I have arrived at this conclusion after having watched your friendship with Lennie and I need to make it known that I do not believe your friendship with Lennie to have been one that upholds true standards of friendship. I believe that you wronged Lennie when you put a gun to his head. Call me a fundamentalist, if you will, but hear me out first.

A friend, no matter what, has the obligation of providing protecting whether by protecting a friend’s integrity or protecting their physical well being. Thus, I assign friendship to those who would not allow another to unjustly stain my name or reputation as well as those who would not allow harm to come on me in any circumstance. Anyone who allows for harm, as harm as an act of benevolence would be difficult to define, is not a friend. Death causes harm. Insult causes emotional harm. Extended and forcibly obtained isolation also causes harm. You, George, I believe, was an agent of harm in George’s life, no matter the false veil of protection that you provided him.

What do I mean, you might ask. Let me elaborate. Although you brought Lennie with you and helped him escape from Weed, one must consider how Lennie arrived in the situation of being in company with a woman he did not know. Especially having known his proclivity towards touching soft items roughly and with it being acknowledged that he had only the mental capacity that of a child or less, why was he left in such a situation? You wouldn’t leave a child with a weapon that had the potential to harm him especially when the child leaned towards touching this weapon. Why would you leave Lennie’s company unmanned and with a woman. As a matter of fact, why would you do that twice? In the case of Lennie’s encounter with Curly’s wife, you had already acknowledged that Lennie was approached by her and that interacting with her could be dangerous. Although you gave that warning to him, if it was so detrimental to achieving your dreams of having a lifelong friendship with Lennie and own private residence together, then why not prevent interaction with her at all costs? Why was he left to his own devices in the barn that fateful day? One might think of your friendship, as conversely a relationship of negligence. A child with lethal or dangerous tendencies needed more attention than you gave and exemplifies weakness of your friendship. Moreover, as stated previously, you isolated him from direct interaction with others assigning yourself as his speaking piece. By conditioning him to respond only to your commands, even to the point of not fighting back with Curly even after he lay blow after blow on Lennie’s defenseless figure, Lennie suffered the attack and then the anguish of having a jarring, delayed reaction to a beating rather than an instinctual reaction to a first attempt at attack. In his forced state of isolation brought down on him by you, he also was robbed of the company of Crooks and moreover, was shown as so very co-dependent on you that the thought of loosing you by some serendipitous route, caused Lennie great distress.

Your relationship with Lennie revealed to me many facets of friendship I did not previously consider, especially the facets of friendship that earmark a friendship that rests on a false façade. You, like the rest of the men on the farm, did not know what true friendship upholds. As Candy’s dog lost it’s value and therefore its life, so did Lennie and was sadly gunned down. The only favor you did, a sentimental gesture, was that it was you who pulled the trigger and not a stranger. Perhaps you should be commended in that, as it was a gentler manner of death than that of what Candy would have inflicted. However, inflicting death was still a irregular gesture of love, wouldn’t you say? There were other options, George that you did not take. And like the men on the farm, when you realized Lennie, in his helpless state of remaining on an unintentional, yet destructive path, would not produce anything valuable for you, you ended his life. You did not run away with him. You did not sacrifice yourself for him, which is the ultimate gesture of love. You sacrificed him and therefore, rendered yourself under the same weight of a companion-less, lonely existence where there would be an absence of the thing that made you and the other guys who go farm to farm different. By taking into your own hands the life of a companion, you have suggested that friendship also include death. And like I said before, call me a fundamentalist, but to such a belief I cannot subscribe. Perhaps when Candy meant that when he was rendered useless, others would not do him the favor of killing him, if you were able to demonstrate the true nature of friendship, you might have rebutted that the central misguided thought that plagued Candy and ultimately brought you to the kill your friend was this: Friendship and utility are disjoint concepts and when a person is rendered useless, a person with a true friend would be able to rest in the notion that their friendship was not threatened.

A concerned citizen,

Mrs. Lee

P.S. How's the cat house been treating you on yours and Lennie's combined wages? 

Friday, April 12th

Dear Students,

I'm sorry for again missing class, but it seems that bad things come in threes, as they say. I will be away this weekend due to a family emergency. Please follow the directions below.

Have a great weekend.

Thanks,
Mrs. Lee

Agenda: 
1. You have completed a test with an answer sheet. Administer your test to a partner.
2. Grade and review the test.
3. Write a reflective comment below of 150 - 200 words. What did you learn taking your partner's test in regards to OMAN? Did the test challenge you to consider aspects of the text you did not consider before? Did you feel that the test was a fair measurement of your understanding? If so, how? If not, what would better evaluate your understanding of the deeper implications of the test? What were some considerations you feel your partner should have made on behalf of you, the test taker? If you were to rewrite your test, what would you have done over again?

If you complete items 1 - 3 before the end of class, you have no homework for the weekend. Be sure to turn in the test you wrote, answer key, and the answers of your classmate of your own test stapled together.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Wednesday, April 10th

Dear Students,

I'm sorry I could not be there today.  In my absence, please show better manners to the sub than you would for me, as we have the pleasure of a guest today. I know polite and kind students such as yourselves will make me proud.

Agenda: 
1. Re-read the comments on the post on Monday, April 8th pertaining to the prompt questions. If you have not yet posted a comment, do so now keeping in mind that it must be 300 words or more.

2. After having posted your comment, comment on the posts of your peers from your class or the other section. Be sure to make a thorough response by recognizing or summarizing their sentiments as you understand it AND adding another observation that perhaps the student did not make.

3. Create an exam on OMAM that has 30 questions: 10 vocab questions, 15 short story questions, of which 7 are not related to plot, and 5 sort essay questions pertaining to topics loneliness, friendship, the American Dream, racism, misogyny or the use of setting.

Homework: 

Any work not finished in class is homework. Work individually and use your in-class time wisely.

Monday, April 8th

Agenda: 

We watched the last 10 minutes of the movie and made some considerations about some of the choices made by the director (lighting, character placement, setting (use of background, water, etc.). Discussions with classmates took place and notes were taken when we heard information that extended upon our own thoughts or shed new light on the features being discussed.

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Homework: 
Answer one of the following questions in 300 words or more pertaining to the images on this blog above. (Please forgive the rudimentary method of me taking a screenshot with my phone. Apparently iTunes does not allow for screen shots of purchased movies.)

Choose one scene and based on your in-class notes, post your answer in the comments below. You do not need to bring a hard copy of your response to class.

1. How might the director's use of light lend to creating a mood?

2. How did the director portray Lennie as a tragic figure through his use of lighting, how he positioned the actors in the scene or his creation of the setting?

3. How did the director portray George as a tragic figure through his use of lighting, how he positioned the actors in the scene or his creation of the setting?

4. What features of the scene draw the reader into the intense intimacy of the moment shared between George and Lennie? 

Tuesday, March 13

Agenda: 

1. Journal for 5 - 7 minutes on personal dreams and goals, the attributes we assign to those who achieve their dreams.
2. We watched a short film from PBS about the American Dream.
3. We identified whether we identified with the American Dream and the pitfalls of it.
4. We began to analyze specific characters in OMAM, Candy, Curly's wife, Crooks and Lennie, and how having the American Dream contributed to their dissatisfaction and dejection.

Homework: 
1. Read Chapter 5 of our text.
2. Answer the question in the comments below in paragraph using the following format:

What aspect of the American Dream causes [insert character name] the most harm and why? 

     a. "The ____aspect of the American Dream causes <insert name> the most harm     
     because  ____."
     b. Give context for the textual evidence to follow.
     c. Quote the text.
     d. Explain how the prior quote directly correlates to your initial claim in a. Start with "author +
     verb".
     e. Refer to one of the quotes identified in the presentation to supplement the discord between what
     the American Dream speculates and what the character is expected to acheive.
     f. Wrap up your argument by drawing attention to the fundamental flaw of the American Dream
     that renders it a fallacy for many, a wisp of wind that leads the mislead-able into flights of fancy. 

Example paragraph:
With the blind optimism of the American Dream in hand, Candy is caused harm in that he experiences a great deal of disillusionment. Like his dog, Candy comes to understand that his livelihood is dependent upon his ability to be useful. As an aging cripple faced with his own futility, Candy clings to the opportunity to piggy back Lennie and George's dream of an autonomous lifestyle manning their own farm despite having seen a numerous number of vagabond workers before him fail at the same endeavor and acknowledge that he himself also has not been successful to raise the appropriate funds. He points out, "I planted crops for damn near ever’body in this state, but they wasn’t my crops, and when I harvested ‘em, it wasn’t none of my harvest" (Steinbeck 30). Steinbeck underscores the numerous years during which Candy worked without a handicap and was unable to raise funds enough to own a farm and then showcases Candy's unscathed sense of positivity, as Candy claims, "But we gonna do it now" (Steinbeck 30). Emboldened with a new zeal for possibility, Candy buys into the American Dream that according to Erica Jong, writer, entails having to only make a choice in order to "mak[e] yourself into a more successful, richer". Through Candy's misguided belief that he could be a homeowner and live on a farm with his friends in deliberate ignorance of a recent history that could not produce the same result points, Steinbeck is bringing to light the debilitating nature of the American Dream ideology in which characters seek after unrealistic and unlikely goals. Thus, Steinbeck's most plighted characters are culpable to their own sense of disillusionment because they voluntarily believe they can raise their own socio-economic status solely on the decision to do so despite the broad effect of a downcast economic climate, a symptom of the American Dream. 

Chapter 4 Quiz is here.

Monday, March 4th

Agenda: 

1. Students handed in their Found or Blackout poems with a printed copy of their explanations.

2. Free writing on any of the four topics on worksheet found here.

3. Student discussion on worksheet took place.

4. Students took a position on the Friendship board to evaluate whether their understanding of the modes of Friendship have changed.

Homework: 

1. Read Chapter 4. Remember you have the option to use the link here to listen to the story.

2. Section 3 - Turn in your OMAM Debate for Chapter 3 next class.

Wednesday, Feb. 27th

By Kate Lee

By Ryan Park

By No Name

By Sarah Kim

Homework

1. Finish Found / Blackout Poem

2. Type a 200 - 300 word Description of your theme in the novel and explain how both your word choice and image(s) support your theme.

NEED TO KNOW: 

Starting next week, there will be a NO LATE WORK POLICY. Too much work has been handed in late. Please make note.  

And Happy Birthday to Brian and Irissa!