Read this for background information on creating a conclusion for tomorrow's lesson.
Strategies for writing an effective conclusion
Here is a brief list of things that you might accomplish in your concluding paragraph(s).* There are certainly other things that you can do, and you certainly don't want to do all these things. They're only suggestions:
include a brief summary of the paper's main points.
ask a provocative question.
use a quotation.
evoke a vivid image.
call for some sort of action.
end with a warning.
universalize (compare to other situations).
suggest results or consequences.
Play the "So What" Game. If you're stuck and feel like your conclusion isn't saying anything new or interesting, ask a friend to read it with you. Whenever you make a statement from your conclusion, ask the friend to say, "So what?" or "Why should anybody care?" Then ponder that question and answer it. Here's how it might go:
You: Basically, I'm just saying that education was important to Douglass. Friend: So what? You: Well, it was important because it was a key to him feeling like a free and equal citizen. Friend: Why should anybody care? You: That's important because plantation owners tried to keep slaves from being educated so that they could maintain control. When Douglass obtained an education, he undermined that control personally.
You can also use this strategy on your own, asking yourself "So What?" as you develop your ideas or your draft.
Return to the theme or themes in the introduction. This strategy brings the reader full circle. For example, if you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding. You may also refer to the introductory paragraph by using key words or parallel concepts and images that you also used in the introduction.
Synthesize, don't summarize: Include a brief summary of the paper's main points, but don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together.
Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper.
Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further study. This can redirect your reader's thought process and help her to apply your info and ideas to her own life or to see the broader implications.
Make me laugh...
Make me cry...
Make me smile ...
Make me sigh...
Show me what deeply moved you...
Show me how you truly grew...
How will you create a special theme? - AMAZE ME!!!.. please?
e.g. Caroline Swimmer is writing her memories paper as a letter to her younger brother... (DON'T COPY THIS!)...What will you do???
e.g. Survival Guide for Charlotte latin Lower School...
e.g. How to Impress your next teacher...
How will you make your paper 'unique'?
Treasures in a Box by Pamela Harazim (NO, you cannot write a poem.. but you could quote some poetry) Come, look with me inside this drawer, In this box I've often seen, At the pictures, black and white, Faces proud, still, serene.
I wish I knew the people; These strangers in the box, Their names and all their memories Are lost among my socks.
I wonder what their lives were like. How did they spend their days? What about their special times? I'll never know their ways. If only someone had taken time To tell who, what, where, when,
These faces of my heritage Would come to life again. Could this become the fate Of the pictures we take today?
The faces and the memories Someday to be tossed away? Make time to save your pictures, Seize the opportunity when it knocks, Or someday you and yours could be The strangers in the box.
Showing not telling - Week II starts on Monday. You will be paired with a classmae for 4 more days of 10min writing challenges. Can you do better than last time?
IMPORTANT - Reminder that you need to send in a $15 check for the end of year party
Use these resources below to help you practice for Friday's Inference Test. The first one is a reading comprehension exercise. Read the text then answet True - False or ? Afterwards, read through the answers. See how many correct inferences you were able to make. This is the exact type of question that is in thew test.
During the rest of the week, work through the other exercises on this list for practice.
Test Story 1
A couple decided to go boating on a sunny summers day. He packed the fishing rods in the speed boat, then asked his wife if the petrol tank was full. She said, "Yes, the petrol tank is full." They drove down to the jetty and launched the boat. The couple then sped out onto the sea in the speed boat. After going for about ten minutes the speed boat's motor spluttered then stopped. They arrived back at the shore several hours later.
Statements about the story - state t-true, f-false, ?-not possible to know
1. The couple went boating.
T F ?
2. The couple intended to go fishing.
T F ?
3. They didn't catch any fish, because the motor stopped.
T F ?
4. The motor stopped because they ran out of petrol.
T F ?
5. They couldn't have run out of petrol because she had looked in the petrol tanks and saw that they were full.
T F ?
6. She said that the petrol tank was full.
T F ?
7. He believed what she said about the petrol was true.
T F ?
8. The boats outboard motor stopped after 10 minutes.
T F ?
9. The boat sped out onto the lake on a sunny summers day?
T F ?
10. Because the motor broke down they had to row back to shore?
T F ?
11. The car they used to tow the boat had a full tank of gas?
T F ?
12. The water was calm?
T F ?
The couple went boating. (T because it states so in the text.)
The couple intended to go fishing. (? because they decided to go boating but the story does not actually say that they actually intended to go fishing even thought they put fishing rods in the boat. They may have just been put there to return to friends.)
They didn't catch any fish, because the motor stopped. (? They could have trawled in those first few minutes before the motor failed and caught something. Or they could have fished later.)
The motor stopped because they ran out of petrol. (? Possible, but it is also possible that the engine overheated, etc.)
They couldn't have run out of petrol because she had looked in the petrol tanks and saw that they were full. (? Because she may have taken someone else's word on it from a previous boat trip. Or she could have misunderstood him and thought he was asking about the car's petrol tanks, etc.)
She said that the petrol tank was full. (T because it states this in the text.)
He believed what she said about the petrol was true. (? The story doesn't say this. He could have checked for himself.)
The outboard motor stopped after 10 minutes. (? The story does not say it was an outboard motor. Could have been an inboard air cooled Porsche motor.)
The boat sped out onto the lake on a sunny summers day. (F It sped out onto the sea, not a lake.)
Because the motor broke down they had to row back to shore? (? They may have rowed back but they may have got it started again, later. Or, they could have waited for a tow.)
The car they used to tow the boat had a full tank of gas. (? The story does not say which tank was full. It could have been the boat's or the car's tank, etc.)
The water was calm. (? The story does not mention how calm or rough the surface of the sea was. You most likely made a double inference. First, that a sunny summers day means no wind. Secondly, that a windless day means no waves.)
