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En blogg för engelska 5, 6, & 7 på Widénska Gymnasiet

Speech - Aspect to be considered

Publicerad 2014-10-03 12:46:00 i Engelska 7,

Work in pairs, give feedback and afterwards make a comment about in your log about what kind of improvements you will make after this. 
 
• The introduction – Catchy? Clear? Does it need editing in any way? Does the speaker talk about what he/she set out to do?
 
• Delivery –How is the voice? Clear? What sort of feeling do you get, is the speaker telling you something or is he/she reading you something? Does the voice go up and down, emphasizing certain parts or is monotonous? How can it be improved? Connection with the audience – Is the speaker relying too much to his/her script? What about body language? Good? Need improvement? How?
 
• Transitions - As a listener, is it easy to keep track of what is being said? Are there smooth transitions from one section to another? If not, what would it take to get the message across in a better way or to give the speech a better sense of unity?
 
• Content - If the speaker is sharing a memory or a story – is it easy to understand? Can anyone understand it or is it aimed at just a few people? Is it colorful, vivid (levande). If not, how can you tell it in a better way? Does the memory/story connect with the rest of the speech? What is your overall impression of the content?
 
• Content - Humour – Jokes. Are they appropriate? Are they fun? How can you make it even better (pauses, emphasizing words, speed or should it be more exaggerated/less exaggerated for better effect?)
 
• Rhetorical devices – are there any? Could you add some to get a better rhythm or to make it sound more elegant or more impactful? Ethos, pathos, logos?
 
• Language – How is the pronunciation? Any uncertainties? Grammar – any grammatical errors that need to be fixed? Any words and/or phrases that should be changed or deleted?
 
• Read the script as well as looking at the recording to see if there are anything you wish to add/delete/change.
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Short stories

Publicerad 2014-09-04 10:27:00 i Engelska 7,

Write your answers in your logbooks


Graham Greene
- Read about the author Graham Greene
- Read his short story Jubilee
- Discuss whether the description of the author and his works is correct or not. Do you find any combination of adventure and introspection, of exoticism and moral or religious conflicts.
- Compare the narrators in Jubilee and The Umbrella Man. Who is the narrator in Jubilee and how does it affect the story?
- Read the article about Anna Nicole Smith. Can you see any link between the article and the story you have read.


Shirley Jackson
- In pairs read the short story The Lottery (take turns and read it out loud).
- Discuss and answer the questions.
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Writing Abstracts

Publicerad 2014-02-17 15:24:00 i Engelska 7,

Writing Abstracts

An abstract is a short, objective description of an intellectual resource, usually a written document. Professors often assign students to write abstracts to accompany their papers.

When writing an abstract, it is important to keep in mind the purposes of an abstract. One main purpose is to provide readers with useful information about a document. Another main purpose of an abstract is to help readers to evaluate and select a document that they would find useful in their own research. An abstract should allow a reader to get the bare-bones information about a document without requiring them to read the actual document.

An abstract is NOT, however, a simple summary of a document; neither is it a critique of a document.

Writing the Abstract

Because an abstract is a description of an entire document, you can write an abstract only for a document that is complete. If you are writing an abstract as part of a class paper, you need to finish your paper before you start working on your abstract.

Keep in mind the ABCs of a good abstract:

•   Accuracy–a good abstract includes only information included in the original document

•   Brevity–a good abstract gets straight to the point, contains precise language, and does not include superfluous adjectives

•   Clarity–a good abstract does not contain jargon or colloquialisms and always explains any acronyms

 

 

Several writing guidelines can make writing a good abstract easier:

•   Do not refer to the author (e.g., “Dr. Seuss argues”)

•   Do not refer to what type of document you are abstracting (e.g., “This book describes”)

•   Use complete sentences

•   Use active verbs whenever possible

•   Use familiar terminology whenever you can (and always explain terms that may be unfamiliar to the average reader)

 

 

 

 

The Informative Abstract

One common type of abstract is an informative abstract. If you are writing an abstract for a strictly-structured document like an experiment, investigation, or survey, you will write an informative abstract.

An informative abstract is made up of four parts:

•   Purpose

•   Methodology

•   Results

•   Conclusions

 

Your abstract should answer the following questions. But avoid writing just the answers to the questions.

 

·      The purpose section of an informative abstract should state either the reason for or the primary objectives of the experiment or investigation. The purpose section of an informative abstract might also contain the hypothesis of the experiment.

·      What problem are you trying to solve? What do you want to find out?

 

·      The methodology section of an informative abstract should describe the techniques used in conducting the experiment. This section should give only as much detail as is necessary to understand the experiment; the abstract should not focus entirely on research methods unless that is the primary focus of the original document.

·      How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem?

 

·      The results section of an informative abstract should relate the observations and/or data collected during the experiment. This section should be concise and informative, and only the most important results need be included.

·      What's the answer?

 

·      The conclusion section of an informative abstract should state the evaluation or analysis of the experiment results. It should also briefly state the implications of these results. This conclusion section might also state whether the driving hypothesis of the experiment was correct.

·      What are the implications of your answer?

 

A Sample Informative Abstract:

Subjects’ car clocks were set ten minutes fast in order to determine if deliberately setting a clock ahead will reduce lateness[MM1] . One group of subjects knew their clocks had been set ahead, while a second group of subjects was not informed of the change[MM2] . Over a four-week period, the subjects who were aware of the clock change regularly arrived on time or late[MM3]  for their scheduled appointments. Over the same period of time, the subjects who were unaware of the clock change tended to arrive early or on time [MM4] for their appointments. Data suggest that intentionally setting a clock to run fast does not reduce lateness because one accounts for that extra time in his or her schedule[MM5] .

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Few More Tips

If you are writing an abstract about a document not written by you, make sure to include the document’s bibliographic information before your abstract.

Also, because you could write an abstract for documents of any size, there are general guidelines about how long your abstract should be:

•   For an editorial or letter to the editor, 30 words or less

•   For a short note or short communication, 100 words or less

•   For a shorter paper or article, 150-200 words or less

•   For a longer paper, article, or book chapter, 250 words or less

•   For long documents like a thesis or book, 300 words or less

While these length guidelines can help you as you learn how to write abstracts, with practice you will develop a sense about what length—and how much description—is sufficient for each individual abstract.

 

Polishing the Abstract

After you’ve completed your abstract, go back over the ABCs of a good abstract and ask yourself a few questions:

•   How accurate is my abstract? Is it consistent with the information in the original document?

•   How brief is my abstract? Did I substantially reduce the amount of text necessary to convey the main ideas?

•   How clear is my abstract? Can a non-specialized reader easily understand all the information?

Also, be sure to proofread your abstract carefully for errors and typos. If you have a bibliographic heading, double-check it for accuracy and correct spelling as well.

Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Källa: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/abstracts.shtml 2013-11-12

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Reflection Project Work

Publicerad 2014-02-17 15:23:00 i Engelska 7,

Reflection Project Work

Your abstract of your project work is a short, strict summary with nothing more than the essentials. But now we want you to write reflect on your project. What did you learn, aspects that worked out well issues you would tackle in another way if you were to do it again. Structure your essay properly and use min. 250 words and max. 400 words. You could consider aspects like:

• Thoughts on your choice of topic – Are you happy with the topic itself? What were the reasons behind your choice? Would approach it in a different way if you were to do it again? Would you choose a different topic altogether?


• Planning your work – How well have you planned your work? Did you start in time? Was it more work than you thought or maybe the other way around?


• Method – What method(s) did you use, anything you would change if given a new chance (like interviews rather than observations or a survey?)


• Learnings – What did you learn in the process? Anything that surprised you? Do you have any advice for the students who will try this out next year?


• Performance – Are you happy with your results? If you work in a group did it work out? Are you satisfied with your own contribution to the group? And what about your group members’ contribution?
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Powerpoint - Valedictorian speech

Publicerad 2013-12-06 11:59:00 i Engelska 7,

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ynn00q0ucavna2h/Valedictorian%20speech.ppt
 
Homework for next time (Friday 13th Dec) 
 
Next week – you bring a recording of your speech
We also want the script of this first version

Use your computer/camera/phone and shoot yourself and your first version of this speech

 
 
 
 
 
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To do before next time - 22nd Nov

Publicerad 2013-11-15 14:50:44 i Engelska 7,

1. Find an article that is a suitable source for your project work (gymnasiearbetet). If you already have one use that one. Make sure to read the article so you know it will be useful or appropriate for your work. 
 
 
2. Check out http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_listening.html and do 3-5 listening exercises (you can of course use the CAE listening tests listed on that site as well). 
 
Practise the listening strategies
 
* Focus - keep other thoughts out of your head
* Main idea - Read questions carefully so you get the main issue
* Details and keywords - hoever, therefor, finally, on the contrary, words that signal that something important might follow. 
 
 
If you missed out on today's class (15th Nov) you need to see Maria or Jesper to get a copy of an extract from Nobel Prize Winner Alice Munro. 
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Speeches on Friday

Publicerad 2013-11-13 16:38:07 i Engelska 7,

If you missed out on the first speech you can perform this on Friday 15.00. Scroll down for instructions (you'll find it in the post "English 7 Friday w.36)
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Power Point - The Writing Process

Publicerad 2013-10-21 13:49:37 i Engelska 7,

If you missed out on Friday's class 
You can find the PPT used by Maria on Friday here. To get the writing assingment you need to approach me or Maria (unfortunately we don't have it in digital form, so we can't mail it to you).
/Jesper
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Group discussions Eng 7

Publicerad 2013-09-27 11:41:00 i Engelska 7,

1.   Talk for about 10 minutes to somebody in the group who you don’t know very well, somebody you usually don’t talk to. Ask each other questions and make small talk.

 

After the chat: briefly retell to the group, some of what the other person said. That person then comments on what has been said and tells if he/she has been cited correctly.

 

2.   Now, take five minutes on your own and reflect on your time on Widénska. Dig deep and try to remember a special event or an experience that was hard/a lot of fun/that made you proud/ something that made you realize something important or something that you’ll never forget.

 

3.   Share one or two anecdotes/memories with the rest of the group. After the memory is shared, everyone in the group asks one question each about this memory. Also, talk about something you like about school that you might miss afterwards and something you surely won’t miss after graduation.

 

4.   Now, move on to your project work. Work your way around the table and let each person tell the others about his/her plans for this assignment. What is it that you will do? Which subject will you connect this work with? What are potential difficulties? What do you hope to gain with your work and so on. Again try to come up with one question each after the speaker is done (you may also share helpful ideas to help each other out).

 

5.    Watch Angela Lee Duckworth’s Tedtalk about grit. (http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html)

 Then discuss it in the group and make a comment on the talk (using one or more of the questions below). 

* Would you say grit is more important than talent in school? Why/Why not?

* In sports? Why/Why not

* Towards the end of the talk ALD talks about building grit. In your opinion can this be done? How? If not, why not?

ADL: “After several more years of teaching, I came to the conclusion that what we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivational perspective, from a psychological perspective”

·      What can schools and teachers do to get students motivated?

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Rhetorical devices

Publicerad 2013-09-05 21:20:07 i Engelska 7,

Allegory 
 
—A bit like an extended metaphor. If you continue a metaphor in a whole narrative so persons, actions or even objects are equated with meanings outside the text.
 
—The movie Avatar is often said to be filled with allegories. The woods of Pandora is very similar to the Amazon rainforest. Some critics have also pointed at the US invasion of Iraq and/or Afghanistan and likened it to the invasion of the Na'vis
 
Allusion
 
—A short informal reference to a famous person or a event.
 
— ”If you take his parking place you can expect World War II all over again”
—”If you take his parking place he will go medieval on you”
— ”Chocolate is my Achilles’ heal”
 
Anaphora
 
—Repetition of a word or a phrase in the beginning of successive clauses.
—
—”I have dream…”
 
Antithesis
 
Two opposites used in the same sentence for contrasting effect.
—

”Many are called, few are chosen”

”That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”

 

Apostrophe

—When a speaker or writer breaks the pattern and starts to address a person or thing or audience other than the original one.
—
— You might for instance turn to and ”call on God” or  speak to/with ”death”
—
— Often seen in songs like ”Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder where you are” or ”Blue Moon, I saw you standing alone”
 
Distinctio
 
—When a speaker or writer elaborates on the definition of a word. This, to make sure that there is no misunderstandning or to make a humorous point.
 
—” To make methanol for twenty-five cents a gallon is impossible; by "impossible" I mean currently beyond our technological capabilities.”
—
— ”Last night was the worst night in my life” meaning that the night I was hit by lightning and then hit by a car was a much better night than last one”
 
Epistrophe
 

Counterpart to anaphora. Also a phrase or a word that is repeated but in the end of succesive phrases. Good if you really want to emphasize something.

"It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can.

"It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.

"It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.

Enumeratio

—Takes a simple statement and expands it, breaking it down into parts and emphasizing the detail.
—
— ”I love her” I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips…
 
Hyperbole
 
—Exaggerating conditions for emphasis or effect (probably the most used device in the world, and that’s not even an exaggeration)
—
—”I have tons of homework”
—”I have a million things to do”
— ”That new car costs a bazillion dollars”
 
Metaphor 
—Compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other. Unlike a simile a metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another.
—
—”I'm a night owl and you are an early bird.”
—”Life is a journey”
— ”That was John, an old flame”
— ”You are the apple of my eye”
 
Onomatopoeia
 
—Words whose pronunciation imitates the sound the word describes
—
—Onomatopoeia can produce a lively sentence, adding a kind of flavoring by its sound effects:

”The flies buzzing and whizzing around their ears kept them from finishing the experiment at the swamp.” 

Comic book language ”Boom, Kablaam, pow, zap”

Parallelism

—Used to create balance, this is often sentences, words or phrases that have a similar structure. Often this figure is used with another one like antithesis. 
 

Several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. Parallelism also adds balance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence.

—JFK: “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
— 
—Jesse Jackson: "I've tried to offer leadership to the Democratic Party and the Nation. If, in my high moments, I have done some good, offered some service, shed some light, healed some wounds, rekindled some hope, or stirred someone from apathy and indifference, or in any way along the way helped somebody, then this campaign has not been in vain."
 
Quickly and happily he walked around the corner to buy the book.

Personification

—metaphorically represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes. Attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on. Ideas and abstractions can also be personified.
—

”We bought this house instead of the one on Maple because this one is more friendly.”

”This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away”

Simile

—Basically like metaphor but instead of saying that something is something else you say that something is like something else or it’s as something else.  Often an unfamiliar thing is compared with a familiar one.
—
—”brave as a lion”, ”it fits like a glove”
—He ate like he hadn't seen food in a week. 
 
Syntheton 
 
When you position two ideas next to each other with the help of a conjunction (and, but, because, so, etc): 
 
"passion and dedication"
"fascism or communism"
"bread and wine"
"God and man"
 
Tricolon 
 
—You know, three is a magic number… yes it is, it’s a magic number…
— a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses. It's a simple enough structure, yet potentially a powerful one.

”Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn”

”Never in the history of human endeavor has so much been owed by so many to so few”

Understatement

—deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact.

”The 1906 San Francisco earthquake interrupted business somewhat in the downtown area.”

A succesful businessman or woman might say: ”I know a a little about running a company”

Instead of saying that you don’t agree at all with someone you might use: ”I think we have slightly different opinions on this topic”

 

 

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English 7 Friday w36

Publicerad 2013-09-05 13:13:00 i Engelska 7,


1. “Show and tell”
Present your clip and your research to your group. Ethos, pathos & logos

2. Vocabulary check: Style figures

3. Watch (and read) Obama´s inaugural speech.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/22/us/politics/22obama-inaugural-speech-annotated.html?_r=1&#/?annotation=b85fa54df

4. Point out style figures used in the speech. Use your notes from the previous lesson. In addition to the transcribed speech there are explanations to the contents.

Write your speech analysis in a word document and send it to your teacher ([email protected], [email protected]).

5. Write a short speech approx. 200-250 words:
A Pep-talk, speech of thanks, wedding speech, birthday speech……
Use the style figures you like or think fit with your speech. Also write notes on body language, tone of voice etc. that you will keep in mind when you “give your speech” (which you will do next week)
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