College Essay Comment Instructions

I would like your college essay comments to answer the following five questions:

I - Describe your personal reaction to the story. How do you feel after reading it? What do you remember? What images do you see? What concepts or ideas are in your head? What did you learn about the author?

II - Was the title creative and unique? Did the lead grab your attention? Did the ending successfully "wrap up" the essay's ideas and leave you with something thoughtful to think about?

III. What was your favorite part of the story? Pick a line that you liked, copy and paste it into the comment box, put quotes around it, and explain what it was about it that stood out to you.

IV - Find one thing about the essay that you found distracting or problematic. This could be anything from improper use of dialogue, misused words (your vs. you're, it's vs. its, their vs. there), run-on sentences, sentence fragments, subject/verb agreement, simple word usage, boring verbs, etc.

Everyone's essay can be improved in some way. Help each other become stronger writers by identifying something that could be done better.

V - What is one piece of advice that the author might use to make his or her final revisions by Thursday, Nov. 6? This should be phrased constructively (try doing ------- , consider --------) or inquisitively (what do you think would happen if you -------------?)

Comments should be five paragraphs (3 to 5 well-written sentences per question). Your comments should appear below the story you are responding to. When asked to choose an identity, use your Google/Blogger ID.

Comments not posted according to these instructions should be deleted.

I would like each of you to respond to three essays.

* Please copy and paste your comments into a Word document that I can check on on your computer on Monday, Nov. 3rd. Your classmates and I thank you for your valuable feedback.

Three comments = a "check"
Two comments = a "check minus"
One or no comments = zero credit

For general information about posting blog comments, please click here.

College Essay Prompts for World Literature

The personal essay helps colleges become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself.

I. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

II. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

III. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

IV. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

V. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

VI. Topic of your choice.

Suggested length is 400-700 words.

Checklist for success:

_______ Catchy, unique title; intriguing, engaging lead; ending that wraps up the essay and leaves the writer something to think about

_______ Information and details, including specific, lively, & engaging language

_______ Tight focus on one idea, topic, or concept

_______ Personal meaning and relevance

_______ Sentence fluency, variety, and voice.

I will be using the SHHS writing rubric to evaluate your essay. Click here to view the rubric.

Value Essay Component Checklist

As a reminder, make sure your essay meets the following criteria checklist:

_____ Unique and creative title that relates to the objects and/or what you value

_____ Introduction that makes a statement or raises the question about the concept of values, what is valuable, or how value is determined

_____ Rich description utilizing present tense action that shows the first object/priceless moment

_____ Rich description utilizing present tense action that shows the second object/priceless moment

_____ A section where the author compares, contrasts, and explains how the objects are similar and different and how and why they are valuable to the author

_____ A concluding section where the author thoughtfully considers and states how he or she defines value and what he or she finds truly valuable

_____ Overall length of 700-900 words

To view an electronic copy of the rubric I will be using, click here.

The "Finding and Fixing Common Writing Errors" handout I mentioned in class today can be downloaded by clicking this link.

Value Essay Comment Instructions

I would like your Value Essay comments to answer the following four questions:

I - What does the author seem to be saying about what is valuable, and what he or she most strongly values?

II - Which of the two objects/priceless moments described in this essay did you find were most vividly and clearly described? Reference one specific part, anecdote, scene, or description that you thought was well done. You may even cite a particularly well-written sentence by throwing quotes around it and cutting and pasting it into your comment.

III - In general, what is one of this essay's overall strengths? It could be its organization, word choice, writing style, introduction, conclusion, etc. Cite specific examples to be as helpful to the writer as possible.

IV - What is one piece of advice or suggestion for revision that the author might consider making before Mr. B-G reads and grades this essay? This should be phrased constructively (try doing ------- , consider --------) or inquisitively (what do you think would happen if you -------------?)

Comments should be about four paragraphs (4 to 6 well-written, informative sentences for each question) per comment. Your comments should appear below the story you are responding to. Use your Google/Blogger identity to sign your comment. Comments not posted according to these instructions should be deleted.

I would like you to respond to one essay per class (3 total). Those of you looking to boost your homework average may respond to two essays per class for additional credit (6 total).

* Please also copy and paste your comments into an e-mail or Microsoft Word document that I can check on Friday, Oct. 15th at the start of class. Your classmates and I thank you for your valuable feedback.

Three comments = a "check"
Six comments = a "check plus"

For general information about posting blog comments, please click here.

First blogging steps

The following is intended as a guide for teachers looking to blog with students.

I - Go to Blogger.com and have each student sign up for a blog. They should use their e-mail address as the username. They'll then create a password. Have students write this info down on a notecard.

II - The blog URL should have some uniformity. For example, my students URLs will contain their first name and the class section (NateEnglish9B). The blog title should have the students' first names followed by something creative (Mr. B-G's Bodacious English Blog).

III - Have students e-mail the URLs to you (bgvocab at yahoo dot com).

IV - Create a link list with all students' blogs

V - Have students create similar link lists on their blogs

VI - The next step is personalizing the blog. Students can fill out their profiles (without any identifying info), change their templates, and add gadgets.

VII - As students begin posting writing, you need to make sure they have identical blog post categories. The first piece of writing students will be posting is a compare/contrast assignment I call the Value Essay. They will label the post that contains their Value Essay "Value Essay." That way, when I go to view their blog to read their essay, I can go to the categories section and easily find it.

VIII - The next label students will use is "Book Reviews." As they finish their quarterly reading books, they will write reviews and post them to their blogs. The book review requirements can be found here.

How to create a blog

This video provides quick and easy steps for setting up a Blogger blog.