Mulhern's English Site

Group of Angels from Correge, Corregio Scholars: Improve your writing by reflecting on the following key points, whether you are reviewing your own writing, a peer's writing, and whether you are working alone or collaborating in a group.

Portrait of a Man Writing in His Study, Gustave Caillebotte (1885) Scholars: It is up to you to take responsibility for improving your writing. Every time I return an essay to you, I provide comments, and you, in turn, must write a Reflection on How to Improve Your Writing, which you then need to turn in to me.  Carefully read the comments that apply to the abbreviations (codes) I have written on your essay. Then reflect upon how to improve your writing by reading the information below for each comment code on your paper. For every comment code I have written on your essay, you must write what you will do in your next paper to improve. Of course, you do not need to write the explanations below in their entirety, but you should definitely paraphrase them in your list of improvements, and mention the main points. Reflection equals Thinking equals Improved Writing. You are participating in a process called "metacognition" by doing this exercise.

Two Lawyers Conversing, Honore Daumier (1860s) Writing Prompt: (from the Florida Department of Education website) I t’s no secret that sometimes great discoveries come as a result of really big mistakes. But are they always worth the problems they cause? Sometimes the mistakes lead to greatness, and sometimes they lead to disaster.  Are mistakes key to making discoveries?

Summer Hot Day, Fyodor Vasilyev (1869) Due In Class, September 3 Attention ALL Ninth and Tenth Graders Summer Reading Essay When: Wednesday, Sept. 3 Where: Your second hour class What: In class second hour, you will respond to a prompt based on the book you read this summer. Why: Your English teacher will grade this essay and it will count as a grade in that class.

At the First Clear Word, Max Ernst (1923) Scholars: Whether you are turning in a handwritten assignment or one that is typed, follow the MLA format. See the link at the bottom of this post.

Election Night, John French Sloan (1907) Due August 19, 2014 Cut and paste the following text into a Word document. Bring to class. President Obama’s Keynote Address at the DNC--July 27, 2004 (Par. 1) On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention. Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant.

descry startle liege grave ambiguity forbear impeach kindred discord circumvent tryst bier bereaved afflict succumb tallow rivulet orbs poppet delude cantankerous repulsed reprieve emaciated execute decisive din laud stricture transfix consume berate edict Grand Central Station belay through "Is Survival Selfish?"

Due May 28th Scholars: Look up the words below. Write the definitions and parts of speech. This assignment must be handwritten or it will not be accepted. You are required to do this assignment, whether or not you exempt the Final Exam. Please note that some words may be repeated. In those instances, you do not need to write the definitions again.

Scholars: Remember. You MUST print out your paper ahead of time. Papers printed out on the day the assignment is due (May 1) will not be accepted. Plan ahead! Printing out papers on the due date adds to confusion and delays the class lesson. I want to instill in you the importance of planning, meeting deadlines, and not impeding the learning of others by causing delays in the workshop. You can do it! You are great students. Always be your best.

Scholars: The first four pages of your Tolerance Research Paper are due on May 1, 2014. The copy should be considered your best effort. No mistakes in grammar, mechanics, formatting. Consider it a polished assignment--typed, MLA format.

Scholars: Be sure to turn in typed Works Cited Page on Tuesday, April 22nd. Follow examples from links on site. Do not make careless mistakes in formatting, etc. Your Works Cited Page should be perfect (or nearly perfect) :)

The Explanation, Renee Magritte (1952) Copy and paste the information below. Then keep the document in your binder at all times. Strategies for Responding to an Informative/Explanatory Essay Prompt Based on Texts Definition of an Informational Essay:  An informational essay informs, conveys, imparts, or communicates factual  unbiased  knowledge to an audience (gives no opinion; think "just the facts"). If you are asked to write an informational essay based on the knowledge supplied in accompanying texts, you should consider the strategies listed below the following sample prompt: (This example is from the Florida Department of Education website) **** Write an informational essay on the  relationship between clothing styles  and  developments in clothing creation.  Your ideas  must be based on ideas, concepts, and information from the passage set.

  Poetry Explication Skills 1. Read the poem through at least twice. 2. Look up the definitions of any words that you don’t know.

This Bird Looks in All Four Directions, Maria Primachenko (1977) Below are the directions for the Junior Exhibition. Do not procrastinate. Ask your Technology teachers for more specific information if you have additional questions.

1.     delegate 2. misconstrue 3. diaphanous