Week 14

We are nearing the end of our semester together. As you know, our final essay topic is an argumentative essay. What would be your thesis statement be if the topic was "grades do not measure intelligence or achievement"? In other words, for this week you only need to state your thesis statement in the blog. You can agree or disagree with this topic, but your thesis statement needs to be clear which side you support. See page 147 in the book if you need guidance.

week 13

I know I gave you a tough quote to paraphrase last week. This week is easier. Write a summary of a movie you have seen recently. You can assume that I haven't seen the movie which is probably true anyway. Also, don't look on any websites with reviews or summaries of the movie. Just use your own memory and summarizing skills. Add a final comment about whether you would recommend that I see it or not.

week 12

I enjoyed reading about your memorable vacations in the United States, your own country and abroad. This week we are practicing paraphrasing. This skill will help you to integrate facts and ideas from other sources into your own writing. Paraphrase the following quote from Tony Schwartz "Going Postal". "Email's intoxicating qualities are now well known: It's convenient, efficient, simple, and informal, and way to stay connected to more people, a democratizing force in the workplace and less intrusive than the telphone. But as email proliferates, its more pernicious effects are increasingly evident. Much as it facilitates the conduct of business, email is threatening to overrun people's lives."

Week 11

I hope everyone enjoyed the Halloween activities at SAL. The question this week comes from the end of our chapter on adverb clauses. In one paragraph, tell me about a memorable vacation, trip or adventure that you have had.

Week 10

It was great to read that you all feel that you are benefiting from the interactive nature of SAL's classes. I agree that the small class size is a critical piece of our program. That is one of the reasons I love teaching here! Since we are still working on comparing and contrasting a topic, please tell me about another aspect of your life here (outside of the classroom) and how it is similar or different from your life in your country.

Week 9 question

We are beginning a chapter on writing a compare and contrast essay. I would be interested to hear about how your classes at SAL are different from and/or the same as university classes in your country. You only need to write one paragraph, so you may only want to focus on one or two points. If you haven't attended university classes in your country yet, you can compare high school classes there with our SAL classes. If you are one of our new class members, I know you have only had 4 days of SAL classes. You can choose to talk about your orientation week at SAL as compared to your college orientation week in your country.

Week 8 question

Hi Class, I have found your posts so interesting and insightful! This week with midterms, we won't have a question to answer. However, check back next Monday for a new question.
Laura