Line for the Week: 12/27-1/2

Please finish posting the last week's lines. Thank you so much for all the hard work. You guys have been a great bunch of devoted learners. It's been a great pleasure working with you.

Lines for the Week: 12/19-12/26

Please post the three lines here.

Lines for the Week: 12/11-12/18

Folks, I'm sorry for my lack of efficiency. There were a few things terribly traumatic happening to me. I'll try to get back on my feet and be myself again.

Please post your lines for the week here.

The Five-Line Poem

Please post your last week's creative writing exercise here.

Lines for the Week: 12/3-12/10

I'm terribly, terribly sorry! I had a heck of a week and totally forgot to post this for you to upload your lines. I'm a terrible, terrible teacher! I'm sorry!

Lines for the Week: 11/26-12/2

Oh! Come on! No one has sent in any lines so far for last week, and here's another week's worth!

Drop me a line! (In fact, you have to give three for each week. I trust you to remember that!)

Oh! We've Been Lazy!

 

People! Beautiful people! Beautiful but lazy people! We've slowed down!

Before the university anniversary, we had one week going slightly behind the schedule--we didn't want to see people suffer from both midterm tests and writing assignments;

One day before the anniversary, I was informed by Timmy that we would have a day off--well, it was the school's anniversary. You can't blame anyone for that!

Now, you do know you'll have to finish the following before the class meets this Friday, right?

1. All revisions.
2. Project You-Know-What
3. Worthy Words for the Last Week+Lines for the Week x 2
4. Assigned close reading from our textbook.

Hurry up!

Cruelly Yours,
Alvin the Slave Driver

Lines for the Week: 11/19-11/25

是的，由於上週耽擱了一週，所以本週大家要辛苦些，完成單字的部份，還要再進行對白的部份。請注意：

1. 要中英差距大，愈是在字面上無法對得上的愈好。
2. 不可流於俚俗(high-school talk, valley-girl talk)甚或粗鄙(swear)。
3. 避免大家早已熟知的短句，因為無助於學習。

格式如下：

TV show: The Big Bang Theory

Episode: Season 1 Episode 3

Line 1 (一定要中英對照): 

I'll miss you the way I miss the bottom of my shoe.

我怎麼可能會想念你啦！

Line 2 (一定要中英對照):

Don't push your luck!

別得寸進尺！

Line 3 (一定要中英對照):

It is a non-negotiable social protocol.

大家都這麼做，沒得商量。

Paraphrasing: from Verse to Prose

本週的改寫，請於修改完成後，儘快上傳張貼 。

格式如下：
Name: Alvin
Times: Thrice
Title: Sonnet XVIII
Paraphrasing:
(Be warned: This is a terrible example.) Summer is good, and daytime is good. You, however, are better than the two put together. I....

Worthy Words for Last Week

 

上週延後的字彙：

lethargy

exonerate

officious

intractable

jovial

impervious

incorrigible

juxtapose

promulgate

gratuitous

insatiable

replete

idiosyncrasy

edify

mnemonic

Work for the Week

天哪！這週要請大家做的事，忘了交代，就下課了。僅在此註計，免得渾渾噩噩就過了一週，啥子也沒準備，就兩手空空地來上課了。根據側面了解，大家各科的期中考會在本週二結束，之後，咱們每週的寫作量，就會恢復正常囉！

本週進度：

1. 課本：pp.96-97; pp.107-108
2. Paraphrasing: from verse to prose

本週內須完成事項：

1.  課本精讀：pp.95-107（Money已講解部份也請重看一次）。
2. Revise "Paraphrasing (translation: from verse to prose)"。
3. Project You-Know-What （可有限延期）。
4. 補上週未實施的字彙一句。
5. 影集對白開始（三句；中英對照）。
6. Portfolio尚未與同學討論並繳交者，請儘速討論，得到評語後繳交。

A Mindmapping Poem

Dear Poets,

I know you have other commitments these few weeks, yet let not your pens and wits be idle. Share with others your views in verse.

Alvin, the Slave Driver

Worthy Words for the Week

本週字彙：

neophyte
astute
enigma
garrulous
trenchant
panacea
ephemeral
onerus
prosaic
perfunctory
morass
soporific
mundane
laudable
inimitable

The Second Half of the Semester Begins!

是的，咱們跑到外面去了。期中之後，請大家整理先前的六篇formulaic/formal writing，每人的所有作品，必須再找一位讀者閱讀加評，針對writing style進行修正，那就功德圓滿了！

接下來，本學期下半就偏向creative writing了。第一件要做的事，就是文字速寫囉！雖然只有短短的幾分鐘，但是大家必須找一個靜物與一個行進間的物體，各自賦予三個形容詞與三個動詞，然後帶回教室。

帶回教室之後，開始做mind mapping，找出所有的字彙、邏輯、與思緒，把自己早已知道卻未整理的看法寫出...咱們的第一篇creative writing就開始了。因為此番無所設限，也是大家第一次做類似的寫作活動，所以令我相當期待。

本週進度：

1. 文字速寫 ＋ mind mapping＝作業一篇
2. 將六篇完稿交給reader
3. 將拿到的完稿精讀，每篇最後寫上建議或感言
4. Project You-Know-What 必須得到稿件或題目，下次帶到課堂。
5. 本週字彙持續。
6. 字彙作業即將消失，尚未找到影集的同學，請加緊腳步。

本週進度

各位，是的，本週無作業，但可不是沒事做呀！

首先，先記一下本週進度：
Types of Enumerators:
Process (p.72)
Listing Signals (pp.74-75)
Grammar and Punctuation Blunders (handout)
另外，還有一篇：
What's Wrong with a Long Sentence (handout)
請在家閱讀，下次上課時，我們僅就實例部份討論。

準備工作：
六篇作文完稿－

1. descriptive writing: My Hero
2. analytic writing: The Lyric I Hate
3. thesis, antithesis, synthesis: To Be, or Not to Be
4. topic sentence and supporting sentences: April Is the Cruelest Month
5. ascending order or descending order: exaggeration or the other way around
6. process writing: My Signature Dish

請儘快把上述六篇修改完成，並且張貼上傳，然後還要印出歸檔，作為期中活動之用。目前總計完成的單元，如作業所示：描述寫作、分析寫作、正反合歸納寫作、主題句一致寫作、程度正敘與程度倒敘寫作、步驟描述寫作。如果你忘了我們這陣子到底在幹嘛，剛好趁這個機會複習一下。（不知不覺地，大家也完成了六種寫作與無數的修改，突然一陣感動，也證明大家是可以被不斷逼迫，在slave driving之下從事壓力寫作的。也許，如果咱們寫作班要作個班服，應該在前面寫個：I love pressure!在後面寫個：I write, therefore I am.）

對了，請把檔案備妥，上課的時候帶來，我們要開始第一次的peer review，也就是在大家改過無數次之後，再交給別人閱讀，就可讀性及其他方面，作出殘忍而務實的批評（這是我做不來的！）。

對啦！每週的字彙還是要持續呀！不要只看自己的唷！也要看看別人的句子！

還沒選好影集的，快！

Project You-Know-What: 準備下手！

Worthy Words for the Week

本週字彙：

construe
allude
assimilate
inscrutable
discernible
cataclysm
salient
incriminate
stigma
perquisite
indigent
clairvoyant
adroit
platitude
fastidious

My Signature Dish

Dear Class,

Please post your passages of "My/My Mother's Signature Dish" here after revision. Those who haven't finished revising their passages, please hurry up.

Alvin

April Is the Cruelest Month...

本來，這篇是打算繼續進行，所以請大家暫緩，等待日後進行完畢，再一起張貼。不過期中就快到了，我們的作業也該整理集結了，再加上期中的Essay，那我們就完成第一份寫作學習檔案了。

所以，還是請大家把先前修訂好的"_____ Is the _____est Month"上傳，張貼在這個欄位吧！還沒完成的同學，腳步加快囉！

The Show, the Soap, the Sitcom

不知道大家這週是否跟我一樣忙？如果不，相信你已經苦心思索，考慮你的日常用詞語源要採用哪部影集了吧？

不急，等你找到了，請你把影集的英文名稱上傳，然後註明國別，我會告訴你是否適合。如果你找到的影集是典型的YA片（言辭乍聽之下很新潮，但是不登大雅且多冗詞俚語的Young Adult校園片），也請理解我為何請你再找別部。

Worthy Words for the Week

本週字彙：

circumscribe
dearth
ingratiating
mercenary
extemporaneous
erudite
austere
laconic
ameliorate
expunge
circumspect
quiescent
foible
fervent
ostentatious

本週進度

讓大家久等了，這麼晚才post上來：

1. 本週作業：任選Enumeration寫作中的ascending order或descending order完成段落寫作。
2. 上週的"My Signature Dish"持續修改。若更早的作業還沒完成修改，也請陸續完成。
3. 本週字彙貼出很晚，大家盡力就好，若來不及，請稍緩無妨。
4. 期中快到了，下週不會有作業，請大家儘快完成期中前各項作業修訂，完成後請裝訂置入檔案夾，等候下一步指示（期中特別活動！How exciting!）。
5. 下下週的諜報作業別忘了，正式任務代號為：Project You-Know-What，請儘早並神不知鬼不覺進行。
6. 選定你要長期追蹤收看的中英雙字幕影集，post上來。

Worthy Words for the Week

我想，我們之間可能有點誤會，因為：

1. 已經有部分同學，造出來的句子是錯的，恐怕是透過中文來了解，而造成用字歧誤。如果你造出來的句子很短，有我的名字在內，或草草了事以交差，那麼別懷疑，就是你！別再造句了，趕緊去找句子，看看作家或其他文字工作者的用法。畢竟，把那麼擲地有聲的字用在輕如鴻毛的句型（sb. is a ...person; sb. is very ...），真是有點暴殄天物，也讓學習印象較不深刻呀！趕快，去查看別人的用法！
2. 同義字的遴選，不可超過兩個，不可選出更新的單字，那不是我們的目的。同義字是用來幫助記憶的，不是用來變相增加那一週的單字的，請大家別貪多。一定的負擔＋一定的輕鬆，學習才會長久，不要在單字上再加單字，不要在擔子上再加擔子！
3.  句子盡量"抄襲模仿"；同義字盡量自己想（同義字詞限定high-school level較佳）。

本週字彙：

unequivocal
malleable
verbose
transient
repudiate
impetuous
incongruous
assuage
corroborate
embellish
avaricious
cursory
clement
lucrative
pretext

本週作業與進度

本週作業：

1. 別忘囉！每篇作文都必須修改到出現下列評語："Your revision is good as it is now."只要沒有出現該評語的作業，都請儘快完成。
2. 上週作業（"April Is the Cruelest Month"）必須與之後的進度做結合，故不張貼，待日後完成全貌，再一併請大家修改上傳。
3. 本週作業－"My/My Mother's Signature Dish"，一段六句，請注意寫成每一個步驟緊緊相連，以時間作為順序主軸，其中可穿插注意事項。
4. 本週作業不需要使用你選來造句的新單字。
5. Worthy Words for the Week 別忘了，之前幾週沒做的同學請儘速補上！ 

 本週進度：

 課本Chapter 2:
（following "Example"）

• Details
• Anecdotes
• Facts & Statistics

 課本Chapter 3: Enumeration

• Enumerators & Listing Signals
• Descending Order & Ascending Order

Worthy Words for the Week

本週增加了一個小小的要求：請寫出所選單字的簡單英文定義以及同義字（同義字必須是常見字彙，愈低階愈好）一個！

本週字彙：

delegate
unprecedented
poignant
nebulous
clandestine
tacit
allegation
gullible
benign
animosity
tenuous
complacent
abet
waive
mollify


Have fun!!

本週作業

本週作業：

1. 上週作業尚未完稿者，修改後若有問題，請在本週上課時找我討論。
2. 上週作業完稿者，請耐心等候，目前還沒要張貼。
3. 本週作業－"____ Is the ____est Month"，一段五句，請注意寫成相關一致的段落，而非不同內容的駁雜字句。
4. 課本習作：本週課本進度暫緩。
5. Worthy Words for the Week 持續進行。

Worthy Words for the Week

See, guys! A slave driver never runs out of ideas. Here's something new for you. It all began with a conversation I overheard near 側門小公園 last Friday:

Student A: "厚! 幹嘛要我們唸那些單字,還說是高頻率單字咧! X啦! 什麼高頻率,哪裡都用不到.這樣就一堂課的時間了..."
Student B: "對呀! 嗯嗯...哦哦..."

Then, it dawned on me that I never asked you guys to do anything to enlarge your vocabulary. What a terrible teacher I must have been! No matter! It's never too late to right the wrong. Starting from this week, I'll pick 15 words for you every week. Since most of the time we have our curricular activities outside class, this requirement will by no means take away any minute from our class meeting.

This is what I want you to do:

1. Pick only one word from the list.
2. Look for a sentence in which the word is used; don't make your own sentence with the word in it. Things may often go wrong if you do it that way.
3. Post it, and before you pick your word and post the sentence, make sure no one else picked the same word before you.
＊ You are asked to finish posting your pick and the sentence before we meet on Friday. You Here's an example:

Alvin:
slave driver (bold-faced): He is the most terrible slave driver among (bold-faced and italicized) all the teachers I have this semester.


Worthy Words for the Week:

ostensible
uncanny
morose
adept
capricious
blatant
negligible
sporadic
tawdry
arduous
personable
obstinate
lacerate
unscrupulous
flippant

Have fun!

The Lyric I Hate

Please post here your finished version of "The Lyric I Hate" in one paragraph.

Remember to give the following information:

1. Your Name
2. Times of Revision
3. The Paragraph

To Be, or Not to Be~

My Dear Dearest Class,

We've moved on from descriptive writing to analytic writing. Last week we had our first try with "The Lyric I Hate." This week, we shall work our analytic writing into the structure of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Please write an article in either one paragraph or three paragraphs entitled "To __, or Not to ___." When you write, please keep in mind the two requirements to meet: 1) the writing has be to analytic; 2) the structure must be thesis-antithesis-synthesis.

Next week, we shall begin our class meeting with Chapter 2: Supporting Topic Sentences: Examples, Details, Anecdotes, Facts and Statistics (mainly pp. 23-24; p. 34; We covered pp. 31-32 in class today).

本週作業

本週作業：

1. 上週作業尚未完稿者，請儘速完成。
2. 上週作業完稿者，請儘速張貼於"My Hero"一欄。
3. 本週作業－"The Lyric I Hate"，一段五句，請注意寫成相關一致的段落，而非不同內容的駁雜字句。
4. 課本習作：Identifying Irrelevant Sentences (pp.12-13)。

＊ 第三項初稿請於週二晚間12:00 A.M.前寄到：work4alvin@gmail.com 。

My Hero

Please post here your finished version of "My Hero" in one paragraph.

Remember to give the following information:

1. Your Name
2. Times of Revision
3. The Paragraph

＊ I know I promised to do this on your behalf, but I find out I can't. Please do me this favor by posting your own paragraph. Thank you, my dear class!

Homework for the Week

This is to remind you of the homework assignments for this week:

1. One paragraph of descriptive writing on your hero. Remember: no names, no places, no nationalities...and you have only 5 sentences to finish the profile of your hero.
2. Log in and leave both your Chinese name and your English name under "來者何人！？."
3. Read and finish all exercises in: (a) "TOPIC VERSUS TOPIC SENTENCE," "Now Ask Yourself," and "EXERCISE1-1" (pp. 3-6); (b) "PARAGRAPH UNITY" and "Now Ask Yourself" (pp. 8-12).

來者何人!?

各位，我做了一件很蠢的事：我小心翼翼地記下所有人的名字，然後小心翼翼地把名單夾到書裏面，然後...書忘了帶回家XD！

還好，Spe會在Facebook上cue大家；還好，我跟大家提了在此處留下姓名。

記得呀，按下下方"comments"，即可留言。

＊ 我已經打電話到文鶴了，他們會給大家折扣（我忘了問幾折），請直接找一位盧先生(Luc)，說要買師大英語系中級寫作的課本Paragraph Development。剛剛碰到了Spe，她好像說會幫大家拿吧！總之，就請大家搞定囉！

Back to School!

It's been a long break...a long break from school, a long break from studies, and a long break from writing!

This is the textbook for our writing class:
Title: Paragraph Development
Author: Martin L. Arnaudet & Mary Ellen Barrett
Publisher: Longman
ISBN: 0-13-648502-2

Please try to get a copy before our class meets again next week. (I don't care if you buy, steal, or rob someone of a copy of it!)