8/9/2019 IMS Great Expectations 10-11

1/3

DePalo email: edepalo@woboe.ORGIMS 9 2009-2010 blog:edepalo.blogspot.comRoom 3201

Great Expectations*

The intent of the IMS 9 honors English curriculum is to prepare students for advanced levelcourses through the development of critical reading skills, literature analysis and writingcomplexity. As an honors-level student you are expected to complete rigorous reading andwriting assignments on a consistent basis while sharing your thoughts and insights through classdiscussions.

Classroom Behavior:

Preparedness - Arriving on time with materials

Respect - Avoiding verbal disrespect and derogatory language (i.e. racial and/orhomophobic slurs)

Disruption - No cell phones (If seen or heard, they will be confiscated and turned in tosecurity)

Responsibility:

I do not give you your grade; you earn it. Assignments are worth points. Points will consist ofthe following categories each marking period:

4 consistent 100 point grades each marking period:1. Participation (being prepared; attentive; cooperative; contributing to class discus

2. Homework (+, , -, 0) the number of HW assignments that are checked varieseach marking period

3. In-class Journal (periodic entries per marking period scored as +, , -, 0)4. Blog Entries (periodic entries per marking period scored upon completion and eff

Essays (100 pts):o +5 extra credit points if handed in early

o MLA Style Format

o No late papers accepted NO EXCUSESo Rewrites accepted after original is returned - both grades averaged together for a fi

grade

Tests/Quizzes : (vary from 10-100 pts)o graded on a point scale

o saved in classroom portfolio folder to keep for Final review

Group Work and Projects: (points vary); periodically assigned throughout the year

Absences: your responsibility to keep track of missed work; you have two days upon returto school to make up an assignment or test

Check homework calendar / hard copy and on blog site

Contact a classmate

Email me

Check folders in front of classroom for missed handouts or check on site

* Extra Credit: Can you identify this allusion?

8/9/2019 IMS Great Expectations 10-11

2/3

Essay Essentials

Use the following checklist as a proofreading tool before handing in a final draft. Throughout the

year, I will be looking at the following areas when grading your essays.

FormatMLA style (link on blog site and on LMC site)includes:

double-space your essay

no more than 1 margins

Times New Roman 12 pt. font

heading in the UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER (includes name, date and period)

an original title

pager headers

Works Cited page if using sources or referencing material

IntroductionsYour introduction should include the following elements:

T.A.G. (title of the piece of literature written about, authors name and genre or type ofwork):

Books: titles of books are underlined or in italics

Plays: titles of plays are underlined or in italics

Short Stories: titles of short stories are in quotation marks

Poems: titles of poems are in quotation marks

a brief summary (min. 2 sentences) of the work you are writing about

a thesis statement (a single sentence in your introduction that specifically tells thereader exactly what your essay will be about, indicates the organization of your essay,and is a point that you will prove or argue is true)

Organization/Transition Sentences

minimum five paragraphs

first sentence of each paragraph should contain a transition

Development

specific , detailed examples from the work(s) read to support your statements

literary present

when appropriate, include quotations from the text that

1. are introduced

2. are cited (with page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence)

3. are well explained

8/9/2019 IMS Great Expectations 10-11

3/3

Grammatical ErrorsWe will cover several common errors in class that, once discussed, you are expected not to

make them in your essays and will be deducted points for each time you make the mistake in

your paper. Errors include

fragment word choice

run-on spelling

comma splice trite phrases

pronoun agreement personal pronouns

numbers

colons and semicolons