For my second LEL course, I took the vocabulary and spelling pratice #1. It consisted of fifty questions. Again, I didn't use the dictionnary to answer, because I am aiming to evaluate myself before working on improvement.
There was ten questions about vocabulary. I had to choose a synonym for specific words. I found that section pretty easy. Then the questions were varied from completing analogies to filling blanks in sentences. It took me half an hour to answer the fifty questions and it was mostly easy, but there was some questions wich I had to ponder a little more than usual. It was kinda interesting at first, but I soon grew bored to answer because the questions were very repetitive and some of them obsolete because the answer could be deduced from the previous question.
I scored 82%, wich for me seems alright. Finding a test easy doesn't mean it is. There was some answers that I gave that weren't the ones I was thinking about. I was a little disapointed about myself because I knew the good answer and I was just eager to finish. I did learn a few things though. For example, panacea means an absolute cure, something that could fix all disorders. I also thougth that to proscribe meant to recommend something, but in fact, it meant to forbid it. If not for those two words, I understood what the others meant, if not specifically.
I guess that kind of test would be helpful to enrich my vocabulary too, but it was a little too easy for my taste. I would give it 7/10 for this test because of that.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
LEL #1
When I talk in english, I often don't know how to express myself because of my poor vocabulary. That's why I chose to do the three synonym and antonym practices for my first exercice in the Learning Express Library.
I had an unlimited time to answer twenty questions per tests. I did them without any dictionnary.
In the first test, I passed with 80%. The test was fairly easy and I finished it quickly. There was some words, like abridge, wich I didn't know the definition, but I knew approximatively what they mean. The only drawback is that there was an error in the correction : the good answer wasn't the one in their explanation (my own answer was still false though).
I scored 75% in the second test. It was a little thougher than the first, but not by that much. There was still some words I don't see often, but I was good enough to deduce the meaning for some of them.
I thougth I had some difficulty with the last one, but I scored 80%. I had to guess some answers, but I was right for most of them.
I think those tests showed me that I understand english well enough. However, it wouldn't hurt to know more words to talk more fluidly. It was interesting because it made me practice something I actually wanted to improve.
I would give it 10/10, but minus one point because of the correction error. So 9/10
I had an unlimited time to answer twenty questions per tests. I did them without any dictionnary.
In the first test, I passed with 80%. The test was fairly easy and I finished it quickly. There was some words, like abridge, wich I didn't know the definition, but I knew approximatively what they mean. The only drawback is that there was an error in the correction : the good answer wasn't the one in their explanation (my own answer was still false though).
I scored 75% in the second test. It was a little thougher than the first, but not by that much. There was still some words I don't see often, but I was good enough to deduce the meaning for some of them.
I thougth I had some difficulty with the last one, but I scored 80%. I had to guess some answers, but I was right for most of them.
I think those tests showed me that I understand english well enough. However, it wouldn't hurt to know more words to talk more fluidly. It was interesting because it made me practice something I actually wanted to improve.
I would give it 10/10, but minus one point because of the correction error. So 9/10
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Hills like white elephants
Outline
Litterary thesis :
Hills like white elephants shows us a conversation between a couple concerning an abortion with the point of view of the man and the girl in the story.
Symbols:
White elephants can represent the fact that the woman is pregnant. The man sees it as an obstacle while the girl sees it as an extraordinary thing.
Also, the train tracks separates the landscape in two. One side is dry, barren and there are hills while the other is green and fertile farmlands. The girl always ''looks across the hills''. We can assume she is considering the idea of the abortion.
When that the man moves himself the luggage to the other side of the station, we can assume that he is the one making the decisions. This is contradictory compared with what he said to her, that it was her opinion about it that mattered.
Litterary thesis :
Hills like white elephants shows us a conversation between a couple concerning an abortion with the point of view of the man and the girl in the story.
Symbols:
White elephants can represent the fact that the woman is pregnant. The man sees it as an obstacle while the girl sees it as an extraordinary thing.
Also, the train tracks separates the landscape in two. One side is dry, barren and there are hills while the other is green and fertile farmlands. The girl always ''looks across the hills''. We can assume she is considering the idea of the abortion.
When that the man moves himself the luggage to the other side of the station, we can assume that he is the one making the decisions. This is contradictory compared with what he said to her, that it was her opinion about it that mattered.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
10 described words from Tryst's teacher's note
1.Shed: to impart and release.
2.Subsequent: Occuring later.
3.Embody: to give a concrete form.
4.Cad: A local town young man.
5.Wits: perception.
6.Seamstress: a sewing woman.
7.Scrub: a slang meaning to cancel something.
8.Peering: To look intently at something.
9.Gawp: To stare with an open mouth in astonishment.
10.Behoove: to be worthwhile.
2.Subsequent: Occuring later.
3.Embody: to give a concrete form.
4.Cad: A local town young man.
5.Wits: perception.
6.Seamstress: a sewing woman.
7.Scrub: a slang meaning to cancel something.
8.Peering: To look intently at something.
9.Gawp: To stare with an open mouth in astonishment.
10.Behoove: to be worthwhile.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sentence patterns #1, #2
Sentence = Complete idea /subject+verb
= independant clause
Clause = Incomplete idea /subject+verb
= dependent clause
= idea, part of the sentence
Phrase = Preposition /no verb (participle(in, on, at): present(-ing) or past(-ed))
CSL(S) has(V) 3200 students(object) in difficult programs (prepositional phrase)wich are interesting(clause).
example use of sentence pattern #1 :
independant clause+semicolon+independant clause
Csl(S) has(V) 3200 students(object); many are smart and talented(adjectives)
Sentences about ''the lady or the tiger''
1. Franck Stockton wrote many short stories; he filled 23 volumes
2. Franck Stockton's most famous story is ''the lady or the tiger;'' it's about a man being judged for his illicit affair with a king's daughter.
Independant clause+Semicolon+conjunctive adverb(therefore, hence, thus, however, etc.)+comma+independant clause
1. F.S.(S) started(V) as a wood engraver(object); however, he(S) became(V) a famous writer(object).
Independant Clause+comma+coordinating conjunction(fanboys(mnemonic: For And, N, But, Or, Y, So))+Independant clause
1. The story(S) has(V) no ending(object), so the reader(S) is(V) left wondering what happens(object).
SENTENCE PATTERN #2
IC+colon(:)
statement: explanation (specific)
ex1: Bernard shaw told a writer:
"There are three things I disliked about your story: they are the beginning, the middle and the ending."
ex2: There is one key rule in my life: always be well-dressed at work.
thesis statement (fourth link)
1. A good thesis statement will make a claim. bad example: Americans are violent. Good example: Americans are violent because they are fearful.
2. A good thesis sentences will control the entire argument. A thesis sentence must reflect the entire paragraph. (main idea)
3. A good thesis will provide a structure for your argument. Example: we shall demonstrate that X expresses itself in 3 ways: A, B and C.
Other points:
A good thesis statement should:
-be clear and avoid vague words
-avoid ''I''
-connect all the subelements of the text. (my point 3)
-pass the ''so what'' test. (be provocative)
-introduce an essay.
-determine the type of paper you write.
-use literary elements. (plot, point of view, metaphor, themes, etc.)
-make use of ''quotations'' as evidence, to support it.
***
Three Components :
-What : Claim about the text (interpretation)
-How : the literary elements (figure of speech, symbolism, theme)(you choose support your claim).
-Why : the significance of your claim answers the question : so what?
BAD THESIS STATEMENT :
1. This poem shows the narrator comparing his love to a summer's day. (plot summary)
2. The poem present the power of love to conquer death. (too universal)
3. The poem shows how Narratives cans last while Nature can not. (too general)
4. The poem proves that the penis is mightier than the sword. (cliché)
5. The structure character and dialogue in the poem show us how humans search for knowledge. (List)
GOOD THESIS STATEMENT :
1.Despite it's emphasis on love and physical beauty, the poem reveals the ways in wich humans can triumph over the vagaries of nature.
Qualities : specific / arguable / provides a structure for your argument
2. A good thesis sentences will control the entire argument. A thesis sentence must reflect the entire paragraph. (main idea)
3. A good thesis will provide a structure for your argument. Example: we shall demonstrate that X expresses itself in 3 ways: A, B and C.
Other points:
A good thesis statement should:
-be clear and avoid vague words
-avoid ''I''
-connect all the subelements of the text. (my point 3)
-pass the ''so what'' test. (be provocative)
-introduce an essay.
-determine the type of paper you write.
-use literary elements. (plot, point of view, metaphor, themes, etc.)
-make use of ''quotations'' as evidence, to support it.
***
Three Components :
-What : Claim about the text (interpretation)
-How : the literary elements (figure of speech, symbolism, theme)(you choose support your claim).
-Why : the significance of your claim answers the question : so what?
BAD THESIS STATEMENT :
1. This poem shows the narrator comparing his love to a summer's day. (plot summary)
2. The poem present the power of love to conquer death. (too universal)
3. The poem shows how Narratives cans last while Nature can not. (too general)
4. The poem proves that the penis is mightier than the sword. (cliché)
5. The structure character and dialogue in the poem show us how humans search for knowledge. (List)
GOOD THESIS STATEMENT :
1.Despite it's emphasis on love and physical beauty, the poem reveals the ways in wich humans can triumph over the vagaries of nature.
Qualities : specific / arguable / provides a structure for your argument
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Tell-Tale Heart
A) Author : Edgar Allan Poe
5 facts about Poe:
-He was born Edgar Poe and he had lost both parents at the age of three. He was adopted by the Allans and they renamed him Edgar Allan Poe.
-He married his thirteen years old cousin when he was twenty-six.
-He was found delirious and sick in the streets and wearing clothes that were not his own. He was brought to an hospital and he died four days after. His final words were: ''Lord help my poor soul''.
-He was one of the first writer to live solely on the money of his writings.
-His first work was published anonymously.
B) Plot (corrections made)
The Tell-Tale Heart is narrated by an anonymous man who assures us that he is not mad. He tells us about an old man he lives with and his dreadful white eye. He explains how he loved the old man, but hated the eye so much that he only wanted to destroy it. So every night, at midnight, he would slowly open the old man's door to enter his room. Then he opened a lantern so that only a tiny ray of light would reveal the eye. For seven days, the eye was closed, so the storyteller did not do a thing. However, in the night after, he made a sharp noise while opening the lantern and the old man awakened. The narrator waited anxiously in the dark, but the old man stayed upright in his bed, completely still. When he finally undid the lantern, the ray of light fell on the blank eye. A heartbeat could be heard and the man thought it was the old man's. Rage filling him, he smothered the old man under the mattress.
The old man's body was hidden under the floor when three police officers came at the door. The neighbour had heard a scream and he had called the police. The storyteller showed the whole house to them so they could see nothing happened and that the old man was on vacations He said to them it was him that screamed when he awoke from a nightmare. The policemen where convinced and were about to leave the house when the narrator invited them for some tea. It was then, when they were seated, that he heard the heartbeats again. They were getting louder and he was sure the police officers heard it too. He thought they were jesting with him, for it was evident they could hear that loud sound. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he told them where he had hidden the body so the heartbeats could stop.
C) Analysis
1) Setting: The narrator lives with the old man. The story
2) characters:
A) The narrator, who is the main character, is anonymous. The gender is unspecified, but we can assume it's a man because Poe always narrated from a man's point of view.
B) The old man with the blank eye, wich makes the narrator nervous.
C) The neighbour, who called the police when he heard a scream
D) The three policemen, who searched the house and arrested the narrator.
3) Themes:
A) A human being has a perverse, wicked side -another self- that can provoke him to doing evil things without an apparent motive.
B) Fear of discovery can bring about discovery.
C) The evil within is worse than the evil without.
4) Point of View: First person narrative
5) Sentence Style: Objet -there was none. Passion -there was none. ''I loved the man.''
6) Figure of speech:
Anaphora(repetition of sentences): I heard things in heaven. I heard things in hell
Personification: Death. ''Death becomes a black shadow that approaches him''
Simile: ''A single ray of light like the web of a spider.''
Alliteration(repetion of sounds): ''Observe, how! heartily, how! (...), How!''
Irony: ''I was never kinder to the old man during that week before I killed him''
5 facts about Poe:
-He was born Edgar Poe and he had lost both parents at the age of three. He was adopted by the Allans and they renamed him Edgar Allan Poe.
-He married his thirteen years old cousin when he was twenty-six.
-He was found delirious and sick in the streets and wearing clothes that were not his own. He was brought to an hospital and he died four days after. His final words were: ''Lord help my poor soul''.
-He was one of the first writer to live solely on the money of his writings.
-His first work was published anonymously.
B) Plot (corrections made)
The Tell-Tale Heart is narrated by an anonymous man who assures us that he is not mad. He tells us about an old man he lives with and his dreadful white eye. He explains how he loved the old man, but hated the eye so much that he only wanted to destroy it. So every night, at midnight, he would slowly open the old man's door to enter his room. Then he opened a lantern so that only a tiny ray of light would reveal the eye. For seven days, the eye was closed, so the storyteller did not do a thing. However, in the night after, he made a sharp noise while opening the lantern and the old man awakened. The narrator waited anxiously in the dark, but the old man stayed upright in his bed, completely still. When he finally undid the lantern, the ray of light fell on the blank eye. A heartbeat could be heard and the man thought it was the old man's. Rage filling him, he smothered the old man under the mattress.
The old man's body was hidden under the floor when three police officers came at the door. The neighbour had heard a scream and he had called the police. The storyteller showed the whole house to them so they could see nothing happened and that the old man was on vacations He said to them it was him that screamed when he awoke from a nightmare. The policemen where convinced and were about to leave the house when the narrator invited them for some tea. It was then, when they were seated, that he heard the heartbeats again. They were getting louder and he was sure the police officers heard it too. He thought they were jesting with him, for it was evident they could hear that loud sound. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he told them where he had hidden the body so the heartbeats could stop.
C) Analysis
1) Setting: The narrator lives with the old man. The story
2) characters:
A) The narrator, who is the main character, is anonymous. The gender is unspecified, but we can assume it's a man because Poe always narrated from a man's point of view.
B) The old man with the blank eye, wich makes the narrator nervous.
C) The neighbour, who called the police when he heard a scream
D) The three policemen, who searched the house and arrested the narrator.
3) Themes:
A) A human being has a perverse, wicked side -another self- that can provoke him to doing evil things without an apparent motive.
B) Fear of discovery can bring about discovery.
C) The evil within is worse than the evil without.
4) Point of View: First person narrative
5) Sentence Style: Objet -there was none. Passion -there was none. ''I loved the man.''
6) Figure of speech:
Anaphora(repetition of sentences): I heard things in heaven. I heard things in hell
Personification: Death. ''Death becomes a black shadow that approaches him''
Simile: ''A single ray of light like the web of a spider.''
Alliteration(repetion of sounds): ''Observe, how! heartily, how! (...), How!''
Irony: ''I was never kinder to the old man during that week before I killed him''
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