• Thank you to everyone who left me a comment.
• To those two students who were absent today, you can email me your essay – by Friday 1 Feb. 2019.
• 50% off any of these old books of mine for any of my DWC students! Free shipping! Just send me an email telling me the book(s) you are interested in, and I’ll send you them within a few days.

Today’s class

• hand in hard copy of draft #2
• 1-to-1 conferencing to discuss draft #2
• hand in AND email your final version.
• write a comment about your experience of this class:
  • the good points
  • the “could-be-better” points

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Homework

Re-write your draft 1.

Today’s class

Review of essay outline:

1. Introduction: movie and book titles and dates, + why you chose them.
2. Movie:
   1. genre of movie.
   2. Story summary – main characters and main events
   3. Director, main actors (if famous),
   4. Main ideas
   5. (Original story / writer)
3. Book:
   1. Same as movie
4. Historical background
   1. Make it clear whether you are writing about the history that is seen IN the movie or what happened when the movie was made.
   2. Give dates for events and people, and any other important information, e.g. President Kennedy, 35th president of the USA from 1961-63, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22nd, 1963.
5. Conclusion: summary of what you learned, and your personal opinion.
6. Bibliography in APA style

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Homework

Re-write your final “book-and-movie” essay: draft 2, using the advice and model paragraphs suggested in class today. Print it out and bring to class next week.

Essay outline:

1. Introduction
2. Body paragraph 1 – movie
3. Body paragraph 2 – book
4. Body paragraph 3 – what I learned about US history
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography (using APA style)

1. Introduction: Tell the names of the movie and book you will write about, and the topics of each of your 3 body paragraphs.
2. Body paragraph 1: “The movie Xxxxx was directed by Xxxxx, stars Xxxxx and Xxxxx, (was written by Xxxx) and was released by (studio name) in (year). It is about a (main character 1) and a (main character 2) who ……(summarize the story in 3-4 sentences). (Tell the main ideas of the story and relate them to US history and culture, e.g.
   1. “‘The Fountainhead’ is about talented young architect who refuses to compromise his ideals. He falls in love with a beautiful and idealistic young journalist, but she marries first his rival, then his best friend. Roark must fight against various enemies, including Ellsworth Toohey who does not want talented individuals to succeed. Roark eventually succeeds, but only after being arrested, spending some time in jail and losing his best friend.
   2. “The main themes (ideas) of the story are individualism and collectivism, showing how individualism is the basis for a healthy society and the way to the future. The story shows how all the good things of modern life are thanks to the creativity and intelligence of a few brave individuals, most of whom were laughed at or attacked, as Roark is. The story is based in New York, and the famous skyscrapers of that city are an important background to the story, as they represent hard work, intelligence, creativity and success against huge difficulties. (The Japanese title is actually “Skyscraper”). The main character, Roark, may have been based on a real American architect genius called Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) who designed the 2nd Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, parts of which can be seen in Meiji Mura near Nagoya.

If you did not give me your homework (see here) on Friday Jan. 11th, please email it to me as soon as possible.

Today’s class

1. We watched the first few scenes of “The Fountainhead” (1949), and researched some information about the director, main actors and writer.
2. We wrote a sample outline and some sample sentences for each paragraph.

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Homework

Write the first draft of your final essay – your “book and movie” presentation –> essay. Print it out and bring to class on January 11th.

1. Introduction
   1. Give the titles of the movie and book you will write about
      1. “I will write about the story, give some historical background and finally say what I learned about US history from this book and movie.”
   2. Movie. Some basic information (title, release date, period of history, director (if famous), actors (if famous). A brief summary of the story (in 2~3 sentences. You may use Wikipedia or Goodreads or Amazon to help you but do not copy and paste – use your own words.
   3. Discuss the history in the movie; e.g. the movie “Forrest Gump” mentions Elvis Presley, President Kennedy, Vietnam War, Nixon and Watergate, etc. Explain these people and events.
   4. Say what you learned particularly about US history from watching this movie. Be specific.
   5. Book. Some basic information (title, original publication date, period of history in the story, author (if famous). A brief summary of the story (in 2~3 sentences; use Wikipedia or Goodreads or Amazon to help you but do not copy and paste – use your own words)
   6. Discuss the history in the movie (e.g. in “Forrest Gump”, explain about Elvis Presley, President Kennedy, Vietnam War, Nixon and Watergate, etc.)
      1. Say what you learned particularly about US history from reading this book.
      2. Good examples:
         1. “I learned that the Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975 and included not only Vietnam but also Laos and Cambodia.”
         2. Or “I learned that President Kennedy was president from 1961-63, that he was president while the Vietnam War happened, that his ancestors were from Ireland, and that he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22nd, 1963.”
      3. Bad example: “I learned about American history from this movie/novel.”
   7. Conclusion. (Repeat the introduction.) Add a short summary of what you learned, and whether you enjoyed the book or movie.

Today’s class

• Explanation of APA style with examples for a book, movie and Internet article. See the resource page for details and more resources.

Express your opinion! Let me know what you think of today's class, the written materials, the activities, the teacher's lecture, etc. Have a question about English or about today's class? Click the words "Leave a comment" below, or send me an email. Thank you for visiting.