Hello, everyone. Welcome to Academic Skills 2.

It is almost exactly 2 months since the last class in the first semester. I hope you enjoyed your 2 months’ holiday.

This semester will be more or less the same as last semester, except that

• the textbook is “Illustrated History of the U.S.A.” (I recommend buying a 2nd-hand one if you can).
• we will spend more time practicing writing about historical topics, both for classwork and for homework.
• presentations will begin later in the semester.

Homework:

• Why does Joseph want to kill Mr. Christie, the landlord?

Today’s class

1. Returned 1st semester essays
2. Returned 1st semester exam
3. Writing:
   1. Why study history?
   2. What do you know about American history? What are you interested in about American history?
4. 4 kinds of writing we will do in this semester
   1. Recount – tell what happened
   2. Describe – what kind of clothes did people wear? What kind of work did they do? What kind of food did they eat? What kind of houses did they live in?
   3. Explain – why things happened, why people acted in certain ways
   4. Argue – give reasons for your opinion and persuade the reader, e.g. “Why study American history?”
5. Video – watch the first few scenes from “Far and Away”, starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise (up to when Joseph meets Mr. Christie in the pub).
   1. What happened? Recount the story so far.
   2. What kind of house does Joseph live in? Describe it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbMYkzVsWAE