Here is your very first academic year posting... (I know you did one this summer. I didn't forget!) It's two-fold, so make sure you answer both bits, okay?
(1) What book are you doing your abstract on? How did you pick your book?
(2) What do you think your writing strength is or what would you like it to be? What are you working toward improving? What are your writing goals for this year?
These two questions need to be answered by midnight on Friday, September 19th. My only request is that you watch your spelling & grammar. This is on the web for the whole world to see, so put your best face forward! This can be casual/informal, but it should be correct, okay? Good! I look forward to hearing from you!
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68 comments:
ok, so I'm going to do this early so that I can get this out of the way.
1) The book I'm reading is called
The Red Badge Of Courage. I've never read it before and I thought it would be a good book to write an abstract about. Once i realized that it was also short ( to my standards) I quickly began to read it with gusto.
2) I'd say that my writing strength would be imagery. Many teachers in my life have told me that I'm good at describing places and characters.
1)The book that I chose was The Time MachineBy H.G.Wells.I chose this book because I expected it to be a good story(I obviously have not read a science fictional novel).What I mean by this is to me science fiction novels are not interesting to me. When I read this book I felt that It had to much detail and that it went on and on and was easy to forget what you were reading.I remember watching The Time Machine on TV. It was much better there than in the book.
2)I would want my writing strength to be better in the way that I should learn more words or at least carry a dictionary or thesaurus. For myself I am working toward is my grammar, I should be able to do this I am in the eighth grade. It is okay because I am learning.
-Chris I.
Hey MCN! Just like lois, i want to get this out of the way and not forget about it later...ya..so here it goes!
1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because i was always curious how this book was different from the movie. I tried to read it before but i never got to finish it, so i thought this was the perfect thing to actually MAKE me read it!
2. I'm not actually sure... i know one of them is imagery but i'm pretty sure i'm good in some other area's too... my goal...well it's a huge one but i'm trying anyways...is to write a book. i have ALWAYS loved writing and i tried writing a story this summer but it's not going well at all...
1. I chose to do my abstract on One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest after several long seconds of consideration. In the end, my decision came down to the fact that I hadn't read it before, the book came highly recommended, and it was short enough that I could read it in a weekend.
2. I think my writing strength is that I am quite articulate and have a good vocabulary. Of late, I have been trying to heighten the level of eloquence in my wording, while my goal for the year is to learn more interesting and effective transitions and to be able to easily switch from writing simply to writing with more detail and style.
1) The book I'm reading is Hiroshima by John Hersey. I decided to read this because one of my friends said it was a good book and it sounded interesting.
2) This year I want to work on imagery because I think it is an important part of any story. I haven't decided on other goals yet, but I know I'll find some throughout the year.
1) The book I’m doing my abstract on is Hiroshima by John Hersey. I decided to do the abstract on Hiroshima by friend recommendation.
2) I would have to say "truthfully" that I have no idea what my strength in writing is. I would like to have a strength in imagery, because it can help make a funny story without out saying to the class "you would have to be there to understand".
Hi Ms. McNeeley! I just decided to do this since I had nothing better to do(long story)....
1. The book that I read for my abstract is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.I am reading this for two reasons. One,because my mom said it was a good book to read this summer. And two, one of my friends reminded me about it yesterday,and I remembered that I had read this book this summer. So I just decided to use that book,considering I am the slowest reader in Athens.
2. This year, I want to work on writing interesting stories or pieces that are interesting,but are not too long.Mostly because I have had experiences in the past when my stories and/or writing pieces were perfectly detailed and I recieved great comments on them..... they were just 8 pages long! So when my friends or other classmates read my work,it bores them because of the length of the story. So I want to work on that this year.
1)Ok so the book i am readin is Hiroashima . i picked this book for two reasons. the first is it is short(plain and simple dont you think). The second is when i thought of Hiroshima, i thought only that of the allies perspective so i wanted to get a different perspective, one that is from the citizens affected by this.
2) I would say that my writing strenght is description. I have just always felt taht when im wrinting, i tend to go into grave detial about the littlest of things. =)
The book I read and picked for my abstract is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Honestly I picked it because it was short and I needed a short book. I did get it as a Christmas present one year and never got to it. So I thought this would work out well.
Truthfully, writing isn't one of my strengths. I do enjoy and think I could write better when it's free write. I don't have the same feeling when I being forced to write on a certain subject or a certain style. I wouldn't quite say I write that well in free write, but I don't have the same emotion. I think I should work on saying what I want to say, and not go babbling on. I also have trouble starting my story, e.i. brainstorming, pre-write, draft, etc.
Jack Elliott-Gower
1) The book I have chosen to do my abstract on The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I chose it because it very possibly might be my favorite book of all time.
2) I am not sure what my writing strengths are. I think I am good at finding words to describe the emotions my characters or I feel, and I'm good at imagery. Usually, I am pretty articulate. (At least a lot more than this!)
Oh, by the way, that's Dory MacMillan above!
(1) The book I'm reading is Hiroshima . It looked cool and I heard from a few people that it was good. It's a reasonable length but I'm still worried about trying to finish it in time.
(2) I'm not exactly sure what my strengths are yet. I don't think I've developed enough as a writer to know everything about my writing. As for my weaknesses, I guess everything. Nobody has completely mastered everything about writing. So for me, I guess this year, I just want to get better at EVERYTHING.
-Loran Posey
1) The book that I have chosen to read for my abstract is Sula by Toni Morrison. I decided to read this book for two reasons one because it was short (sorry I just don’t have a lot of time!) and two because this book has two strong women characters.
2) I would have to say I’m not quite sure I know what my writing strength is but I have a feeling I will find out soon. As far as technical skills I would like to work on my grammar and punctuation. To devolop my craft in writing I would like to make my responses more cohesive in the papers that I write.
~Hallie Javetz
1) I am writing my abstract on the Pearl by John Steinbeck because you recommended the book and I enjoyed his other book. I also picked this book because I can identify the theme easily than in other books, since i am not at all great at putting together and detecting themes.
2)I am not exactly sure what my writing strength is. I believe I have difficulty with everything. I find myself stuck coming up with plots, characters, and conflicts. I enjoy writing but I find myself over thinking and making it to complicated than it is. For grammar, punctuation, and spelling they are also my struggle. Overall my goal is to improve on everything.
-Thananya Kerdpoka
1.I am choosing to do my abstract on Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, because of the adventurous nature of the novel. In this book there is always a need to look out for danger, and a continuous fight for survival. I had first read an easier and less complex version of Robinson Crusoe some three to four years ago, since then I have always had a goal to read the complete novel. I seized the opportunity to read this book right when I saw the book on the college reading list without a grade.
2.My strengths in writing would probably be supporting my opinion, and organizing prewriting on towards drafting. My strengths that I wish to have is to make my writing interesting and not completely boring. That is the major goal for my writing this year, I will try to use idioms, quotes, etc to try to make my writing interesting, and try not to make my audience fall asleep after the first paragraph.
-Subhodeep Choudhury
Welll.... HI!!!!
You know, I really enjoy reading all the things ya'll write. We have everything from Carver's "eloquence" to "Maggie Loves Skittles" (enough said!!!) ANYWHO!!!!
1) I am doing my abstract on Emma by Jane Austen. I chose this because I have already read it (and I hadn't read any others from the CBRL that didn't have a grade recently) and it is still in my house. Plus, I just really like that book.
2) I think my strength is imagery and descriptive language, because my writing has been called many things (strange, odd, boring to name a few) and my grammar, spelling, and conventions are absolute CRAP, but I can describe things in great detail until the cows come home! Probably just too much Lord of the Rings but...
OK well I think I am done jabbering pointlessly now...
BYE!!!!!!
~Katie
1) The book that I decided to read for my abstract is One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I chose this book because it looked interesting and pretty short.
2) I don't really know what my writing strengths are but, I am pretty good at coming up with weird and creative situations/settings. One of my goals is to become better at imagery so that I can transfer those pictures in my head onto paper.
1) I am doing an abstract on the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I picked my book by reading the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer After reading that bok I looked up Marktwain on the internet and found that there is a book of Huclebrry Finn too by Mark Twain. In my opinion Tom Sawyer was a grest book, so I decided to give Huckleberry Fin a shot. Turns out it's kind of better than Tom Sawyer.
2) I have to say that my writting strength is flow. When I write something, I saty on the subject and make the story as interesting as I can (most of the time). I somtimes do flash backs, but I think that it is a waste. I would like to know how to write with a different dialect. Mark Twain probably had to say the things he writes before acctually writting it.
-Ansuman
The book I read for my abstract is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I saw it on the College Bound Reading List and thought it sounded pretty creepy (which is what I like)so I decided to read it. Since it was easy to read I decided to do my abstract on it.
I am not really sure right now what my strengths are as a writer. I can say I do a pretty good job of organizing my thoughts, but I would like to learn to vary my sentence types and to captivate my reader with more word variety.
My abstract book is The Stranger by Albert Camus. This book was recommended to me by my brother. I thought it seemed like an interesting book, so that is the one I chose.
In writing, I am not sure what my strength is. It would be nice if I had an interest by the reader for the entire story, and not just one part. I would like to try to get better with my conclusions. They are harder to write because I am more interested in the rising action, plot, and climax of a story than the conclusion or introduction. The introduction is something else I need to strengthen. The goal I have for this year is to reel the reader in with my introduction and keep the reader interested all the way until after my conclusion.
1. The book I chose to write an abstract on is called Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I chose this book by going through a series of steps. First I went down the College Bound reading list and put stars by all the books that interested me. Then I read reviews on each one and I picked the one with the best rating (The one that had the most good reviews.)
2. I would have to say my writing strength would have to be in the Poetry department. I say this not because I love poetry or anything but for some odd reason whenever I write a poem everyone loves it, I guess because poetry doesn't require much grammer or puncuation skills.(Things I don't have and am looking towards improving this year.)lol!
-Brionna Hall
1. I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn over the summer because one of my dad's co-workers let me borrow it (although I never gave it back) and she said it was one of her favorite books!
2. For writing I would like to work on keeping my writing interesting and luring in the readers. I'm not exactly sure what my writing strengths are yet really..
1) The book that I decided do write my abstract on is called Sula and I choose this book because I read the back and it seemed like a good book, and I also wanted something short and this book was only 174 pages.
2)I would like to work on using more vivid words because I still use words like good,mean,and bad and those words you can put just about anyone to sleep so I would really like to extend my vocabulary this year.
Rachel said...
I am doing my abtsract on The Dark is Rising. I chose this book because Shari said it was a good book and i needed to read a book quick.
I still have no idea what my strengh and weaknesses are. Well i'm probobly horrible at everything ,but i am willing to learn.
Hey Ms. McNeeley. This is Aaliyah. Okay, well the book Im doing my abstract on is, The Story of My Life By: Helen Keller. The reason why I chose this book, is because, I had a little of knowledge on Helen Keller from 6th grade. And I also saw the movie. And, yeah I know the movie isn't like the book, but it still has a lot of good information.
I don't really have a writing strength. But by the end of the year, I want to be able to be very descriptive. I want the readers to be able to feel the pain of the characters.
Why hello McNeeley. This is Cona reporting for blog #1.
1. For my abstract I chose “Cats Cradle” for mainly two reasons. First, I had hit “doodoo creek” and had to find a short good book that could be finished in under two days. Second, I was very interested in Kurt Vonnegut after you told us how your students liked him. I’ve read a lot of older books (1984, Brave New World, ect) and I loved how we can read what someone would have written fifty years ago, so I figured that I could always read another.
2. I think that my greatest strength in writing is definitely my creativity. My writing weakness is harder to describe. I think my descriptions could be more descriptive and my dialog could be better, but my main problem is getting the words to flow like they should. words may sound good as I write them down but not after I reread or read them out loud.
p.s. I tried to do italics but it didnt work
1)The book I am doing my abstract on is called Gone With The Wind. I chose this book because I already read it and it seemed like a good book to do an abstract on. I was going to do my abstract on the book Lonsome Dove but decided not to because I wasn't going to finish it on time.
2) I don't know what my writing strengths are, but I do know what I want to improve in my writing. I would like to extend my vocabulary, and make my conclusions interisting but short.Overall my goal is to improve my writing and spelling.
~Angie
1) For my abstract, I read 1984 by George Orwell. I read this summer at my dad's recommendation, and I loved it.
2) A definite writing strength I have is the creating of characters. I have always loved inventing people or animals, where they live and what they do, and who they are. When I was little, I made up entire villages of animals.
ok, 1) I am doing my abstract on Frankenstein. I chose this book because I read it this summer. I also waited until the last minute to start this so I didnt have time to start a new book.
2) At the moment i don't know my strength, but, i would really want to figure it out this year. I most definetly want to expand my vocabulary in my writing . A large vocabulary makes the story more interesting. -Gabriela N.
Hey ms. McNeeley
1)I chose to read Hiroshima by John Hersey. Honestly IM reading it beacause it was short and I was running out of time. I wasnt expecting it to be as good as it is though.
2) I really have no idea on what my writing strength is at the moment. But I do think I really need to work on imagery and my characters. Also I have always heard from past teachers that my grammar and transtions from paragraph to paragragh in stories are not all that great so I really want those skills to get better this year.
-Alex
1)the book i am doing my abstract on is called The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. i chose this book because i needed a short book and was running out of time. another reason why i chose this book is because i am a fan of fantasy books and this looked like a good book to me.
2)My best guess for my writing strength i would say would be imagery. i am good at describing things (although i may not always use the most sophisticated words).
I am doing my abstract on The Call of the Wild . I chose this book because Jack said it was short and I needed one more book for my summer reading.
My writing strength is I always am able to come up with a unique topic, although my grammer and vocabulary are etrociuos. My goals for the year in writing are to improve those aspects in my writing and to right pieces that are interesting to read.
Hi
1.My strengths are telling what is wrong with a piece in a nice way, and my weaknesses are grammar and spelling.
2.I'm doing my abstract on Death in the Family by James Agee.I choose this book because I need a book fast, so I closed my eyes and picked one.
1. The book that I am doing an absract on is The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (i couldnt get the italics to work) by Mark Twain. Ichose this book because it has been reccomended to me by many of my family members. This is the first Mark Twain book that I have read and I am excited to read more.
2. My writing strengh is definetly being creative, and keeping my readers interested. I want to inmprove on my detail. My stories are action packed but they lack strong verbs. My writing goal for this year is to make an interesting story that is more than 5 pages long and chalk full of detail.
Hunter Cutts
I. The book i chose was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I chose it because it was the only colledge-bound book at my home, actually.
II. My strengths as a writer are when I get started. Once I get started, I can get both quality and quantity. Unfortunately my wekness is getting started.
1.The book I’m doing the abstract on is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I had to choose a book for the abstract so I just picked one that seemed interesting, and also because it is short.
2.I would have to say that I don’t quite know what my writing strengths are. Most of the time I have difficulty with grammar and spelling. My goal for this year is to expand my vocabulary, and to make my writing more interesting by being more descriptive.
-Vitoria Kuzolitz
1. I am doing my abstract on
Hiroshima . The main reason i chose this book is because it seemed easy and short.
2. I would say my writing strength is creativity . I would also like another one of my writing strengths to be conclusions. My writing goals for this year are to learn more on how to end up a story and try and use foreshadowing in some of my stories.
Hi Ms. McNeeley!
1)I am writing my abstract on
A Tree grows in Brooklyn mainly because I heard you talking about it in class andI decided it would be an interestingbook! And It really is, I don't know how Alex thought of it as boring!
2) I lovewriting, but, honestly, I have no clue what my special niche is exactly: although I'm sure I may have one. I hope I can find it in (at the most) by the end of the year!
Wow, I just realized, I completely butchered that last sentence! Sorry! :(
Make that:
I love writing, but, honestly, I have no clue what my special niche is exactly; although I'm sure I may have one. I hope I can find it (at the most) by the end of the year!
Sorry!
-Hendley
1. For my abstract I choose Anna Karenina. I choose this book because the summary sounded good.
2. I think my writing strengths is coming up with ideas for what should happen or setting. I want to improve on putting my thoughts to paper. I think it is hard to put thought on paper, along with making it sound good.
1) The book that I'm doing is The Dark is Rising I chose this book because it was short and I only had a week left, and because Shari said it was really good.
2) I say that my strength as a writer is my imagery because I can make someone feel like they are in the setting or know the characters. Something I REALLY need to work on though is my introductions.
I am going to write my abstract on Gone With the Wind. I chose this book because it was one of the favorite books among last year's eight graders. I thought it would be a great book for me.
Hey Ms. McN.:).This is Bria, I'm SO new to this. Anyways..
1)The book I'm doing on my abstrat is Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.I choose this book because I wanted a book with a descriptive setting so I wouldn't get bored.
2)I think my writing strength is brainstorming.I would like to improve how I plot the story out on paper. My writing goals for this year are to make sure my stories make sense to the reader.
1. For my abstract, I chose to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. I selected this book because it sounded interesting and is relatively short.
2. My writing strengths are grammar and sentence structure. I feel reasonably confident in my ability to construct complex plots with interesting characters, but I feel that I need to improve the concluding sections of my work. My goal for the year is to enhance the flow of my writing.
1.The book I chose to write my abstract on was Seize the Day because it is short and I thought I would be able to do my abstract on Farenheit 451 I did not realize that it was a
10th grade book.
2. I believe my writing strength is my introduction I feel like I can get the reader hooked. But I think I am not very good at developing my characters and giving them emotions.
1)The book that I am reading is called The Stranger. I choose to read this because, I heard that it was good, and it's short.
2)My writing strength would have to be,imagery. I would have to work more on spelling and grammer than anything else. My goal for the end of eighth grade is to be a way better speller than I was in the beginning.
Hi Ms. McNeeley!
Morgan here!
1. The book that I am doing my abstract on is The Ponder Heart by Eudora Welty. I chose this book because it eas the only book that my mom had that was on the college bound reading list.
2. I do not really have a writing strength. I guess that the closest thing to a writing strength that I have, would be description. I can describe stuff with detail.
1) The book i read was Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin. I randomly picked this book from the college bound reading list beceause i needed a book to read.
2) I don't think i have a writting strength. I wish it was writting the intro because that is the hardest part about writting anything to me.
Patrick Humphreys
OK My internet got blown out yesturday so I'm sorry my post is late.........I'm getting an F I can tell. My book is Alice's Adventures in wonderland. I choose it because I never saw the movie and thought that it could be really wired so I picked it. Second I do not think I have found my writing strength yet. I would like it to be coming up with a good story! I love thinking up idea and stories but I can never get the plot to fit. I really want to get better at that. So yeah there you go! Late as always! :(
I am so sorry this is late I never meant for it at all.
1) The book I choose was Hiroshima because before I had never known much about the event and it was placed in japan so i thoight it would be an interesting book to read.
2) My srenghth is tuly I have no idea. i enjoy writing a lot but I have never had anyone tell me what I am good at. so maybe that should be my goal this year to find out what that is. But my goal personally is to make my stories enjoyable for the audience personally I think i lack that quality.
Hi Mrs. Mcneely! Sorry that I posted this blog so late. I couldn't find any computer access.
Anyways....
1) The book I am reading is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
I chose this book for two reasons, one is because it was a short book and I needed to get one done. And the second reason was because when I read the short summary on the College Bound Reading list, it looked really intertaining.
2)I would say that my strength in writing is, I suppose getting my message through or the plot without getting straight to the point ( like in my narrative) I explained the feelings and small conflicts without flat out saying it.
By the way I worked on my narrative a little and your advice made it a lot better. Thanks!
1) I am doing an abstract on the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I picked my book by reading the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer After reading that book I looked up Mark Twain on the internet and found that there is a book of Huclebrry Finn too by Mark Twain. In my opinion Tom Sawyer was a greatest book, so I decided to give Huckleberry Fin a shot. Turns out it's kind of better than Tom Sawyer.
2) I have to say that my writting strength is flow. When I write something, I stay on the subject and make the story as interesting as I can (most of the time). I somtimes do flash backs, but I think that it is a waste. I would like to know how to write with a different dialect. Mark Twain probably had to say the things he writes before acctually writting it.
-Ansuman
Hey Ms. McNeeley. ok, so I just looked back at the reading list and I cant do Frankenstein . I also saw that i had read The Dark is Rising last year, and i had the book to refer back to. So i will write my abstract on that.
The book I am doing my abstract is
Catch-22. How I chose my book is I just saw te book on the list, and just started reading it. I think that my writing strength is my use of adjectives,and making up stories off the top of my head.My writing goal for this year is to being able to think outside the box.
The book I am doing my abstract on is Call of the Wild. I chose it because I it was the shortest and I was running out of time. I also read it because you recommended to me. I would say that my writing strength is being detail throughout my writing.
Oh yea sorry this is late but i couldn't get access to my computer because it was down.
Hey Mrs.Mcneeley,
Well as you can see I have not posted my blog until today, well now I just got into trouble for not doing my work so I decided to get it together so here it goes...
1. well I wrote my abstarct(well you know going to write my abstatract on) The Story of a My Life by Hellen Keller.
2. I chose this book because I saw the movie in 6th grade(bye the way its so cool) so I guess if read the book I will know a little bit more and I know where I am in the book in case something sounds confusing.I know the movie is not the same as the book but there are some things that are the same.
Oh im sorry Mrs.Mcneeley I forgot to answer the other question. well in writing im not the best student im problably the worst. if I had to pick I would problably wouldnt pick neither that im good at I have some special moments were I dont know what happens to me but im just good at one thing better than the others.I just say that i hope this year I find my thing or my special power in writing.
1) The book im reading is called "the Call of the Wild". I honestly chose this book because it was very short. After I finished it though I loved it!
2)I would say my writing strength is using fancy words, and fitting them into the story.
- Daniel Collier
1. The book I read was Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.
2. I chose it off of the booklist.
3. I would say this book's genre is historical fiction.
4. Esperanza Rising is about a girl named Esperanza who lives very richly. Sadly, she must flee her home after her papa dies and her home is destroyed. Esperanza goes to California, along with her mother and several of their fromer servants, in hopes of starting a better life there. While there, Esperanza faces many challenges such as learning how to work, taking care of her suddenly sick mother, and trying to bring her grandmother into the U.S. While she struggles to overcome these vast difficulties, Esperanza must learn how to start a new life, and see the hope in a very bleak time.
5. I chose this book because it seemed like a short book and it was on the list.
6. I would recommend this book because it shows how strong the bonds of family are and how bright a future can look. Even though this is not my favorite book, I still think that it is a very good book. What makes this book so special is that it is told with great feeling and the reader can really get to know Esperanza.
1. The book I read was Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.
2. I chose it off of the booklist.
3. I would say this book's genre is historical fiction.
4. Esperanza Rising is about a girl named Esperanza who lives very richly. Sadly, she must flee her home after her papa dies and her home is destroyed. Esperanza goes to California, along with her mother and several of their fromer servants, in hopes of starting a better life there. While there, Esperanza faces many challenges such as learning how to work, taking care of her suddenly sick mother, and trying to bring her grandmother into the U.S. While she struggles to overcome these vast difficulties, Esperanza must learn how to start a new life, and see the hope in a very bleak time.
5. I chose this book because it seemed like a short book and it was on the list.
6. I would recommend this book because it shows how strong the bonds of family are and how bright a future can look. Even though this is not my favorite book, I still think that it is a very good book. What makes this book so special is that it is told with great feeling and the reader can really get to know Esperanza.
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