Introduction to the GLA12

 Greetings all. Though I am away today there are a few additional useful notes here as you begin looking into composition writing.

The GLA12 has two extended responses, the 2nd of which is composition writing. Now, this style of writing is very open-ended. There are no rules in terms of the number of paragraphs and the topics are usually quite broad.

Take a look through the package of sample compositions. Read through it with your table and determine what seems to work well, and what tends to go wrong with this style of writing. Create a list of these items on the board as you read through them.

If you want to see more examples, check out the RESOURCES tab at the top of the page. Under Grade 12 you'll see a link to other sample compositions. There are an additional 6 samples of compositions there.

Essay Topic

 Behold - our argumentative essay topic. This one appears simple, yet it is complex. We will need to consider everything we've done up to this point to fuel a solid argument. First, the topic:

Is ambition more helpful or harmful?

Now, let's begin looking at this topic more closely. Consider the following:

• The Id, Ego, and Superego can inform this argument.
• Assume the term "helpful" or "harmful" is applied personally (as opposed to being applied to the well-being of others)
• Consider the relation between goals and ambitions. There are goals we can all agree are good for us, and those we would want to keep private. Think about how we can go about the pursuit of these goals.
• There are powerful quotes about ambition from many historical figures.

"Ambition is the last refuge of failure" - Oscar Wilde

(this means people who are failures will display ambition to overcompensate for what they lack)

"Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Remember, you need two supporting reasons with evidence and a counterclaim with evidence.

The legal foolscap page is for quotes ONLY. Leave the back of the pink sheet BLANK before the essay.

Try this!

 1.       Should boys and girls be in separate classes?

Some practice essay topics

Below are a list of some practice essay topics. We will be addressing these for practice this week :)

1. Should high school students have to complete community service hours to graduate?
2. Should unhealthy fast food products be sold with a warning label?
3. Should students be allowed to drop out before they turn 18 years old?
4. Should alcohol manufacturers be allowed to advertise on YouTube?
5. Should the government censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
6. Should the government composition proportionally represent the ethnic diversity of the general population? (this is termed proportional representation)
7. Should universities follow the policies of affirmative action to help determine successful applicants?

Ambition and its Influence

 Greetings all, this week we are beginning to move into argumentative writing. This means we need to do some reading outside of Macbeth in order to inform ourselves and our position on this topic. Below are a few links in addition to printouts that we'll be using in class. Some of these links are lengthy, so use the search function on your devices to get to the gist of the argument.

Peer-reviewed journal articles are some of the more reliable sources we can find. There are many sources for these. One example below is remarkably long. Read the abstract of lengthier journal articles to see what general conclusions are proven within. Check it out:

1. Ambition and Extreme Behaviour
2. Ambition and its Psychopathologies
3. Is Ambition Good or Bad? (there is a printout of this one as well)

In our argumentative writing, we'll want 2-3 sources to support our position on the topic of ambition. The specific topic(s) will be coming soon. For now, we must focus on informing ourselves on the role ambition has in our lives, and its positive and negative influences.

Example Topics

1.      How would psychoanalytic literary theory indicate whether the boys on the island were doomed to fail?

2.      Based on Freud’s structure of the psyche, how does Ralph struggle with the contest between his civilized and savage self?

3.      How might The Lord of the Flies be described as an allegory of Freud’s structure of the psyche?

Thesis/Claim Statements

 Practice topics for LOTF:

1. How does impulse drive the boys' behaviour on the island?
2. What is the significance of the symbol of fire on the island?
3. What experiences caused morality on the island to decline so that one may kill another with "delirious abandonment"?
4. Why is Simon able to commune with "The Lord of the Flies"?
5. Why was Piggy's death inevitable?