Persuasive Oral
Research, plan, write, practice, rewrite, rehearse, rehearse, rewrite and rehearse your oral presentation so that it is ready to be presented any time from the very first class of term three.
See the below blog entries for details and resources to assist you in this task, including instructions and the assessment criteria. You also need to take some time to watch and analyse the past student orals which have been uploaded to STL Link.
Life of Pi
What is Life of Pi? Here is what some people have to say about it:
- “A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement.” .”— Publishers Weekly
- “Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life.”— The New York Times Book Review
- “A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction.”— Los Angeles Times Book Review
- “A gripping adventure story . . . Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it’s a book by an extraordinary talent.”— St. Paul Pioneer-Press
- “A terrific book . . . Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore.”— Margaret Atwood
You need to read Life of Pi over these holidays. We will be beginning our class study of Life of Pi in week 2.
As you read Life of Pi, you will need to do the following:
- Find ONE passages to discuss from Section 1: “Toronto and Pondicherry”
- Find TWO passages to discuss from Section 2: “The Pacific Ocean”
- Find ONE passage to discuss from Section 3: “Benito Judárez Infirnary, Tomatlán, Mexico”
A passage is a 15-30 line section of the novel that you feel is particularly important to the story.
You need to annotate your passages and be ready to discuss your passages as we go sequentially through the novel. Be ready to explain why this passage is important, what it contributes to the story, anything notable about how it is written and what it reveals about the characters involved.
Need practice?
If there is a form of writing that you need practice in – text response, context or language analysis – then you should look back through the materials in this blog, select a prompt or article, and get some extra practice.
Remember that you will need to do all of these types of essays next year, and you will expect to know language analysis in detail. There will also be a three hour exam in term four which requires a text response, context response and language analysis essay. You have the time now to improve your skills, and the only way you can do so is to look back at your feedback and practice, practice, practice, so do it.
Make sure you pass on any practice responses for feedback.
