Writing Class: Final Grade

I will determine the final grade for writing English based on the following:

25% will be based on your rough draft. Your rough draft must be typed and must be delivered to me double-spaced and left-justified by email or printed on paper by 23.12.15.

50% will be based on your final draft. Your final draft must be typed and must be delivered to me double-spaced and left-justified by email or printed on paper by 8.1.16.(email address is: robbdn@hotmail.com if you don’t receive an email confirming I have received it by the due date please send it again). Formatting of the paper won’t matter for the rough-draft, but it WILL matter for the final draft.

Each day you are late will be -10% of the value of the item.

25% will be based on a simple exam. The exam will take place during the final class of the term. This will be 6.1.16, 7.1.16, or 8.1.16 depending on your group. The exam will be a simple review of all writing materials that are posted at eternalgamer.com. There will be no make-up exam if you miss class, so you must attend the final week or you will not get the final 25% of your grade.

There will be no scoring of attendance or participation for the writing class. Writing is all about your ability to write, nothing else. Attending class will obviously help you to have a better final grade.

What Are Clichés and Why Are We Supposed to Avoid Them?

Most teachers and usage guides encourage us to eliminate clichés from our writing, characterizing them as tired, hackneyed, and stale. But like so many of the "rules" of writing, the common handbook admonition to avoid clichés is a simplification of a complex idea.

The words cliché and stereotype are related metaphors derived from a French printing method introduced in the late-18th century.

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, both terms originally referred to a process involving a metal plate cast from woodcuts. By the start of the 20th century, the nouns had acquired the figurative meanings (and the negative connotations) that we're now all familiar with: a cliché is any overly familiar word or phrase, while a stereotype is an oversimplified image of a person, place, or thing.

Cliche definition:

A cliche is a common phrase that has been overused. In general, cliches are to be avoided. In reality, they are not avoided - that's why they are cliches! Understanding popular cliches is especially important for English learners because they provide a deeper understanding of set phrases - or 'chunks' of language. These chunks of language known as cliches are found everywhere: in letters, in films, in articles, in conversation.

A good rule of thumb for English learners is to understand a variety of popular cliches, but not necessarily use them actively. Many times the use of a cliche signals fluency, but often cliches are considered inappropriate or unoriginal. On the other hand, if English learners use cliches it's OK, because they are only joining all the native speakers who already use the cliche too frequently!

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things through the explicit use of connecting words (such as like, as, so, than, or various verbs such as resemble). Although similes and metaphors are sometimes considered to be interchangeable, similes acknowledge the imperfections and limitations of the comparative relationship to a greater extent than metaphors. Metaphors are subtler and therefore rhetorically stronger in that metaphors equate two things rather than simply compare them. Similes also safeguard the author against outrageous, incomplete, or unfair comparison. Generally, metaphor is the stronger and more encompassing of the two forms of rhetorical analogies.

Similes DefinedTime flies like an arrow.A legend as old as the hills.These are examples of a figure of speech called a simile. Similes are used to illustrate a point or elicit an emotion by comparing two objects or actions equally. The word simile comes from the Latin root similes, meaning sameness or likeness. The words similar and facsimile also use the same root. Similes are commonly used in literature but are also regularly used in conversation.Similes can be recognized by the grammar patterns ".... as (adjective/adverb) as ..." or "(verb) like ...". The original word or phrase of a simile is called the tenor, and the word or phrase used to illustrate the tenor is called the vehicle. In the two examples above time and legend are the tenors, and arrow and hills are the vehicles. The tenor and vehicle of a simile share some characteristic associated with the adjective, adverb, or verb, but otherwise would not literally be compared with each other.

Metaphor Examples

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things not using the word “like” or “as” to make the comparison. Metaphors can be powerful, but they can also be tricky to identify at times.

The detective listened to her tales with a wooden face.She was fairly certain that life was a fashion show.The typical teenage boy’s room is a disaster area.What storms then shook the ocean of my sleep.The children were roses grown in concrete gardens, beautiful and forlorn.Kisses are the flowers of love in bloom.His cotton candy words did not appeal to her taste.Kathy arrived at the grocery store with an army of children.Her eyes were fireflies.

There are two kinds of analogies that we often use: Similes and Metaphors.

Similes use the words “like” or “as”:My sister is like an angel in my life.My bedroom is like a box of silence in a noisy world.My father is angry as a bear when he wakes up.

Metaphors do not use “like” or “as”:My father is a bear in the morning.This food is trash.My grandfather is superman.My teacher is the devil!

Read these analogies. Is it a simile or a metaphor?1. _____ My life is a dream.2. _____ Math is like a puzzle that never ends.3. _____ My mother is an angel, always watching over me.4. _____ Love is a flower that grows and becomes more and more beautiful.5. _____ My mother is beautiful, with hair that is soft as a cloud.6. _____ This city is a sea of sadness.7. _____ The ocean waves hit the beach like a thousand hammers.8. _____ My wife is the light in my life.9. _____ Watch out for John. He is a sneaky snake.10. _____ When my brother fell, he howled like a wolf.

Matching SimilesThe similes below are so common that most have become cliché in their usage.1. ___ The girl never tells the truth2. ___ Please water that plant. 3. ___ Those two children don't like each other4. ___ That girl won't harm anyone.5. ___ I have many things to do today.

She lies like a rug.They always fight like cats and dogs.I'm as busy as a beaver.It's as dry as a bone. She's as gentle as a lamb.

6. Be careful of the the broken glass.7. The water has frozen. 8. This material is very soft. 9. Did you scrub the floor?10. Put on some warm gloves. 11. This cake is soft and fluffy.12. This bed sheet is very clean and smells good.

It's as hard as a rock.Your hands are as cold as ice.It's as sharp as a knife.It's as smooth as silk.It's as fresh as a daisy.It's as clear as mud.It's as light as a feather.

Clichéd metaphors:

I was lost in a sea of nameless faces.John’s answer to the problem was just a Band-Aid, not a solution.The cast on Michael’s broken leg was a plaster shackle.Cameron always had a taste for the fruit of knowledge.The promise between us was a delicate flower.He’s a rolling stone, and it’s bred in the bone.He pleaded for her forgiveness but Janet’s heart was cold iron.She was just a trophy to Ricardo, another object to possess.The path of resentment is easier to travel than the road to forgiveness.Katie’s plan to get into college was a house of cards on a crooked table.The wheels of justice turn slowly.Hope shines–a pebble in the gloom.She cut him down with her words.

Explain what you think the metaphor means. Example: Her words rang true. Rang means that her words sounded true.

1. They were greeted with a warm reception.2. Dude, just chill out!3. Cool!4. Do you keep any dark secrets?5. It’s been rough.6. Don’t let the pressure get to you.7. Are you feeling blue?8. You’re the light of my life.9. What an absolutely brilliant idea!10. She’s an old flame.11. Boiling mad.12. A feverish pace.13. Now that is a bright idea.14. She was frozen with fear.