about the final paper tomorrow.  It must follow the guidelines we established at the beginning of the year.  I will not accept a paper that is not properly formatted.  These guidelines are as follows:

• 12 pt Times New Roman font
• Double-spaced with 1" margins
• Header (on the left) with your name, my name, the class name, and tomorrow’s date
• A title in 12 pt Times New Roman font (do not use bold or italic font)
• Page numbers at the top right corner in this format: Last #
• At least three pages in length (your final paper should have a "4" at the top)
• No works cited is necessary for this paper unless you use outside information

This paper is your chance to show me what you can write, that you can apply what we’ve learned these past weeks.  Turning in a paper is not a guarantee that your grade will go up, but if you write an excellent paper that illustrates your understanding of the concepts we’ve covered, it can dramatically raise your grade.

If you have any questions, email me or comment below.

on this session’s final paper, check out RottenTomatoes.com for articles on An Inconvenient Truth.  George F. Will is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, and has written a scathing counterargument to Gore’s movie. 

For the good of the community, post any other online articles you find.

If you were absent this Friday, your assignment is to choose a book and read it.  We will continue the journals through the end of this semester, but I’d like you to find something you’re interested in and read it.  The type, genre, content, author, time period, and place of publication does not matter.

If you would like some suggestions, please comment below or check out the book widget on the side of the page.  I’m happy to help you narrow your search.  Happy reading—the weather’s perfect for it.

We will be writing an essay over An Inconvenient Truth for our final on Thursday.  It is vital that you are not absent, as we will be watching the movie in class on Monday and Tuesday.

If you agree with the message, you will be writing an analysis.

If you disagree or are not sure, you will be writing an argumentative paper, refuting or qualifying the argument.

Here are the notes from the Rhet review:

More on Monday.  Post questions below.

by the brevity of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula LeGuin. LeGuin’s tale is not a simple one. Here is a copy. Print it out, read it tonight if you’d like. We will read and then discuss the tale in class tomorrow.

A couple of questions to consider for your journal:

• Is the happiness of the citizens worth the child’s lot?
• Would you stay, or would you walk away from Omelas?
• Are there situations in the real world that are similar to this one?

Also, don’t forget your quick journal assignment for tonight:
Record at least twenty choices that you make during the day. The seeming importance does not matter; you can write about choosing your clothes in the morning, what music you listen to, or whether you did your homework or not. The list does not need to be a narrative, just a sentence or phrase for each. Be prepared to share in class tomorrow.