13 September - 19 September
UNIT 2: Pre-Writing and Paragraphs
Learning Guide Unit 2
Overview
Unit 2: Pre-Writing and Paragraphs
Topics:
- Pre-Writing Structures
- Paragraph Structures
- Descriptive and Illustrative Paragraphs
- Oscar Wilde's Fairytales
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:
- Write a descriptive or illustrative paragraph
- Mind Map for an Essay Topic
- Peer assess your fellow classmates
Tasks:
- Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments
- Participate in the Discussion Assignment (post, comment, and rate in the Discussion Forum)
- Complete and submit the Written Assignment
- Make entries to the Learning Journal
- Take the Self-Quiz
Introduction
This unit will focus on the basic structures of the paragraph and how to effectively use pre-writing techniques. It will also include a reading from Oscar Wilde's fairytales that you will discuss in the Discussion Forum. You will have a short Graded Written Assignment in creating either a descriptive or illustrative paragraph on a topic of your choosing that will be assessed by your peers. Finally, your Learning Journal this week will be focused on explaining how your Mind Map helped you arrive at the topic for your essay.
Although not required, it is strongly suggested to take the Self-Quiz as they will prove useful study guides for the Graded Quizzes later in the unit.
Reading Assignment
The following will be used for this week's Reading Assignment:
- Pre-Writing: PDF / PowerPoint
Unit 2-Pre-Writing
Basic Pre-Writing techniques to help you start a paper
By Joseph Szewczyk for University of the People
Pre-Writing
What is it?
• It is a method of getting thoughts down in writing
• Grammar and spelling does not count
• A way to get past writer’s block
Pre-Writing strategies
Types of strategies you can use:
• Brainstorming
• Mind Mapping (also called Clustering)
• Free Writing
• Outlining
The Brainstorming strategy for PreWriting
Brainstorming strategy
• Create a list of topics that can associate freely from one topic to another
• Write every topic that comes in your mind for a set period of time
• After time is up, read your list and pick the topic you want
The Mind Map strategy for PreWriting
Mind Map strategy
• Put a central topic in the middle of a sheet of paper and circle it
• Write any logical connection to it and circle them
• You can branch off at any connection you want
• When you are done, pick a topic that you like
The Free write strategy for PreWriting
Free write strategy
• Start writing anything at all
• Do not think when you write
• Just write
• Eventually, you might start on the topic you need but if you don’t that’s okay
• Great for breaking writer’s block
The Outlining strategy for PreWriting
Outlining strategy
• Start with a simple ‘Intro/Body/Conclusion’ outline
• Fill your thesis into the introduction
• Write out 2-3 body paragraph outlines
• Write a conclusion portion for the outline
• Use as little or as much detail as you want
Which to use?
Which one is best for you?
• Try each style out and see what works best
• Visual learners might get a lot of use from the Map strategy
• People who form free associations might get use from the brainstorm
• For a more structured person maybe an outline works best
• Free writing works well for many
THE BASIC PARAGRAPH
The basic structure of the paragraph including a special section on illustrative and descriptive paragraphs
By Joseph Szewczyk for University of the People
THE BASIC PARAGRAPH
Just what is a paragraph? A paragraph, simply put, is a connect group of information that follows one main topic. Usually it is at least 3-4 sentences long. An example of a paragraph is to the right. As you can see from the example, the paragraph doesn’t really have to be about anything—just as long as the rest of the paragraph keeps on the same subject. In this case, it was the over-use of the word, ‘well’.
People use ‘well’ way too much. Today, I saw a guy on the bus he used the word ‘well’ over 30 times. To make matters worse, the 30 times were all in the same sentence! Can you imagine using ‘well’ that many times in a sentence? Well, can you? Oh no, now I am using ‘well’ too! I told you, people use ‘well’ way too much!
WHAT’S NOT A PARAGRAPH
What a paragraph isn’t.
A paragraph isn’t just any 3-4 sentences strung in together in a clump. For example, can you make sense to the 4 sentences to the right? Do they have any sort of unity? To avoid this, you should focus on a topic sentence. We will look at that aspect in the next slide.
I love cats. Some people dress in shirts. For dessert, Barbara Wellers would eat nails. Judas Priest is playing in Montreal tonight.
THE TOPIC SENTENCE
The Topic Sentence informs the rest of the paragraph
Think of a paragraph as a bag of goods. You want to keep only one type of thing into one bag. Maybe you want to keep only CDs in one bag. Maybe you want all of your punk rock CDs in a bag and all of your country music in another. Whatever it is, you just want one thing in that bag. Now, so you don’t forget, you have to label the bag. The label is the topic sentence and everything in the bag belongs to that topic.
First you need a topic sentence. The topic sentence is what the rest of the paragraph will discuss.
For example, if I wanted to discuss Las Vegas, my topic sentence might be, ‘Las Vegas is more than just casinos’.
Write down your own topic sentence. It can be anything you can support. A few examples: • I like the summer time.
• The Chicago Bears will sadly not win the Super Bowl.
• The Rolling Stones are the best band in music.
• I like _________ (put whatever you like in the blank).
MAKING YOUR OWN PARAGRAPH
It’s your turn to make a paragraph.
If you have your topic sentence, then the rest really is just supporting it with 2-3 other sentences. Look at the example to the right for how the Las Vegas topic sentence is shaping up.
Las Vegas is more than just casinos. Sure, Las Vegas may have a lot of casinos, but we also have areas like Red Rock Canyon where people can go hiking and biking. Las Vegas also is home to one of the top ranked Taekwondo teams coming out from NV Taekwondo. Finally, Las Vegas is home to Nellis Air Force Base. As one can see, Las Vegas is a lot more than just casinos. That’s it. I started with the topic sentence (in red) and then I supported it with details. That’s all there is to it. Remember, do not forget to cite if you use another person’s idea or words!
ILLUSTRATIVE PARAGRAPH
What is an illustrative paragraph?An illustrative paragraph is the type of paragraph that the writer uses to go from a figurative item to more specific occurrences. For example, the paragraph at the right.
Yoga is good for you. I’ve seen people who couldn’t otherwise work out do yoga. Yoga also helps people with their flexibility which is a need for many people as they age. Furthermore, yoga is a calming technique that helps people de-stress from a busy life. The figurative or more general is in red. The rest is a detailed support for the more general topic. Illustrative paragraphs are really good at demonstrating the main supports for a general subject. For example, a lot of advertisers uses an illustrative approach to list the qualities of their product.
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH
What is a descriptive paragraph?
A descriptive paragraph is the type of paragraph that the writer uses for ‘showing’ instead of just ‘telling’ what is happening. For example, the paragraph at the right.
We came upon a green dragon adorned with blue flakes for scales. A great jet of orange-red flame spouted from its mouth. The mouth itself was long, almost too long for its strong slithering neck, and filled with teeth. Some of the teeth were bigger than a school bus; its tongue felt like a wet carpet and its breath suffocated us with a sulfuric air that was heavy enough to taste. As you can see, the descriptive paragraph does just that. In work related areas, a police officer or a technician often uses descriptive paragraphs to detail every part of the scene or problem.
- The Paragraph with a special section on Illustrative vs Descriptive paragraphs: PDF / PowerPoint
- Oscar Wilde's Fairytale collection (you only have to choose one) found at:
- The Happy Prince: http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/177/
The Happy Prince
From The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)
High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt.
He was very much admired indeed. "He is as beautiful as a weathercock," remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic tasted; "only not quite so useful," he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he really was not.
"Why can't you be like the Happy Prince?" asked a sensible mother of her little by who was crying for the moon. "The Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything."
- The Devoted Friend: http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/176/
- The Nightingale and the Rose: http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/178/
- The Selfish Giant: http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/180/
- The Remarkable Rocket: http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/179/
There is an optional handout on tenses here: PDF
Discussion Assignment
For your Discussion Assignment, you will write a review of the short fairy tale you chose from the Unit 2 reading assignment. You will state which tale you picked, why, and give a brief (one sentence) summary of the story. You will then say if you liked the story or not and why. Remember, this is to be your own original work, so do not look the stories up to see what other people have said and do not include material from any source except the story.
You are also responsible for replying with two or three sentences to three different students and rating their main posts from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) in the Rate box provided.
Dr. Jennabeth
For your Discussion Assignment, you will write a review of the short fairy tale you chose from the Unit 2 reading assignment. You will state which tale you picked, why, and give a brief (one sentence) summary of the story. You will then say if you liked the story or not and why. Remember, this is to be your own original work, so do not look the stories up to see what other people have said, and do not include material from any source except the story.
You are also responsible for replying with two or three sentences to three different students and rating their main posts from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) in the Rate box provided.
Dr. Jennabeth
Discussion Forum Unit 2
II Discussion Assignment
II Discussion Assignment
For your Discussion Assignment, you will write a review of the short fairy tale you chose from the Unit 2 reading assignment. You will state which tale you picked, why, and give a brief (one sentence) summary of the story. You will then say if you liked the story or not and why. Remember, this is to be your own original work, so do not look the stories up to see what other people have said and do not include material from any source except the story.
You are also responsible for replying with two or three sentences to three different students and rating their main posts from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) in the Rate box provided.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose The Happy Prince story because of the simple and clear title.
The story was a little exotic, but it has a nice and sad scenario at the same time, it is showing us that, there is no limit for the generosity.
I like the story because it is tell us to help and bring happiness to others.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Hassan
We shared the same story about the Happy Prince, which I liked very much. I have to say that, you forgot to make a summary of the story, as you can see the instructor asks to do. It is nice to have you here, we can learn with each other.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Dear Hassan Ettahraoui,
Good! It would be better if you explain the nice and sad scenario of the story
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi, jaime/Colleagues
Here the description of the story.
The happy prince was a great statue covered with gold, he could see all around the city, one day a swallow come there and saw the prince tears, swallow help the prince to helpin the poor. after the swallow lost his life in helping the poor and his death made the prince sad and statue fell down, when God asked his angels the most precious things, the Angel bring (Swallow) and the lead heart (Prince).
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Yes I agree that it is a strange story , and of course when you help someone will return the beautiful for you that you provided in Somehow.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi Hassan, I'm intrigued by what the tale you chose is about. I couldn't figure that from your summary, but I remain curious due to the way you endorsed it. As far as I read others' reviews, and by my own perception, the author is quite a writer, inspiring us to keep reading voraciously. I hope you feel the same.
About your review, if you allow me to, I would propose you put ideas in a different way, mostly in the second sentence. You could have said:
"The tale was a bit exotic with a controversial plot, sad and nice at the same time. It shows generosity has no limit."
I hope to have helped.
Cheers!
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The Happy Prince
The story tells us about a Happy Prince statue that has a good heart and a little bird who helped him by taking the gold leaves from the prince statue and giving it to the poor making them happy.
I chose The Happy Prince from Oscar Wild because it caught my attention, we can see how good it is when you have a good friend. It is a sad story but if you have a good heart, you can see how beautiful it is, because poor people often have nothing to eat daily in the world that we live today, the Happy Prince and the Swallow broke my heart by helping people with the prince’s golden leaves. The author makes it easy to read, and easy to understand.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Well done! You’ve done it. It would be the best if you add how it’s ended (I.e the end of the story)
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi, Catia
We chose the same beautiful story.
I can say that almost you done the instructions, and it can be better if you say something about the end of the story.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Catia.
What do you think about the moral of the story (if you think there is one)?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi Catia,
It is a good review in my sense. It gives complete over view of the story.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Your summary is very beautiful, I agree with you, when you have a benevolent heart and the same good, it will never die Because will remember in the good all the time.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I picked The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde because I had read it before and I thought it would be interesting to read it again.
Summary: The story is about a statue (The Happy Prince) that stands above the city and the relationship it has with it’s citizens.
I liked the story, even though I usually prefer longer tales. I found the story interesting. At the beginning, we see the statue only from the point of view of the city’s citizens. But, then, when the Swallow comes, we start to see the citizens from the point of view from the Prince and learn what they actually mean to him (“living” a life in sadness for the suffering of the others).
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Well done! You’v done it too. Much better if you add how the story ended
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Renata, it is good to know that we like the same story.
It would be better if you had explained a little be more about what happened in the story and how it was done.
The Summary, also it would be better if you have done a longer explanation about the whole story.
I am glad to hear something from you here.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Renata.
Could you delve on the story a bit more? Whta happens to that statue?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
By asking the Swallow to take the valuable parts from itself (such as the sapphire eyes and the fine gold leaves that covered its body) and bring them to the poor in the city, the statue slowly sacrifices itself to help them. And the Swallow sacrifices itself as well, to help the statue. In the end, neither of them got any recognition for their efforts from the people they have helped.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi Renata,
It is one of the nice tale I had read. Your explanation is short and sweet.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi Renata, I'm glad I waited a bit longer to review my peers' summaries and had the opportunity to see yours in full. What a beautiful tale. Most of the helpful people are selfless, hence often forgotten by the selfish. Society seldom acknowledges martyrs in life, and even less after passing away. I didn't read the tale as you did, but I see Wilde was very fortunate criticizing this, not the best, human trait. Nonetheless, I appreciate you shared that with such details in a very few words with us. I like the way you put that.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Dear Class,
I am writing a short review of ‘The Devoted Friend ‘ because I was very stunned by the way how Little Hans was treated by his devoted friend, the rich Miller.
Little Hans had a good-humoured face and kind heart. He lived in a tiny cottage by himself, and ever day he worked hard on his garden. He had a great many friends, but the rich Miller was a best friend of him. But every time the rich Miller would go to his garden just to pluck a handful of sweet herbs, or fill his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season. Sometimes, the neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Little Hans anything in return, though he had a hundred sacks of flour, six milk cows, and a large flock of woolly sheep. He always send him off on long errands so that he was never able to look after his flowers. Finally Little Hans found dead while carrying out his mission.
I like the story because it teaches that sometimes, an honest and best friend of you won’t treat you the way you think.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Tola,
In my point of view, you did not what the instructor asked us to do, because he asked for a brief summary and you did a whole review on the book.
But you did well.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Tola.
How is that moral that you are stated conveyed within the story?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hi Tola
I like your writing. I never read this story but I understood it by your review. Thank you for writing it.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Tola Wako
Summarize your story is good
It's true that your close friend will not treat you the way you like.
But he should avoid what you do not like ,If he continues to pressure you and throw the errands, he is certainly not a real friend. I felt sad on the poor Little Hans.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I have chosen the story of Oscar Wilde (1888). The Happy Prince from The Happy Prince and Other Tales because it is a wonderful love story between two really unique characters. Wilde wrote about a true love between a swallow and a statue, where the little flying animal usually put up to rest. I sincerely appreciated because love is the strongest positive feeling that the humans can feel. Moreover, the deep affection, between these two figures, was as strong as that it would continue in paradise after the characters’ death, with the god blessing.
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The Happy Prince
"The Happy Prince" is a short tale taken from "The Happy Prince and Other Tales", which was written by Oscar Wilde, and published in 1888. The two main characters, Happy Prince and Swallow gives a goosebumps with their give away attitude. The Happy Prince gave his all the jewelries to help poor and the Swallow help the Prince to fulfill his dreams. This is the best story that gives the complete view of kindness.
The statue of the Happy Prince which was built on a tall column, which was made with gold and precious gems, and there was a Swallow who was heart broken because of love breakup, and wanted to leave the city to protect itself from the winter; dead helping the Prince to help the poor by delivering all the jewelries of the Prince to the poor, and love of the Happy Prince who literary got blind after all the gems been taken from his eyes.
The story is in nice platform of the kindness. The main characters are statue and the bird, who have more humanity then other living once. The story is good source for spreading the message of humanity, kindness and love. Once in the life time people have read this story.
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Re: The Happy Prince
Hello, Shankar.
What do you think of the swallow part of the story?
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Re: The Happy Prince
Dear Jaime
The swallow is the second main character; without him it would not be possible for the prince to help the poor people. He has good heart; even after knowing he would die, he didn't leave the prince once the prince got blind. He sacrificed himself to be prince eyes.
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Re: The Happy Prince
Hi Shankar, it is nice reading your summary. What, in your opinion, motivated the bird to sacrifice himself supporting the prince in helping others? For the record, I still didn't read the tale, but I like to see others' points and compare to my own after reading. I think you also forgot to mention whether you liked the story or not, and why. I think you also missed a very good opportunity to use an APA styled citation on the beginning of your text when you mentioned the title of the tale, and the book it was retrieved from. I really liked how you put your ideas though.
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Re: The Happy Prince
Hello Emanuel,
Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. I appreciate that you took a time to read my summary.
Actually, in the last paragraph, I had tried my best to answer why I liked the story. About the APA styled citation, I have to be more careful next time.
Regards,
Shankar
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose "The happy Prince" because of unconditional kindness. It's a story about a Statue of a Happy Prince and A Swallow bird who built an amazing friendship regardless of thier differences. The Happy Prince who saw the sad reality of city that makes him cry for he cannot move out his pedestal. Until the one day came, A Swallow who is looking for a shed, he landed at the happy Prince statue and noticed his tears. By then, they became friends and the Prince asked the Shallow a favor to help the people in need. The Shallow stayed with The Prince as his messenger despite of missing his whereabouts. Day by day, deep act of kindness being developed until such time they bid goodbye. In the end both of them will glorify forever in God's paradise. I like the story because it's very ironic.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Cleofe
From my point of view, you done as instructur tell us.
I like your discussion about The Happy Prince Story
Good job Cleofe, and nice to see you here with us.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I choose to read the devoted friend.
This is because at first the title seemed very interesting to me.
I enjoyed reading this fairy tail so I really liked it.
The moral of the fairy tail to me is that you have to be careful or be able to distinct between being a friend or a people pleaser.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Elmis.
Could you delve on the answer a bit more? What did you like the most? Could you provide a summary?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello guys
I picked 'Nightingale and The Rose' because I like reading Fantasy stories.
From my point of view, the summary for this story is not all love stories deserve our sacrafies for it.
Despite I like Fantasy story but I don't like this one. I felt nervous for the Nightingale's sacrify with it's life to make the boy's wish real. Sometimes we took irrational decisions because it depends on feelings only. And what the Nightingale did; it decided to end his life to coloured the flower by it's blood for making the boy's wish.
At all I used to think through my mind and feeling with a rational ratios at my life to have a true decisions. We have an Egyptian sentence said" love is illiterate " and that what happened with the Nightingale.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Eman,
The story must be awesome, it would have been much better if you could give a one sentence summary? Thank you!
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The story is about a boy want to dance with his girl friend but she asked him for a red rose to accept dancing with him. But he didn't find a red rose and the Nightingale see him while he upset because he didn't find the rose. So it decided to colour the rose with it's blood and end it's life for make the boy's wish real.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Eman
I love this phrase not all the stories of love deserve to sacrifice for it.
Indeed, if he were a true friend, he would not have been allowed to kill a soul for the sake of the rose
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose the story of the selfish giant
I chose this story to see what a selfish person can do.
Selfishness may deprive us of the most happy moments and turn them into positions we regret later.
Yes , I liked this story, Because it alerted me to the caution of selfish self-effacing,
That makes me a person who only loves himself.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Youman,
I chose this short fairy tale to! I am Glad you chose it!
Can you make a summary of one sentence? Thank you!
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Olivier Dushimimana
The children used to play in the Giant Park, which traveled long ago, and one night when the giant returned, the children were expelled. Then the spring came and the flowers spread. As the winter continued in the giant garden, one morning he looked out the window and found a bird singing and looking out the window. But there was a corner in the garden still covered by winter and in this corner was a small child, who could not climb the branch of the tree
He decided to go to the little boy and put him on the branch of the tree
He said: How selfish you are! , Now I just knew why spring did not visit me.
From the day the giant became a friend of the children, and passed years there was a tree below which stood the little boy loved by the giant
He went quickly until he reached the child, and when he saw him angry and said to him: Who dared to injure you?
The boy said: No one, it's only the surgeon of love and said: You left me playing in your garden and today I will take you to play with me in the Gardens of Paradise and when the children came to play in the park giant are dead under the tree and covered his whole body with white buds.
We must not be selfish because it may lose us the most wonderful things.
He had been deprived of the spring because he had deprived a child of playing and when he became a affectionate reward he went with the child to paradise.
Synopsis: When you improvement improves you.
I hope this is a good answer
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Youmna, I picked the same tale and I share your opinion. It is very bad thing to be selfish person. isn't it ?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The short fairy tale I chose is; Selfish Giant. I picked this tale because I was attracted by the title, and I wanted to learn why the Giant was selfish.
There was a beautiful garden that the children loved so much, when the Giant came back from a long visit to his friend he chest the children away, they could not play in that garden any more, when the winter come, it did not go anywhere until he welcomed them to play in his garden again, there was this little boy he loved so much that he had missed, when the Giant sees him again, the little boy welcomed the giant into a paradise garden.
I liked this story because in the end the Giant loved the children and welcomed them to play in his beautiful garden, and he was also welcomed to be in the paradise garden by the little boy he helped to climb a tree and loved.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The Selfish Giant
I pick up it because the title was interesting to me.
This story is about a Giant that returns to his own garden after seven year being out, but this time he came back with a selfish behavior not allowing the children to play there. After the Giant realized how lonely and bored the garden became, he was able to make a new friend that the Giant loved till his death.
I like the story because we can take a lesson from the situation, we can learn that share things with others is better and brings joy to our lives.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Renan!
It's good to know that the title of the story was interesting to you and that this is the reason why you picked this particular tale.
I found your response interesting, but I must point out some small corrections that should have been made before the submission.
As it was written in the instructions for this task, you should have said that you "pick[ed]", which means you should have used the Simple Past in your sentence. After all, picking the tale is something that has already happened and it is something that you had already completed by the time you sent your reply. Also, since the giant had been away for more than just one year, "year[s]" should have been written in the plural. And in the last sentence, you probably should have written "we can learn that share[ing] things with others..." for it to be gramatically correct.
Good job and I'm glad that you liked the story!
It's good to know that the title of the story was interesting to you and that this is the reason why you picked this particular tale.
I found your response interesting, but I must point out some small corrections that should have been made before the submission.
As it was written in the instructions for this task, you should have said that you "pick[ed]", which means you should have used the Simple Past in your sentence. After all, picking the tale is something that has already happened and it is something that you had already completed by the time you sent your reply. Also, since the giant had been away for more than just one year, "year[s]" should have been written in the plural. And in the last sentence, you probably should have written "we can learn that share[ing] things with others..." for it to be gramatically correct.
Good job and I'm glad that you liked the story!
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I picked Oscar Wilde's Selfish Giant because I found the title particularly interesting. The tale is about a selfish Giant who didn't want to share his beautiful garden with a group of children who enjoyed playing in it, but eventually realized that by doing so, he caused himself misery and was able to put himself out of it only after allowing the children to play in his garden. I really liked the story because it points out that selfishness makes us seem unfriendly and unapproachable which leads us to isolation and sadness whilst being generous fills us and the people around us with happiness.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Marianna!
I think you did a good job completing this assignment. You summarized the story well and gave a thoughtful answer about your reasons to like it. I can't find any spelling mistakes or big grammar mistakes in your reply.
I know you liked the story, but if you had to change anything about it, what would it be?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose the reading of The Selfish Giant.
I chose this story because the title caught my attention and I assumed it was a story where an important lesson is thaught
Summary:
Every afternoon the children went to play in the giant's garden and was very happy because the garden was very beautiful where the birds sang. One afternoon the giant returns to his home and sees that there are children playing in his garden, the giant becomes enraged and builds a large wall so only the giant could play and the children can not. After that the trees stopped blooming and the summer or spring did not strike, the giant wondered why spring or winter did not come for a while.
One day the giant saw that there was a bird singing in his house and went out to see what was happening, what he saw was the children who had managed to enter the garden and play, therefore, the trees were happy and came back to bloom.
The giant realized that he was being very stingy and that's why summer and spring did not come in his garden, but on a small side there was still coming and it was because a very small child was crying because he could not climb the tree, the giant help and the little one thanks him, there the giant realized that the boy was his first friend, but the next day the boy did not come back and that was until he became an old man wondering what happened to the boy. In the afternoon when the other children returned to their house the old giant saw that his friend went at the back and he runned to see him, when he saw that the child had wounds in his hands and the old man becomed angry, the boy said him to calm down because they will go to paradise. The next day the children come back to play and saw the dead giant under the tree.
I like the story because the lesson it teaches you is not to be selfish and that you will receive your reward after all, also that it´s to be kind so that you can make others happy.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I picked a story called "The Remarkable Rocket." I chose it because I the title looked more interesting to me.
(Oscar Wilde, 1888) The fireworks rocket at the royal wedding did not go off because he was upset that in his special day people decided to host a wedding, the saddest event for the prince and the princess, so he ended up in a swamp, where boys picked him up and used him to boil a kettle.
So to sum it up, delusional, narcissistic rocket thought that all the world exists for him, and he is the most valuable asset to the world.
I would've like the tale if I read it in my childhood, but currently, I found it very obvious and dragged out for too long after the message of this tale was clear. And there are some characters which are puzzling me — for example, the whole story with the Page and his salary, and the King with his flute. I feel like the story would have been the same without them.
References
Wilde, O (1888). The Remarkable Rocket. The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/179/
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose "The Devoted Friend" (Wilde, 1888) because the title, at a first glance, gave me the impression the story would be about friendship and how friends support each other through advice. Surprisingly, the story was related to what I expected but focused on how toxic friendships can be harmful. One of the characters, the Miller, is noxious and sagacious with words, yet, a leech by nature. The other, little Hans, is a naive and needy person, always eager to listen to Miller's advice and attending his demands, moved by the hope of some sort of acknowledgment. The first, whose always manipulates his friend using his weaknesses, tends to influence the latter to believe on his well-put words for the sake of his own benefit. In the end, we conclude there are people preaching moral but not truly acting accordingly.
Firstly, I admired the tale for its intent to expose the human greedy and selfish nature, always pursuing the better to themselves, even if it causes others to be harmed. On a second glance, I was delighted reading that tale because the author is quite a writer and his words flow like wind and sound like poetry, very rich on environment details and characters behaviors.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Emanuel,
Great job, you are quite a writer yourself — really nice summary of the story. At first, it feels like I don't need to read it anymore. But you convince me in the opposite by the time I reached the end of your post. So I will give it a shot this weekend.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hey Artem, thanks so much for the compliments. You also do very well, and it's noticeable how comfortable you are with the language despite not being a native speaker. If you take reading as a leisure activity, please do as you said and read that tale. I never read anything from Wilde before, but his style reminds me of my favorite author from my homeland. It is a pity his masterpieces haven't been translated into english, but if you want to know a bit more about him, here's the wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machado_de_Assis
Cheers!
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The tale I picked is The selfish Giant. I Picked it because I hate selfishness and I want to read a tale about what it does with people. This tale talks about a selfish giant, he built a wall to prevent children from playing in his garden but he found him self alone between trees not visited by spring, so he decided to demolish the wall and allow the children to play. I like this story because it teach people to get rid of selfishness and I had a beautiful tale to tell my son not to selfish.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The story that I pick for my discussion is The Selfish Giant, it is a story that tells about how a selfish person turns into a kind, loving person. I really like the story because it implies that each one of us no matter how rude, selfish you are there is a slight kindness that is hidden within you, and when suddenly a beautiful situation triggers just then you realize how beautiful to be with the world full of kindness and love.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello, Maechille!
That’s a nice review. I’m curious, how does a selfish person turns into a kind, loving one, then?
You forgot to tell us the reason why you picked that story.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Good Morning Maam,
The reason i picked that story is because i believe that you cannot be by yourself alone. That man in the story has this kind of attitude that he can live by himself that he does not allow others to interact with him. But i think he's lonely, sad, and in his mind he just wanna live simple and he's not bad afterall. He's just a selfish giant. But then the world is so big that hit him in the face that he should go out and see the world, enjoy it and feel it. and i think the moment that he sees it all, the moment that he look at the little hole, the moment i think he realize something i think that change his mind his heart. And i reflected to that story because i sometimes had this kind of a giant selfish attitude that i know i can deal with. The realization that the small things makes big changes that there is one person that made you see what blinded you and be thankful. And he has that one person to. 😊
Thank you and God bless
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Devold Friend
I chose this text because I found it interesting I liked the text he talks about the true meaning of friendship because there was someone who claimed to be a friend but did not know what real friendship was because he was selfish helping his friend but he did not do it because he felt that the friend had to do everything he wanted because he helped him, Linnet tried to show him that was not the true meaning of friendship. when you have a friendship we can not be selfish and think only of us friendship is something reciprocal and we should not help others with intentions of charging our help asking for other favors.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The story I decided to read was "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde.
I chose this story because the title intrigued me, about how it would be the story.
It was one story about feelings, portraying a selfish Giant who after came from a long trip, ban the children from playing in his garden. After a long winter, he realized that the children bring with is happiness spring into the garden.
Throughout the story we realize the existence of a mysterious child because it only appears at the beginning and only appears again at the end of it, taking the Giant to his garden - paradise.
I enjoyed reading it, although I think it has a very rough ending.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The fairy tale that I picked is “The Selfish Giant”. Possessiveness and selfishness cannot make people happy and it might have negative impact on someone who has those characteristics. I like this story because the tale itself is very interrelated to the things happening around the world and especially in US.
One phrase that The Giant said in the tale was “My own garden is my own garden” (Wilde, 1888) which can be interpreted as extreme nationalism nowadays. A phrase that the author narrated in the same paragraph was “The Giant built a high wall around the garden” (Wilde, 1888) has reminded me the political rhetoric in the country.
Wilde, O. (1888). The Selfish Giant. In The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/180/.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
Hello Omar,
I didn't read this story but judging from quotes you provided I'm excited to read it now and to seek for parallels with the current world myself. Do you think that you mentioned especially in the US only because of the mentioning of building a wall? I also didn't find the first quote nationalistic. Could you please tell me why you see it that way?
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The Devoted friend was mine choice of reading. I have picked the devoted friend because i thought it is a nice story. Well, the story is about a friend who is being used for being nice.
I didn't really like the story because as i was reading the story i got angry that people can be so naive sometimes like Hans or can be sly Miller. It's a good lesson to learn from both side of the story. Number 1 don't be too nice and number 2 know your friends.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
I chose “The Selfish Giant”
Basically, it was about a giant who refused to share his garden with the children, only to realise that it was the children who brought life and joy to his place.
From what I understand, it is a story about how a person can become selfish and that life will teach us a lesson, no matter how long the outcome might take. We become too absorbed with our world that we only care about ourselves and that we tend not to think about others and what hardship they go through. Sometimes, we must pause and realise that a bliss for us might be a moment of rest for them.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The Nightingale and the Rose
I picked this tale because its title attracted my attention more than the other tales did.
The Summary: A Nightingale sacrifices her life for a young student, trying to help him get a red rose that he was told by a girl he liked she will dance with him if he brings her a red rose.
I liked the tale, it is fascinating; Even though it's fictional, It felt like I'm living in the story.
In addition, it teaches us many things about love, and how there could be someone sacrificing for you, while you are wasting your love and passion for someone who doesn't deserve or love you.
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Re: II Discussion Assignment
The Selfish Giant
Among all the short fairy tale introduced in this assignment, I have chosen The Selfish Giant, it attracted me due to the words used to illustrates the beauty of the garden in different seasons, it pulled me inside it without being physically there. I like the message that the tale hold, the relationship between nature and the human is valuable, and even nature could be affected by human selfishness.
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Written Assignment
Your Written Assignment for this unit focuses on creating your own illustrative or descriptive paragraph. You get to pick which paragraph style you want to use and you can also pick the topic for your own (three or four sentences) paragraph. This is the main question for your Written Assignment.
This Written Assignment is assessed by your peers and will be for a grade. It will be judged mainly for the following:
- Did the student write a paragraph that is either illustrative or descriptive?
- Is it a full (three or four sentence) paragraph?
- Is it an original work?
- Are there spelling or grammar issues?
- Does the paragraph form a coherent unit?
Please note that you will not necessarily be provided with the assessment aspects during the submission period in your other courses.
Learning Journal
For this Unit's Learning Journal, you will write a two or three sentence paragraph on how you used Mind Mapping to select your Topic for the essay project you will work on throughout the course. Let your mind go and explore what topic you want to write about for the next few weeks. Each week we will add information to your draft essay. This week you only need to select a topic. If you want, you can also add a picture of your Mind Map, but that step is optional.
Self-Quiz
The Self-Quiz gives you an opportunity to self-assess your knowledge of what you have learned so far.
The results of the Self-Quiz do not count towards your final grade, but the quiz is an important part of the University’s learning process and it is expected that you will take it to ensure understanding of the materials presented. Reviewing and analyzing your results will help you perform better on future Graded Quizzes and the Final Exam.
The results of the Self-Quiz do not count towards your final grade, but the quiz is an important part of the University’s learning process and it is expected that you will take it to ensure understanding of the materials presented. Reviewing and analyzing your results will help you perform better on future Graded Quizzes and the Final Exam.
The Self-Quiz will remain open until the end of the term and allow unlimited attempts.
Please access the Self-Quiz on the main course homepage; it will be listed inside the Unit.
Checklist
Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments
Participate in the Discussion Assignment (post, comment, and rate in the Discussion Forum)
Complete and submit the Written Assignment
Make entries to the Learning Journal
Take the Self-Quiz
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