Ghost in the Shell (MEDIUM)

Wow. A new assignment - it's been a while I know. But I wanted this one to be good (if you believe that excuse I have some swamp land in Florida you may be interested in).

Anyway, here we are. Ghost in the Shell has been a favourite film of mine since I was a teenager - it's cool, it's different, and when it came out at least it looked great. It's about cyborgs, and the internet (the Matrix creators claim it as a MAJOR influence) and espionage and lots of fun stuff. It is dense, and it may take you a few viewings to understand completely (or talk to me, I love to talk about this film).

You SHOULD know that the film does have some nudity and some violence. The nudity is innocent (no sexy time) and the violence is cartoon-style - but it's there, so make your own decision.

Without further ado, here is the assignment.
And here is the rubric for the essay.

Oh yeah, you can find this film on our iPads - #11 and #12.

The Re-Essay (SMALL)

HERE IS THIS ASSIGNMENT


Alright!!!! This is probably the most exciting moment in your entire high school life! In fact, this may be the most exciting moment in your life altogether! Are you ready for it? I want to talk to you about...(wait for it) PROPER ESSAY FORMATTING. Right?!

Whatever. I can't make this exciting, but I don't have to make it important - college and university professors everywhere have already done that for me.

The bottom line is that in addition to the way your essay READS/ARGUES (very important) - the way your essay LOOKS can have a large impact on your final mark. So let's spend some time on this assignment.

Essentially, I want you to learn how to properly format a paper for your college classes. This won't earn you many marks at college, but having a paper that is not properly formatted will often cost you marks.

So, first off, we're going to be talking about "style guides" for this assignment. A style guide is simply a set of rules you must use when formatting your paper. Basically, Universities and Colleges want papers to look the same - no flashy title pages on some, no fluctuating margins on others, no fancy fonts...it should all look the same. That way the content of the paper is the only thing being judged. Make sense?

You may or may not already know that there are multiple "style guides" used by different disciplines at post-secondary school. The two main ones are the Modern Languages Association (MLA), and the American Psychology Association (APA).

I want you to take your already written essay, and format it to fit these two different ways.

All you need for this assignment is:

- an essay you've already written for me - from any grade, on any topic. But it should be relatively recent, and imperfect (don't worry about the last part, they all are imperfect).

 - these links - Proper APA Style Guide and Citation
                     - Proper MLA Style Guide and Citation

Paragraph, Essay and Research Review (MEDIUM)

Alright, so this is the mandatory assignment you need to do before you graduate with Turning Point. If you're a Grade 11 English student you should do it for your Grade 11 course (and then you won't have to do it for Grade 12) - if you didn't do grade 11 with us (and therefore didn't do it for Grade 11) then you will do it for your Grade 12 mark. Either way - you have to do it. There are 5 modules - read through each one and complete the tasks attached to each.

As usual, if you have any questions be sure to let me know.

Module #1 - Writing the Sentence    (5 marks)
Module #2 - Writing the Paragraph  (20 marks - don't do the PDF worksheets - lucky!)
Module #3 - Writing the Thesis        (20 marks)
Module #4 - Planning your Essay     (20 marks)
Module #5 - Doing good Research  (30 marks)

The Strangers that Came to Town (BIG)

For this assignment you'll need the following two documents:
LINK to The Strangers that Came to Town Assignment
LINK to The Strangers that Came to Town STORY

The Shawshank Redemption (MEDIUM)

For this assignment you'll need a copy of Frank Darabont's 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption. We have the film on the iPads, #s 11-15. Come on in to watch it. It's also readily available from your local library, rental store and even on youtube, so just find it and watch it.

You will also need the following documents:
LINK to The Shawshank Redemption Assignment
LINK to the Opinion Essay Rubric
LINK to the Plot Graph Sheet

Finally, there is a plot graph as part of this assignment - and I want it done well. But I understand that not everyone remembers being taught this - so here is a lesson that can help you understand plot graphs.

A Quick Lesson on Plot Graphs

Controversial Topic Opinion Essay (MEDIUM)

LINK to Controversial Essay Assignment

It Used to be Green Once (MEDIUM)

For this assignment you will need these two documents:
LINK to It Used to be Green Once STORY
LINK to It Used to be Green Once Assignment

Use of Force (MEDIUM)

For this assignment you will need two documents:
LINK to Use of Force STORY
LINK to Use of Force Assignment

The Lottery Games! (BIG)

For this assignment you need two documents and the 2012 film The Hunger Games:
LINK to The Lottery Story
Link to The Lottery Games Assignment