Their Eyes Were Watching God/ Narrative

Their Eyes Were Watching God/Narrative

Journal 1 Answer the following journaling prompt: If there's one thing I've learned about life, it's that _______________. I learned this when...(Where were you? Who were you with? What happened? Was there an “ah-ha!” moment?)

TEWWG Summer Assignment • Get out your 10 quotations and responses that you completed this summer. • Re-read through your work and identify one quote that you think is more significant or interesting to you than the others. • Be prepared to share that quote and it’s significance.

Journal 2 Answer ONE of the the following journaling prompts: • One experience that helped make me the person I am today was… or • The most important thing that ever happened to me was ____________

Who is Zora Neale Hurston? • Born on Jan. 7, 1891 • Called Eatonville, Florida home • One of the most significant figures of the Harlem Renaissance • Died on Jan. 28, 1960 (Age 69) • http://zoranealehurston.com

Why do People Write? With your group, discuss the different reasons people write. Make a list and prepare to share.

Writing Domains

Narrative Writing and Burke’s Pentad What is a Narrative? What is Burke’s Pentad? Burke’s Pentad is a formula for make sense out of a text by questioning it. The 5 key questions of Burke’s Pentad are: • What was done? (the act, that which took place in thought or deed) • When or where was it done? (the scene, the background of the act, the situation in which it occurred; the context— the time and place and the conditions (social, economic, political) of that time and place) • Who did it? (the agent, the person or kind of person who performed the act) • How was it done? (the agency, what means or instrument was used) • Why was it done? (the purpose, the apparent purpose vs. the real purpose)

Practice withBurke’s Pentad Use Burke’s Pentad to analyze “Remembering Mr. Sweet” by Alice Walker: • What was done? (the act, that which took place in thought or deed) • When or where was it done? (the scene, the background of the act, the situation in which it occurred; the context— the time and place and the conditions (social, economic, political) of that time and place) • Who did it? (the agent, the person or kind of person who performed the act) • How was it done? (the agency, what means or instrument was used) • Why was it done? (the purpose, the apparent purpose vs. the real purpose)

Journal 3 Getting Started on Your Personal Narrative: Go back and re-read your writing from journals 1 and 2. Decide whether you are going to write your personal narrative about something you have learned about life or if you are going to write it about an experience and its importance to you. Why did you make this choice? What do you want people to learn or understand about you when they read about this event? How do you want to make your reader feel?

What is Syntax? “it is syntax that gives words the power to relate to each other in a sequence, to create rhythms and emphasis, to carry meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place.” -Virginia Tufte Definition: Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Journal 4 Developing Your Personal Narrative: Go through and answer the questions of Burke’s Pentad about the event/experience/lesson you chose for your personal narrative. • What was done? • When or where was it done? • Who did it? • How was it done? • Why was it done?

Syntax Analysis “it is syntax that gives words the power to relate to each other in a sequence, to create rhythms and emphasis, to carry meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place.” -Virginia Tufte Definition: Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Journal 5 “Setting Up” Your Personal Narrative: Establish a CONCRETE SPECIFIC SETTINGkeeping in mind the effect you want to produce in your reader. Jot down descriptive words and phrases that have the right connotations for your mood. In your "mind's eye", place yourself in that place & time. Exactly where & when are you? What do you see around you? What do you hear, taste, feel, smell? What are you doing there or how did you get there? What time of year is it? What time of day? How old are you?

Journal 6 How many ways can you find to say no? Write 10 sentences that say no in various ways, but without using the word no.

Journal 7 In one paragraph, describe a scene from any sport. Use these words somewhere in the paragraph: • bounced • struggled • roared • collapsed • giggled (yes, giggled!)

Journal 8 Create a much more interesting version of this sentence: The dog barked. What kind of dog was it? Where was it? Why was it barking? How would you describe the barking? Make the sentence as interesting as possible by choosing your words and details carefully.

Sentence Levelingby Francis Christensen Christensen analyzed the polished sentences of professional writers. He found that: • Most pro's combine several thought units (a.k.a T-units) in one sentence. • When writers add material to a sentence, they usually add detail that gives more specific information about some idea that is already in the sentence. • Writers tend to subordinate more than they co-ordinate. • Subordinate: give primary emphasis to one idea in a sentence and add details to describe the main idea • Co-ordinate: give equal emphasis to two or more ideas in a sentence • While there is LOTS of variation (deliberately), the average length of sentences in modern prose is 25 to 50 words. Pre-modern writers tended to have longer sentences. • Individual writers tend to use certain syntactic structures a lot while never, or hardly ever, using others. These preferences become part of a writer's style.

What is Sentence Leveling? In Sentence Leveling, we start with the finished, polished sentences and break them apart to see how the ideas relate to each other. At the same time, we can still look at the kinds of surface structures the writer has used and study the effects of his choices. While it is theoretically possible to look at each individual word as a unit of thought, this is not what Christensen did.

What is Sentence Leveling? Words are combined into other units of meaning smaller than the sentence, namely phrases and clauses. Phrase: a collection of words that may have nouns or verbals, but it does not have a subject doing a verb ex. running to the store Clause: a collection of words that has a subject that is actively doing a verb ex. because she smiled at him It is possible to give descriptive labels to different KINDS of phrases and clauses. Phrasesare usually named according to the main word--e.g. noun phrase, verb phrase, etc. while clauses are usually named according to their function in the sentence--e.g. noun clause, adjective clause, etc. Christensen did NOT use independent and dependent/subordinate to identify clauses because he used subordinate in a different way.

What is Sentence Leveling? Christensen used co-ordinate & subordinate to describe the relationshipsbetween phrases and clauses in the same sentence. Co-ordinate elements carried equal "weight" in the sentence--they might modify the same thing, perform the same function or be members of the same list. Basically, Christensen said, they operate on the same level of generality. Subordinate elements have less "weight” than some other element in the sentence, although it is still possible to have several elements all subordinate to the same thing. An element is subordinate to the thing it modifies or adds more specific information about.

What is Sentence Leveling? Christensen used the term modifiers for all levels other than level one. If you think about it, this makes sense in terms of their function within the sentence. Each level 2 T-Unit refers in some way to something in Level one--and most of the time it provides more information about its referent. In other words, it modifies the reader's understanding of the level one T-Unit. Each level 3 T-Unit modifies our understanding of some element in a Level 2, and so on. He then categorized all the modifiers according to where they are placed in the sentence, relative to the Level One T-Unit. Initial modifiers come in front of the LevelOne unit. Final modifiers come after the Level One unit. Medial modifiers interrupt , or come in the middle of, another T-Unit. (see Examples sheet & section below)

How It Works Christensen analyzed the structure of a sentence by assigning levelsto the different T-Units he identified--co-ordinate structures are given the same level number while subordinate structures have different numbers. Note that a T-Unit can be either a phrase or a clause. Every English sentence has at least ONE T-Unit, which is called the main clause. Christensen used this as the basis for his diagram, calling it level one. (This is the only level which MUST be a clause) Any other clause anywhere in the sentence which is connected to it by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or) or coordinating punctuation (;) is also labeled as level one. SO John ran down the street. would be diagrammed as • John ran down the street. since it is a simple sentence containing one T-Unit.

How It Works (cont.) John ran down the street but he could not catch the bus. Is a compound sentence with TWO level one T-units, joined by the co-ordinating conjunction “but”. Therefore it would be diagrammed as 1. John ran down the street 1. but he could not catch the bus. *NOTE that prepositional phrases are usually not broken off as separate T-Units.

How It Works (cont.) T-Units which are added with subordinating conjunctions are given a different level number NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE IN THE SENTENCE. SO 2. Although he ran down the street, 1. John could not catch the bus. AND 1. John could not catch the bus 2. although he ran down the street. NOTE the indentation

How It Works (cont.) Phrases and reduced clauses also get a different number from whatever they modify. 2. Shouting and waving, 1. John chased the bus down the street. It is, of course, possible to have BOTH co-ordinate and subordinate elements in the same sentence. 2. Shouting and waving, 1. John chased the bus down the street 1. but he could not catch it. NOTE these give more info about John

How It Works (cont.) A sentence can also have "modifiers of modifiers". That is, some elements may not connect to the main clause directly, but rather to an already subordinate element. 2. Although John chased the bus down the street, 3. shouting and waving, 1. he could not catch it. NOTE that the level 3 phrase modifies HOW John chased, NOT how he did not catch the bus.

Coordinating and Conjunctive Conjunctions Adverbs accordingly in factagain insteadalso likewisebesidesmoreoverconsequentlynamelyfinally neverthelessfor example otherwise further stillfurthermore that is hence thenhowever thereforeindeed thus Yes, these are our FANBOYS: ForAndNorButOrYetSo

Subordinating Conjunctions There are a ton of these. Here are the most common ones: after even though thatalthough how thoughas if till(‘til)as if inasmuch untilas long as in order that unlessas much as lest whenas soon as now that wheneveras though provided (that) where because since whereverbefore so that while even if than who/whom

Now, Let’s Try It! Follow these steps to level the sentences below:1. Identify and mark off the T-Units in the sentence. Two things to look for:-verbs and verbals -- each new action will usually mean a new T-Unit-punctuation -- semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and most commas (except for those in a list) usually indicate a new T-Unit.2. Decide which T-Unit is the main clause (and remember it HAS to be a clause!) This states the main idea of the sentence and should be the most general statement.3. Determine HOW the other T-Units relate to the main clause and to each other. Remember to look for coordinators & subordinators. Also you may well have several units on the same level and they don't have to be right together.4. Assign a level to each unit. The Main Idea is Level One. Any T-Unit that refers to something in Level One is a Level 2. Any unit that refers most directly or closely to a Level 2 unit will be a Level 3, and so on.5. Write out a diagram of the sentence, placing each T-Unit on a separate line. IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep the units in the order they occur in the sentence! • The puppy scratched his ear with his large paw.

Now, Let’s Try It! Follow these steps to level the sentences below:1. Identify and mark off the T-Units in the sentence. Two things to look for:-verbs and verbals -- each new action will usually mean a new T-Unit-punctuation -- semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and most commas (except for those in a list) usually indicate a new T-Unit.2. Decide which T-Unit is the main clause (and remember it HAS to be a clause!) This states the main idea of the sentence and should be the most general statement.3. Determine HOW the other T-Units relate to the main clause and to each other. Remember to look for coordinators & subordinators. Also you may well have several units on the same level and they don't have to be right together.4. Assign a level to each unit. The Main Idea is Level One. Any T-Unit that refers to something in Level One is a Level 2. Any unit that refers most directly or closely to a Level 2 unit will be a Level 3, and so on.5. Write out a diagram of the sentence, placing each T-Unit on a separate line. IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep the units in the order they occur in the sentence! • He stood at the edge of the packed dooryard in the flat thrust of sunrise, looking at the ground washed clean and smooth and trackless, feeling the cool mud under his toes.

Now, Let’s Try It! Follow these steps to level the sentences below:1. Identify and mark off the T-Units in the sentence. Two things to look for:-verbs and verbals -- each new action will usually mean a new T-Unit-punctuation -- semi-colons, dashes, parentheses, colons and most commas (except for those in a list) usually indicate a new T-Unit.2. Decide which T-Unit is the main clause (and remember it HAS to be a clause!) This states the main idea of the sentence and should be the most general statement.3. Determine HOW the other T-Units relate to the main clause and to each other. Remember to look for coordinators & subordinators. Also you may well have several units on the same level and they don't have to be right together.4. Assign a level to each unit. The Main Idea is Level One. Any T-Unit that refers to something in Level One is a Level 2. Any unit that refers most directly or closely to a Level 2 unit will be a Level 3, and so on.5. Write out a diagram of the sentence, placing each T-Unit on a separate line. IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep the units in the order they occur in the sentence! • The voices made a single, steady noise in the room, a noise without words, rising and falling but still steady, coming at a man like waves and washing upon him.

Journal 9 Chris walks into the room. By describing only the reactions of the others in the room, let us know something about him.

Journal 10 Write three different sentences, each using the word crumpled. Create an entirely different image with each sentence.

Their Eyes Were Watching God/ Narrative