When the bell rings, start a
new page headed with
today’s date.
Answer this question:
What skills, knowledge,
abilities, etc. do you have
that will help you and your
classmates succeed in this
class?
Your Critical Friend
Today’s Menu
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Expectations and Goals
Website
Introduction Essay Editing
Cornell Notes
What is an essay?
Types of essays
Homework:
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“Two ways of Seeing a River”
read chpt. 1 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass
Essay Revision
IB Coming to
Park High School
Fall 2010
The learner profile states
IB students are:
 Inquirers
 Open-Minded
 Knowledgeable
 Caring
 Thinkers
 Risk-Takers
 Communicators
 Balanced
 Principled
 Reflective
Peer Editing: Mechanics, etc. First Step!
SENTENCE FLUENCY:
1. Underline any sentences that are either
AWKWARD, RUN-ONS, COMMA-SPLICES, OR
SENTENCE FRAGMENTS. Explain what is
wrong with the sentence in the margin of the
paper.
2. Draw a box around transitions in the essay.
CONVENTIONS:
1.
2.
Correct any punctuation errors you find
throughout the paper.
Circle spelling errors in the paper.
Peer Editing: ORGANIZATION AND IDEA DEVELOPMENT
Introduction:
1. Does the paper begin with an attention getter?
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Rate the attention getter on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5
being “awesome”
2. Write the paper’s thesis statement at the top
of the first page.
3. Did the entire paper address the topic and
opinion expressed in the thesis statement?
Yes or No—write at the top.
For Each Body Paragraph:
1.
2.
3.
Underline the first sentence of this
paragraph. Is this a topic sentence or is it a
sentence that includes specific details that
belong later in the paragraph? If not a topic
sentence, write TS? in the margin.
Star at least two supporting details the
writer used to support the topic sentence.
Did the writer support point number one
from his/her thesis statement?
Concluding Paragraph:
1. Number the points the writer
summarizes in the conclusion:
2. Put brackets around the closing
statement the writer uses to bring the
paper to a close.
The Cornell Note-Taking System
This note-taking strategy offers a way to
take notes and review them without
recopying them onto note cards. This
time saver allows you to spend more
time actively reviewing your notes rather
than mindlessly recopying them.
Format
The format for the Cornell system is the key to
success.
The left margin is marked with a line 2.5 inches
from the edge; this is called the cue column.
The note-taking column is the remaining 6 inches
of the page.
Draw a horizontal line 2 inches from the bottom of
the page to mark off the summary.
Topic
 What’s it
about?
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What’s it
about?
Summarize
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Subtopic
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Main Idea #1
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Facts
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Incidents
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Reasons
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Examples/Evidence
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Statistics
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Main Idea #2
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Detail
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Detail
Record
Use the larger note-taking column to record
notes during the lecture, leaving a space
when you miss information in class. You
can then to fill in any missed information
after class. These spaces are also useful
so you can and add reflections made later.
Question
Soon after class, use the cue column to formulate
questions about the notes. Formulating these
questions not only helps you prepare for studying
later, but also helps you make important
connections and understand the information better.
At the end of your notes for that class write, in you
own words, a brief summary of your notes and any
comments you have about the ideas. This, more
than anything, will help you memorize and learn
class material.
This step will also act as a warning signal for
students who do not understand the material. Can’t
summarize = Don’t understand
Recite
When you study your notes cover the notetaking column, revealing only the
questions. Answer the questions out loud
and in your own words, only looking at
the notes if necessary.
Reflect
Think about the ideas in your notes by asking yourself
questions such as
 "What is the relevance of these ideas?"
 "How do they relate to other information and what I already
know?"
This process will solidify the material in your memory and
enable you to move beyond merely memorizing the material.
Your ideas can then be written into your note-taking column to
draw the connections made and to review them.
Review
Doing a weekly review of your notes will
help you retain much of the information in
your long term memory and make exam
studying much easier.
Topic Preview
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Narration
Description
Process
Definition
Division/Classification
Compare/Contrast
Cause and Effect
Some Essay Topics
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Narration
Ex: "My uncle was a Vietnam War veteran who died in the
war; I would like to see the Memorial."
Description
Ex: "I would visit the FDR Memorial to see the cascading
waterfalls, the bold engravings, and the amazing
sculptures."
Process
Ex: "To decide on what to visit, I would first buy a guide to
the Washington D.C. area; I would mark the pages for the
places I would like to visit. Next, I would research them
further on the Internet before making my final decisions."
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=598
Some More Essay Topics
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Definition
Ex: "The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is less museum
and more memorial, as evidenced by its dedication to the
memory of all the innocents who were killed in Nazi Germany's
attempt to create a "pure" race."
Division / Classification (as explained in Silva Rhetoricae)
This "topic is very closely related to the topic of Definition, but
differs in that it is not attempting to classify something by
placing it as a species within a genus." This topic focuses on
"describing a whole and its constituent parts, or the parts that
make up a whole."
Ex: "The Museum of Natural History is the best museum to visit
because it has sections dedicated to Dinosaurs, a whole new
area for Mammals with lots of stuffed examples, and has the
best cafeteria in the entire Smithsonian system."
Even More Essay Topics
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Compare / Contrast
Ex: "The Lincoln Memorial's Greek style is less
appealing to me than the garden feeling inspired
by the FDR Memorial, with its open style and
rushing water."
Cause and Effect
Ex: "I want to visit the Vietnam War Memorial
because it was built as both a monument to the
soldiers' sacrifice as well as a testament to the
severe cost of the war, reflecting without bias the
tensions surrounding the conflict in an effort to
bring reconciliation and healing."
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=598