No takers from yesterday?
How about this one from Barb Tutelo? Can you name this movie?
He walks onto the stage, looks into her eyes and takes her hand. She looks back at him, amazed by his good looks. The music starts and hesitantly they start to dance. The crowd starts to whistle and cheer. She flows freely across the stage in her lovely pink dress. With mom and dad looking on the excitement in the room grows. For a moment they forget where they are, and they let the music draw them closely together. The passion is intense. They smile and continue to sway.
With the crowd now on their feet and fully engaged, he leaps off the stage and moves back and forth through the aisle. She laughs and looks on, admiring each step he takes. He consumes everyone’s attention and enjoys each moment. He turns and heads back to the brightly lit stage, his fellow dancers following him in step. She is lowered slowly from the stage, and runs into his arms. He lifts her high into the air and she floats like an angel. The audience, all on their feet, feel the power of these two and begin to follow to the beat. With the room lit up with dancers, they take each other’s hands and head toward the door.
Her father stops them, looks at them sternly for a moment and says, "When I’m wrong I say I'm wrong." Dad tells her, "You looked wonderful out there." She looks lovingly into her dad's eyes and hugs him tightly. The background music blasts; there is a mood of rejuvenation. They are drawn back onto the floor and they find each other’s lips as they kiss passionately. He lifts her high and slides her back down to the floor.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Guess That Movie Week
Descriptive writing is key in personal essays, but it’s refreshing to read well-written imagery in academic work as well. To help the students learn to turn pictures into words, they had to describe a single scene from a movie without using any proper names. Using excessive dialogue was also discouraged. From these descriptions, the other students in the class had to guess the names of the movies.
So how are your movie trivia skills? Can you identify the movie being described by Julio Prado below?
There she was seated looking beautiful with her curly red hair, a well-fitted, lavender dress in a table full of white roses like snow and crystal accessories that made the smooth ray of light bright all over the place. Her cell phone rang, she moved her arm slowly to take it and lift it toward her face.
It was a man's voice that she knew, and he began telling her beautiful things that at the same time described situations related to the place she was. Suddenly the music started and she noticed it was a familiar song.
“The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup...” She got up and started looking among the people in the place trying to find the man on the phone. She noticed a man with a black smoking suit, seated on a white table, talking on the phone. He stood up and while he continued with his phone conversation invited her to dance. He walked toward her and closed the phone.
He took her by the arm in the way gentlemen do and walked her to the dance floor to finally dance with her that familiar song that was going to make her forget, for a moment, the sad situation she was passing through.
So how are your movie trivia skills? Can you identify the movie being described by Julio Prado below?
There she was seated looking beautiful with her curly red hair, a well-fitted, lavender dress in a table full of white roses like snow and crystal accessories that made the smooth ray of light bright all over the place. Her cell phone rang, she moved her arm slowly to take it and lift it toward her face.
It was a man's voice that she knew, and he began telling her beautiful things that at the same time described situations related to the place she was. Suddenly the music started and she noticed it was a familiar song.
“The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup...” She got up and started looking among the people in the place trying to find the man on the phone. She noticed a man with a black smoking suit, seated on a white table, talking on the phone. He stood up and while he continued with his phone conversation invited her to dance. He walked toward her and closed the phone.
He took her by the arm in the way gentlemen do and walked her to the dance floor to finally dance with her that familiar song that was going to make her forget, for a moment, the sad situation she was passing through.
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Journey
Imagine you're walking through the desert. You see sand, clay boulders, and cacti on all sides. You know you have to go somewhere, but you have no idea in which direction to walk. The fear of such a situation can be paralyzing as many people would agree.
Yet, those same people may not realize a similar fear brews in writing students. Just as with the desert analogy, in writing, there are several paths a student can take in developing an essay. There's no map that provides a clear, right answer. The freedom of choosing a path is often difficult for students. For several years, teachers have told them exactly what to do. In college, they have to rely on their own vision and creativity.
But the only way to find a path that will lead you out of the desert is to actually walk it. After having done so, confidence will replace that initial fear. I love that this was the case for College Writing student Christi Warner-Bigam, who shares her writing journey below.
Writing has been a challenge for me since high school which was approximately twenty years ago. I enjoyed English class;however, when it came to writing papers I was frightened. This same feeling trickled over into my college years and adult life. Thankfully today, that fear is mostly gone due to experiences, education and confidence with age.
My first adult job was with a law firm and I recall my envy of the paralegal at the office. She wrote various legal correspondence to clients, the courthouse and other attorneys. A letter that would generally take me an hour to write would take her ten to fifteen minutes. The words seemed to come effortlessly to her. I began to emulate her style and the terminology she utilized in her writings. I credit this environment as my first growing point in the right direction.
From there, my second job was with a prestigious law firm in Washington D.C. I was surrounded by alumni from the best colleges nationwide. I recall preparing emails in horror that my word usage or grammar was incorrect. I relied on my supervisors and fellow secretaries for guidance and ideas. As time moved forward a sense of pride and confidence started to stir.
Finally, at my current position, the fear has basically subsided. Of course, when writing a slight sense of apprehension exists even today if the writing is for a huge audience. This is the case for most correspondence that I author due to my audience of around one hundred fellow employees. All of these work experiences have allowed me to excel and gain confidence in my writing.
As mentioned, my work experience has taken a significant hand in my writing skills and education has also played and continues to a play a major role. In high school, my college prep English class gave me the initial tools to becoming a good writer. In my opinion, the grammar, spelling and structure were the main focus during this stage. In college, a few years later, structure and style were the main focus. Today, I am able to incorporate the highlights of my education together with my life experiences to try and write the best papers that I can.
Yet, those same people may not realize a similar fear brews in writing students. Just as with the desert analogy, in writing, there are several paths a student can take in developing an essay. There's no map that provides a clear, right answer. The freedom of choosing a path is often difficult for students. For several years, teachers have told them exactly what to do. In college, they have to rely on their own vision and creativity.
But the only way to find a path that will lead you out of the desert is to actually walk it. After having done so, confidence will replace that initial fear. I love that this was the case for College Writing student Christi Warner-Bigam, who shares her writing journey below.
Writing has been a challenge for me since high school which was approximately twenty years ago. I enjoyed English class;however, when it came to writing papers I was frightened. This same feeling trickled over into my college years and adult life. Thankfully today, that fear is mostly gone due to experiences, education and confidence with age.
My first adult job was with a law firm and I recall my envy of the paralegal at the office. She wrote various legal correspondence to clients, the courthouse and other attorneys. A letter that would generally take me an hour to write would take her ten to fifteen minutes. The words seemed to come effortlessly to her. I began to emulate her style and the terminology she utilized in her writings. I credit this environment as my first growing point in the right direction.
From there, my second job was with a prestigious law firm in Washington D.C. I was surrounded by alumni from the best colleges nationwide. I recall preparing emails in horror that my word usage or grammar was incorrect. I relied on my supervisors and fellow secretaries for guidance and ideas. As time moved forward a sense of pride and confidence started to stir.
Finally, at my current position, the fear has basically subsided. Of course, when writing a slight sense of apprehension exists even today if the writing is for a huge audience. This is the case for most correspondence that I author due to my audience of around one hundred fellow employees. All of these work experiences have allowed me to excel and gain confidence in my writing.
As mentioned, my work experience has taken a significant hand in my writing skills and education has also played and continues to a play a major role. In high school, my college prep English class gave me the initial tools to becoming a good writer. In my opinion, the grammar, spelling and structure were the main focus during this stage. In college, a few years later, structure and style were the main focus. Today, I am able to incorporate the highlights of my education together with my life experiences to try and write the best papers that I can.
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