2. AGENDA
• Grammar: When to use “Me” and when to use “Myself.”
• The Hunger Games: What is your take on the game so
far?
• Writing Discussion: “Exploring your present
perspective” and “The Thesis Statement”
• In-Class Writing: Finding your present perspective
Formulating a Thesis
• Group Work/Discussion: Bragg: “Analyzing Writing
Strategies #1 p 36: Comparing
• In-Class Writing: Similes and Metaphors
• Preparing the complete draft: SMG 52-53
3. Me versus Myself
Me Myself
• Me is an object pronoun, which • Myself is a reflexive or stressed
means that it refers to the pronoun, which means that,
person that the action of a verb generally speaking, it should be
is being done to, or to which a used in conjunction with the
preposition refers.
subject pronoun I, not instead of
the object pronoun me.
• They want me to study more.
• Tell me a story.
• I bought myself a car.
• Between you and me, he's right.
• Carol wants to meet with John • I myself started the company.
and me tomorrow. • I did the laundry by myself.
• The book was written entirely by • I feel like myself again.
me. • Tired of waiting, I just did it
• Please call Hillary or me with myself.
any questions.
4. The Strategy Continued: Explore Your Present Perspective
• Looking back, how do you feel about this event? If you understand it
differently now than you did then, what is the difference?
• What do your actions at the time of the event say about the kind of person
you were then? How would you respond to the same event if it occurred
today?
• Can looking at the event historically or culturally help explain what
happened? For example, did you upset racial, gender, or religious
expectations? Did you feel torn between identities or cultures? Did you feel
out of place?
• Do you see now that there was a conflict underlying the event? For example,
were you struggling with contradictory desires? Did you feel pressured by
others? Were you desires and rights in conflict with someone else’s? Was
the event about power or responsibility.
• Pause to reflect on what you have written about your present perspective.
Then write another sentence or two, commenting on the event’s significance
as you look back on it
5. Goal: Formulating a Tentative Thesis
• Readers do not expect you to begin your narrative essay
with the kind of explicit thesis statement typical of
argumentative or explanatory writing. If you do decide to
tell readers explicitly why the event was meaningful or
significant, you will most likely do so as you tell the story,
by commenting on or evaluating what happened, instead
of announcing the significance at the beginning. Keep in
mind that you are not obliged to tell readers the
significance, but you must show it through the way you tell
the story.
6. The Strategy
• Review what you wrote for Reflecting on the
Event’s Significance, and add another two or
three sentences, not necessarily
summarizing what you already have written
but extending your insights into the
significance of the event, what it meant to
you at the time, and what it means to you
now. These sentences must necessarily be
speculative and tentative because you may
not fully understand the event’s significance
in your life
7. Bragg: “Analyzing Writing Strategies #1 p 36
• Read “Analyzing Writing Strategies” #1
aloud.
• Get into groups of three or four, and locate
the comparisons in paragraphs 1, 3, 7, 9,
13, and 16.
• As a group, pick the one you think works
well and make notes about why.
• What impression do these comparisons
give you of the young Bragg and the event
he is writing about?
8. METAPHOR: A LITERARY FIGURE OF SPEECH THAT DESCRIBES A
SUBJECT BY ASSERTING THAT IT IS, ON SOME POINT OF
COMPARISON, THE SAME AS ANOTHER OTHERWISE UNRELATED
OBJECT.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
SIMILE: A FIGURE OF SPEECH THAT DIRECTLY COMPARES TWO
DIFFERENT THINGS, USUALLY BY EMPLOYING THE WORDS “LIKE”
OR “AS.”
I’VE BEEN WORKING LIKE A DOG
Formulate 5-7 metaphors or similes appropriate to your
essay.
10. HOMEWORK
• Read: Catch up on HG (You should be
through chapter 12.
• Write: Complete Draft of Essay #2
• Blog Prompt #5: Journal
• Study: Vocabulary Review (1-12)
• Bring: Three clean, complete copies of your
draft; SMG
