DePalo email: edepalo@woboe.

ORG
IMS 9 –2009-2010 blog:edepalo.blogspot.com
Room 3201

Great Expectations*

The intent of the IMS 9 honors English curriculum is to prepare students for advanced level
courses through the development of critical reading skills, literature analysis and writing
complexity. As an honors-level student you are expected to complete rigorous reading and
writing assignments on a consistent basis while sharing your thoughts and insights through class
discussions.

Classroom Behavior:
• Preparedness - Arriving on time with materials
• Respect - Avoiding verbal disrespect and derogatory language (i.e. racial and/or
homophobic slurs)
• Disruption - No cell phones (If seen or heard, they will be confiscated and turned in to
security)

Responsibility:
I do not give you your grade; you earn it. Assignments are worth points. Points will consist of
the following categories each marking period:
• 4 consistent 100 point grades each marking period:
1. Participation (being prepared; attentive; cooperative; contributing to class discussion)
2. Homework (√+, √, √-, 0) – the number of HW assignments that are checked varies
each marking period
3. In-class Journal (periodic entries per marking period scored as √+, √, √-, 0)
4. Blog Entries (periodic entries per marking period scored upon completion and effort)

• Essays (100 pts):

o +5 extra credit points if handed in early
o MLA Style Format
o No late papers accepted – NO EXCUSES
o Rewrites accepted after original is returned - both grades averaged together for a final
grade

• Tests/Quizzes : (vary from 10-100 pts)

o graded on a point scale
o saved in classroom portfolio folder to keep for Final review

• Group Work and Projects: (points vary); periodically assigned throughout the year

• Absences: your responsibility to keep track of missed work; you have two days upon returning
to school to make up an assignment or test
 Check homework calendar / hard copy and on blog site
 Contact a classmate
 Email me
 Check folders in front of classroom for missed handouts or check on site

* Extra Credit: Can you identify this allusion?

Essay Essentials

Use the following checklist as a proofreading tool before handing in a final draft. Throughout the
year, I will be looking at the following areas when grading your essays.

Format
MLA style (link on blog site and on LMC site)includes:

 double-space your essay

 no more than 1” margins
 Times New Roman 12 pt. font
 heading in the UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER (includes name, date and period)
 an original title
 pager headers
 Works Cited page if using sources or referencing material

Introductions
Your introduction should include the following elements:

 T.A.G. (title of the piece of literature written about, author’s name and genre or type of
work):
Books: titles of books are underlined or in italics

Plays: titles of plays are underlined or in italics

Short Stories: titles of short stories are in quotation marks

Poems: titles of poems are in quotation marks

 a brief summary (min. 2 sentences) of the work you are writing about
 a thesis statement (a single sentence in your introduction that specifically tells the
reader exactly what your essay will be about, indicates the organization of your essay,
and is a point that you will prove or argue is true)

Organization/Transition Sentences
 minimum five paragraphs

 first sentence of each paragraph should contain a transition

Development
 specific , detailed examples from the work(s) read to support your statements

 literary present

 when appropriate, include quotations from the text that

1. are introduced

2. are cited (with page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence)

3. are well explained

Grammatical Errors
We will cover several common errors in class that, once discussed, you are expected not to
make them in your essays and will be deducted points for each time you make the mistake in
your paper. Errors include

 fragment  word choice

 run-on  spelling

 comma splice  trite phrases

 pronoun agreement  personal pronouns

 numbers

 colons and semicolons