Welcome to E7. You are only a step away from graduation. Congratulations! For most of you, this term maybe the most important one in the period of high school study since you need to pass the English Regents or RCT, apply for the college, or get good scores in SAT exam. These are probably your major goals, which I shall help you to achieve. In order to reach all the goals, we are going to do a lot of reading and writing activities in class or even after class. Students who have mastered the basic writing skills will find the activities easy, fun and inspiring to do; and students who lack the necessary skills will find the activities very challenging but more importantly, useful .

I.Here are the books we are going to read in the class:

d) Things Fall Apart (pending)

e) Some short stories from British and Western Literature

II. Writing Activities may include:

1.Personal Writing-- journals, learning logs, college application essay (personal narrative essay), autobiography, poetry, etc.

The Writing Process-prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting

2. Descriptive Writing-writing descriptive paragraphs by using sensory details, writing a character sketch, and describing an event.

3. Narrative Writing-writing a biographical sketch, by using skills such as developing conflicts, using anecdotes, using certain point of view.

4. Expository Writing-analyzing cause and effect connections, writing to compare and contrast, using time lines and process diagrams, analyzing problems, presenting solutions.

5. Persuasive Writing-writing an editorial, learning to use evidence effectively, reasoning and language to advantage

6. Research Paper Writing-planning, researching, outlining, drafting, citing source, revising, editing and presenting

7. Regents essay writing

III. Major Projects

1. Research Paper(wait for the future announcement of the due date)
2. Book Report( 1)(due October 19,1998)
3. Book Report (2)(due November 23,1998)
4. Portfolio( 1 week before the term ends-mid Jan. of 1999)

IV. Requirements to pass the course

1. Attendance (two lateness is equal to one absence-whoever late for the class has to sign the Late Book)
2. Notebook(notes and other class work that demonstrate your attentiveness and participation in the class)
3. Homework (Later h.w. has to be handed in within a week from the day when an assigned work is due. No h.w. means 0 credit. The highest grade for the late work is 65.)
4. Class Participation( in class or in groups)
5. Required Essays and Projects 
6. Quizzes, Tests, and Exams
7. Behavior in the class (follow the school rules-no hats, no Walkman in the class; use civilized language, no boos or shut-ups and foul language; 0 tolerance for disruptive and disrespectful behavior.)

V. Methods to Communicate with me:

1. Leave a note in my mailbox in the general office on the first floor
2. Tell me directly
3. Get one of your classmate's phone number and ask him/her to pass the message to me

It is easy to pass the class. Here is the secret: keep trying, and never give up. Have fun and work hard and you will have a great term!

Good luck!