Tag Archives: Essay

ABCs of Bullying

A student of mine, who would prefer to remain anonymous, wrote this wonderful essay on bullying as a follow up to our school’s anti-bullying week and has kindly given me permission to publish it here. I feel it deserves to be read by a wider audience than me…

Letter z

The ABC of Bullying

-Anonymous

In every year group there is a girl just like the letter ‘Z’. Last in the ranking, no support behind her, often forgotten about.  ‘Z’ did not choose this life for herself. It almost just happened automatically, like nature. At the end of the day, if everyone is popular then nobody is popular.

In the beginning, ‘Z’ is her own worst enemy. Last on the list of 26 letters, she often feels lonely and out of the loop. Looking around my year group today, I can pick out quite a few ‘Z’s’. Easy targets. Insecure. Nobodies.

I can only imagine to a bully, they stick out like a sore thumb. A bully, someone deeply insecure in themselves, can easily sniff out other damaged souls of its kind. Do I feel sorry for the bully? The answer is yes, I completely do. I ask myself the question, is a bully a murderer or a mountain lion? Both kill, however one does it out of evil, the other does it to survive. I have always been of the opinion that the bully is the one who needs human help. The one who, similar to the victim, needs support.

“If a man cannot understand the beauty of life, it is probably because life never understood the beauty in him “

– Anonymous

Sometimes it is hard to believe the bully has no support. They come across so superior and confident. But on deeper observation they too are often missing some form of family/friendship back-up. They may belong to a tight group of friends, yet still not feel secure.

‘A’ is confident and popular. Leader of an elite group, the vowels. ‘A, E, I, O& U’ call the shots. If you are not in with them, you probably don’t exist. What proper word doesn’t have a vowel in it? Dominators of the English language, they have the power. ‘A’ knows all the letters in the Alphabet very well. However, she never really bothers with ‘Z’. She finds ‘Z’ to be boring, weird and ugly. “Not even symmetrical!

‘A’ knows ‘Z’ is unpopular. She knows ‘Z’ holds very few pages in the dictionary. She just excludes her.

In today’s world, this behaviour is rampant. I see it every day. Nobody wants to be seen or associated with someone classed as ‘unpopular’. At this age in school, everything revolves around your social standing. And in an all-girls school, it is very important to have a boyfriend. If you don’t, there must be something wrong with you.

So where is ‘Z’ in all of this? So far we have established ‘Z’ is lonely, unsupported and insecure. Not popular, and with very few pages in the dictionary. Insignificant. The perfect victim.

‘A’ on the other hand, acts the complete opposite way. However, always being the centre of attention, she feels used and abused. She is fed up, but she wears the best disguise. ‘A’ really feels like ‘a’. She is about to snap.

It takes two to tango. ’A’ and ‘Z’ are a match made in heaven. It doesn’t take long for ‘A’ to unleash her pain and anger on ‘Z’. It doesn’t take long for ‘Z’ to let her away with this. And this is where the vicious cycle starts. Neither party really knows what they are doing, neither party knows how to escape.

So where am I in this equation of bullying?

I see myself as the letter ‘M’. Smack bang in the middle. Ordinary. Symmetrical. Safe. Neither a full bully, neither a full victim. Have I done some terribly cruel things to other humans during my short time on this planet? Yes, and I am forever ashamed of them, but haven’t we all at some point in our lives? However, since coming into secondary school, I have grown a lot.  I would like to think I know the difference between right and wrong, but is this enough?

Today, I know I could do a lot more for the ‘Z’s’ of my class. I know they are there yet I don’t do anything to help them. Being honest, I classify myself worse than a bully. Me being the letter ‘M’ means I have support all around. I have the ability to see both sides of the story and make the right decision. I have the ability to help. I have the ability to stop bullying!

Knowing what is right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right

-Theodore Roosevelt

I have learnt a lot from this year’s anti-bullying week.

Now I know my ‘ABCs’, it’s time for me to start helping all those ‘Z’s’.

Essay Writing (Othello)

Writing an introduction

For this exercise, I first got students to tell me what they found confusing about introductions. We listed their “things we want to know” about introductions on the board first. I can’t remember the exact list but it was something like this:

How should it begin? (Re-phrase the question and respond with your opinion)

How do we avoid just repeating the question word for word? (divide and conquer! Separate out the ideas. Use synonyms). 

Should we include quotes? / how much detail goes into the intro ? (no quotes, unless you begin with one for dramatic effect. A list of topic sentences outlining what you will discuss but keep the detailed discussion for the essay itself)

Do we list the things we’ll discuss? (Yes, see above! But don’t be a baby about it! NEVER write “In this essay I will discuss… blah blah blah“. [This is like a little kid telling their parents exactly what they are going to do before they do it “Mammy, I’m going to do a wee-wee now!“] We’re not thick. If it’s in your introduction we assume that’s because you intend to discuss it!)

How long should it be? (Anywhere between a third of a page and hall a page. Three-quarters of a page is probably too long. An introduction is supported to be brief and to the point! Long-winded is irritating)

Think of your introduction as a road map. You have been given a destination (the question) and there are lots of perfectly acceptable ways of getting there. In your introduction you lay out clearly what directions you’ll take in your essay. MAKE SURE TO USE THE WORDS FROM THE Q – but don’t begin by simply parroting back the question word for word. There is nothing worse than “I agree 100% that…..”.

Instead

  1. Re-phrase the question in your own words to prove that you have understood it.
  2. Divide the question into manageable chunks and discuss each part of the Q.
  3. List the things your essay will discuss to answer the question asked.

Let’s take an example:

Iago has a very low opinion of human nature and this colours his interpretation of every person in his life

Begin with part of the question:I re-phrase it in my own words. (Give an example)

Iago certainly feels superior to many of the people in his life. In the opening scene he criticises Othello & Cassio and he delights in creating pain and suffering for Brabantio. He does not respect other human beings, nor does he have a high opinion of anyone but himself.

Now I turn my attention to the other part of the question & list the things I’ll discuss in the body of my essay

He takes the most negative possible interpretation of human behaviour in every situation, accusing Othello of being a lustful gold-digger; accusing Cassio of being a naïve ladies-man with little battlefield experience; accusing Dedemona of being fickle and motivated only by lust; and finally, confiding to both Roderigo and to us the audience his general outlook on human beings, which is that they are selfish and self-serving. 

Body Paragraphs

Next, I got students to list the things they found confusing about writing paragraphs. We came up with this set of Paragraphsquestions they wanted answers to:

When do you begin a new paragraph? (When you’ve got a new idea to discuss)

What should your first sentence do? (Respond to the Q with one relevant idea)

(NOT TELL THE STORY was actually my first response to this question!)

How long should it be? Do all paragraphs need to be the same length? How long is too long? (Depends how much you have to say about that idea. Paragraphs can vary in length. More than 3/4 of a page is too long.)

How many quotes and examples should you include? (Hard to answer this one. Depends on the point you’re making. At least 3 quotes, no more than 7? Quotes can be two or three words – e.g. “honest Iago” or half a speech! Don’t include really long quotes – it’s irritating and unnecessary). 

When do you quote? Can you begin with a quote or should you always begin with a statement (Quote to prove a point. Always begin with a statement? Yes, yes, yes – remember PQE from First Year English!)

How do you end a paragraph? (Show how what you’ve just said is relevant to the Q. You may want to flow into your next point – this can be done in the final sentence of this paragraph or at the beginning of the topic sentence in the next paragraph. FLOW MATTERS so make sure you use connectives in your writing)

Here’s the advice and example I came up with to answer their questions in a concrete and specific way:

Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. This first sentence indicates what your paragraph will be about. For example:

Despite having fought side by side with Othello for many years, Iago has a very negative opinion of his employer.  (this is your topic sentence)

The rest of the paragraph provides specific examples which illustrate that the topic sentence is true (either quotes or paraphrasing or RELEVANT plot details – but don’t fall into the trap of telling the story)

His bitterness at not getting promoted to lieutenant leads him to believe that Othello was “loving his own pride and purposes” when he gave the job to Cassio. Iago sees his decision as a personal slight and an insult, because Iago has a very high opinion of himself “I know my price, I am worth no less a place”. His bitterness leads him on a quest for revenge and he begins to see people as simply pawns in a game of chess; each one will either help or hinder him in his quest. For example, rather than search for a new job, Iago decides to do everything in his power to destroy Othello. He takes a very negative interpretation of Othello’s decision to marry Desdemona, telling Cassio that Othello was motivated purely by her money and is satisfied now because he has “boarded a land-carrick” or treasure ship and is now guaranteed wealth (through his wife’s fortune) for the rest of his life.

If you want to continue discussing the same basic idea (eg Iago’s low opinion of Othello) but your paragraph is getting too long, then break it into two paragraphs. You’ll still need a topic sentence, but this one will just introduce a related idea. For example:

Iago is also very quick to believe the rumour that Othello has slept with his wife. He comments that “it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets he has done my officeand refuses to even bother checking if this rumour is true or not. This is hardly surprising given how certain he was that Othello was motivated by lust rather than love (“even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”) – it’s as if Iago refuses to even consider the idea that human beings might be motivated by a noble emotion like love rather than by their base animalistic desires. Iago allows for the fact that human beings might be essentially ‘good’ when he describes Othello as being “of a free and open nature that thinks men honest that but seem to be so” but he sees this as naïve and stupid.

Finish your paragraph (or if the same basic idea stretches to two paragraphs, finish the second paragraph) by stating clearly how what you’ve just discussed is relevant to the question asked.

Thus, it is clear that Iago thinks very little of Othello, seeing him as motivated by lust and greed and interpreting his trusting nature as a weakness rather than a virtue.  (this is the final sentence of this paragraph/section on Iago’s interpretation of Othello’s behaviour).

SandwichI used the analogy of a paragraph being a bit like a sandwich. The top slice of bread is the topic sentence. The meat in the middle is basically the quotes and examples you use to develop your discussion and prove your point. The final sentence is like the bottom slice of bread in the sandwich – it holds everything together, connecting the meat (the quotes & examples) back to the top slice (the question asked).

Without the meat the sandwich wouldn’t be a sandwich but without one of the two slices of bread it would also not be a sandwich! You need both slices of bread and lots of filling. If you have lots to say for one idea and it stretches into two paragraphs, this is basically a double-decker sandwich. It’s fine but too many double-deckers in one essay might mean you run out of space (or time!) so don’t fill up that essay too much with double-deckers!!!

Alternative ways of structuring this essay:

You could go through the play chronologically –

par 1 could discuss his failure to get promoted;

par 2 could discuss breaking the news to Brabantio;

par 3 could discuss his interpretation of Othello & Desdemona’s marriage;

par 4 could discuss the speech he makes to Roderigo about reason being superior to emotion;

par 5 could discuss his plan for revenge.

There is not ONE PERFECT WAY to structure any essay – the important thing is that each paragraph has a clear focus and that each paragraph clearly responds to the question. If you just tell the story, you will NOT do well.

NOTE: This example only deals with Act 1 because this is an essay we did when we finished that act. Obviously in the exam you’d be expected to draw from the events of the entire play, not just Act 1.

Seeing Blind

For their house exam, my students have 1hr 30mins to write a work of inspired creative genius. So no pressure then! They’ll have to choose between a speech, a debate, a personal essay, a newspaper article or a descriptive essay and they have no idea what the topics will be… eek! (I’ll post them here on Friday after the exam).

So today, with the exams looming tomorrow, they asked me how the hell they can prepare. As well as revising the stylistic features required of each genre (speech, article, personal essay, descriptive writing) and the six rules of essay writing, here’s what we came up with:

How to prepare when you don’t know what the topic will be…

  • List of personal anecdotes you might use… (remember sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch)
  • List of quotes you might use…
  • List of techniques you will use…
  • List of official organisations (O.E.C.D., E.R.S.I., W.H.O., C.S.O..) & names of Ministers of State (minister for education, minister for children, minister for social affairs etc). When making up quotes and stats from experts give the person a title and attach them to a university or organisation to make them sound believable…
  • Ideas on topical issues (see this list) plus any quirky news stories that catch your eye!
  • Funny jokes! (if you’re writing a more lighthearted piece you might be able to work one in to your essay)

Update: as promised, here are the essay topics my students faced into for their house exams on Friday last:

Write a composition on any ONE of the following:

1. “Write a lighthearted speech, to be delivered to your classmates, on your pet hates in life

2. “Write a newspaper article in which you uncover and expose a scandal

3. “Write an entertaining descriptive essay for a competition under the title “If I ran this school“.

4. “Write a debate speech in which you argue for or against the motion that “The future of publishing is digital” (I got this from a mock paper)

5. “Write a personal essay entitled “I’m weird but that’s OK“.

 

 

 

Topic of the week: The Future

Trying to imagine what the future will look like can make your brain wibble-wobble in all sorts of uncomfortable ways.

For some reason when people envisage the future, cities looks quite like they do now but they’re curvier and have random flying pods zooming about.

Everything is also crystal clean sparkly clear and the air is somehow fresher, brighter, sharper than it is when you look out the window (not sure how that will happen but here’s hoping) – or else we’ve been through some kind of armageddon and everything looks vaguely like it did during World War 2…

Given that we can only speculate, here are a few questions to get your idea juices flowing…

On a global scale:

  • Will we end up zooming around in hovercrafts?
  • Will the ice caps melt?… and will Ireland drown as corresponding sea levels rise?
  • Will solar, wind and wave technology finally free us from our dependance on fossil fuels?
  • Will medical advances allow us to grow spare body parts? And will we be able to select the genes our children inherit? Perhaps we’ll even be able to ‘transplant’ our brains into a new body and thus find a way to live forever!
  • Will the threat of nuclear annihilation re-imerge? Will religious fundamentalism lead to the break-out of a global jihad between Muslims and Christians? Will ‘the Hunger Games’ ever come to pass? It may sound crazy but pick up a copy of Orwell’s 1984 and you’ll see just how much big brother’s already come to pass!
  • Will robots finally do our housework for us? (please let the answer to this one be yes…)
  • Will we find a way to populate other planets? Holidays on Mars anyone? Underwater cities? There are 7 billion of us on earth now after all. That’s a whole lotta peeps for one planet…

On a personal level:

  • What will your life be life? What will you spend your time doing?
  • What will you achieve?
  • Will you make the world a better place? Or a worse one? Or have no effect on anything!
  • Who do you picture IN your future with you?

I’m particularly taken by the idea of augmented reality which isn’t far in the future – check these out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6cNdhOKwi0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4

Also, if you’re not doing the Leaving Cert until next year I recommend you read “An Optimist’s Tour of the Future” by Mark Stevenson over the summer. If you like reading that is…which I’m presuming you do if you browse this website for shits and giggles!!!

Six Rules of Essay Writing

  1. Plan x 2 = brainstorm ideas for the topic, organise them, then make a list of techniques you’ll use.
  2. Dramatic opening paragraph – it’s really important to grab the reader’s attention. Use a quote, or a series of rhetorical questions, a list, or a vivid description. Say something shocking or provocative. However you do it, make the reader feel eager to read on.
  3. Variety of ideas. A good way to come up with ideas when you’re stuck is to ask yourself to apply the idea to ME / EUROPE / WORLD  PAST / PRESENT / FUTURE
  4. Variety of techniques. Use your techniques plan. As you use them cross them off. Some people write well naturally & don’t need this but lots of people need reminding that it’s not just what you say that matters, it’s also how you say it!
  5. Flow.  Connecting phrases create a flow and transition from one idea to the next.
  6. Dramatic final paragraph – it’s really important to leave the reader feeling satisfied. Use a quote, or a series of rhetorical questions, a list, or a vivid description. Say something shocking or provocative. However you do it, make the reader sad that your essay is over. Some writers like to come full circle & begin & end with the same idea.

It’s hard to say exactly how long your essay should be. A brilliant debate 3 pages  long will do better than a boring 7 page article. A guideline is between 3&half & 5 pages but quality is always more important than quantity! Choose your essay title based on the topic but also on the genre – which style of writing suits you best???