Your on-line Elements Of Literature and Elements of Language are located at http://my.hrw.com
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Journal entries featuring one well-crafted paragraph about each poet except your own are due February 14, 2012.
"I think that grammar is so lovely that even if it were utterly useless, one would still irresistibly explore it, as one explores chess, or architecture, or the spiral geometries of shells. Grammar is a sort of magic aesthetic lens, through which we can view the delicate structures upon which our ideas rest. As scientists marvel at the silicate skeletal frames which support and form living organisms, through grammar we can view the delicate relationships which give form and pattern to the phenomena of the mind. If this comparison strikes you as idealistic and metaphorical, please consider it further. These relationships do exist, and they are beautiful."
Michael Clay Thompson
"Why is writing such a stringent test of output capacity during the school years? I suspect it's because there is no other requirement that demands the coordination and integration of so many different neurodevelopmental functions and academic subskills. Just think about it: writing requires you to generate good ideas, organize your thoughts, encode your ideas into clear language, remember many things at once (such as spelling, rules of punctuation, facts and instructions), coordinate your fingers so they can form letters, plan and monitor the quality of your work, and marshall the materials you need (pencils, reference books, or computer equipment) and your time. Writing also requires a great deal of concentration and mental effort. It takes energy and fortitude to complete a term paper. Intense focus is called for in answering an essay question as well. All of these simultaneous demands must then be smoothly integrated and synchronized to achieve writing success."
Max Levine author of The Myth Of Laziness