Sunday, August 22, 2010

Paragraph Practice!

Once you have written your practice introductory paragraph for a formal essay, please upload it here as a comment in response to this blog post. Let's help each other check for the essential components to an introductory paragraph:

#1: a hook statement (that must be broad, profound and inarguable!)
#2: a few bridge statements to link the big idea in your hook to the more specific ideas to follow
#3: 1 - 3 sentences that outline your three main arguments (if one sentence, make sure your arguments are clearly articulated)
#4: a clear and concise thesis (that is a direct response to the prompt/question)

43 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Stean Fasol said

    Is Gilgamesh A good book
    Gilgamesh is a pathetic book and does not make any sense and is written very far back in history. The author that wrote this book in my opinion should write it again in a more modern language or if he is not alive someone else should do it for him. This book is not something that most Grades 9 would enjoy it is more an adult book. This book is when people had kings and the kings could do whatever they wanted, the king treated the people so badly and the book was a very sad book. In my view this book should be taken of the shelves of the shops.
    By Stean Fasol

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  3. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    In my opinion, I think that Gilgamesh is a very sad,hard book to read because it is about the olden times when kings ruled.
    In this certain book,the king Gilgamesh is a very stubborn person who only cares about himself...not the people and so in this way,the people appoint someone else named Enkidu, to be their king.
    This book is a very sad,confusing book which to me doesn't really have a point.
    i did not really like this book and overall, i thought that it was a hard book to understand because of the way it was written.

    By Ellahi Meghji

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  4. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    When people look for a book they are searching for something enjoyable. People search for something that isnt dull and doesnt make the reader want to stop reading. A book that didnt fit these requirements is Gilgamesh. In my opinion this book had one of the worst storylines i have ever heared. Gilgamesh was a lonely king that made laws most of us wouldnt even dream of. He made friends with a savage that had been lured to his city. Not only was the story a real turn-off but the format of the book was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. It was written in a poem format and that drove me crazy. This book did not acomplish what it was meant to.

    - Timi Osundina

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  5. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    A good book is a book which is interesting and clear. A book which has a definate beginning middle and end. Gilgamesh is one of the only books which does not have any of these requirements. It was convoluted, dull and had no separations between parts. Overall it has only one good thing about it which is that it is short. In other words Gilgamesh is not a good book.

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  6. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    In my mind, I believe Gilgamesh feels like a book that hasn’t been edited or look over because first, the book was just plain old weird and something that made me think twice about what kind of imagination the author had for the book. This is the kind of book that would make the reader send it back to the bookstore for a refund because from the first to last page it was all nonsense. I mean what kind of a ruler is Gilgamesh if he treats people in that sort of manner for his own benefit, not a good one at all in my vocabulary. To finish off any reader looking for a book with a lot of drama I do not recommend them buying the book Gilgamesh.

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  7. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    There are many good books out there in the world. A good book is a page turner, something that makes you want to keep reading till you finis it. A good book is something that has a good story line that you understand, Gilgamesh has neither of these requirements. Gilgamesh has the most boring story-line, it isn't even written as a real book it is written like a poem. Most of all what happens in the book is not following the requirements that a good book should have. Gilgamesh is not a good book.

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  8. Is Gilgamesh a good book?
    People read books as a source of entertainment. Sometimes as a leisurely activity and sometimes because they have to. Some books are obviously far better than others. Gilgamesh was a book that was hard to follow;didn't make sense till the end and uninteresting. That is why Gilgamesh is not a good book.

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  9. Is Gilgamesh a Good Book?

    When looking for a way to relax, many turn to a good book. A book they can not put down, one that brings out deep feeling. Gilgamesh was not one of those books. Gilgamesh was a pointlessly terrible story. The author used language that was irrelevant to the story, the story itself was just depressingly boring and of course it was very choppy and lacked voice. This paragraph shows why Gilgamesh was a horrid read.

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  10. A good book is a book that really captures the reader’s interest. A good book has to be interesting on each and every page. A good book needs to have a really good plot. In many ways Gilgamesh is a book that does not capture the reader’s interest. There are many reasons why Gilgamesh is not a good book. First of all Gilgamesh does not have a very good plot; Secondly the book does not capture the reader’s interest and finally Gilgamesh does not have many interesting characters which makes the story rather bland. This is why I personally feel that Gilgamesh is not a very good book.

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  11. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    Good books should have you hooked on the first page and should never let you go. They should be captivating, interesting and relaxing, and should not be overly complicated. Books should be good reads that don’t make you strain your brain when reading them. Gilgamesh has captivating story plot, a plot that was completely different than any other book that I have read. It had me hooked on the first page, and continued to hold me to the climax until the very end. Gilgamesh was a good, easy read because it was in a poem form. Because of these three points, Gilgamesh is a very good book to read and should be recommended to anyone that’s needs a good book to read, but does not have too much time to read.

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  12. Is Gilgamesh A Good Book?

    In my honest opinion from the very start I knew that Gilgamesh was a very uniquely structured book. From the way it was written (in a poem format) to the way some of the words were used. Sometimes I found that Gilgamesh was sort of a hard book to understand. It got so confusing at times I had to re-read some pages. When you read a book its because you want to escape and read about something interesting. With Gilgamesh you had to really pay attention and kind of think really hard about it. The next day when I picked up Gligamesh and read from where I stopped, I had to back track almost every time to remember what happened. Gligamesh didn't capture me the way other books do. Gilgamesh is not a good book.

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  13. Is Gilgamesh A Good Book?

    A book that Is very confusing at first, grows into a mystery and then just ends with sadness, in my opinion is just a waste of time. When reading, people want to be captivated, the type of book that leaves you wanting to know more, sadly, Gilgamesh was the complete opposite. A type of English was used in this book that i found very hard to understand. This is not the type of book you can leave for a few minutes and come back to read, you have to read it all at once, or else you will be lost! I'm still not quite sure of this was a novel or a number of various poems. Lets just say, Gilgamesh was a terrible book.

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  14. A good book, is a book that captures the reader's interest, that pulls them in, and lets them imagine and feel like they were experiencing what they were reading. It has to be appealing in word choice and possibly with some visual aspects eg. the cover and the font and text display. Gilgamesh wasn't particularly a good book for me, as it wasn't very appealing and didn't pull me in. A lot of amazing books mange to absorb me, but sadly Gilgamesh wasn't one of those books. The fact that it was a collection of poems all put together, sounds a lot more interesting than it actually was. It was also quite confusing and some points weren't so clear and i had to re-read some parts, it's also a book you really have to think about with and pay attention to every little detail, which i think, isn't a great aspect for a book to have. Therefore i feel that Gilgamesh isn't a very good book.

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  15. Good Books take you to other worlds. They grip you so tightly, you cannot put them down. A book that does not exhibit these qualities is Gilgamesh. This is probably due to fact it was written around 2000 BC. This book is tedious, not edited properly and isn’t very descriptive. These are the reasons why I believe Gilgamesh is not a great book.

    Raihan Jadavji

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  16. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    When deciding to read a good book you look for stuff that will be able to pull you into the book. Also make you feel as if you are in the book the whole time. Gilgamesh is a book i would not recommend for people. Gilgamesh is a book that is placed in the past, i would say that the younger generation is more attracted to more futuristic books. The novel is also a great big poem so the english is more advanced and past like. i also feel that at times the plot of the book was a bit boring. That is why i believe that Gilgamesh is a bad book.

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  17. Is Gilgamesh a good book?
    There are many books in the world. Some of them good, some of them not so good. I think Gilgamesh is one of those not-so-good books.
    The reason why I think Gilgamesh isn't a good book is because I've lost interest in it many times, it was hard to keep up with and to understand and the book wasn't exciting. Gilgamesh isn't a book worth reading

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  19. A good book is read by everyone and understood by all. A good book pulls the reader in until the end. A good how is clear and is easy to understand. Gilgamesh however was not. My attention was lost many times; I could not get the theme of the book; and it was confusing. I think that Gilgamesh is a cowardly character and he is stubborn. This book does not meet my requirements for a good book.

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  20. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    Everybody can enjoy a good book from time to time. It may be fiction, fantasy, or biography, but they will always keep you reading. One book that did not particularly fit into this category was the book Gilgamesh. It did not have a very good storyline, the characters did not stand out very much, and it was extremely hard to read, due to it being in poetic form. Overall, Gilgamesh is not a good read.

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  21. A good book is a piece of writing that is picked up because the writing is enjoyable and it grabs a hold of people, but Gilgamesh was the complete opposite. Gilgamesh was a book that made me want to toss it in a dark corner. The writing in Gilgamesh was hard to understand by itself because it was in poetic form for the entire story. Gilgamesh wasn't a great book because the ancient writings aren't really exciting and people today are not interested in ancient texts.

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  22. The main reason for a book being interesting is if there is always something happening. As well as being exciting it also has to be easily understood. The book has to be easily understood because otherwise the reader will become uninterested and therefore stop reading. A book that does not have these qualities is Gilgamesh since it is not easily read; it did not having a clear storyline; and there was nothing to relate to in the book. Therefore Gilgamesh is not an interesting book to read.

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  23. an interesting book is one that captures your train of thought and leaves you wanting more. however, not all the books can be like this. giglamesh is not a good book to read because it is very confusing, it skips sections, and just that the theme wasnt very interesting. therfore belive that gilgamesh is not a good book to read

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  24. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    After a long day, one of the most relaxing things to do is retire to a good book. A good book is a page turner, something that is difficult to put down. It should be enticing, and you should look foreword to reading it. Gilgamesh wasn’t one of those books. I had no difficulty putting it down, and it wasn’t very appealing to me. Although Gilgamesh isn’t a terrific book now, back when it was first written, it must have been. If Gilgamesh was always a horrible book, it never would survived for all of these years.

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  25. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    In my opinion, a good book makes you feel for the characters and connect you to their world. A good book should leave you feeling satisfied once you're done, and it should make you want to read it more than once. In a good book, you should be hooked at the very first page, and should not be able to take your eyes off the page. When you get back to read the book, you should know exactly where you left off, without flipping back. When I read Gilgamesh, I did not feel hooked on the first page, and it was confusing and hard to understand. It was only when I got to the end, when I really started to put the puzzle pieces together to get it. I personally don't think Gilgamesh is a good book because it does not have the qualities I've just listed, of a good book.

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  26. Is Gilgamesh an interesting book to read?

    In my time of being a student I’ve read many boring books, some of which include:
    The giver, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and many other books that put me to sleep.
    First of all Gilgamesh is the type of guy who says he is going to do some thing and ends up never doing anything, a great example is reviving his friend, to say this in short he wastes half of the book doing nothing.
    Secondly, who wants to read a book that has super short fight scenes?
    I certainly wouldn’t! The thing about this book is, the fight scenes are only 1 paragraphs long.
    Lastly this book really doesn’t make sense if you don’t have the mind for it, for instance if you’re not a fan of these types of old poems then you wouldn’t understand.
    So what I’m trying to say is no, Gilgamesh is not interesting to read.

    by Bobo Kennedy kwofie

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  27. To be a hero I believe that along with many other qualities you have to be brave, kind and clever. Though heroes of the 21st century greatly differ from heroes that lived long ago, I think that these three qualities have managed to stay intact. They have been repeatedly used from Novels such as Gilgamesh to movies and much more. The Novel Gilgamesh is a different but interesting book that tells a story about a king known as Gilgamesh who was believed to be a hero by many. Gilgamesh was brave, kind and clever. The three main qualities of a Hero that he did not lack.
    Gilgamesh was very brave when he decided to go with his dear friend Enkidu to kill the Evil Demon Humbaba. Though Enkidu lived in the forest like the animals he was still afraid of this Demon and felt they should not venture out into the forest alone. However, Gilgamesh had lived in the city his whole life and being king he never stepped out of Uruk to go to the forests. He still forced himself and his best friend Enkidu into the Forest. Though Enkidu died Gilgamesh still went onwards trying to find himself and to find a way to bring his dear friend back to life. The loss of someone can be very hard and though it took Gilgamesh some time to be able to return, I thought it was extremely brave of Gilgamesh to have ventured out into the forest to kill the Evil Demon Humbaba.
    The loss of a good friend can be very hard and it affects our lives in many different ways. For many of us this tragic experience can turn us into bitter or mean people yet for some, this can be a lesson. Though Gilgamesh lost his dear and only friend Enkidu he still remained kind and respectful no matter how others treated him. When he had no place to stay and the old lady was rude to him and turned him out, Gilgamesh remained polite and respectful until the old lady pitied him and let him in her house. However before the loss of his friend Gilgamesh as king was rude to his people forcing them to spend countless hours working on the city walls that without an explanation he would let decay. After the death of his friend, Gilgamesh learned to be polite and respectful.
    Not only was Gilgamesh Kind and Brave but he was also very clever. Like most people Gilgamesh grieved over the death of his close friend Enkidu. However though Gilgamesh was very upset he thought of ways to try and help the situation coming to the conclusion of trying to bring Enkidu back to life. Though he did not succeed I thought that it was really clever of him to come up with a great idea as to bring his friend back to life.
    In conclusion I believe it is evident that Gilgamesh was a hero. Though he had a tough and long journey back home after the death of his friend Enkidu, I strongly feel he had the three main qualities of a hero. Kind to others, very clever and extremely brave.

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  29. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    When you pick a book to read, you are so attached to it that you would let it go. A good book has to always grab the reader’s attention from the first moment. Well in my opinion, Gilgamesh did not anyone’s attention. Despite the fact that this book was just a very long poem that had a very old and boring style of literature. Also we young adults do not like to read about things that have been around for so long, we like reading about things that leave us thinking more and more about what is coming. This novel did not demonstrate any of the qualities a great novel should have. Therefore Gilgamesh is a horrible book!

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  30. To be a hero I believe that along with many other qualities you have to be brave, kind and clever. Though heroes of the 21st century greatly differ from heroes that lived long ago, I think that these three qualities have managed to stay intact. They have been repeatedly used from Novels such as Gilgamesh to movies and much more. The Novel Gilgamesh is a different but interesting book that tells a story about a king known as Gilgamesh who was believed to be a hero by many. Gilgamesh was brave, kind and clever. The three main qualities of a Hero that he did not lack.

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  31. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    A good book is a book that either tells a story in a way enjoyable to read or gives the reader a lot of information. A book could also be intriguing, and makes the reader want to continue reading. The story would have to be very powerful to be intriguing. Most epics, however, are intriguing and interesting, with powerful stories. However, I would not be able to say Gilgamesh is in most ways an interesting or intriguing book.

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  32. Was Gilgamesh a good book?
    There are many books in the world today that have been written in the same style as Gilgamesh. Some other books may even have the same story line but different events and others may have the same storyline but different characters. Gilgamesh was like no book that I have ever reads before because the style it was written in was very different and was very simple and straight to the point. The way the story was told and some of the events were very simple and others were the whole point of the novel. Gilgamesh was like no other book I have ever read, it was different because I don’t usually read books in that genre but this book was very interesting it what was very surprising. The way it was written and the simplicity was excellent because it gave the whole book a whole different perspective and meaning. Overall I think the novel was excellent. It was different and what I really enjoyed about this particular novel was its simplicity and how everything was straight to the point. The genre was different and I really enjoyed this particular novel :)

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  33. Hi, wonderful students! So far your paragraph practice shows promise (perhaps do you glimpse a peek at alliteration?). In particular, the following students have demonstrated they can follow the "recipe" for a good introductory paragraph: Imran, Kavan, Luca, TJ, Raihan, Lydia, Chelsea, Amalia, Sibgha, Chayse and Ibty. Way to go! :)

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  34. The main character of The Left Hand of Got Thomas Cale is not a hero

    In my opinion the main character in the novel Left Hand of God Thomas Cale is not a hero. He is a cold, calculating, and violent 14-year-old boy who constantly thinks of his own self interests. On several occasions he does things that look like heroic feats but, in reality it was only so that he could further his own goals. He also kills unnecessarily on several occasions and aggravates situations to a point where violence is the only way to solve them, many times resulting in the death or injury of his opponents. Thomas Cale is not a hero.

    By Abimbola A. Ayeyemi

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  35. A book should be intriguing, should capture you as well as leave you wondering, a book that makes you want to keep reading is what to look for. The Gilgamesh fulfils these criteria completely. A book should not spoon feed you the premise of the story, or make it too difficult to understand. The Gilgamesh is exactly this, it also allows for different opinions about what the story is saying. The Gilgamesh has a captivating story line with themes that will be relevant to most who read it and therefore the book is an extremely interesting read.
    By Scott Cooper

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  36. Is Gilgamesh a good book?
    Every one has their own ideas and thoughts of what there perfect book would be, and Gilgamesh certainly wouldn't be on my list of good books. Gilgamesh was confusing, boring, and not an interest to my eye. Most people that our from the ages of 9-16 want to read romantic love stories that involve fighting, and love triangles. Some like the action hero's. You could tell the Gilgamesh certainly put in the hero like story, but so much was happening in it. You almost wanted less to happen so that something small, but exciting would happen, for example a women comes into the story. This story was not of the appealing eye to me!

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  37. There was some inspiration though Ms. Lavender!

    I was very inspired though when i found out that Gilgamesh is a very very old book, that was translated by an English man named George Smith. He taught himself to translate Arcadian into English. This inspired me, so even though i didn't like the book i wanted to read it, so i could understand more of what our ancestors did. They truly believed in gods, their behavior towards women was very different, from the way men treat women today. I would've found out more about this from articles on the internet eventually, but because i read Gilgamesh i didn't have to.

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  38. The criteria of what makes a good book has changed since now and when Gilgamesh was written; writing has advanced since then and books are better now then they were back in the day. Therefore you can not compare Gilgamesh to a modern day book like Harry Potter but you have to admire it for what it was when created. This is why Gilgamesh is a good book; because of it's advance literate and language features of it's time, It's storyline and finally it's knowledge it gives us, the readers.

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  41. Is Gilgamesh a good book?

    Everyone has their own criteria for defining whether a book is good or not. I think collectively we can all agree that the main things that a good book needs to have are a good plot, sensible structure, and convincing characters. Some would disagree, but I think that the book Gilgamesh fits these requirements perfectly. For me, Gilgamesh was an enjoyable read. Gilgamesh is a good book.

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  42. Was the book Gilgamesh good?

    Many people like different types of books. I believed that Gilgamesh was an OK book. Some parts of it were good; although some parts of it were a bit weird and boring. I personally would not recommend it to someone. I often had to force myself to read it because it is just not the type of book i would enjoy reading! That is why i would honestly say that gilgamesh was OK.

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  43. Is Gilgamesh a book worth reading?

    Each person has a specific genre of books that they prefer. I prefer books that have anything to do with mystery or humor. This was the first time I read " A Verse Narrative " such as Gilgamesh, I did not seem to dislike it but also did not like it because the story line fluctuated from being interesting and exiting to being strange and made it hard for me to follow it. I personally would not reccomend this book to anybody. That is why I believe Gilgamesh is not a book worth reading.

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