Day+2+intensive+writing

Intensive Writing Name __“The Mysterious Stranger”__ __**25 points** Period__


 * Read the Instructions!!!!**


 * For the next week or so we are practicing writing in class. This is difficult until you have tried it several times. You're about to get that chance!
 * You will turn in a reduced outline, followed by a short essay. Spend 10 – 15 minutes planning.


 * **15 points** - Write a reduced outline at the top of the page, followed by your essay. Your restricted outline will include :

(Copy this bullet point format onto your paper)
 * Thesis
 * 1st argument in support of thesis
 * __at least__ one example to support this argument
 * 2nd argument in support of thesis
 * __at least__ one example to support this argument


 * **10 points** – Write an essay based on one of the topics you'll find on the back of this page.


 * Choose a topic on the back of this sheet. Narrow the topic to **a small part** of the big idea.
 * You will not have time to write a rough draft, but you do have time to plan your examples and what order to put them in to be most effective. It is a good idea to use **at least 10 minutes to plan**! Don't start the essay until you know what you're going to say!


 * Write an informal essay which **includes the following**:
 * an introduction – __**a clear thesis is sufficient**__ **for your introduction**
 * Arguments and explanations to support your thesis
 * from your life
 * from literature
 * from what you know of the world around you
 * a concluding paragraph
 * return to your thesis
 * ideally, expand on your thesis beyond the scope of the essay, if you have time
 * This is an informal essay. You may use I, me, etc. However, these should be related to your personal examples. Your writing should be strong. Leave out “In my opinion,” “I think that,” and other similar weak phrases. The whole essay is your opinion. **Write boldly!**
 * Try to write at least four paragraphs (intro, two body, conclusion).
 * Print out and turn in what you've written at the end of class. **It's okay** if the essay isn't quite finished; just turn in what you've done.
 * 1) **Humor:** Do you agree with Twain's proposition at the end of “The Mysterious Stranger” that “your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon - laughter”? Is this true? Are there problems that can be battled with laughter? Which ones? How?


 * 1) **The Moral Sense**: While Satan, the mysterious stranger, clearly sees our moral sense as a flaw, it is part of what we are. When do people use their “moral sense” well, and when do we use it badly? What's the difference? Does it help with tough decisions? (What about the end of //Of Mice and Men//? What about the characters in //The Scarlet Letter//?)
 * 2) **War:** Do you believe that our efforts as humans are as focused on killing and cruelty as Satan says they are? Is Satan missing some of our best work? Are we only cruel? Or is he right?


 * 1) **Free Will**: Satan considers whether or not a man could choose not to go to the well one day. He says “it might be that if he had gone to the well he would have ended his career on a throne, and that omitting to do it would set him upon a career that would lead to beggary and a pauper's grave.” Is Satan taking this point of view to show us what Twain believes, or is this Twain's way of telling us that we should be paying more attention to the choices we make? What do you think?
 * 2) **Lessons from Stories**: Twain makes it clear in “The Story of the Bad Little Boy” that he finds most stories with morals silly and ineffective, and he clearly takes a different approach. What are the biggest lessons he's teaching? Do some of us respond more to one type of lesson than others?