A Paragraph about my Plans for the Summer

Amita Bose
May 25, 2009

TS Even though I plan to start many new journeys this summer, I am delighted to revisit something old, the camp I attended last summer. SD Going to camp presents a golden opportunity: a chance to meet new people. CM Every person you meet at camp is unique and interesting, and there is an unblemished chance to start a friendship. CM You never know who will become your best friend or your worst enemy, but it is certain you will discover many friends and foes among the throngs of new people. SD Also, I am ecstatic to be reunited with some of the friends I met last year. CM Two of my best friends from last summer will be there, and I know we will have a great time. CM I have happy memories, sad memories, and hilarious memories of my friends from last year, and I cannot wait to make new memories with them. CS I am thrilled to be going back to my camp, and I am counting down the days until I can jump in the car, drive there, and have an amazing three weeks.

A Poem about the phrase "Idle with Impunity"

Long days stretching on with no end in sight.
Waking up late,
Eating breakfast languidly,
Wandering about the yard,
Laying in the grass while the blue sky swirls overhead.
Spending hours on the phone, talking about nothing with a friend,
Staying up late for no reason at all.
These are the days I live for.
No interruptions, no disturbances, no disruptions.
Just me and those long, long days.

A Poem about "A Windstorm in the Forest"

We leave; we come back
Again and again and again.
Each time moving a little bit farther,
reaching for something off in the distance,
but we always return to our roots,
to where it all began.
We may stretch for a dream, just beyond our grasp,
sometimes feeling as though the strain will rip us from our roots,
but we snap back up,
to our homes.
We spring up from the ground and stand tall and safe where we started;
Just like a tree swaying in a windstorm.

Polished Essay on the theme of "The Great Stone Face"

Amita Bose
English 8
Mr. Salsich
May 15, 2009

The Eternal Search:
An Essay about the theme of “The Great Stone Face”

Every day of our lives we search for something. May that thing be a lost sock, a misplaced treasure, or true love, we always scour every inch of our worlds to find the ever elusive object. But we never realize that what we seek is closer than we think (frag). In the short story “The Great Stone Face” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and in my life, this message holds true.
TS In the story “The Great Stone Face”, the reader discovers the message that you need not look far to find what you seek. SD For example, Ernest, the protagonist, spent years searching for the likeness of the Great Stone Face, but he never realized that it was actually

himself (compound). CM Ernest searched all around for the likeness but was rewarded with nothing but “failure [for his] hopes.” CM He never took the time to look at and in himself, so he did not realize that he was the likeness of the stone face, until a poet remarked that he was. SD Just as Ernest never realized that he was the likeness, the townspeople never realized this either. CM The townsfolk looked for and expected the likeness to be a young, healthy, wealthy man with a “majestic image.” CM They never looked at the men around them, so they never realized that Ernest embodied the characteristics of the Great Stone Face. CS This story tells you that you whatever you seek will always be closer than you expect.
TS Similarly to Ernest and the townspeople, I once searched high and low for something. That something was a best friend, whom I searched for when I started Pine Point in first

grade (complex). SD On the first day of school, I felt lonely and unsure of myself, so I began my search for a best friend. CM I tried to be best friends with every girl in the class, but I soon realized that that was not the way go. CM It seemed that everyone already had a best friend, and after realizing this I felt more alone than ever. SD One day after many weeks of hunting for a best friend, I had a revelation. I realized that I already had best friend. CM My best friend was the girl whom I always returned to after spending time with someone else. CM She was the one who I shared my secrets with, the one who had always been standing next to me, the one who I had never noticed was there. CS The person I had spent many arduous hours searching for had been next to me all along.
Every day of our lives we search for something. May that thing be the likeness of a stone face on a mountainside or a best friend to share our lives
with (frag). We search every corner of our worlds but earn no victories or rewards for our efforts. So before you squander hours away, look next to yourself, for you will surely find what you seek.

1st Body Paragraph on the theme of "The Great Stone Face"

Amita Bose

May 12, 2009

TS In the story “The Great Stone Face”, the reader discovers the message that you need not look far to find what you seek. SD Ernest, the protagonist, spent years searching for the likeness of the Great Stone Face, but he never realized that it was actually himself. CM Ernest searched all around for the likeness but was rewarded with nothing but “failure [for his] hopes”. CM He never took the time to look at and in himself, so he did not realize that he was the likeness of the stone face, until a poet remarked that he was, in fact, “the likeness of the Great Stone Face”. SD Just as Ernest never realized that he was the likeness, the townspeople never realized this either. CM The townsfolk looked for and expected the likeness to be a young, healthy, wealthy man with a “majestic image”. CM They never looked at the men around them, so they never realized that Ernest embodied the characteristics of the Great Stone Face. CS This story tells you that you whatever you seek will be closer than you expect.

Graphic Organizer of an Essay about the theme of "The Great Stone Face"

Introduction
1st Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence - theme is that you need not look far to find what you seek
SD - Ernest searched all around for the likeness; it was him
CM - he searched around the lands to find the likenss of the stone face
CM - never looked and realized that it was himself until the poet showed him
SD - the townspeople were searching for a young, handsome man but it was their friend
Ernest
CM - they expected a wealthy, young man from far away
CM - never realized that it was Ernest, who they had lived among them for their entire
lives
Concluding Sentence
2nd Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence - when I started Pine Point in 1st grade, I was searching for a best friend
SD - tried to be best friends with many people
CM - seemed like everbody had a best friend already
CM -nobody wanted to be my best friend
SD - realized that I already had a best friend
CM -the person that I always talked to
CM - went to that person with all of my thoughts and feelings; I was searching for a
best friend but she was right next to me
Concluding Sentence
Concluding Paragraph

A Polished Essay about the theme of "Traveling through the Dark" and my life

Amita Bose
English 8
Mr. Salsich
May 7, 2009

The Right Choice:
An Essay about the theme of “Traveling through the Dark” and my Life

The choice between chocolate and vanilla ice cream (frag). The choice between life and death (frag). The choice between fulfilling your dreams and pleasing others (frag). Which one would you choose? Throughout our lives, in every hour, day, month and year, there are choices that we must make. We must carefully weigh each option and select the one that we feel is just. This message presents itself in the poem “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford and in my life.
TS In the poem “Traveling through the Dark”, the narrator, Stafford, stumbled upon a dead, pregnant deer in the night and had to make the ultimate decision: to push the deer into the ravine below or not. TS After wrestling with his conscience and thoughts for a moment, Stafford pushed the deer into the canyon, not because he wished to do so, but because it was the right thing to do. SD In the poem, Stafford tells us that “to swerve [on the road] might make more dead”. CM When he found the deer, he had to consider not only his wishes, but the welfare of his fellow travelers who might have hit the slain doe.
CM Even though Stafford had no desire to push the deer over the edge, he realized that he had to sacrifice a small piece of his conscience for the safety of other people. SD Furthermore, Stafford learned that the deer was pregnant when he accidentally brushed her side and felt the warmth of her fawn as it “lay there waiting”. CM The discovery of the unborn fawn added yet another point for William Stafford to consider as he made his decision. CM He had to “think had for [all]” and ponder what the fawn’s life would bring without a mother, and if it was even possible for the fawn to live. CM Stafford realized that it would be a kinder deed to end the fawn’s suffering before it began, so he pushed the deer, with her unborn fawn, into the canyon. CS The decision that Mr. Stafford had to make on that dark night on that desolate road was a truly difficult one, but he had to follow his heart and trust that it would lead him to the right decision.
TS Similarly to the difficult decision that William Stafford had to make in “Traveling Through the Dark”, I recently had to make a tough decision. TS One Sunday in late March, a friend called me and asked me to come over to her house, and even though I desperately wanted to go, I declined her offer because I had to write a paper that was due the next day. SD I had not seen this friend for over a month, and I yearned for her company, but I realized that the paper I had to write was just more important. CM I could have spent the day enjoying the happiness in life with a good friend, but I chose to write my paper instead. CM I realized that it would be negligent to put off my homework for even one more hour, so I made my decision, no matter how much I wished for the carefree freedom of a day with a friend.

SD Also, when I was making my decision, I had to consider what would be best for me in the long run. CM Even though a day spent with my friend would have brought a burst of pure joy into my life, a burst cannot last forever. CM I realized that my burst of happiness would soon wane away and the daunting task of writing an entire paper in one night would be on me. CS When I was choosing between a paper and a friend, I used my mind to come to the right decision, even though I may have not been exceedingly happy about my choice at the time.
The choice between rolling a dead doe into a canyon and leaving her there for someone else (frag). The choice between enjoying the company of a friend and writing a paper (frag). From sunrise to sunset every day of our lives, we must make endless decisions, but we can always trust that we will choose the right option. If we listen to our hearts and heed our minds when we are making these decisions, we shall know that we have chosen truly and correctly.
* * *
Self-Assessment
1) Writing the second chunk in the second body paragraph took the most time because I couldn’t think of another different point to make.

2) After I wrote the first- draft of this essay, I read through it again and tried to eliminate all unnecessary words.

3) I think that the best part of this essay is the opening paragraph because I feel that it has a good hook and introduces the topic of the essay well.

4) I feel that my entire second body paragraph could still be improved because the sentences feel too long and choppy.