IB English Blog

   After opening up Mrs. Genesky's link, the first to fall in the eyes was the front of Whitman's notebook. If I had no information about the time period and Whitman himself, I would argue that the notebook is a very old and extensively used. First of all, the design of the notebook is old fashioned, as the cover is made by some type of leather, and none of the more typical elements of modern notebooks are present such as colorful print and pictures, spirals, paper or plastic cover. In addition, the age of the book can also be seen from the color and texture of the pages as they look as they have a rough surface and more are sand-colored instead of white. Another thing I noticed was the stamp on some of the pages. It is not clear what the stamp presets, but what it reminds me of is the back of American coins, with the bird surrounded by stars - a typical American National symbol.   By looking at the pictures of the notebook pages, it can be seen that this book has ...

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?” In school i have always been taught that the "American dream" was what many people for many years have seen as the answer to freedom, wealth and work, and that America is the country of opportunity. When coming to America to peruse the "American Dream" one would be able to break through as a singer, dancer, actor or whatever ones talent is. Nothing keeps you back. It also where people can do anything if they are willing to work. The hope that the dream can be fulfilled exists, whether you're praying for a bumpy bread on the street or getting the dream served on a silver platter. The "American Dream" and the American society can provide the opportunities for the individual and the possibility to get to the top and the opportunity to pursue their dreams.  2. What is your definition of wealth? Personally I think that wealth can have many different meanings and it depends on the person in which way...

Recording is emailed!  Criterion A: Knowledge and understanding of the text My Score: 5 I included contextual information and provided references to both the novel as a whole and specific aspects within the passage.  Criterion B: Understanding of the use and effect of literary features My Score: 4 I included some literary features, but I could have expanded more on them. I was mainly focused on the diction used in the passage that any other features. Criterion C: Organization My Score: 4 I think that my organization was coherent, but the conclusion wasn't as detailed as I was close to the  maximum time limit.  Criterion D: Language My Score: 2 Firstly I said "um" and "uh" many times, and many of my sentences wasn't well constructed. Also the vocabulary and grammar used can be improved.

Original: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt. #1: Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug. After reading and understanding the original text, #1 seems to be very straight forward. The sentences doesn't have any punctuation and doesn't establish the setting within this part of the book, as the original text does (he is in his bed). Furthermore the diction used in this version seems to be very simple, the use of Change and uneasy makes a less dramatic tone to the sentence.    #2: When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug. In comparison to sentence #1, sentence #2 are less straight forward in both diction and setting. The word choice transformed,  troubled   and enormous provides a more dramatic tone to the sentence. Differentl...

          Intended purpose: The purpose of the first book cover is to state two important parts of the book. On the book cover we see a girl dancing. This may be the main character Kathy, from the scene in the book where she is dancing with the pillow. The girl in on the book cover seems to be blurry, which can represent the theme of memory.   The purpose of the second book cover is to provide the audience with the tone of the setting and emotion in the book. The book cover show a girl, this might be Kathy, sitting alone in the grass. This can illustrate how Kathy after being a carer feels lonely, disheartened and ain't looking forward and only have the future the government provided for her.  The purpose of the book cover is to present how society treats the donors. The boat on the front page is an illustration of the way society treats the donors after their donations, how they are just left there to "complete."  The...

TED Talk:  The amazing story of the man who gave us modern pain relief , by Latif Nasser Summary: In this TED talk, medical historian Latif Nasser, tells the story of John J. Bonica. Throughout Bonica's life, both as a medical student and a qualified doctor, he lived a double life in which circus and wrestling was a major part. This combination of both causing pain and treating it enabled him to assess patient situations from different perspectives. Based on personal experience, Bonica discovered patients whose pain contradicted the expected cases and treatments. Bonica knew that while pain was a basic and, at the same time, very uncomfortable patience experience, the doctors had no focus on treatment. Based on this, Bonica's life was devoted to pain treatment, even after he became experienced the pain himself. Bonica wrote many books and was later recognized as the founding father of pain relief. Latif Nasser conveyed his message using the following techniques: Pat...