Thinking is Critical

1. allusion- n. an implied or indirect reference; a hinting at (usually to a past event or work of literature or art)
   
2. disdain- n. a feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s respect or consideration; v. consider to be unworthy of one’s respect.
   
3. odious- adj. deserving hate or contempt.
   
4. paraphernalia -n. 1. the various items or equipment needed for a particular activity. 2. [Less commonly used definition but very interesting with regard to its use throughout "The Lottery"]:  aspects associated with a particular institution or activity that are regarded as superfluous (extra or unnecessary), for example, the rituals and paraphernalia of government. 
   
5. torrent- n. a turbulent, swift-flowing stream; a heavy downpour; a heavy, uncontrolled outpouring.

Reminder for completing the other sections: 

1) Greek/Latin Roots (which really should be “word origins and the various parts that might be of use to us someday): a) this is not a multiple choice question. b) your answer should not just have some long word in Greek or Latin or some other old language. What is EACH part (not just the root. We’ve gone over this!) and what does it mean? Here, I have done one for you (or, my nifty Mac dictionary has, and I’ve revised it a bit … ) : 

PARAPHERNALIA 

para ‘distinct from’ + pherna (from phernē ‘dowry’ ). 

 [This is actually mid 17th cent. (denoting property owned by a married woman): from medieval Latin, based on Greek parapherna ‘property apart from a dowry,’ but the "para" part is key here].

2) Don’t forget: the “meaningful sentences” are truly the ONLY parts that ask you to go beyond copying content and demonstrate that you UNDERSTAND it and know how to USE it. When you don’t write good, meaningful sentences, as defined for this assignment (which, again, is not necessarily good writing in other contexts), it is impossible to know if you understand the word and how to use it well. THIS is what I mostly check to ensure you “get” the word. Review the section on meaningful sentences if you haven’t been receiving accolades for yours!

3) The “At least 4 other forms of ….” section. We’ve already discussed that some words will not have at least four other forms. If it doesn’t have them, it doesn’t have them. Don’t make them up. On the other hand, DON’T MAKE THEM UP, regardless! (Sticking with PARAPHERNALIA: if you list “paraphernalias” as a form, because, hey, it’s a noun; that’s probably the plural, right? Wrong. You just gave yourself away. The plural of paraphernalia is…. paraphernalia. Find the other forms, and NOTE THEIR PARTS OF SPEECH (or how you’d use them or why they’re relevant). And, if you can’t find anything else? Write down where you looked! Then, you’ve shown that you made the effort and, even if you somehow missed one, it’s not just because you weren’t copying quickly enough enough on the bus.

4) Speaking of: we haven’t done this before, but this quarter, we should start getting into the habit of listing our sources. Sometimes, you’ll list a form of a word that *I* won’t know. I don’t want to assume you’ve made it up, because, often, I’ll learn from you, too. If you can point to where you found it, it makes it much easier for me to realize, “Cool, I just learned something,” rather than, “Hmm, that sounds weird to me, and my ear is usually pretty good, and the first source I’ve checked doesn’t have it either.” Likewise, if you’ve made an error, it makes it much easier to go back to figure out where you went wrong and correct it. So, where are you getting your information? Please start citing your sources. We will begin going over how to do that PROPERLY, but, for now, at least list the titles of the dictionaries or the actual websites you are using.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS