1. MLK Letter discussion
Journal 2: Excerpts
Tips & Tricks
Biography—‖Everybody’s
Talkin’‖
MAJOR One: Workshop
WEEK 4– MAJOR ONE Workshop

2. MLK—Letter from
Birmingham Jail:
Two Points: Raise
tension through non-
violence to highlight
unjust law
&
The forces against us
are working just as hard
and creatively.

3. I find myself on the run, now more than ever before. Fear
not. I’m not an FBI’s most wanted and I don’t owe money
to the wrong people. I simply have an addiction to running.
For as long as I can remember I have been outside running
about. From a young age I was the runner, the fast kid. I
played soccer for 7 years. Playing tag with the
neighborhood kids was always a blast for me because I was
rarely ―it‖. When I entered high school I was recruited by
my brother for our schools cross country team and I was
hooked. I ran every day, whether it was practice, meets, or
just to run. If you ask any serious runner, and even some
not so serious runner, they will tell you that there is
something addicting about getting 35 miles a week. ―

4. When I look back the thing I remember as the most embarrassing was when I started working for my dad. He had started a
business of cleaning up foreclosed homes, and he figured that I should start learning how to earn money. So, we began it all during
December many years ago and the first thing I can remember was how much I complained about it. The house was cold, dark, and dreary.
I was put to work in a bedroom on the second floor cleaning up a closet full of junk.” ---Nice set up, to this: (next paragraph)
“The entire time I was there I complained out loud about how it was stupid and pointless it was and how I wanted to go home.
However, halfway through cleaning the closet I found a Pokémon card. Nowadays it would have gone in the garbage bag with the rest of
the trash, but back then I was ecstatic. Back then Pokémon cards were a kid’s video game. At that moment I realized that in the process of
cleaning that house I might come across another good find, so I attacked the rest of that closet with greater vigor. “ ----HA!!!!

5. ―One of the world’s newest addictions I
share with millions of people is the use of
cell phone. I cannot imagine living without
one. Now days we have phone that do
thing we never imagined they could do,
and they even get better by the day. Since
the day starts my phone wake up and goes
to bed with me. I never get bore it keeps
me entertain all day. When I get hungry it
helps me find a place to eat. Our lives are
so attach to this device that without it we
could not perform our daily tasks. ―
AND:
―I am pretty sure that in the future you will
be able to smell stuff over the phone, if
that happened I hope that people’s bad
breath gets block off.‖

6. ―In a place, where the nations Warriors
exude their camaraderie, the stale smell
of cigarettes still lingers in the air, the
only reminder of tobacco use, since it has
been vanquished by the Fourth Reich’s
boot. Pictures of young men at the ready
with machine guns proudly placed on the
western wall. In the corner is a table
setting, placed in honor of those no
longer with us or whose fate is unknown.
Tales are told and troubles are drown at
the V.F.W’s and American Legion halls
across this country. Slowly, this clique is
dying out. With them, dies their stories,
and frankly, the freedoms these folks,
sacrificed and died for. I have enjoyed
every time I have been able to
experience this ambiance. Even,
establishing a taste for the otherwise
detestable hot dog, that is served at The
V.F.W.. ―

7. “ Mis-communication is defined as a failure to communicate adequately and properly. If texting and emailing are considered
written communication the nation has fallen short. Visual gestures like the middle finger and other hand gestures have even
spoken loudly. Misperceptions and misinterpretations are more likely to occur in both settings. Al- though they may of not liked
what was said and/or heard there is something to be said about seeing someone's facial expression and hearing their voice while
having a conversation. As a matter of fact some of the greatest conversations were held at a dinner table. Families have allowed
technology to help disconnect them. Relationships have been broken because of the failure to communicate. I often wonder if
anyone knows what a face-to-face verbal conversation is anymore. Have we lost it with the generations or did people just forget
how to communicate? There used to be a time when if a person wanted to get a message to someone they picked up the phone,
wrote a letter or simply just went to that person and had a face to face, down to earth, conversation. The computer was rare at
one point, mostly found only in the libraries. It was only used for education purposes not breaking up, dating or bullying. Cell
phones were only used for emergency situations and the thought of texting had not even surfaced. Despite the fact that
technology has allowed the nation to communicate or shall I say run more efficiently and get messages to a person and/or a group
in a timely manner, it has ruined the most effective communication of all, the verbal one. It’s funny how people have a lot to say
through technology but when faced in front of another person they become mute. They hide behind social websites such as
Facebook and Twitter. The English language is becoming extinct and ebonics are on the rise. Technology has not only disabled
man but it has caused the miscommunication of the human species. It's time to return to the dinner table. “

8. TIPS & TRICKS
Pre-Writing Exercises
Cluster: add as many ideas / associations as possible. Look for a
common thread.
Write a first (rough) draft as quickly as possible: get it out, errs
and all.
Summarize your idea; try it in 3 or less sentences…

9. TIPS & TRICKS
Writer’s Block
What do I write about?‖ or ―I don’t
want to do this!‖
Focus on the assignment: Person(s)
Who did I learn a valuable lesson
from in my past?
What difference do I see now I didn’t
see then?
What activities did I engage in?
What did I learn from the activity
(about myself, and my
interests/abilities)?

10. ROUGH DRAFT REVISION:
Find a partner, get out your rough draft, and read it out
loud. The other person makes a ―reverse outline‖ of the
draft, and then shares it with the reader.
REVERSE OUTLINE: A single sentence summary of each
paragraph, along with at least two (2) main points.
After sharing this outline, begin to use the ―paramedic
method‖, a sentence by sentence editing method that
removes extra words, run on, or fragmentary sentences.
AFTER THIS: The second person reads their rough draft,
and the pair begins the above process again.

11. Good luck on your final draft!