Preparing for Klausur on October 17, 2013

Composition: American Dream, American Nightmares

You'll get images and quotes

You pick at least one picture and describe it.

In your essay, you refer to at least one of the quotes.

Make sure your composition consists of:

an introduction, main body, conclusion

Leave space between paragraphs!

Preparing for this Klausur:

- review your essay on 9/11

- reread the article “Dreams in a Land of Opportunity”

- reread the article “Focus on Facts” on American core values, make sure you understand the concepts of “American Dream”, “Frontier Spirit” , “Protestant Work Ethic” (= Benjamin Franklin, the thirteen virtues and the lightning rod .-))!)

- make sure you understand the preamble to Declaration of Independence (“life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”)

- listen/review the short talks on American history

- review/do worksheet “describing a picture”

How I will grade:

- Content and language count 50:50

- I value individualism and I like structured writing. Please hand in your best effort at making a coherent (zusammenhängend) statement! That means, spend some time (at least 15 minutes!) at the beginning of the Klausur to organize your thoughts.

 (That also means, you will be well prepared if you think and/or talk to your class mates now about questions like: Is the American Dream still alive? If yes, where do I see that? If no, why not? Are the U.S. still an “exceptional” nation, as Obama insisted in a speech before the U.N.? Which challenges did the American people have to overcome in their history that I find interesting?...)

You will have monolingual dictionaries at your disposal.

Whenever in doubt, use common sense! You can write about many different things, and I am sure you’ll do your best! Keep in mind that I always focus on what you are good at, even though I have to grade you. So if you know a lot about  American involvement in World War I, for example, find a way to compare and contrast what you know with an image or quote. If you find the events of 9/11 interesting, find a way to describe that in relevant detail. Surprise me!!!