Excerpt from My Father was a Farmer
Robert Burns

My father was a farmer upon the Carrick border, O,
And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O;
He bade me act a manly part, though I had never a farthing, O;
For without an honest manly heart, no man was worth regarding, O.

Then out into the world my course I did determine, O;
Tho’ to be rich was not my wish, yet to be great was charming, O:
My talents they were not the worst, nor yet my education, O;
Resolved was I, at least to try, to mend my situation, O.

In many a way, and vain essay, I courted fortune’s favour, O;
Some cause unseen still stept between to frustrate each endeavour, O:
Sometimes by foes I was overpowered, sometimes by friends forsaken, O,
And when my hope was at the top, I still was worst mistaken, O.


One characteristic that makes this a ballad is...

A) the author teaches a lesson in the poem.
B) the author follows a specific formula of meter.
C) the author speaks directly to readers in the poem.
D) the author talks about a specific place in the poem.

An expository essay instructs, provides information, or explains. in this essay, you are presenting information and explaining why you think the ideas and work of the individual you chose had an effect on european thought. but before you begin writing the essay, you need to organize the information you’ve gathered by creating an outline. directions: your taking notes sheet should have you identify and organize the information you found while doing your research. now it is time to create an outline to organize the information in the way you will present it in your essay. you may decide not to use all the information you gathered, but be sure you do not leave out anything that you believe is important to support your thesis. your essay should include an introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. each paragraph should cover one main topic and should correspond to a roman numeral (i., ii., iii.) on the outline. the main topics should cover: the person’s accomplishment and contributions, and the effect of his or her accomplishments or contributions on european thought. write a topic sentence for each paragraph of your essay. be sure it tells the reader what the section will be about and how the information relates to your thesis statement. your topic sentence for the introductory paragraph might say something like “johannes gutenberg’s invention changed the way people communicated.” a topic sentence for the second paragraph—the first main topic—might be something like "gutenberg’s printing press changed the way books were produced and the way knowledge was communicated.” decide which pieces of information you will use to support your topic sentences. (these ideas or groups of facts are called subtopics.) subtopics follow capital letters and periods (a., b., and c.) on your outline. add this information beneath your topic sentence. you can further divide subtopics into specific facts. in an outline, specific facts follow arabic numerals and periods (1. 2. 3. 4.) end your outline and essay with a concluding paragraph. write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the main ideas of your essay and restates your thesis statement in some way. write no more than four or five sentences. worth 241 points

Which line in this excerpt from the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald contains a simile? about half way between west egg and new york the motor-road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. this is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.

One element of lyric poetry is personal reflection. which lines in this poem most clearly illustrate that element? i wandered lonely as a cloudby william wordsworthi wandered lonely as a cloudthat floats on high o'er vales and hills, when all at once i saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze. continuous as the stars that shineand twinkle on the milky way. they stretched in never-ending linealong the margin of a bay: ten thousand saw i at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. the waves beside them danced; but theyout-did the sparkling waves in glee: a poet could not but be gay. in such a jocund company: i gazed and gazed—but little thoughtwhat wealth the show to me had brought: for oft, when on my couch i liein vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eyewhich is the bliss of solitude; and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.