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Mr. Smith
Gold Omnibus Prompts
What is an Omnibus?
Although the term “omnibus” has several definitions, it is defined in the Quick definitions section of Refdesk.com as an anthology of the works of a single author. I have also heard it defined as a compilation of writing by a single author. In our class, an omnibus contains a collection of writing/essays on various topics over a one month period. It is designed to allow the student to experiment with writing full essays on a variety of topics, edit and rewrite the same, and then select the best of his/her month’s writing for an individual grade. The rest of his/her essays are then graded as a whole. The student will receive two 100 point grades per month. One grade for the selected or individual omnibus and one general omnibus grade reflecting the overall quality of all of the non-selected essays taken as a whole.
NOTE: Omnibus prompts should be written on the night that they are assigned. The purpose of giving students a month to turn in their omnibus is to allow for editing and writing conferences.
Click here for omnibus cover sheet
Omnibus due dates are as follows:
All Third Trimester Classes: June 2, 2009
Third Trimester Prompts:
1) Select a something in the passage that we just read from the book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, that makes you think (go mmm) and discuss the passage and what it means to you.
2) Is it ever okay to break a promise that one makes to himself/herself? Why or why not? What conditions would affect the morality of breaking one’s own promise to him/herself?
3) Assuming that Heaven exists, should there be limits in Heaven? Why or why not?
4) Consider the two following quotes from the passage that we just read from the book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull:
The trick, according to Chiang, was for Jonathan to stop seeing himself as trapped inside a limited body that had a forty-two-inch wingspan and performance that could be plotted on a chart. The trick was to know that his true nature lived, as perfect as an unwritten number, everywhere at once across space and time. (JLS, pg 80)
And then you will be ready to begin the most difficult, the most powerful, the most fun of all. You will be ready to begin to fly up and know the meaning of kindness and of love. (JLS, pg 83)
With respect to either or both of the above quotes, discuss what you believe that the author was trying to teach us and what you gained from your selected passage or the two passages together.
5) At this stage in the book, Jonathan is considering whether to go back to Earth to try and teach gulls on Earth. Write a (Jane Shaffer style) persuasive letter to Jonathan encouraging him to either go back to Earth or to stay at the level where he is.
6) What is this book really about? Write a (Jane Shaffer style) literary analysis of the book to prove what the book is really about.
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