S3 Word List

The words for this week are:

destination
diminish
disdain
dismal
dispel
eavesdrop
egregious
ember
confound
preach
profitable
chignon
indignant
spindly
admonish
interminable
flounce
insolent

S3 Vocabulary List

This is the list of words given today. You should find out the meanings of these words and record them in your vocabulary book. These will be tested next Thursday, 21/11/13.

adversary
aplomb
apprehensive
aptitude
attentive
banish
barricade
bluff (as a verb)
brackish
brandish
circumference
commotion
concoction
conspicuous
contortion
counter (as a verb)
cunning
debris
defiance
deft

A dictionary is a useful book to own, but a smartphone app may be more convenient for school. This combined dictionary/thesaurus from dictionary.com is free and should be useful.

Higher Critical Essay Homework

To be handed in 18/11/13 and returned to you no later than 29/11/13.

Choose a play in which the relationship between a male and a female character changes significantly.
Show how the relationship between the two characters changes and discuss to what extent this illuminates a central idea of the play. - 2007 Higher paper.

You should treat both halves of the question equally, i.e. demonstrate the change in the relationship between Macbeth and his wife AND devote an equal amount of time to showing how this illuminates a central theme.

You will find a lot of references to the relationship in Act 1 Scene 5, Act 1 Scene 7, Act 2 Scene 2, Act 2 Scene 3, Act 3 Scene 1, Act 3 Scene 2, Act 3 Scene 4, Act 5 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 5.

You should first of all decide which theme you think the breakdown of this relationship illuminates. For example, you might decide to argue that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship mirrors Macbeth's downfall in the play.

You might like to listen to the Lady Macbeth podcast and the podcast on Macbeth's tragic end.

As a general rule, your essays should be roughly two sides of A4 long if typed at font size 12, and approximately 3 or 4 sides long if hand-written (depending on the size of your writing.)

It is important that your essay is completed by the deadline, as we will be conducting self/peer assessments on the essays and you will not get the benefit of this if they are late.

I will hold a drop-in on Thursday (14/11/13) lunchtime for anyone having problems planning/writing this.