Hi,

I forgot to mention in class today that if you would like your literary analysis essay returned to you with my final comments, you have two options:

Option #1: Bring a manila SASE (Self-addressed, stamped, envelope) to class on Thursday. Make sure the envelope is addressed to you and has sufficient postage on it for me to mail your essay. This will be at least 2-3 stamps, but may be more.

Option #2: I can leave the essays in the ATDP office for you to pick up on your own, but you must do this before the end of August because ATDP is planning some major cleaning out of things and your essay will be tossed.

That's all, folks.

Ms. Thomas

Dear Students:

This is an official pep-talk! I want to let you all know that you are doing a wonderful job at ATDP. I know that many of you have expressed being stressed out or feeling over-worked. I encourage you to complete the poll that is listed under the "Let's Talk" section. I need to know how much homework you are really doing in order to make changes. Remember that posting friendly comments to you classmates on this website does not count as time spent on homework. It's easy to get sucked into the web, so be careful (I know because it happens to me all the time).

While this course is challenging, I don't want you to feel stressed out. If you have 3-6 hour of homework between class sessions, try to find a way to break up your time. Spend three hours each day, for example. Tackle your writing assignments first so that you can step away from them for a whole day if possible.

Most of you are putting in the time and energy you need to be successful in a course like this that moves quickly, and quite frankly, is not ideal for a writing course. If you aren't, you know who you are and I just want to remind you that while you might not see immediate returns, you'll notice them in the fall when writing doesn't feel like something from last year, but rather something you are warmed up and ready to go with!

Keep your head up. Get plenty of sleep and sunshine. And, above all, remember that while this class is important, it is not life or death and it will not break your academic future if you don't get an A+.

Okay, pep-talk over. Now, I have to go give myself a similar pep-talk because I'm working too hard, here ;-)

Happy weekend,

Ms. Thomas

I sent an email about this yesterday but there is currently a communication issue between berkeley.edu and yahoo.com. Those of you with yahoo mail have probably not received these tips. Please read them carefully and adjust your assignment accordingly.

Dear Students who went on the field trip today:

I've received many questions about your "assignment" to write a thank you letter to Henry. Let me explain more fully so you know what is expected of you. As you know, when someone does something nice for you, it's a good idea to thank them. Thank you notes are going out of style, but they are still welcomed and appreciated. I'd like each of you to write Henry a thank you note. Please do not follow regular "assignment" procedure on this. In other words, do NOT include a heading. You want Henry to feel that you genuinely want to thank him and would send him a note on your own even if I did not ask you to do it! I strongly encourage you to handwrite a short note on a notecard or piece of stationary. If you want to design a short note on your computer, that is fine too. This is not an essay, but a piece of mail! Remember to be specific about the tour. Tell him something your learned of what you liked most about the day. Be as specific as possible. Be sure to sign your name. You can sign off with words like, "Sincerely," "Warmly," "With thanks," etc.

Please bring your thank you notes tomorrow. If yours goes in its own envelope, do not seal the envelope.

See you soon,

Ms. Thomas