Hawk Writing Center

Welcome to the blog of the writing center of Hayfield Secondary School, established in 2013. Run by HWC tutors. Ask us stuff!

[hawkwritingcenter-blog]

Happy Monday 4/2

Good afternoon everyone! The Hawk Writing Center’s been busy tutoring lots of papers as the quarter draws to a close. Several AP US History classes have brought DBQs to the center to be tutored, so the tutors have been brushing up on their American history.

We’ve also been working with ESOL classes! The tutors have enjoyed helping these students work on essays and develop their English skills.

WID, or Writing in Discipline, presentations are wrapping up this week as the Advanced Composition 1 tutors present their findings on a literary discipline of their choice. 

The tutors are also getting ready to submit proposals to CAPTA and hopefully present at next year’s CAPTA conference. 

Have a wonderful day and keep writing!

[verylostpenguin]

*slams book shut*

“When I open this again I’d better not read what I thought I just did”

[writerswritecompany]

It Might Be A Book! Wrapping Paper 

[englishproblems]

Does anyone know the source for this? My friend sent it to me, but he doesn’t know the source.

[englishproblems]

UPDATE from @archifist: Shakespeare Memes on FB posted it, though we are unsure if it originated there. If anyone knows the source, I’d like to give them credit for this brilliance!! (Also, tangentially, @archifist is one of my favorite blogs. Check it out!!)

[halfpinthuman]

casually changing my entire essay topic less than 12 hours before it’s due.

[hawkwritingcenter-blog]

Happy Tuesday 2/14

This week the Hawk Writing Center begins its annual outreach to Hayfield Elementary School. Tutors from the center will make weekly trips to the elementary school to work with the 5th graders in preparation for their upcoming writing SOL.

In other news, the Advanced Composition 1 students continue to work on their WID (Writing in Discipline) projects. We’re excited to see what their final papers are!

To celebrate Black History Month, Céilí and Brianna--two 6th period tutors--are in the process of making posters to hang around the school celebrating famous African-American writers. We’ll post pictures when they’re finished.

Have a great day, everyone!

[gr8writingtips]

writing tip #1722:

fingers are generally the best body parts to type with

[duskyriver]

Is there a book that you feel everyone should read at least once?

Thanks for asking! It’s hard to pick just one so I’ll pick a few that are must reads. 

Colonialism: Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks and Critique de la Raison Nègre by Achille Mbembe (I think by now there should be an English translation)

African History: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney and The African Origin of Civilization by Cheikh Anta Diop and The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams

Philosophy/History/Language: Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault, The Idea of History by R.G. Collingwood, The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph, Memory, History, Forgetting by Paul Ricoeur

Intersectional Feminism:  Justice and the Politics of Difference by Iris Marion Young, Ain’t I A Woman by Bell Hooks, Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde and Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis

[reclaimthebindi]

Below is a list of some highly recommended books written by people of color (in no particular order). They span across a wide variety of genres and target audiences. Thank you to everyone who submitted their favorites and helped make this list possible! Known triggers are in parentheses next to the books they apply to, but if there is something that has been missed or there’s a book you’d like me to add, please don’t hesitate to let me know! Happy reading!  The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (rape, murder, child abuse, domestic violence) The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri Migritude - Shailija Patel (gore, violence, rape mentions, abuse) The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho The God of Small Things - Arundathi Roy (child abuse, sex) Joys of Motherhood - Buchi Emecheta (starvation, poverty, gore, and suicide) Distant View of a Minaret - Alifa Rifaat (castration and death) White Teeth - Zadie Smith  Emails from Scheherazade - Mohja Kahf (sexual violence) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz (transphobic language/violence, homophobic violence) Boy Snow Bird - Helen Oyeyemi Sister of My Heart - Chitra Banerjee Divakurani  Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi  The Meursault Investigation - Kamel Daoud Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison The Summer Prince - Alaya Dawn Johnson The Noughts and Crosses series - Malorie Blackman A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini (rape, murder, child abuse, domestic violence) And The Mountain Echoed - Khaled Hosseini (rape, child abuse) The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing - Mira Karoll Born Confused - Tanuja Desai Hidier The Queen of Water - Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango (child abuse, sexual harassment/child sexual abuse, racism, internalized racism, internalized shadism) Time to Dance - Padma Venkatraman Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri (implications of rape and sexual harassment) Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho Astonishing the Gods - Ben Okri Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami Fasting Feasting - Anita Desai The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi Drown - Junot Diaz Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe The Bastard of Istanbul - Elif Shafak Honor: A Novel - Elif Shafak Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston Reservation Blues - Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie The Age of Shiva - Manil Suri The Kitchen God’s Wife - Amy Tan Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel - Sara Farizan By the Light of My Father’s Smile - Alice Walker A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif No God but God - Reza Aslan The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki Babji - Abha Dawesar Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri (implications of rape and sexual harassment) Funny Boy - Shyam Selvadurai (violence, rape mention) The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros (sexual assault) Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Brick Lane - Monica Ali No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai A Bad Character - Deepti Kapoor (death, abusive relationships) Karma and Other Stories - Rishi Reddi The Burning Sky - Sherry Thomas Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi Climbing the Stairs - Padma Venkatraman The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison Coin Locker Babies - Ryu Murakami The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan Please Look After Mom - Shin Kyung Sook Bonsai Kitten - Lakshmi Narayan Written in the Stars - Aisha Saeed  The Hero’s Walk - Anita Rau Badami Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz Beloved - Toni Morrison Woman at Point Zero - Nawal El Saadawi The Golden Age - Tahmima Anam Season of Migration to the North - Tayib Saleh Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami Snow - Orhan Pamuk Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche The President - Miguel Asturias (extreme violence, rape) The Hungry Ghosts - Shyam Selvadurai The Skin I’m In - Sharon G. Flake Black Boy - Richard Wright Cinnamon Gardens - Shyam Selvadurai 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami (domestic violence, horror, violence) She of the Mountains - Vivek Shraya (explicit sex) Island of a Thousand Mirrors - Nayomi Munaweera (rape, violence) Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew - Shehan Karunatilaka Broken Circle - Theodore Fontaine (child sexual abuse, alcoholism, anti-Native sentiment) The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Moth Smoke - Mohsin Hamid Burnt Shadows, Kratography, Salt and Saffron - Kamila Shamsie Last Man in Tower - Aravind Adiga Birds of Paradise Lost - Andrew Lam Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie Bitter Melon - Cara Chow (child abuse) Q&A - Vikas Swarup Five Point Someone - Chetan Bhagat Motorcycles and Sweetgrass - Drew Hayden Taylor  Lakota Woman - Mary Crow-Dog Legend Trilogy - Marie Lu The Young Elites - Marie Lu The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir (rape, abuse) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin Half of A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Children of The Jacaranda Tree - Sahar Delijani The Twentieth Wife - Indu Sundaresan Destiny’s Captive - Beverly Jenkins  Tiny Pretty Things - Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (eating disorders, bullying, family issues) Lakota Woman - Mary Brave Bird (child abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse) Flight - Sherman Alexie (child abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse) Nervous Conditions - Tsitsi Dangerembga (violence, eating disorders and mental illness) Redefining Realness - Janet Mock (child sexual assault, child abuse, transphobia) The Woman Warrior - Maxine Hong Kingston Under the Udala Trees - Chinelo Okparanta (homophobia, violence against queer women) The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo  The Shiva Trilogy - Amish Tripathi (rape) The Krishna Key - Ashwin Sanghi To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before - Jenny Han The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga Shatter Me Trilogy - Tahereh Mafi The promise - Nikita Singh When Only Love Remains - Durjoy Datta Nectar in a Sieve - Kamala Markandaya Chords of Strength - David Archuleta This Bridge Called My Back - Gloria Anzaldúa and Cherríe Moraga  Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami (rape/suicide mentions) I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou (rape) Draupadi: The Fire-Born Princess - Saraswati Nagpal The Hybrid Chronicles - Kat Zhang (child abuse, violence) Esperanza Rising - Pam Muñoz Ryan Becoming Naomi Leon - Pam Muñoz Ryan The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper Ghana Must Go - Taiye Selasi Difficult Daughters - Manju Kapoor Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel García Márquez (violence, explicit sex, death) Birdie - Tracy Lindberg Burn For Burn - Jenny Han Mãn - Kim Thúy  Huntress - Malinda Lo  A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth From Heaven Lake - Vikram Seth Two Lives - Vikram Seth Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler (violence) The Mango Bride - Marivi Soliven (abuse) Between Two Worlds - Roxana Saberi When the Elephants Dance - Tess Holthe (rape) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami A Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez (violence, explicit sex, death) La Vie et Demie - Sony Labou Tansi - French (gore, sexual violence) L'Enfant de Sable - Tahar Ben Jelloun - French (gender violence) Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives - Lola Shoneyin I Do Not Come to You by Chance - Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani 26a - Diana Evans  Cloth Girl - Marilyn Heward Mills The Hidden Star - K. Sello Duiker kemi’s journal - Abidemi Sanusi  Imagine This - Vickie M. Stringer  God’s Bits of Wood - Sembene Ousmane Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Gabriel García Márquez (violence, explicit sex, death) The Autobiography of Malcolm X -  Malcolm X (trigger warnings for rape, racism, death) Roots - Alex Haley Sultana’s Dream - Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain The Crossover - Kwame Alexander I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia - Jenny Torres Sanchez When Reason Breaks - Cindy Rodriguez  Los Perros - Lorea Canales - Spanish The Secret Side of Empty - Maria E. Andreu  The Wake of the White Tiger - Diamond Shamsher Rana Blue Mimosa - Parijat - best read in its original language of Nepali  The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison (child sexual abuse, racism, violence, animal abuse, body image) Empress Orchid - Anchee Min Annihilation of Caste - B.R. Ambedkar Palace Walk - Naguib Mahfouz  How to Be Drawn - Terrance Hayes When My Brother Was an Aztec - Natalie Diaz (explicit sex, drug references) Boy With Thorn - Rickey Laurentiis Between The World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates (police brutality) Breath, Eyes, Memory -  Edwidge Danticat   I Too Had A Love Story - Ravinder Singh Can Love Happen Twice? - Ravinder Singh Boys Don’t Cry - Malorie Blackman If You Could Be Mine - Sara Farizan Ash - Malinda Lo Pig Heart Boy - Malorie Blackman (death) The Pearl that Broke Its Shell - Nadia Hashimi Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacqueline Woodsen Umrao Jaan Ada - Mirza Hadi Ruswa - Urdu Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? - Beverly Daniel Tatum Citizen - Claudia Rankin This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth - Warsan Shire Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera

[hawkwritingcenter-blog]

Happy Wednesday 12/14

Hello everyone! Today the Hawk Writing Center is hosting a large college essay workshop. We’re so excited to tutor college essays of Hayfield students today after school! 

On Friday, the 6th period tutors are celebrating the season with a Holiday Party; we’re going to watch Home Alone and exchange Secret Holiday Pal gifts. The 5th period tutors are just as excited for the season. They put together a construction paper Christmas tree decorated with paper ornaments upon which tutors wrote what they love about the HWC. It’s been hung on the HWC’s door to demonstrate our passion for writing and helping others!

Have a happy hump day!

[hawkwritingcenter-blog]

Happy Wednesday 11/09/16

Hello, it’s been a while! The Hawk Writing Center officially opened for business last month and we’ve enjoyed tutoring all of those who’ve stopped by. This time of year is always exciting as students come by with college essays, which we hosted a workshop on not too long ago. 

On Friday, several of our tutors will be presenting at the Capital Area Peer Tutoring Association’s meeting along with students from many other high schools in the area. Shout-out to Ashly, Jenny, Brianna, Céilí, Elie, Emily, Lizzie, Carmen, Jack, and Alex for presenting their innovative ideas at such a prestigious conference! We look forward to sharing pictures of this group as they share ideas and have fun at the conference.

Have a great week!

[gr8writingtips]

writing tip #1681:

you don’t have to be perfect to put something out there

[hawkwritingcenter-blog]

Happy Tuesday 9/27/16

Hello everyone! It’s a new year at the Hawk Writing Center with a fun new group of tutors (and several returners!). We’re working on getting ready to open the Writing Center at the end of next month, so all the tutors are busy brushing up on their tutoring skills. Many of our tutors are also preparing to present proposals on how to “revise” Writing Centers at the next CAPTA conference! Have a great week!

[emmisnotshortforemma]

[cockroach-queer]

Sometimes I’m like “ancient greek plays are so old, how am i going to relate to the characters?” but then 

[gr8writingtips]

story prompt

you sit down at your desk and write an entire novel

[promptsgalore]

Write something that includes the following:

club soda

lawn chairs

clean sheets

a wild rabbit

sand