As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your thesis to the audience. support your thesis with meaningful examples and references from the text, carefully citing any direct quotes. organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion. use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience. edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.
Use any of the tools available to you, such as the Checklist, Spellchecker, or Graphic Organizer.
To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars.
The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred [similar] impression, when the mind is open to their influence.
Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood.
To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly