Ali Dent

The World of Elizabeth George Speare

Ali Dent — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:40 +0000

“My friend brought the bulb to me, a little brown thing like an onion. I doubted it would grow here but it just seemed determined to keep on trying and look what has happened.” Kit Tyler, The Witch of Blackbird Pond The Witch of Blackbird Pond is considered a classic book, but I don’t think [...]

Gulliver’s Writing Companion

Ali Dent — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:00:17 +0000

“A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in, not out.“ ~ Virginia Woolf What does Virginia Woolf understand about essay writing that I am missing? When I was in school, if I was told I could choose [...]

Chutes and Ladders in Lilliput

Ali Dent — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:24 +0000

Here at Living Outside the Lines we think reading the classics is fun because we make it fun! There are so many new and exciting modern stories to choose from that the idea of reading an old book might seem dismal. And, you know what, it just might be a dreary experience without a little help to [...]

Gulliver Travels Through the Eighteenth Century

Ali Dent — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:30 +0000

“I grew weary of the sea, and intended to stay at home with my wife and family. I removed from the Old Jewry to Fetter Lane, and from thence to Wapping, hoping to get business among the sailors; but it would not turn to account. After three years expectation that things would mend, I accepted [...]

Reading Gulliver’s Travels in April

Ali Dent — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:00:40 +0000

This month our literature club is reading Gulliver’s Travels. It’s a great book to learn about the writing device, satire. SATIRE as defined by dictionary.com is: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.; a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held [...]

What Did Ē-ssay About Revenge?

Ali Dent — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:00:03 +0000

“The point of the essay is to change things.” — Edward Tufte When I was in school, if I was told to write about anything I wanted, it was a signal for my brain to run in circles like a dog chasing it’s tail. Therefore, I like to give my writing students a place to start. [...]

Rewriting Comprehension

Ali Dent — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:00:57 +0000

Here at Living Outside the Lines we think reading the classics is fun! It’s because we make it fun. There are so many new and exciting modern stories to choose from that the idea of reading an old book might seem dismal. And, you know what, it just might be a dreary experience without a little help [...]

Historical Context for Hamlet

Ali Dent — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:00:40 +0000

“I pray to God that I shall not live one hour after I have thought of using deception.” ~ Queen Elizabeth I If I am to enjoy an old story like Hamlet then I must make friends with the author and his characters. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of dusty old pages held together with a couple [...]

Writing Essays is I̶M̶POSSIBLE

Ali Dent — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:00:34 +0000

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” — Mark Twain Twain was a genesis story teller. I think he must have understood how much work goes into choosing the right words or else he wouldn’t have made that statement. When I was in school, if I was told to [...]

Point of View Leads the Way

Ali Dent — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:00:55 +0000

Here at Living Outside the Lines we think reading the classics is fun! We make it fun. There are so many new and exciting modern stories to choose from that the idea of reading an old book might seem dismal. And, you know what, it just might be a dreary experience without a little help to spice [...]