by Samuel Johnson

The History of the OED
Read this history of the Oxford English dictionary and trace the development of the book, as well as other dictionaries discussed in the essay. Why do you think an unabridged dictionary would cause an uproar? What does it say about the place of the dictionary in our culture and about language in general? Discuss.

Born to Motivate
Samuel Johnson's "Letter to Lord Chesterfield" tells us as much about the writer of the letter as it does about its addressee. Letter writing, in general, allows one a glimpse into another's inner-thoughts. Read these famous quotations about letter writing. Then write a short essay on how the e-mail has changed the "art of letter writing."