Writing Strategies Essay Example for Free

Writing Strategies Essay Write a response for each of the following activities. Check the Evaluation section at the end of this document to make sure you have met the expected criteria for the assignment. When you have finished, submit your work to your teacher. 1. Purpose, Voice, and Theme Themes in literature, such as heroism, love, corruption, greed, and perseverance, often reflect and relate to the issues we encounter in our daily lives or read about in the news. In this activity, you will develop ideas for an essay that relates a current news issue to a theme from a work of literature you have read. a. Think about some of the literature that you have read. Consider novels, essays, speeches, poems, and short fiction. Brainstorm a list of titles. Type your response here: b. Choose three titles from your list and write them in the chart below. Then list the themes from each work. Remember that the theme of a piece of literature is the main idea, the message, the subject, or the concept that the author is trying to convey by telling the story. Examples of themes include love, hate, the innocence of youth, love of life, courage, struggle, loyalty, survival, and triumph over adversity. Type your response here: |Title |Theme | |The Odyssey |Determination | |The Boy in The Striped Pajamas |Curiosity | | | | c. Begin to develop ideas for a five-paragraph essay exploring a theme from one of the literary works that you listed in the chart above. Select one title from the chart and enter information about this work in the space below. Type your response here: |Title |The Odyssey | |Author |Homer | |Genre |Epic Poetry | |Themes |Determination | In your essay, you will choose one or more themes from the work that you have selected and relate the theme to an issue discussed in the news. For example, you might relate the theme of courage from Jack London’s novel Call of the Wild to the actions of rescue workers after a catastrophic event. Recall this prewriting strategy for generating ideas for your writing: †¢ List what you know. †¢ List what you do not know. †¢ Consider alternative viewpoints. Read this guide to learn more about prewriting strategies. d. What do you know about the themes of the work you selected? What are some examples from the work (such as dialogue, character actions, or narration) that illustrate the theme? What are some news stories and issues that illustrate this theme? Type your response here: It is difficult to be that determined in your works. The main character must fight constant battles just to get back to his home. â€Å"O Brother Where Art Though?† illustrates these characteristics. e. What are some things you do not know about the work you selected for your essay? What are some possible additional themes? What additional evidence from the text can you locate? Type your response here: There are other possible themes. Justice could be a possible theme. The man who tries to steal Odisious’ wife is eventually killed. f. What are some alternative viewpoints you might consider before beginning to write? If possible, collaborate with a classmate and add information about his or her perspective to your own. What themes could a peer identify inthe work you selected? What evidence from the text might he or she suggest? Can someone else suggest additional news or issues that relate to the work’s themes? Type your response here: g. From the ideas that you have generated, identify the theme on which you will base your essay, as well as the issues or news stories that relate to the theme. Type your response here: Determination, my determination while spearfishing. Before beginning to write, consider the purpose and voice of your essay. h. What is your purpose for writing this essay assignment? Type your response here: To copare determination in the odyssey to determination in my own life. i. Based on the purpose for writing you described above, what is an appropriate tone for your essay? Type your response here: Objective. 2. Organizing the Essay a. Record information about your essay in this essay organizer. Type your response here: |Essay Organizer | |Title of work selected |The Odyssey | |Author |Homer | |Genre |Epic Poetry | |Selected theme |Determination | |Evidence from the text that supports |He refuses to give up until he gets home. | |the theme | | |News or issues related to the theme |Spearfishing requires determination as well. | |Author’s purpose |To show the difficulties of spearfishing. | |Selected tone |Objective | b. Create an outline that will help you write a first draft of your essay. Look at this outline template and then create your own outline using information from the essay organizer. [pic] Type your response here: 3. Writing the Essay Now write the first draft of your five-paragraph essay. As you write, be sure to refer to your outline and your essay organizer. As you write and revise your draft, keep in mind: †¢ your audience †¢ your purpose for writing †¢ your writing style Read these guidelines before writing your essay. Type your response here: Note: In the Unit Activity, you will perform a peer review and revise the essay in the unit activity. Evaluation Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit. Activity 1: Purpose, Voice, and Theme | |Concepts | |Distingui|Lists the titles of at least six works that are related to current news issues | |shed |Chooses three of the most suitable works | |(4 |Accurately identifies the themes of all the works | |points) |Accurately fills in information about the work selected | | |Provides detailed information about the themes of the selected work with several  appropriate examples | | |Identifies news stories and issues in which the chosen theme is central | | |Accurately identifies additional themes | | | Thoroughly considers alternate viewpoints | | |Chooses a theme that encompasses all the ideas generated | |Proficien|Lists the titles of at least four works that are related to current news issues | |t |Chooses three suitable works | |(3 |Correctly identifies the theme of all the works | |points) |Correctly fills in information about the work selected | | |Provides adequate information about the themes of the selected work with a few relevant examples | | |Identifies news stories and issues that are closely related to the chosen theme | | |Correctly identifies plausible additional themes | | | Adequately considers alternate viewpoints | | |Chooses a theme that encompasses most of the ideas generated | |Developin|Lists the titles of three works that are related to current news issues | |g |At least two of the chosen works are suitable | |(2 |Roughly identifies the themes of at least two works | |points) |Correctly fills in information about the work selected | | |Provides meaningful information about the themes of the selected work with at least one relevant example | | |Identifies news  stories and issues that are clearly related to the chosen theme | | |Roughly identifies at least one plausible additional theme | | |Considers some alternate viewpoints | | | Chooses a theme that encompasses some of the ideas generated | |Beginning|Lists the titles of fewer than three works that are related to current news issues | |(1 point)|Few of the chosen works are suitable | | |Fails to identify the themes of the works | | |Provides some incorrect information about the work selected or is missing information | | |Provides information about the themes of the selected work without relevant examples | | | Identifies news stories and issues that are marginally related or unrelated to the chosen theme | | |Does not identify a plausible additional theme | | |Does not consider alternate viewpoints | | |Chooses a theme that encompasses few of the ideas generated | Activity 2: Organizing the Essay | |Criteria | |Distingui|Thoroughly explains the purpose of the essay | |shed |Chooses the most appropriate tone for the essay | |(4 |Records information accurately in the essay organizer | |points) |Creates an outline that is highly consistent with the information in the organizer  | |Proficien|Adequately explains the purpose of the essay | |t |Chooses an appropriate tone for the essay | |(3 |Records information in the essay organizer | |points) |Creates an outline that is largely consistent with the information in the organizer | | Developin|Roughly explains the purpose of the essay | |g |Chooses a somewhat appropriate tone for the essay | |(2 |Records incomplete information in the essay organizer | |points) |Creates an outline that is roughly consistent with the information in the organizer | |Beginning|Briefly mentions the purpose of the essay | |(1 point)|Does not choose an appropriate tone for the essay | | |Records information inaccurately or incorrectly in the essay organizer | | |Creates an outline that is inconsistent with the information in the organizer | Activity 3: Writing the Essay | |Criteria | |Distingui|Highly consistent with the outline and the essay organizer | |shed |Very relevant to the intended audience | |(4 |Closely reflects the purpose of writing | |points) |Exhibits a highly consistent writing style | | |Correct syntax, spelling, and punctuation throughout  | | |Ideas effectively grouped in paragraphs in a smooth, logical sequence | |Proficien|Largely consistent with the outline and the essay organizer | |t |Relevant to the audience | |(3 |Largely consistent with the purpose of writing | |points) |Exhibits a largely consistent writing style | | | Largely uses correct syntax, spelling, and punctuation | | |Ideas grouped in paragraphs in a logical sequence | |Developin|Roughly consistent with the outline and the essay organizer | |g |Somewhat relevant to the audience | |(2 |Roughly consistent with the purpose of writing | |points) |Exhibits a somewhat consistent writing style | | |Noticeable mistakes in syntax, spelling, and punctuation | | |Ideas grouped in paragraphs in a somewhat meaningful sequence | | Beginning|Inconsistent with the outline and the essay organizer | |(1 point)|Not relevant to the audience | | |Not consistent with the purpose of writing | | |Does not exhibit a consistent writing style | | |Numerous mistakes in syntax, spelling, and punctuation | | |Ideas grouped in paragraphs, but sequence is neither smooth nor logical | Lesson Activities English 11 I. Introduction, beginning with a thesis statement II. First example describing how the theme relates to a current issue or news story a. evidence from the text b. evidence from the text III. Second example a. evidence from the text b. evidence from the text IV. Third example a. evidence from the text b. evidence from the text V. Conclusion