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Class ID Numbers:2nd: 3471076 3rd: 3471080 5th: 3471083 7th: 3471090

Password: atascocita

First and Last Name

Miss WilliamsEnglish I Pre-AP - 3 (3 is the period)8 September 2010 (notice no punctuation / abbreviations)

o Double Spaced (even your heading)o One Inch Margins (have to go in and change manually;

FILE – PAGE SETUP) o Last name and page number on top right (1/2 inch from the

top. DON”T ADD HEADER – It’s wrong!!)o No extra space between paragraphs (just begin a new line)o Left Justified – Don’t center your lines or stretch them out!o Times New Roman 12 pt font (including title!)

Long Works/Short Works

• Italics if the work is long (novels, plays, epic poems, albums, movie titles)

• “Quotes” if the work is short (poems, short stories, essays, song titles)

– “A Separate Peace” – A Separate Peace – The Scarlet Ibis – “The Scarlet Ibis”

Academic Language

• No “You” EVER!!!!!! (Unless it’s in a quote)

• No first person – (“I think…” “We learn…” “The story teaches us…”)

• No contractions, slang, casual conversational language

• Always refer to the action of the story in present tense (When Finny falls out of the tree, When Gene abandons Leper in the snow…)

The Prompt

Before writing anything, know your assignment— READ THE PROMPT! What are you being asked to do?

Response-to-Literature Writing= writing that discusses what is of value in a work of literature.

Literary Response requires a careful, critical look at the reading.

Students will create a 500 word 5 paragraph

essay over a theme from A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

Themes cannot be one word and must be provable with evidence from the text.

What scenes do you plan on using?

Intro Paragraph

• At least three mature sentences• Introduces the text and the author• Creates interest (the hook)• Ends with a thesis statement (controlling idea

of the paper)

Your paper’s ideas

The reader

Introductory Hooks

• Draws in the reader• Tone should match the essay (serious, humorous,

etc.)• Introduces the text you will be talking about• Possibility: Start with a quote from the book or

an outside source that relates to the chosen theme• Another example: A Separate Peace by John

Knowles is not a novel about World War II as much as it is a novel about the internal war of Gene Forrester, the book’s narrator and central character.

Thesis Statements (yay!)

Definition:A single declarative sentence that

expresses what you want your readers to understand; the controlling idea of your essay and road map for your paper

Directly answers the promptMakes a claim that others could refuteLast sentence of your introduction (for

now…)

– A theme from “A Separate Peace” is revenge.

– I think the book is about the side effects of war.

– One of the themes of A Separate Peace is jealousy’s capability to destroy friendships.

– John Knowles stresses the importance of identity in his novel and encourages the reader to be his or her own person.

’

Finding Evidence

Quotes should be only one sentence. We will be trimming them down even further later. Don’t forget to write down

the page #!

What scenes prove your

theme? What is a powerful sentence from that scene?

Blending Quotes• Choose only a portion of the quote and blend it

in with your own analysis.

• Don’t include tons of summary or set-up. Your audience (me!) knows the plot already.

• When Gene states that “[he] was to become part of Phineas,” the lines between the two boys, at least from Gene’s perspective are becoming more and more blurred (Knowles 120).

Internal DocumentationChanging a word in the quote to fit the context of your sentence requires brackets. The sentence’s meaning should not change.

Documenting internally – Always at the end of the sentence, not right after the actual quote.

Commentary “quote quote” (Author last name page #).

Commentary “quote” commentary (author’s last name page number).

Step 1: TOPIC SENTENCE

• A Topic Sentence (TS) is the top bun of a hamburger.

• TS = first sentence of the paragraph. It shows the main idea.• Usually a mildly controversial statement--something that you have to prove.

1) In the fairy tale “The ThreeLittle Pigs,” the third pig isvery wise.

Example Topic Sentence (TS)

Step 2: CONCRETE DETAILS

• Concrete Details (CD) are the meat of the hamburger.

• CDs = Support for your TS. (facts, quotes, examples, etc. from text)

• CDs can’t be argued with—a CD is evidence that supports your point!

Example Concrete Detail (CD)

2) For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. (Summary)

Step 3: COMMENTARY

• Commentary Sentences (CM) are the “extras” on the hamburger—the tomato, cheese, lettuce, mayo—they make it delicious!

• CMs = your analysis, interpretation, explanation, or insight into the text.

Example Commentary Sentences (2 CMs)

3) Because the wolf is unable to blow down the house, the reader is able to see that the third pig made the right choice. The third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf.

Step 4: CONCLUDING SENTENCE

• A concluding sentence (CS) is the bottom bun of the hamburger.

• A CS wraps up the paragraph. It rephrases the main idea.

Example Concluding Sentence (CS)

5) In conclusion, the thirdpig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big, bad”wolf as well.

TS, CD, CM, CS—Now What?

• CHUNKING

For a literary response, we will use a combination (or “ratio”) of 1:2. That is, for every 1 CD, you will have 2 CMs.

A combination of CDs and CMs is called a chunk.

One Chunk: 1 CD + 2 CMFor example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. Because the wolf is unable to blow down the house, the reader is able to see that the third pig made the right choice. The third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. Ratio = 1:2

Transitions

• A good paragraph will also use transition words. These are words or phrases that help readers connect your ideas.

• Example transitions:

For example,

For instance,

Consequently,

Thus,

As a result,

Because of this,

In summary,

Hence,

Therefore,

Does It Flow?

Reread the paragraph to yourself (out loud is best!)

Does it make sense? Does it sound right?

Step 6: A Whole Paragraph

In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. Because the wolf is unable to blow down the house, the reader is able to see that the third pig made the right choice. The third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. In conclusion, the third pig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big, bad” wolf as well.