Holiday Homework

Students need to finish editing and revising their Response to Literature Essay using Ratiocination, type their final draft, and finally upload their essay to the eZine under the category "Response to Literature." On Monday, January 4th, students will hand in their rough draft and typed final draft. Their final draft must be uploaded to the eZine by 11:59 p.m. that night for full credit.

Any students who were absent or did not finish writing the essay in class may view directions here (or look under "Homework for 12.22.09") for writing the body paragraphs and see below for directions on writing the introduction and conclusion.

Introduction

This is the order:
1) Title, author, and brief summary of story 1
2) Title, author, and brief summary of story 2
3) Comparison of two stories
4) Theme statement

Example:
The short story, "Thank You M'am," by Langston Hughes is about a poor boy who tries to steal a lady's pocketbook, but is genuinely cared for by his victim in the end. "Thank You Mr. Falker" by Patricia Polacco describes a young girl who wants to read but struggles through school while also being bullied by her peers. In both of these stories, the adults shine through and help the needy characters. The authors, Hughes and Polacco, describe a theme everyone can relate to: sometimes people do the wrong thing when they want something they do not have.

Conclusion

This is the order:
1. Restate theme statement
2. Text-to-self connection
3. Text-to-world connection

Example:
Sometimes jealousy or desires cause people to act selfish and hurt others. I can relate to this, because when I was in high school I wanted to be part of the popular crowd and I spread an awful rumor about a former friend. I felt so horrible afterwards because she had to move away. So, I think we should all remember that we can't always get what we want; we have to be patient and think about how our decisions affect others.