HL2 English
csc_0390.JPG
Central Park

 

HL2  IB English Grade 12

Room 37

 

Michael Kennedy

 

Contact Information

michael.kennedy@mpls.k12.mn.us

Available Location & Hours

Room 37 After 2 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Course Description/Purpose

 

 

 

HL2 IB English is designed to fulfill the requirements of the second year of International Baccalaureate English.

 

Course Goals/Learning Objectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·         Write effective papers on a college level.

·         Students will make a twenty minute oral presentation demonstrating their skills in understanding and interpreting literature.

·         Students will write papers of high quality.

·         Students will engage in debates and discussions about literature.

·         Students will have the necessary skills to succeed in college.

 

Work will concentrate on the following skills.

 

1. Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory.

 

2. Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, Students will classify, summarize, infer, compare, and explain.

 

3. Applying: This work will be accomplished through essays, oral exams, written exams, commentaries, and discussions.

 

4. Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.

 

5. Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing. See “Assessments”

 

6. Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing evaluations, synthesis, analysis, applications, and show their comprehension of material and knowledge of that material.

 

 

Prerequisites/Technology Use

 

 

Students must have successfully completed HL2 IB English 11

 

It is assumed all IB  students have access to the internet and computers.

 

Required reading can either be bought in bookstores, online, or checked out in the Media Center.

 

The use of cell phones, texting, listening to IPods or other electronic entertainment devices is not permitted during classes.

 

Parents and families are expected to respect the time students spend in class and to avoid calling their children while school is in session.

 

 

 


 

 

 

Required Textbooks/Equipment

 

 

Over the next ten months we will be reading the following works:

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky

Beloved by Toni Morrison

King Lear by Shakespeare

The poetry of Mary Oliver

The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne

Fifth Business by Davies

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

 

You are not required to buy each text, however, we encourage you to do so. You can buy them online or at a bookstore. We do have copies of the texts in limited amounts.

 

Bring a notebook, paper, and a pen to class each day.

 

 

Classroom Procedures/Policies

 

 

Assignments

 

                You are expected to bring all learning materials to class.  Late assignments will lose points unless there is an excused absence.  Unexcused absences earn a "0" for any assignment or test on that day.

 

I announce specific deadlines and expect the work to be handed in on those dates.

 

                Check the board for any weekly work.

                Copy any notes from a classmate when you've been absent.

Ask for missing handouts or information. If I'm not in the classroom I'm probably in the Media Center. 

Plan ahead when you know you'll be excused and re-entry can be smoother. Ask for future handouts, assignments ahead of your absence.

 

 I expect you to take responsibility for your own learning and time management.

 

Attendance Policy

You are expected to be in class on time. I will take attendance each day at the start of the period. If you are not in the room when I take attendance you will be marked absent. If you come into class after attendance has been recorded I will not go back into the computer and mark you present or tardy. It will be your responsibility, on your own time, to go to the office with a written note from a teacher explaining why you were late to my class. You may not do this during class but you must do this on your own time either during lunch or after school. . If you have 10 absences your grade will be reduced by one full grade.  If you have 15 absences from the class you will fail English. Again, if you were late and attendance has been sent, it is your responsibility to take a note to the office to change your attendance status.  If the attendance says you are absent, that is how it will be.

 

If your family goes on a vacation while school is in session, you are still expected to turn in all assignments on time. The work will be on my webpage and you are responsible for all due dates. Your vacation does not alter my schedule.

 

You are competing with a standard of achievement and not against other students. As a general rule, tests are 100 points each, papers 100 points each, and daily work varies from 5 - 50 points.

 

 If you need help with anything or have questions, please let me know as soon as possible.  I am willing to work with you after school.

 

Students may rewrite certain assignments only with my permission. Rewrites are due one week after the original paper has been returned. The original paper must be returned with the rewrite. I reserve the right to deny a rewrite if I feel the first draft was not written in a thoughtful manner.

 

Late work

Late papers receive a 10 point reduction for each day it is late. No excuses. Late papers cannot be rewritten.  Once I write a zero in the grade book for a missing assignment I will not take it at all.

My email address is michael.kennedy@mpls.k12.mn.us

I check my email several times a day.

Behavior

 

                An atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy is expected. Please help keep the room clean.

Food, drink, headsets, tape players, Ipods, cell phones, pagers, and any other types of electronic entertainment are not permitted in my classroom.

 

·          

·         Reference School Handbook and District policy on excused absences

·         Statement of safety considerations (if applicable)

·         Differentiated Instruction: how you plan to meet different learning styles, needs, disabilities, etc.

 

 

Assessment

 

 

Grading students will be according to the following tools.

 

1.       The sheet below demonstrates what I am looking for in each paper the student turns in for assessment:

How to get an A on your paper

 

1.        An effective structure to the essay, clearly focused, well –developed and persuasive argument.

2.        An excellent understanding of the work(s) used to focus on your thesis as well as the subtleties of their meaning.

3.        Detailed and persuasive references to the work(s).

4.        Your ideas are convincing and show independence of thought, where appropriate.

5.        The analysis of the ideas is consistently detailed and persuasively illustrated by carefully chosen examples.

6.        The language is clear, varied, precise and concise. There are no significant lapses in grammar, precise use of wide vocabulary and varied idiom and style.

 

How to get a B on your paper.

 

1.        A clear and logical structured to the essay.

2.        Supporting examples are appropriately integrated into the body of the essay.

3.        A good understanding of the work used. Detailed and pertinent references to the work.

4.        The ideas are carefully explored and include a considered personal response where appropriate. The analysis of the ideas is generally detailed and well illustrated by relevant examples.

5.        Pertinent and detailed analysis of the effects of the literary features in relation to the question.

6.        Clear and logical structure to the essay. Supporting examples are appropriate integrated into the essay.

 

How to get a C on your paper.

 

1.        An adequate structure to the essay where ideas are generally presented in an ordered and logical sequence.

2.        Supporting examples are sometimes appropriately integrated into the body of the essay.

3.        An adequate understanding of the work with adequate and appropriate references to the works.

4.        Ideas are relevant and the analysis of the ideas is adequate and illustrated by some relevant examples.

5.        Adequately clear and coherent use of language. Some degree of accuracy in grammar, spelling and sentence construction.

 

How to get a D on your paper.

 

1.        Some evidence of a structure to the essay with some attempt to present ideas in an ordered or logical sequence.

2.        Some knowledge or familiarity with the work.

3.        Superficial understanding of the works.

4.        The ideas are sometimes irrelevant

5.        The essay consists mainly of unsubstantiated generalizations.

6.        Some consideration of the literary features of the work in relation to the question

7.        A superficial analysis of the literary features mentioned.

8.        Some degree of clarity and some degree of accuracy in grammar, spelling, and spelling construction.

9.        Vocabulary is sometimes appropriate.

 

How to get an F on your paper.

 

1.        Little evidence of a structure or little attempt to present ideas in an ordered or logical sequence

2.        Little knowledge of the work

3.        Ideas are insignificant or irrelevant

4.        The essay consists mainly of paraphrases and/or narration and/or repetition of content.

5.        Little mention or consideration of the literary features of the work.

6.        The use of language is not readily comprehensible

7.        Many lapses in grammar, spelling, and sentence construction.

 

How to get a zero on your paper.

 

1.        Don’t write it.

2.        Write it but forget to hand it in.

3.        Write it in pencil.

 

As students write their papers they will have the following sheet to guide their editing process:

 

What I am looking for as I read your papers.

Presentation details

 

  1. Use the correct format for the first page.

 

Your name

 

Mr. Kennedy

 

Class and period

 

Date: day month year        i.e. 10 July 2010

 

  1. Number the pages. Write your last name and the page number in the upper right corner. For example, Smith 2
  2. Never hand in a paper in pencil. I won’t even read it.
  3. When making reference to a writer, use their last name. Never use their first name unless you are discussing Dante. i.e. Mary Oliver should be called “Oliver” and not “Mary”. You don’t know her that well to be on a first name basis.
  4. Never use the second person voice in a formal paper. Second person voice is far too informal.
  5. Double space all through the paper.
  6. Don’t double-double space between paragraphs.
  7. Give your paper a title.
  8. Give the paper a title beyond “Catcher in the Rye” or “King Lear” or “Literary Analysis” Use your thesis as the basis of your title.
  9. Do not make your title a different font or bold. Just center the title and be done with it. Regular double space before and after the title.
  10. While first person voice isn’t awful, it can make your paper sound weak. An example could be the following: “I think Dostoyevsky was wrong” as opposed to “Dostoyevsky was wrong.” The second example is stronger. Therefore, use the first person voice as a last resort.
  11. Novels are novels, plays are plays, stories are stories, and poems are poems. None of these should be called “books”.
  12. Proofread your paper. Don’t trust the spellchecker on your computer to fix everything.
  13. Use a font of 12 pt.
  14. Use “Times New Roman” or some other normal font. None of those silly fonts.
  15. Avoid enclosing comments in parentheses. (It takes away from the paper and makes it too informal.)

 

Opening Paragraph

 

  1.  Does the introduction give the author’s name and the title of the work?  Does it include a specific thesis that states how the work will be analyzed and what the analysis will attempt to show?
  2. Always name the text and the author early in the first paragraph.
  3. When writing the name of a short story use “quotation marks”.
  4. When writing the name of a book or novel, underline the title.
  5. You could use italics for either and not bother to use “quotation marks” or underline the title.
  6. State a clear thesis.
  7. Watch out for getting too broad in your opening paragraph. Get to the point. Often broad statements read more like an attempt to pad the paper with words rather than to deal with the subject at hand.
  8. Evaluate the beginning. How does it prepare the reader for the essay?

 

 

 

 

 

Body

                Mechanics

  1. Does the body of the essay present a complete and convincing analysis that develops the theme statement?   Do details, incidents, and quotations from the work support each point in the analysis?
  2. Is enough summary given so an unfamiliar audience will understand the essay?  Is too much summary avoided for an audience familiar with the work? Have definitions been given for all words, images, characters, and other elements that the audience might not know?
  3. When comparing two different texts, work to keep the comparisons related to a specific theme, motif or idea. Try not to write about one text first and then the second text. This tends to read like two separate papers thrown together rather than a true comparison and contrast paper.
  4. Each paragraph needs a topic sentence.
  5. Use direct quotations within each paragraph to justify your ideas.
  6. Watch out for using quotations that are too long. Get to your point and move on

Quotations of four lines or fewer should be enclosed in quotation marks and run in with the text. Longer quotations should be set off from the text in a block – to do this, indent ten spaces from the left margin and triple space above and below the quotation. If the quotation begins with a new paragraph, indent an additional three spaces. Prose quotations of more than four typed lines and poetry of more than three lines should be set off in this way.

  1. Cite the page where you found the quote.  The first time you cite an author use the writer’s last name and the page number. (Salinger 34) after that, if it is the only work of literature you are using, you should simply use the page number. (45).
  2. Place the citation location within parentheses after the quotation marks. Example: .” (4)
  3. If you are citing different writers, write the citation using the writers name and page number (Dostoyevsky 235).
  4. When citing a play use the act, scene and line numbers whenever possible. (I. ii. 23 – 46).
  5. Do not write quotes in italics. Simply use quotation marks.
  6. Two to three pages mean two full pages as a minimum length.
  7. When making reference to the writer, use his or her name, not “the author”.

 

Content

  1. Do not retell the story. Every paper you write in this class will be read by someone who knows the source material. Use examples from the story to justify your ideas.
  2. In literary analysis, keep the focus on the writer. What is the writer doing with these characters? Why is the writer creating this situation, this mood, this conflict? Always remember that characters are tools of the writer’s imagination and not independent entities.
  3. To be convincing, literary analysis must be grounded in specific textual evidence.
  4. Textual evidence should be clearly related to a specific point.
  5. Ideas must not only be supported with textual evidence, but they must also be fully explained.
  6. Avoid any ideas that seem unrelated to the thesis, disconnected from other ideas, or contradictory.
  7. Literary analysis occasionally needs to relate details of the plot. Be careful, however, that too much space is devoted to plot summary and not enough to analysis.

 

Conclusion

 

  1. Does the conclusion summarize how the analysis has developed the idea(s) stated in the thesis?
  2. Don’t write a quick conclusion. Yes, you’re almost done, but be complete in your work all the way through.
  3. Evaluate the ending. Is it too abrupt or mechanical? Does it oversimplify your argument or distort the thesis?

 

When students get their papers back,  I will sit down with them and go over the work. They may rewrite the paper according to the following guidelines.

 

Revising your essay

Rewrite Policy

 

  1. You get one week from the day you received your paper to do a rewrite.
  2. You must return the original paper along with the new version. If I don’t have both papers, I will not read the new version.

 

 

Issues to consider in rewriting a paper

Revising to strengthen the argument

 

  1. Reconsider your interpretation of the story. Can your thesis be refined? Should you add more evidence or explain more specifically how your evidence supports your thesis?
  2. Can you strengthen the logical connections among your ideas?
  3. Reread your argument with your readers in mind. Have you fully considered the likelihood that they might interpret the story in some other way and that therefore you need to show them not only how you see it but why you see it as you do?
  4. Consider each of the main ideas. Are they now in the best possible order, or should they be presented in some other order?

 

 

 

Revising for readability

 

  1. Reconsider the beginning. Could you better prepare readers to follow your argument?
  2. Do you need to provide more explicit transitions between sentences and paragraphs?
  3. Do you sometimes give more details than you need to?
  4. Reconsider the ending. How can you improve it? Can you see any other point in the essay that would be a stronger place to end?

 

 

Extra Credit

 

Students may hand in up to four extra credit arts reviews during each quarter. These extra credit papers must follow the following criteria:

 

1.        Any arts event is fine.

2.        They must write the review within a week of the event.

3.        Reviews are to be one to two pages in length.

4.        Extra credit will not be accepted during the final two weeks of the quarter.

Extra credit is used to help students when they are in that twilight zone between grades. For example, if they have a B+ the extra credit can help bump the grade up to an A-.

 

 

 

 

Assignments

 

·         Description, expectations and directions for each type of assignments (quiz, exams, projects, team work etc.)

 

Students will be graded on a variety of activities.

1.       Homework and class work for credit.

2.       I give surprise quizzes.

3.       Most units conclude with an essay or commentary test.

4.       Students will write a series of major papers on the books we read.

5.       Students give both group and individual spoken presentations to the class.

 

·         Grading is weighted according to the following categories:

 

Class work and Homework    33%

Quizzes and Tests                  33%

Papers                                    34%

 

 

 

Student Code of Conduct

 

All students are expected to adhere to the Southwest High School and Minneapolis District Citywide Discipline Policy, designed to promote a safe and respectful learning environment. For more information about your rights and responsibilities consult your Southwest Student/Parent Handbook

 

 

 

Academic Integrity: Plagiarism/Consequences

 

 

It is expected that members of this class will observe strict policies of academic honesty and will be respectful of each other. Any instances in which cheating, including plagiarism and unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, computer accounts, or someone else’s work is determined, will be referred to Student Services and will be investigated to its full extent.

 

If I catch anyone cheating I will do my best to fail them, remove them from the class and , if possible, from the school.

 

 
     

 

 

Student Learning Goals

 

 

By the end of their sophomore year, students should be well prepared to enter the IB program at Southwest. They should be good writers, disciplined students, and avid readers.

 

 

 

 

 
IB HL2 English Grade 12

 

HL2  IB English Grade 12

Room 37

 

Michael Kennedy

 

Contact Information

michael.kennedy@mpls.k12.mn.us

Available Location & Hours

Room 37 After 2 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Course Description/Purpose

 

 

 

HL2 IB English is designed to fulfill the requirements of the second year of International Baccalaureate English.

 

Course Goals/Learning Objectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·         Write effective papers on a college level.

·         Students will make a twenty minute oral presentation demonstrating their skills in understanding and interpreting literature.

·         Students will write papers of high quality.

·         Students will engage in debates and discussions about literature.

·         Students will have the necessary skills to succeed in college.

 

Work will concentrate on the following skills.

 

1. Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory.

 

2. Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, Students will classify, summarize, infer, compare, and explain.

 

3. Applying: This work will be accomplished through essays, oral exams, written exams, commentaries, and discussions.

 

4. Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.

 

5. Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing. See “Assessments”

 

6. Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing evaluations, synthesis, analysis, applications, and show their comprehension of material and knowledge of that material.

 

 

Prerequisites/Technology Use

 

 

Students must have successfully completed HL2 IB English 11

 

It is assumed all IB  students have access to the internet and computers.

 

Required reading can either be bought in bookstores, online, or checked out in the Media Center.

 

The use of cell phones, texting, listening to IPods or other electronic entertainment devices is not permitted during classes.

 

Parents and families are expected to respect the time students spend in class and to avoid calling their children while school is in session.

 

 

 


 

 

 

Required Textbooks/Equipment

 

 

Over the next ten months we will be reading the following works:

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky

Beloved by Toni Morrison

King Lear by Shakespeare

The poetry of Mary Oliver

The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne

Fifth Business by Davies

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

 

You are not required to buy each text, however, we encourage you to do so. You can buy them online or at a bookstore. We do have copies of the texts in limited amounts.

 

Bring a notebook, paper, and a pen to class each day.

 

 

Classroom Procedures/Policies

 

 

Assignments

 

                You are expected to bring all learning materials to class.  Late assignments will lose points unless there is an excused absence.  Unexcused absences earn a "0" for any assignment or test on that day.

 

I announce specific deadlines and expect the work to be handed in on those dates.

 

                Check the board for any weekly work.

                Copy any notes from a classmate when you've been absent.

Ask for missing handouts or information. If I'm not in the classroom I'm probably in the Media Center. 

Plan ahead when you know you'll be excused and re-entry can be smoother. Ask for future handouts, assignments ahead of your absence.

 

 I expect you to take responsibility for your own learning and time management.

 

Attendance Policy

You are expected to be in class on time. I will take attendance each day at the start of the period. If you are not in the room when I take attendance you will be marked absent. If you come into class after attendance has been recorded I will not go back into the computer and mark you present or tardy. It will be your responsibility, on your own time, to go to the office with a written note from a teacher explaining why you were late to my class. You may not do this during class but you must do this on your own time either during lunch or after school. . If you have 10 absences your grade will be reduced by one full grade.  If you have 15 absences from the class you will fail English. Again, if you were late and attendance has been sent, it is your responsibility to take a note to the office to change your attendance status.  If the attendance says you are absent, that is how it will be.

 

If your family goes on a vacation while school is in session, you are still expected to turn in all assignments on time. The work will be on my webpage and you are responsible for all due dates. Your vacation does not alter my schedule.

 

You are competing with a standard of achievement and not against other students. As a general rule, tests are 100 points each, papers 100 points each, and daily work varies from 5 - 50 points.

 

 If you need help with anything or have questions, please let me know as soon as possible.  I am willing to work with you after school.

 

Students may rewrite certain assignments only with my permission. Rewrites are due one week after the original paper has been returned. The original paper must be returned with the rewrite. I reserve the right to deny a rewrite if I feel the first draft was not written in a thoughtful manner.

 

Late work

Late papers receive a 10 point reduction for each day it is late. No excuses. Late papers cannot be rewritten.  Once I write a zero in the grade book for a missing assignment I will not take it at all.

My email address is michael.kennedy@mpls.k12.mn.us

I check my email several times a day.

Behavior

 

                An atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy is expected. Please help keep the room clean.

Food, drink, headsets, tape players, Ipods, cell phones, pagers, and any other types of electronic entertainment are not permitted in my classroom.

 

·          

·         Reference School Handbook and District policy on excused absences

·         Statement of safety considerations (if applicable)

·         Differentiated Instruction: how you plan to meet different learning styles, needs, disabilities, etc.

 

 

Assessment

 

 

Grading students will be according to the following tools.

 

1.       The sheet below demonstrates what I am looking for in each paper the student turns in for assessment:

How to get an A on your paper

 

1.        An effective structure to the essay, clearly focused, well –developed and persuasive argument.

2.        An excellent understanding of the work(s) used to focus on your thesis as well as the subtleties of their meaning.

3.        Detailed and persuasive references to the work(s).

4.        Your ideas are convincing and show independence of thought, where appropriate.

5.        The analysis of the ideas is consistently detailed and persuasively illustrated by carefully chosen examples.

6.        The language is clear, varied, precise and concise. There are no significant lapses in grammar, precise use of wide vocabulary and varied idiom and style.

 

How to get a B on your paper.

 

1.        A clear and logical structured to the essay.

2.        Supporting examples are appropriately integrated into the body of the essay.

3.        A good understanding of the work used. Detailed and pertinent references to the work.

4.        The ideas are carefully explored and include a considered personal response where appropriate. The analysis of the ideas is generally detailed and well illustrated by relevant examples.

5.        Pertinent and detailed analysis of the effects of the literary features in relation to the question.

6.        Clear and logical structure to the essay. Supporting examples are appropriate integrated into the essay.

 

How to get a C on your paper.

 

1.        An adequate structure to the essay where ideas are generally presented in an ordered and logical sequence.

2.        Supporting examples are sometimes appropriately integrated into the body of the essay.

3.        An adequate understanding of the work with adequate and appropriate references to the works.

4.        Ideas are relevant and the analysis of the ideas is adequate and illustrated by some relevant examples.

5.        Adequately clear and coherent use of language. Some degree of accuracy in grammar, spelling and sentence construction.

 

How to get a D on your paper.

 

1.        Some evidence of a structure to the essay with some attempt to present ideas in an ordered or logical sequence.

2.        Some knowledge or familiarity with the work.

3.        Superficial understanding of the works.

4.        The ideas are sometimes irrelevant

5.        The essay consists mainly of unsubstantiated generalizations.

6.        Some consideration of the literary features of the work in relation to the question

7.        A superficial analysis of the literary features mentioned.

8.        Some degree of clarity and some degree of accuracy in grammar, spelling, and spelling construction.

9.        Vocabulary is sometimes appropriate.

 

How to get an F on your paper.

 

1.        Little evidence of a structure or little attempt to present ideas in an ordered or logical sequence

2.        Little knowledge of the work

3.        Ideas are insignificant or irrelevant

4.        The essay consists mainly of paraphrases and/or narration and/or repetition of content.

5.        Little mention or consideration of the literary features of the work.

6.        The use of language is not readily comprehensible

7.        Many lapses in grammar, spelling, and sentence construction.

 

How to get a zero on your paper.

 

1.        Don’t write it.

2.        Write it but forget to hand it in.

3.        Write it in pencil.

 

As students write their papers they will have the following sheet to guide their editing process:

 

What I am looking for as I read your papers.

Presentation details

 

  1. Use the correct format for the first page.

 

Your name

 

Mr. Kennedy

 

Class and period

 

Date: day month year        i.e. 10 July 2010

 

  1. Number the pages. Write your last name and the page number in the upper right corner. For example, Smith 2
  2. Never hand in a paper in pencil. I won’t even read it.
  3. When making reference to a writer, use their last name. Never use their first name unless you are discussing Dante. i.e. Mary Oliver should be called “Oliver” and not “Mary”. You don’t know her that well to be on a first name basis.
  4. Never use the second person voice in a formal paper. Second person voice is far too informal.
  5. Double space all through the paper.
  6. Don’t double-double space between paragraphs.
  7. Give your paper a title.
  8. Give the paper a title beyond “Catcher in the Rye” or “King Lear” or “Literary Analysis” Use your thesis as the basis of your title.
  9. Do not make your title a different font or bold. Just center the title and be done with it. Regular double space before and after the title.
  10. While first person voice isn’t awful, it can make your paper sound weak. An example could be the following: “I think Dostoyevsky was wrong” as opposed to “Dostoyevsky was wrong.” The second example is stronger. Therefore, use the first person voice as a last resort.
  11. Novels are novels, plays are plays, stories are stories, and poems are poems. None of these should be called “books”.
  12. Proofread your paper. Don’t trust the spellchecker on your computer to fix everything.
  13. Use a font of 12 pt.
  14. Use “Times New Roman” or some other normal font. None of those silly fonts.
  15. Avoid enclosing comments in parentheses. (It takes away from the paper and makes it too informal.)

 

Opening Paragraph

 

  1.  Does the introduction give the author’s name and the title of the work?  Does it include a specific thesis that states how the work will be analyzed and what the analysis will attempt to show?
  2. Always name the text and the author early in the first paragraph.
  3. When writing the name of a short story use “quotation marks”.
  4. When writing the name of a book or novel, underline the title.
  5. You could use italics for either and not bother to use “quotation marks” or underline the title.
  6. State a clear thesis.
  7. Watch out for getting too broad in your opening paragraph. Get to the point. Often broad statements read more like an attempt to pad the paper with words rather than to deal with the subject at hand.
  8. Evaluate the beginning. How does it prepare the reader for the essay?

 

 

 

 

 

Body

                Mechanics

  1. Does the body of the essay present a complete and convincing analysis that develops the theme statement?   Do details, incidents, and quotations from the work support each point in the analysis?
  2. Is enough summary given so an unfamiliar audience will understand the essay?  Is too much summary avoided for an audience familiar with the work? Have definitions been given for all words, images, characters, and other elements that the audience might not know?
  3. When comparing two different texts, work to keep the comparisons related to a specific theme, motif or idea. Try not to write about one text first and then the second text. This tends to read like two separate papers thrown together rather than a true comparison and contrast paper.
  4. Each paragraph needs a topic sentence.
  5. Use direct quotations within each paragraph to justify your ideas.
  6. Watch out for using quotations that are too long. Get to your point and move on

Quotations of four lines or fewer should be enclosed in quotation marks and run in with the text. Longer quotations should be set off from the text in a block – to do this, indent ten spaces from the left margin and triple space above and below the quotation. If the quotation begins with a new paragraph, indent an additional three spaces. Prose quotations of more than four typed lines and poetry of more than three lines should be set off in this way.

  1. Cite the page where you found the quote.  The first time you cite an author use the writer’s last name and the page number. (Salinger 34) after that, if it is the only work of literature you are using, you should simply use the page number. (45).
  2. Place the citation location within parentheses after the quotation marks. Example: .” (4)
  3. If you are citing different writers, write the citation using the writers name and page number (Dostoyevsky 235).
  4. When citing a play use the act, scene and line numbers whenever possible. (I. ii. 23 – 46).
  5. Do not write quotes in italics. Simply use quotation marks.
  6. Two to three pages mean two full pages as a minimum length.
  7. When making reference to the writer, use his or her name, not “the author”.

 

Content

  1. Do not retell the story. Every paper you write in this class will be read by someone who knows the source material. Use examples from the story to justify your ideas.
  2. In literary analysis, keep the focus on the writer. What is the writer doing with these characters? Why is the writer creating this situation, this mood, this conflict? Always remember that characters are tools of the writer’s imagination and not independent entities.
  3. To be convincing, literary analysis must be grounded in specific textual evidence.
  4. Textual evidence should be clearly related to a specific point.
  5. Ideas must not only be supported with textual evidence, but they must also be fully explained.
  6. Avoid any ideas that seem unrelated to the thesis, disconnected from other ideas, or contradictory.
  7. Literary analysis occasionally needs to relate details of the plot. Be careful, however, that too much space is devoted to plot summary and not enough to analysis.

 

Conclusion

 

  1. Does the conclusion summarize how the analysis has developed the idea(s) stated in the thesis?
  2. Don’t write a quick conclusion. Yes, you’re almost done, but be complete in your work all the way through.
  3. Evaluate the ending. Is it too abrupt or mechanical? Does it oversimplify your argument or distort the thesis?

 

When students get their papers back,  I will sit down with them and go over the work. They may rewrite the paper according to the following guidelines.

 

Revising your essay

Rewrite Policy

 

  1. You get one week from the day you received your paper to do a rewrite.
  2. You must return the original paper along with the new version. If I don’t have both papers, I will not read the new version.

 

 

Issues to consider in rewriting a paper

Revising to strengthen the argument

 

  1. Reconsider your interpretation of the story. Can your thesis be refined? Should you add more evidence or explain more specifically how your evidence supports your thesis?
  2. Can you strengthen the logical connections among your ideas?
  3. Reread your argument with your readers in mind. Have you fully considered the likelihood that they might interpret the story in some other way and that therefore you need to show them not only how you see it but why you see it as you do?
  4. Consider each of the main ideas. Are they now in the best possible order, or should they be presented in some other order?

 

 

 

Revising for readability

 

  1. Reconsider the beginning. Could you better prepare readers to follow your argument?
  2. Do you need to provide more explicit transitions between sentences and paragraphs?
  3. Do you sometimes give more details than you need to?
  4. Reconsider the ending. How can you improve it? Can you see any other point in the essay that would be a stronger place to end?

 

 

Extra Credit

 

Students may hand in up to four extra credit arts reviews during each quarter. These extra credit papers must follow the following criteria:

 

1.        Any arts event is fine.

2.        They must write the review within a week of the event.

3.        Reviews are to be one to two pages in length.

4.        Extra credit will not be accepted during the final two weeks of the quarter.

Extra credit is used to help students when they are in that twilight zone between grades. For example, if they have a B+ the extra credit can help bump the grade up to an A-.

 

 

 

 

Assignments

 

·         Description, expectations and directions for each type of assignments (quiz, exams, projects, team work etc.)

 

Students will be graded on a variety of activities.

1.       Homework and class work for credit.

2.       I give surprise quizzes.

3.       Most units conclude with an essay or commentary test.

4.       Students will write a series of major papers on the books we read.

5.       Students give both group and individual spoken presentations to the class.

 

·         Grading is weighted according to the following categories:

 

Class work and Homework    33%

Quizzes and Tests                  33%

Papers                                    34%

 

 

 

Student Code of Conduct

 

All students are expected to adhere to the Southwest High School and Minneapolis District Citywide Discipline Policy, designed to promote a safe and respectful learning environment. For more information about your rights and responsibilities consult your Southwest Student/Parent Handbook

 

 

 

Academic Integrity: Plagiarism/Consequences

 

 

It is expected that members of this class will observe strict policies of academic honesty and will be respectful of each other. Any instances in which cheating, including plagiarism and unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, computer accounts, or someone else’s work is determined, will be referred to Student Services and will be investigated to its full extent.

 

If I catch anyone cheating I will do my best to fail them, remove them from the class and , if possible, from the school.

 

 
     

 

 

Student Learning Goals

 

Graduation.