Preview- The Writing Process

Writing Goal: Literary Essay

Get ready to write by reminding yourself about:

Forming meaningful connections is the cornerstone of society. 

How do people develop essential relationships with the people and world around them?

What effect do these connections have on the kind of person one will become?

You will now have the opportunity to write an essay on these questions as they relate to characters in your novel.

Watch the video below on writing literary essays before you begin the assignment.

Workshop Overview:  Don't forget that the Writer's Workshop consists of 2 parts.

1.  Writer's Notebook:  Open your writer's notebook templates for 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and complete 3 student-directed self-assessment activities.  Note that there are no teacher-directed activities for this unit.

2.  Major Writing Piece:  Literary Essay

1. Learn how to write a literary essay.
2. Plan your own.
3. Write a first draft and get some feedback to revise your writing.
4. Revise your writing.
5. Submit your final draft. 

 

Writing Targets:  By the end of this workshop you will have worked toward incorporating the following criteria into your piece:

Your writing will be assessed out of a six-point scale. Please view the marking rubric.

Ideas and Content: (6/6)

A clear opinion about the relationship is stated in the thesis and effectively defended including suitable quotes from the novel. 

Organization and Supporting Details: (6/6)

Organizing structure is very clear and includes an introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs with topic sentences and a strong concluding paragraph. 

Sentence Fluency: (6/6)

A wide variety of fluent sentences are used that vary in length and how they begin. 

Conventions: (6/6

Work has been proofread and there are almost no errors in basic punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. 

Revision Mark (6/6)

 The student has very successfully revised the piece based on all feedback provided by the teacher. 

 

Writer's Notebook Entry 5.1, 5.2, 5.3: Competency Reflection

In this unit of the course, the student-directed writer's notebook entries are guided by a reflection of your growth as a learner based on the core competencies you reviewed in your midterm assessment as well as the final one: personal and social responsibility.  

Recall from your midterm assessment, that the core competencies are the intellectual, personal, social and emotional abilities that students develop to become lifelong learners.  They have been broken down into communication, thinking and personal/social competencies.  So, let's see what you've learned in each of the areas.  Please open the book called "Explanation of Core Competencies" which is found on the front page of the course in Unit 5.

To help brainstorm your assessment, you should review...

1. the abilities of each competency
2. the "I can" statements
3. the question prompts

Then consider what you have learned and provide evidence of your strengths and growth in this area.  How does your evidence demonstrate strength and growth in the specific competency?  In what ways might you further develop your abilities in this area?  What are your learning goals?  What is your plan to achieve your goals?

You can use images, or video clips, etc. if you want.  You can use "I can" statements to break down or start your self-assessment.  Consider the skills and processes you have developed in relation to thinking, communication and personal and social competencies.  Self-assessment can take many forms.

There are 3 templates you can use to illustrate your assessment/reflection.  These examples are helpful to show you that this does not need to be a complicated process.  You can simply fill out the template provided.  You must choose a different prompt than the ones you chose in your midterm assessment.  Check out these student examples.

5.1:  Communication:  Reflect on your growth as a learner in the Communications competency.

5.2:  Thinking:  Reflect on your growth as a learner in the Thinking competency.

5.3:  Personal and Social:  Reflect on your growth as a learner in the competency of Personal and Social Responsibility, Personal and Cultural Identity, and Personal Awareness.

Major Writing Piece: The Essay Question

Writing about relationships between characters requires being observant about relationships in your own life and those of others.  Consider what makes a relationship more authentic.  The relationships that people (and characters) form with others impact who they are.  Remember….

Forming meaningful connections is the cornerstone of society. 

How do people develop essential relationships with the people and world around them?

What effect do these connections have on the kind of person one will become?

Essay Question:  Describe and explore the relationship that exists between two characters in your novel and its effect on the characters. 

Consider how the relationship advances the plot and develops the theme of the novel.  Consider the following questions. 

1. What does this relationship contribute to the main idea of the novel? 
2. How do the characters interact with each other? 
3. What effect has this connection had on the characters? 
4. What has resulted from their connection to each other? 

Planning

Open this template and complete Step One: Prewriting.

First choose two characters from your novel who share a relationship. Write their names in Part A.

Brainstorming

Part A:  Step One.  Answer the following questions about your characters. You can use the provided table on your template.

1. Who are your characters?  
2. What is their role in the novel? 

Part B:  Answer the following questions about the type of relationship your characters share. You can use the list of relationships and adjectives on the following page to help.

1. What type of relationship do they have?
2. Is it positive or negative?
3. Choose an adjective to describe the relationship.

Part C:  Answer the following question about the effect of the relationship on your characters.

1. What effect does the relationship have on the characters?

Part D:  Find quotations to support your opinion.  Be sure to include the page number reference.  When you describe a relationship between characters, you should be able to provide evidence as support.  Think about the events of the story, how the characters spoke to each other (dialogue), and how they behaved toward each other (interactions).  Find strong examples throughout the book that support your description, focusing on what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of your book.

When you are finished your planning submit it under the drop-box: Literary Essay Planning:  Unit 5.

Once your teacher has approved this, you can go to the next step: writing your first draft. 

Describing Relationships

Part B:  Listed below are different types of relationships.  Determine which type of relationship two characters in your book share. Think about whether they would be considered positive or negative.

Choose an adjective that describes that relationship.  The list below may be helpful, but it's not exhaustive. 

Remember, a fictional world would collapse if not for the networks of people and creatures who hold it up.

Drafting

Now that your outline has been approved by your teacher, you can begin your draft. Don't worry about getting things perfect. You will have a chance to get some feedback and work on editing before you submit your final draft. Return to your writing template and complete Step Two: First Draft.

When you are finished your draft submit it under the drop-box: Literary Essay Draft:  Unit 5.

Revising Mini-lesson: A Good Lead

Good writers sweat their engaging beginnings. Leads give shape to the piece and to the experience of writing it. A strong engaging beginning sets the tone for the piece, determines the content and direction of the piece, and establishes the voice. Of equal importance, the engaging beginning captures the reader’s interest, inviting the reader to dive headfirst into the text.

When you read, pay attention to how the writer engages you at the beginning of a story.

When you write, experiment with multiple engaging beginnings. Deliberately craft different leads. During revision, choose the lead that you believe works best.  Try at least 3 before you decide.

Open your writing template and copy and paste your draft into your final draft step:  Step 3:  Revising and Final Draft. Then revise your opening in your essay  to have a compelling lead.

Watch the video below to learn examples of many different strategies for engaging the reader.

Revising: Personal Revision Task

Revision is where your writing is taken to the next step.

1. Write three different leads for your piece based on the previous lesson. Choose one to use in your piece.

2. Your teacher has given you feedback on one or more items to revise in your writing. You will find those items in the feedback section of your Literary Essay: Draft assignment. 

Return to your first draft to revise based on those comments and any other revisions you might want to make. This is an important part of the writing process and you will be marked on whether or not you were able to make the necessary revisions. 

Editing

Before you submit your final draft you need to edit your draft. 

Your teacher may have included some editing marks on your draft or you might get a parent or friend to proofread your paper. 

In any case you should check for the following: 

Capitalization

Organization: Paragraphs? Include a new paragraph when there is a new "scene".

Punctuation

Spelling

Publishing

Once you have:

• completed the mini-lesson and incorporated it into your writing
• revised your first draft based on feedback from your teacher
• edited your work for COPS 
• checked the rubric to make sure you have included all necessary elements
• you are ready to submit your final draft!

Submit under the dropbox: Literary Essay: Final Draft:  Unit 5.