English 10 Semester 2 – American Literature
“Everyday Use” Extended Response
Name: _________________________
DUE on FRIDAY, February 1
Goal: Use prepositional phrases to add variety and interest to writing
Write narratives to develop events using well structured event sequences
Examples of prepositional phrases:
“After dinner Dee (Wangero) went to the trunk at the foot of my bed and started rifling through it. Maggie
hung back in the kitchen over the dishpan. Out came Wangero with two quilts. They had been pieced by
Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted
them.”
Directions: Deepen your understanding of “Everyday Use” by responding to the prompt below. Write your
response on a clean sheet of loose leaf paper neatly in blue or black ink. Alternatively you may type your
response if you choose. Use the revising tip to go back over your response to improve it. Staple this
assignment sheet to the front of your response.
Writing Prompt: Extended Constructed Response, Story Sequel
Imagine that Dee visits the family again ten years after the events in “Everyday Use.” Write one page showing
what she, Mama, and Maggie are now like and how they interact. What conflicts between them are still
unresolved?
Revising Tip: Review your response. How have you used prepositional phrases that show what, when, where,
and how events take place in your story sequel?
Rubric for Grading:
Criteria
5
4
3
2
1
Development
Effectively
develops, and
resolves a conflict;
maintains
believable
characters
Uses several
strong, varied
prepositional
phrases to add
descriptive detail
to the events
Narrative is free of
errors
Shows a strong
command of
conventions
Develops and
resolves a conflict;
characters have
some believable
traits
Introduces a
conflict, but needs
more
development;
characters are
inconsistent
Uses prepositional
phrases, but many
are repeated
Has no
identifiable
conflict;
characters are
underdeveloped
or unrealistic
Does not use
prepositional
phrases or uses
them incorrectly
Language
Spelling
Grammar
1 spelling error
2-3 spelling errors
Introduces a
conflict but does
not resolve it;
characters are
inadequately
developed
Needs more
prepositional
phrases to fully
develop the
descriptive details
in the story
4-5 spelling errors
A few errors in
conventions
A few distracting
errors in
conventions
Some significant
errors in
conventions
Uses some varied
prepositional
phrases but could
be more variety
Total: ___________ / 2 = ___________ / 10 points
More than 5
spelling errors
Has many
distracting errors
in conventions