Into the Wild
Character Analysis Essay
In the Author’s Note to Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer writes,
Some readers [of the original magazine article Krakauer wrote about McCandless]
admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated
that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance
and stupidity—and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he
received.
Which side do you agree with? Is McCandless deserving of our respect, or is he just an
arrogant fool who should be forgotten? Choose your position carefully and write a 2-3
page TYPED, double spaced, 12 point font essay backing up your claim, using
evidence from the text.
Due: Monday, November 7th, 2011
Advanced











Structure & Organization
30- 27
Creative, detailed attention
getter
Solid, specific thesis statement
Clear Plan of Development
All paragraphs have topic
sentences and transitions
Conclusion restates thesis in
different words
Conclusion restates Plan of
Development in different
words
Clincher creatively wraps
things up and leaves reader
thinking
Ideas & Development
50-45
Writer carefully and clearly
argues a position about Chris
McCandless
Writer gives several solid
examples from the text that
back up the position stated in
the thesis.
Writer blends in three
meaningful quotes from the
text to support main ideas
Writer doesn’t just summarize
the story: writer analyzes the
significance of Chris
McCandless’ actions,
personality, and overall being
Proficient











Structure & Organization
26-21
Attention getter could be more
creative or detailed
Thesis statement should be
more specific
OK Plan of Development
Most paragraphs have topic
sentences and transitions
Conclusion restates thesis in
same words as intro
Conclusion restates Plan of
Development in same words as
intro
Clincher present but could be
more creative
Ideas & Development
44- 35
Writer states a position, but
could do so more clearly
Writer gives some solid
examples from the text. Could
elaborate to truly prove
whether or not Chris deserves
respect.
Writer uses three quotes to
support main ideas, but quotes
could have been blended in
better or could be
stronger/more meaningful
Writer summarizes story well,
but could analyze the essence
of Chris’ character more
Emerging










Structure & Organization
20- 0
No clear attention getter
No clear thesis statement
No Plan of Development
Most paragraphs lack topic
sentences and transitions
Conclusion fails to restate
thesis
Conclusion fails to restate Plan
of Development
No clincher
Ideas & Development
34-0
Writer doesn’t really take a
side, or does not articulate it
clearly
Writer fails to clearly give
examples from the text to prove
whether or not Chris deserves
respect. Reader is left with
little understanding of his
character.
Writer fails to use three quotes
to support main ideas
Writer only summarizes events
in the story and doesn’t analyze
Chris’ character
Conventions
20- 18
 No major grammar or spelling
errors interfere with essay
readability
Conventions
17- 14
 Essay has 3 or more minor
errors
 Overall, errors don’t interfere
with essay readability
Total: _____________ 100 Points
Detailed Comments:
Conventions
13- 0
 Errors interfere with essay
readability
 Writer needs to proofread