7th Grade Writing Prompt
Your parents send you to school to learn, but some of the most important lessons in life aren't learned in the
classroom. Think about something important that you've learned outside of school.
Your essay should identify the lesson learned.
-How did you learn it?
-Why is it important to you?
-Who or what taught you about it?
-How has the lesson impacted your life?
Your essay should integrate at least one of the following essays from your textbook:
"An American Childhood" by Annie Dillard on page 118
“The Only Girl in the World for Me” by Bill Cosby on page 496
"Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez on page 780
Your essay should follow these guidelines:
Correct formatting and citations according to the MLA style as shown below
2-4 pages in length
typed and double-spaced
MLA Guidelines
Header
Joe Smith
Mr. Cline
The header should be double-spaced, just like the rest of the paper
Language Arts
5 March 2013
Works Cited Format
Works Cited
Alvarez, Julia. “Names/Nombres.” Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et. al. Evanston: McDougal
Littell, 2008. 782-786. Print.
Cosby, Bill. “The Only Girl in the World for Me.” Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et. al. Evanston:
McDougal Littell, 2008. 496-500. Print.
Dillard, Annie. An American Childhood. Excerpt from Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et. al.
Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2008. 120-25. Print.
This is the correct way to cite each of the selected texts.
Parenthetical Citation Format
(Alvarez 782).
(Cosby 499).
(Dillard 123).
This is how your parenthetical citation should look. Just use the correct author’s name and make sure the page
number is correct.