BRAVE NEW WORLD – UNIT ESSAY – October 2014
Goals:
 Apply a specific literary perspective (Marxist or Psychoanalytical) to explore what is stated,
implied, and omitted in the text Brave New World.
 Use text evidence to support interpretations and draw conclusions that go beyond what is
overtly stated in the text.
 Demonstrate adherence to MLA style guidelines and conventions of standard English.
Timeline: “TBOT” means “To Be On Track” you should have finished ___ on that day.
Sun.
Mon.
Tues.
Weds.
Thurs.
Fri.
10/12
Gardner
reads,
comments;
NO HW
10/6
LAB 200
Essay
requirements
TBOT: topic,
thesis, part of
intro.
10/13
LAB 100
Work Time:
REVISIONS
10/7
LAB 200
Work Time
TBOT: intro
plus first
paragraph
10/8
LAB 200
Work Time
TBOT: intro
plus all body
paragraphs
10/14
LAB 200
Work Time:
REVISIONS
10/15
LAB 200
Work Time:
REVISIONS
HW=Finish
10/9
LAB 200
Work Time:
TBOT: whole
essay, ready
for final
revisions
10/16
Back in 810…
Next Unit…
10/10
NO SCHOOL
Finish in
Drive by
1159pm
Sat.
10/11
Gardner
reads,
comments;
NO HW
10/17
Final Draft in
Drive by
1159pm
HW=Finish
Prompt:
Select either a Marxist critical perspective or a Psychoanalytical critical perspective from which to
examine Brave New World. Establish a claim about the novel, its themes or its characters, and analyze
evidence in support of that claim while applying your critical perspective.
Format:
 Locate the document I shared with you titled “[your name] BNW Unit Essay.” Your essay
must be composed on this document.
 Your essay must follow MLA formatting rules:
o Times New Roman 12 point font
o Double-spacing
o Proper page citation
o Proper heading (not a header!) with your name, my name, the class and the properly
formatted date
 Use formal academic voice: (no “you” or “I” unless in a directly quoted concrete detail; “we” or
“us” is permissible if making generalizations in your conclusions paragraph).
 Avoid contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t, they’ll).
 Avoid abbreviations (etc., b/c, w/, i.e., eg, roflmao).
Resources:
 In your Drive, I have shared with you a document called “Literary Analysis Scaffold.” Use the
search bar to find it in your Drive, then consider using it to help you frame your argument.
 Visit my website: staff.camas.wednet.edu/blogs/mgardner and click on the “Writing Help” tab.
 Review the feedback and goals I wrote on your Mini-Analysis
Introduction
Assessment Scales:
Level 1
An attempt at engagement is made,
and may be cliché or disconnected from
the topic or purpose.
Synopsis is present and overly broad or
unnecessarily specific.
Thesis is present and represents
superficial or surface-level
interpretation.
Body Paragraphs
Level 1
Claim represents overtly stated facts.
Needs context for clarity.
Needs convincing evidence from the
text to support the claim.
Commentary/analysis repeats ideas
already presented; lacks depth;
represents summary rather than
analysis.
Conclusion
Level 1
Summarizes the main points given by
the essay.
Overtly restates the thesis.
Conventions
Level 1
Errors in basic capitalization and end-ofsentence punctuation are present.
MLA citation is not adhered to
consistently.
Spelling errors on even common words.
Grammatical errors and construction
impede the reader’s understanding.
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Engagement strategy is generally effective.
Synopsis is present and provides basic
background information the reader will
need, though feels like a transplanted
summary.
Thesis is present and represents an
interpretive claim or synthesis of ideas; may
be a three-prong model.
Engagement strategy is effective, related to the
topic and thesis, and fluidly blends into the synopsis.
Synopsis presents important background
information necessary for the reader but may
include superfluous detail.
Thesis establishes a broad claim about which the
paper will present subclaims and supporting
arguments.
Engagement strategy is innovative, effective, directly related
to the thesis, and draws the reader seamlessly into the
synopsis.
Synopsis clearly anticipates the key content of the paper and
provides necessary background that enables the reader to fully
understand the context of the argument.
Thesis establishes a precise claim about which the paper will
present subclaims and supporting arguments.
Level 2
Claim represents an opinion or
interpretation.
Includes adequate context to establish
background for the evidence.
Evidence provided addresses the claim but
may simply restate it.
Commentary/analysis is largely summary
but does draw some inferences or insights;
may be overly broad or needing focus.
Level 3
Level 4
Claim represents an interpretation that is inferential
or demands intra-text connections.
Context smoothly connects the claim and the
evidence while providing necessary contact.
Evidence provided is illustrative of the claim and
demands interpretation.
Commentary articulates focused reasoning that
goes deeper into critical interpretation of the text;
text evidence is deconstructed for implicit meaning.
Claim represents insightful inferential claim that applies a
distinguishable literary perspective.
Context focuses on key background details that are particularly
relevant for the claim.
A pattern of convincing illustrative evidence supports the
claim offered.
Commentary articulates focused reasoning that clearly
connects to tenets or key ideas of a specific literary perspective
(lens) and is deconstructed with that lens in mind.
If relevant, counterclaims are articulated, respected, and
skillfully refuted.
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Summarizes the main points given by the
essay and identifies the common thread
within those points.
Attempts to extend the thesis beyond the
essay to suggest broader significance of the
topic or theme.
Brings the essay to a sense of closure by
echoing opening language.
Reviews the evidence provided in a concise and
balanced way and identifies the common thread
(thesis) this evidence contributes to proving.
Extends the thesis by drawing a conclusion around
the implications, significance, or broader meaning of
the topic or theme explored in the essay.
Skillfully echoes the opening language from the
intro to bring a good sense of closure.
Achieves Level 3, and also draws a conclusion that shows
insight, innovation, great depth of understanding, and mastery
of the content of the essay.
Level 2
Level 3
Minor lapses in MLA citation are present.
Spelling errors are present only on
uncommon or difficult words.
Grammatical errors, if present, are only on
more complex or challenging syntactical
devices.
GRADING: Each body paragraph is assessed separately.
A
October, November
Mode of 3, no 1’s
December, January
Mode of 3, at least one 4
February, March
Mode of 3, multiple 4’s
April, May, June
Mode of 4
Level 4
No errors in MLA citation.
No spelling errors.
More complex grammatical structures are
attempted, with some success.
B
Mode of 3
Mode of 3, no 1’s
Mode of 3, at least one 4
Mode of 3, multiple 4’s
No errors in MLA citation.
No spelling errors.
Complex grammatical structures are used intentionally to
enhance the meaning and organization.
C
Mode of 2
Mode of 3
Mode of 3, no 1’s
Mode of 3, no 1’s
D
Mode of 2, multiple 1’s
Mode of 2
Mode of 2, multiple 3’s
Mode of 2, multiple 3’s