AP LIT
Cady A220
Name: _______________________________________________
Date: __________
Period: ________
Allusions & Archetypes Research Project
Purpose: To examine and synthesize a variety of sources, gather evidence, and write an informed, persuasive
essay based on conclusions about allusions and archetypes and how they influences our view of the world and the
human condition, supported by source evidence.
Assignment: In an argumentative-research essay that synthesizes your novel from summer reading and three
sources you find on your own for support, identify at least one allusion and one archetype (or archetypal
element), and answer the question: How do allusions and archetypes inform or influence our understanding of
the world and the human condition? For your novel, you should address what the author believes about their
subject/theme and how they communicate that theme using your selected allusion and archetype. Discuss the
authors use of the selected allusion and archetype in your novel (connected to the theme), and back it up with
support from your outside research. Your argument should be central, and the sources should be used to support
your argument. Be sure to give them credit for all ideas with a Works Cited page and parenthetical citation.
Finally, because I’m sure you’ll ask, you should end up with a 6-8 page final copy.
Writing Process:
Rough Draft _____/10 pts
Edit_____/10 pts
Revised Copy_____/10 pts
Final Copy_____/10 pts
Citation_____/10 pts
Total points for Writing Process: _______/50 possible
Scoring Rubric
Score: 9= (100%)
8= (95%)
7= (90%)
Essays that receive a 9 generally begin by contextualizing the issue at hand for readers, explaining to them briefly
why educated, informed people ought to read on. Generally, the thesis in high-scoring essays does justice to the
complexity of the issue being considered while clearly stating the author’s position and the general argument he
or she will make in support of that position. This essay makes excellent use of the sources, by making the
connection of the sources to the thesis very clear and making connections between the writer’s position and the
sources. Use of quoted material is fully integrated with the writer’s own words. A writer of a top essay effectively
uses the sources to support his or her argument rather than being overwhelmed by them. This essay provides
conclusions that do not merely summarize but address the “so what” issue. Conclusion addresses how readers
should continue to think about the issue at hand and suggests how the issue will continue to influence the
reader’s life. Information is deliberately organized to enhance the central idea and move the reader through the
text. Voice and word choice are powerful and confident, demonstrating an awareness of audience. There are very
few errors in grammar, spelling and conventions. An essay that scores 9 or 8 will be slightly more persuasive and
sophisticated in style than a paper that scores 7.
Score: 6= (85%)
5= (80%)
Essays that receive a 5 or 6 generally provide a relatively brief introduction to the topic that helps readers
understand why they should engage with the issue at hand. The writer presents a strong thesis but it is generally
rather straightforward and does not do much to accommodate the complexity of the issue. Thesis statements in
this type of essay may state the author’s position but not a general statement of the argument he or she will make
in support of that position. There may be mistakes or awkward integration of quotes. The writer quotes source
material and comments on it briefly in order to connect the thesis, but interpretation may be incomplete. The
AP LIT
Cady A220
writer forges links between his or her position and those represented by the sources, but the links may be unclear
of strained. The conclusion tends to be a bit repetitive, often returning to language very similar to the thesis.
Information is presented in a logical sequence with natural transitions. Voice and word choice are appropriate for
the topic and audience. Minor errors in grammar, spelling, and conventions do not interfere with understanding.
An essay that scores 6 will be slightly more persuasive and sophisticated in style than a paper that scores 5.
Score: 4= (75%)
3= (70%)
Essays that receive a 4 or 3 often seemed overwhelmed by the sources. Rather than entering into a conversation
with other writers, this essay is dominated by them. The writer tends to leap directly into summarizing or
describing the source material rather than writing an introduction that addresses the issue. The thesis is weak or
does not address the topic. The essay makes slight reference to the sources, but has very little
interpretation/explanation of how the source evidence connects to the thesis. These essays may use only 2-3
sources to support the argument. Occasionally the essay suggests that the writer misunderstands the sources.
Sometimes the essay incorporates large, directly-quoted excerpts with no signal phrase with little interpretation
or explanation. Information is presented as a list or disconnected ideas. Word choice is simplistic. Essay lacks voice
and audience awareness. Errors in grammar, spelling, and conventions interfere with understanding. An essay that
scores 4 will be slightly more persuasive and sophisticated in style than a paper that scores 3.
Score: 2= (65%)
1= (60%)
Essays that receive a 1 or 2 may fail to address the topic or are incomplete. These essays are dominated by quoted
or paraphrased material and there may be no recognizable thesis. Writer clearly misunderstands the sources. The
essay may incorporate large sections of quoted or paraphrased material with no interpretation or explanation.
These essays may use fewer than 2 sources or unreliable sources to support the argument. An essay that scores 2
will be slightly more persuasive and sophisticated in style than a paper that scores 1.
Essay Grade: ____ ____/10
Citation Rubric
8-10 points
In-text citation is smoothly integrated and punctuated perfectly. There is proper citation for both quoted and
paraphrased material. Author gives credit for any and all information that is not his or her original thought. The
works cited page is formatted according to MLA and all required information for each source is included and in the
proper format.
5-7 points
In-text citation may be awkward but is never omitted; citation may have extra commas or abbreviation in them,
but quotations are properly punctuated. Works cited may have a few errors in font or format, but has fewer than
three flaws.
1-4 points
In-text citations are confusing, missing, or riddled with errors in format. There is no works cited page, or there is
merely a list with no formatting of any kind. If there is a works cited page, it has more than four errors.
0 points
There are no in-text citations nor is there a works cited page.
Citation Grade: ____ ____/10