Poet Biography Project
Language Arts 8
100 points!
For this project, you will need to:
1. Select a poet
2. Research this person's life and writing
3. Prepare a written report about your findings
Here are the topics you need to cover in your research and your report:
Personal Background
In no more than 1 paragraph, give some information about your selected poet's life.
Include things like when and where this person lived, where he/she went to school, major
life events and accomplishments, and so on. I do not want this person's entire life story—
just some highlights!
Poetic Style
In another paragraph or two, discuss the poetic type, style, and subject matter this person
is known for. For example, did he/she write free verse or sonnets? Did he/she write
about love or war or death or funny things? What are some of his/her most famous
poems? Why are those poems famous?
Selected Poem
Read several poems by your poet and then select one to include in your report. Type it
out or copy it into your work. Be sure to include the title of the poem (if there is one) and
the year that it was written.
Poem Analysis
For the poem you chose in the step above, provide your own analysis of the poem's
meaning. This should be at least 1 paragraph in length, but could be two or more
paragraphs long depending on the poem you chose. In your analysis, explain what the
poem is about. What is the poet trying to convey to the reader? Provide evidence from
the poem to support your thoughts. Remember, DO NOT use "I" in your formal writing.
GRADING
You will be evaluated on the following things:
 Following the written directions above
 Thoroughness/Completeness of work
 Writing content, organization, and style
 Proper grammar and writing conventions
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Research/Evidence of
learning
Neatness
Use of sentence patterns
Poets
You can basically choose any famous poet to research, but here is a list of poets in case you need
help thinking of someone. If you are not sure about a choice, check with the teacher before
starting your project!! Some of the choices below are very “classical” poets and many are also
British (English), so they may be more challenging for you.
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Emily Dickinson
Walt Whitman
Shel Silverstein
e.e. cummings
Langston Hughes
Robert Frost
Dylan Thomas
John Donne
Sylvia Plath
Anne Bradstreet
Toni Morrison
Gwendolyn Brooks
Edgar Allen Poe
Ralph Waldo Emerson
T.S. Eliot
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Phillis Wheatley
William Carlos Williams
Maya Angelou
William Blake
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Burns
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Shakespeare
Andrew Marvell
William Wordsworth
William Butler Yeats
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Lord Byron
Poet Biography Project
Writer’s Name: ________________________________________
Evaluator’s Name: ______________________________________
Please read your classmate’s essay and evaluate it against the following criteria.
Personal Background
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No more than 1 paragraph.
Includes interesting and relevant information about the poet's life.
Is not overly detailed….gives just the highlights!
Make sense and doesn’t jump around too much.
_______/5
_______/5
_______/5
_______/5
Poetic Style
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One to two paragraphs.
Discusses the poetic type, style, and subject matter
this person is known for, like did he/she write in free verse or sonnets?
Did he/she write about love or war or death or funny things?
Includes some of his/her most famous poems & why they are famous.
_______/5
_______/5
_______/5
Selected Poem
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Essay includes a complete poem by this poet.
The poem is correctly formatted (looks like the original).
_______/10
_______/5
Poem Analysis
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At least one paragraph, but could be more.
Clearly explains what the poem is about &
what the poet is trying to convey to the reader
Provides evidence (quotes) from the poem for support.
_______/5
_______/10
_______/5
General Criteria
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Writing shows good content, organization, and style
Writing shows proper grammar & conventions (spelling & punctuation)
Essay is neatly presented
Uses at least 5 different sentence patterns
Any use of "I" = -10 points!
_______/10
_______/10
_______/5
_______/5
TOTAL = ____________/100
On the back of this sheet, please write at least two positive comments
and one suggestion for improvement.