Graded Assignment
ENG103A/104A: Literary Analysis and Composition I | Unit 3 | Lesson 10: Unit Test
Name:
Date:
Graded Assignment
Unit 3 Journal: Short Stories
.
Remember: You need to complete the assignment by the due date to receive full credit.
1. What conclusion can you draw about the theme of “A Glass of Milk”? What might the author be saying
about accepting help? Give evidence from the story to support your analysis.
Answer:
2. In the last paragraph of the story “Gumption”, the narrator says he has to “try and work up a little gumption.”
What conclusion might you draw about the story’s theme from the narrator’s decision to “work up a little
gumption” even though he knows that the Oysters have suffered negative consequences for their gumption?
What message might the author be trying to convey?
Answer:
3. In “To Build a Fire,” when does the man finally think about immortality and his connection (or lack of it) with
the earth? Write a paragraph below using examples from the story to support your answer.
Answer:
4. Who is Walter Mitty? What conclusions can you draw about Walter Mitty's character from the difference
between his real life and his imagined life? Support your analysis with evidence from the text.
Answer:
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Graded Assignment
ENG103A/104A: Literary Analysis and Composition I | Unit 3 | Lesson 10: Unit Test
5. Would "The Piece of String" be as persuasive if it were written from one of the other characters' points of
view? Why or why not? Use examples from the story to support your answer.
Answer:
6. At the very beginning of the story “A Tell Tale Heart”, it is revealed that the narrator is mad. How does the
narrator’s insanity, and his insistence that he is not insane, immediately change the reader's expectation of
the narrator and the plot of the story? Give evidence from the story to support your analysis.
Answer:
7. Shirley Jackson creates a contrast between the reader's initial expectations and the concluding events in "The
Lottery" in subtle ways. Review the description of the setting in the first sentence of the story. What mood
does the author create with this initial description? What expectation does that set in the reader at the very
beginning of the story?
Answer:
8. At the beginning of the story “The Lady or the Tiger”, the author explains how chance decides a person's fate.
At the end of the story, he allows the reader to decide the man's fate, the princess's fate, and the reader's
own fate. What might the author be saying about justice and human nature? Use examples from the story to
support your answer.
Answer:
9. In each story in Unit 3, the main character is an ordinary person who faces extraordinary circumstances he or
she cannot control. For every story, identify the main conflict and its resolution. Then write a couple of
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Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
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Graded Assignment
ENG103A/104A: Literary Analysis and Composition I | Unit 3 | Lesson 10: Unit Test
sentences identifying the story’s theme by thinking about the lesson the main character learned. Give
evidence from the story to support your explanation of the theme.
Answer:
10. Choose one of the following story elements that was discussed in Unit 3: irony, suspense, a certain kind of
narrator, dialect, mood, or symmetrical plot. Explain how it is used in one of the stories in Unit 3. Use
examples from the text to support your answer.
Answer:
Your score on the Journal
Your Score
(out of 5)
Criteria
10
Student answered all questions completely and followed main
directions for the assignment (including submitting it on time)
10
Each paragraph included a topic sentence and a conclusion
(where appropriate)
10
Transitions were used to clarify ideas and move smoothly within
and between paragraphs (when multiple paragraphs were
required)
10
Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar were used
throughout the assignment
10
Students used details from the text to support their response and
focus was maintained throughout each response (did you stay on
topic?)
10
Student used formal language and style for each response and
each response showed a clear understanding of the literature
assigned.
60
Points earned
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Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
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