Ordinary People
Connecting Literature to Life
Literature is a mirror for society; the themes, concerns, issues and events that arise in literature reflect the
same concerns of the outside world. Literature often serves not only as a mirror for the world outside the
pages of a book, but also as a commentary on the very issues it presents.
In this task you will be analyzing and connecting the thematic concerns of Judith Guest’s novel Ordinary
People to the outside world of music, newspaper and magazine writing and film production.
Option One – Music and Ordinary People



Choose one song that connects thematically to the novel.
You should print and submit the song lyrics separately.
Write an essay explaining the meaning of the songs as well as the specific song lyrics you feel align
themselves with Ordinary People, and how the a theme from the novel mirrors the theme of the song.
Use textual evidence to support your answer.
Option Two – Psychology and Ordinary People
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

Find a scholarly article on a topic in psychology related to Ordinary People. The article must be three
pages or longer and from a credible source.
Compare the contents of the article to the characters, plot, conflict, and themes of Ordinary People.
Develop your ideas on each relationship using textual examples from the novel.
Option Three – Film and Ordinary People
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

Choose one film that shares similar concerns/issues as those presented in Ordinary People (…the film
version Ordinary People is not an option).
Compare the characters, themes, conflicts, plot, etc. in the film you have selected with the Ordinary
People novel (not the Ordinary People movie.)
Develop on your ideas on the relationship between the film you selected and the novel using textual
examples from the novel.
Option Four – Critical Review and Ordinary People
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

Write a critical review on the novel Ordinary People, including what Guest did well and what needs
improvement; write the review from the perspective of a critical reader.
Your review must include textual examples as evidence.
Develop your ideas around whether the content of Ordinary People is accurate to life and to
relationships.
Ordinary People Essay
Introduction (12 points)
Self- created title (not bold or underlined)
Contains a hook to engage the reader before the thesis
Full name of author and italicized title of work
Underlined thesis statement, located in the introduction
Body Paragraph One (20)
Topic sentence introduces the idea to be developed and refers
to the thesis statement
Fully developed ideas/commentary that supports the topic
sentence and the thesis statement
One relevant, integrated quote, with correct citation that
provides supporting evidence
Closing sentence(s)
Body Paragraph Two (20)
Topic sentence introduces second idea to be developed and
refers to the thesis statement
Fully developed ideas/commentary that supports the topic
sentence and the thesis statement
One relevant, integrated quote, with correct citation that
provides supporting evidence
Closing sentence(s)
Body Paragraph Three (20)
Topic sentence introduces third idea to be developed and refers
to the thesis statement
Fully developed ideas/commentary that supports the topic
sentence and the thesis statement
One relevant, integrated quote, with correct citation that
provides supporting evidence
Closing sentence(s)
Organization (5)
Body paragraphs follow the thesis statement
Appropriate, focused arrangement of content
Conclusion (8)
Reminds readers of thesis statement and summarizes the main
points
Refers back to some specific examples and answers the so what
question
Conventions (10)
Contains at least three colons, dashes, or semicolons, used
correctly
Spelling, Punctuation, Grammatical Errors, or Capitalization
Errors
Written in the present tense - Stays in third person (No I, we,
you, us)
Does not contain any information language including
colloquialisms or contractions
No run-ons or sentence fragments as well as no unclearly
wording or sentences
MLA (5)
Quotes are cited properly with author and page number.
Header and page spacing properly formatted
Total Score:
Strong
/100
Needs Work
Weak- Needs Revision
Comments for the Grading of your essay:
1- Thesis needs
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
78-
revision because it
is either not
worded correctly
or is too broad (not
specific enough).
Topic sentence is
weak because it
does not connect
enough with the
thesis or is too
general.
Supporting
evidence is weak
because it does not
match the topic
sentence or is
unrelated to the
thesis.
Analysis of
supporting
evidence is weak
or nonexistent.
Paragraph contains
too much summary
of the text.
Missing a
concluding
statement to end a
body paragraph.
Informal or unclear
word choice.
Introduction does
not have a hook.
1- Thesis needs
revision because it is
either not worded
correctly or is too
broad (not specific
enough).
2- Topic sentence is
weak because it does
not connect enough
with the thesis or is
too general.
3- Supporting
evidence is weak
because it does not
match the topic
sentence or is
unrelated to the
thesis.
4- Analysis of
supporting evidence
is weak or
nonexistent.
5- Paragraph contains
too much summary of
the text.
6- Missing a
concluding statement
to end a body
paragraph.
7- Informal or unclear
word choice.
8- Introduction does
not have a hook.
1- Thesis needs
revision because it is
either not worded
correctly or is too
broad (not specific
enough).
2- Topic sentence is
weak because it does
not connect enough
with the thesis or is
too general.
3- Supporting
evidence is weak
because it does not
match the topic
sentence or is
unrelated to the
thesis.
4- Analysis of
supporting evidence
is weak or
nonexistent.
5- Paragraph contains
too much summary of
the text.
6- Missing a
concluding statement
to end a body
paragraph.
7- Informal or unclear
word choice.
8- Introduction does
not have a hook.