Animal Farm Essay Assignment Sheet
Context: You will be writing this essay from perspective of one member of a group of
successful farmers who are also firm believers in animal rights. You all are in favor of the equal
treatment of animals and wish to grant your animals independence; however, you all have heard
about what has happened on Animal Farm and wish to avoid the mistakes they have made.
Purpose: You have been assigned the special task of analyzing the events and characters from
Animal Farm and answering this question for your fellow farmers: Was it possible for Animal
Farm to reach Utopia? Your response will vary depending on whether you answer yes or no. If
your stance is that it was possible for them to reach Utopia, you must then explain what mistakes
Animal Farm made that prevented them from reaching it. If your stance is that it was
impossible to reach Utopia, you must then explain what about the animals and events from
Animal Farm made it impossible. Your conclusion will then provide insight on what changes
future farms could make to improve an animal-led farm chances at establishing prosperity.
Audience: Your “audience” for this written analysis on Animal Farm is your group of fellow
farmers. Your fellow farmers are relying on your expertise to help them determine how they
should proceed, what changes should be made, and how exactly they will allow their animals to
be independent.
Requirements: Minimum Length: 2 ½ pages
 All papers must be typed and double-spaced with one-inch margins.
 Only standard fonts will be accepted. (Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica)
 Papers must have a title, introduction and clear thesis statement, refer to specific
examples from the novel, and have a conclusion that not only restates your main
points but also makes suggestions on changes that should be made to avoid failure
on the farms.
Dates: Rough Drafts: Due May 7th
Peer Workshop: In Class on Thursday, May 10th.
Final Draft Due: May 14th.
Tips:
1) Don’t use the idea “The perfect place (Utopia) doesn’t exist” to support your answer. Focus your
efforts on analyzing characters or events from the novel.
2) This is a persuasive essay! Your job here is to sound convincing and to prove your points. This
means you need to use precise language and explain and analyze everything from the book that you want
to use as evidence. (It’s not all about finding the evidence—that’s all written by Orwell already—it’s
about coming up with your ideas which are the commentary and analysis.
3) You’ll receive a rubric this week that will explain exactly how your essay will be graded.
Animal Farm Essay Rubric
Excellent
Pretty Good
Thesis and
Introduction
(25 Points)
Body
Paragraphs
(40 Points)
Conclusion
(15 Points)
Grammar and
Style
(15 Points)
Manuscript
Requirements
(5 Points)
o Thesis takes a strong stance
and is written clearly
o Intro previews the ideas in
body paragraphs in the
order they appear
o Written in a convincing
manner that builds interest
o Voice and tone match the
context for the assignment
(22-25)
o Paragraphs contain clear
topic sentences
o Paragraphs are focused and
all help to prove the thesis
o Quotes/refers to wellchosen evidence and
supplies at least two
sentences of commentary
for each concrete detail
o Good variety in main ideas
o Shows sophisticated
thinking in commentary
o Uses transitions in and
between paragraphs
(35-40)
o Restates thesis
o Demonstrates the logical
progression of main ideas
o Provides creative and welldeveloped suggestions for
changes for future farms
o Gives the essay a closed
feeling
o Voice and tone match the
context of the assignment
(14-15)
o No spelling errors
o Few to no punctuation
errors
o No subject-verb agreement
errors
o Proper sentence structure
o No their/they’re/there and
other usage errors
(14-15)
o Fits within the length
requirement
o One inch margins
o Font is 12 pt. in Times
New Roman, Arial, or
Helvetica
o Double spaced
(5)
Needs Work
o Contains a thesis that
addresses the prompt
o Intro previews the ideas
in body paragraphs
o Voice and tone match the
context for the
assignment
(18-21)
o Lacks clear thesis
o Intro is vague/does
not give a preview
of the ideas to come
o Voice and tone do
not match the
context for the
assignment
(17 & below)
o Paragraphs contain topic
sentences
o Paragraphs are focused
most of the time
o Quotes/refers to evidence
from the novel and also
supplies some
commentary
o Uses some transitions in
and between paragraphs
(28-34)
o Missing topic
sentences
o Paragraphs are not
focused
o Lacks sufficient
commentary
o Lacks transitions
(27 & below)
o Restates thesis and main
ideas
o Provides suggestions for
changes for future farms
o Gives the essay a closed
feeling
o Voice and tone match the
context of the assignment
(11-13)
o Few to no
suggestions
o Conclusion does not
match thesis
(10 & below)
o A few spelling errors
o Some punctuation errors
o A few subject-verb
agreement errors
o 1-3 their/they’re/there
and other usage errors
(11-13)
o Frequent spelling
errors
o Many punctuation
errors
o 3+ subject-verb
agreement errors
o 4+
their/they’re/there
and other usage
errors
(10 & below)
o Does not meet
length requirement
o Incorrect Font/size
o Not Double-spaced
(0)
o Comes close to the
length requirement
o One inch margins
o Font is 12 pt. in Times
New Roman, Arial, or
Helvetica
o Double spaced
(3-4)