Developing and Explaining Connections
When developing and explaining connections, it is important to consider:
 What type of connection have I made: text-text, text-self, or text-world?
 Does my connection make sense to my writing topic?
 Do I state my connection clearly?
 Do I explain what I’m connecting to? Do I give enough description/details that other
readers, who may have never heard of my connection, would understand my
thinking?
 Do I link my connection back to the text and explain why it connects?
My Original Connection:
A connection can be made to the lesson that Bobby realizes in The Misfits to Charlotte
Doyle’s discovery of her true self in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Charlotte
discovers that she does not have to be what everyone else thinks she should be. This is like
Bobby.
Using the Connection Strength chart, I can review my writing to identify what I currently have
in my drafted connection and proceed to outline steps to take to improve my connection
through revisions.
What My Connection Currently Has

I state my connection

I give some details about the
connecting text, but not much

I attempt to make a linking statement,
but I don’t explain why.
My Connection Strength:
By look at the Connection Strength chart, I’ve
determined that my connection is between a Level 2
and 3. I’m going to focus on the revision steps listed for
a Level 2 to ensure that my connection becomes
stronger.
Suggestions for Revision

Rewrite your opening sentence to have a
formal tone rather than an informal tone (“I”)
o A connection can be made…
o The ____ in ____ can be connected to
____ in ____.

Explain your connection to provide details to
help your readers understand where your
connection is coming from.

Link back to the original text to show how it
connects.

Expand on your link to explain how your
connection links to the original text.

Construct a concluding/wrap-up sentence
My Original Connection:
A connection can be made to the lesson that Bobby realizes in The Misfits to Charlotte Doyle’s discovery
of her true self in The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Charlotte discovers that she does not have to
be what everyone else thinks she should be. This is like Bobby.
REVISED Connection:
The lesson that is revealed through Bobby’s realization in The Misfits can be connected
to the life lesson that Avi conveys to his reading audience through his main character in The
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. In The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, the main
character, Charlotte, begins her journey as a girl defined by the expectations of her English
society. Charlotte cannot be her true self and is weighed down by the rules and pressures
that dictate what a “proper young lady” should be. Through her adventurous journey on the
Seahawk and her relationships with the malicious Captain Jaggery and the kind Zachariah,
Charlotte’s view of the world expands, ultimately allowing her to discover that her society
and other people should not define her place in the world, but that she should take control
of her own destiny. Charlotte’s realization helps express to the reading audience the life
lesson that an individual should be the defining force in their own life. The way in which the
character’s realization reveals an important life lesson in The True Confessions of Charlotte
Doyle is similar to how Howe conveys a life lesson to his intended reading audience. Like
Charlotte, Bobby comes to his realization that names and labels should not control how he
and others perceive him through his experiences and relationships with others. Also, both
characters experience a vivid change from the beginning of the novel, which helps to show
the power of the character’s realizations on their view of the world around them and their
place in it. The drastic character change in both texts helps to reinforce the power behind
the intended life lessons and clearly conveys the authors’ lessons to their reading audience.
Overall, the life lessons and methods through which the authors convey these messages to
their readers are similar in both James Howe’s The Misfits and Avi’s The True Confessions of
Charlotte Doyle.
Sentence Codes:




Topic Sentence that states my connection clearly
Explanation sentences about the connecting piece with details to help “set up” why I think the way I do
Linking sentences that help to establish the connection between the two texts clearly by stating and
explaining with specific details
Concluding sentence that restates my writing focus and reinforces the connection I made