Please grab your SpringBoard books and turn to p 48
(Deconstructing a Writing Prompt). In the writing section of
your journal, respond to the following. What is this writing
prompt asking for? If you were to respond to this prompt in
one sentence, what would that sentence be?
Write a well-organized essay in response to the following
question: What is one of the key themes evident in Bless Me
Ultima, and how does the author use literary devices to
communicate this theme? Remember theme is not just a topic,
but the author’s message on that topic. Provide evidence to
support your claim and explain how that evidence illustrates the
theme.
ENTRY TASK
Welcome!
Today we will learn how to:
* deconstruct and appropriately
respond to a writing prompt and
* write an effective thesis to guide a
well-organized essay.
OBJECTIVES
Before you begin a writing task, it’s important to
stop and make sure you understand what the
prompt is asking for. It can be easy to get caught
up in ideas and details and forget the main task.
You may write a response that demonstrates
excellent thinking and flawless grammar, but if
you do not respond to the prompt, so what?
One way to be sure you understand a writing
prompt is to analyze it for these five things ...
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
1. Subject: What is the subject you need to
write about? A well-written prompt will
identify the subject, but it may be vague.
For example, a prompt might tell you to
think of a childhood experience. What
common themes or ideas (either implicit or
explicit) are associated with the subject?
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
2. Speaker: Who is writing the answer?
(You are, but are you writing it as a
student, a citizen, an authority?) Use your
inferencing skills to determine what
perspective you should take as the writer.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
3. Type of Response: What kind of
response are you writing – expository,
persuasive, synthesis, personal narrative?
Are you expected to write an essay, a
paragraph, or a few sentences? An
effective prompt indicates the type of
writing you need to do.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
4. Task: What is the prompt asking you to
do? For example, your task may be to take
a stand on an issue and write a fiveparagraph persuasive essay. Read the
details carefully to identify exactly what
you need to do.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
5. Hints: Does the prompt give you
suggestions to get started? The prompt
may suggest ideas to think about or
literary devices to identify and analyze.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Prompt 1: Think of something at your school that you would like to change in
order to create a more positive learning environment. The change could
affect anything from a policy or procedure to an attitude or tradition. In a
well-organized persuasive letter, write to an adult at your school presenting
the problem, your solution to that problem, and why the environment would
change.
1. Subject: something at your school that you would like to change in order to
create a more positive learning environment
2. Speaker: a student, a learner
3. Type of Response: persuasive letter
4. Task: write a persuasive letter to an adult at your school presenting the
problem, your solution to that problem, and why the environment would
change
5. Hints: three parts (problem, solution, outcome), to a school official, could
be anything from a policy or procedure to an attitude or tradition
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
1. Subject: Something at my school that I could change, perhaps a policy (like
the Tardy Policy) or the exclusive cliques that cause some students to feel left
out of social groups, affecting their ability to learn in class.
2. Speaker: I am the speaker. I am a student in this school. I will have to use
personal experiences and voice will be important.
3. Type of Response: I am to write a persuasive letter, using appropriate
formatting and deciding whether to be formal or informal. I will need to
persuade an adult and use the most persuasive techniques I know.
4. Task: Construct a persuasive argument. Present the problem, my solution,
and why the environment would change. I will need to include elements of
the argument, such as my claim and specific examples to support my claim. It
will also be important to show the counterarguments.
5. Hints: The prompt gives me a hint on organization because I need three
separate chunks: to address the problem, my solution, and why the
environment will change. The prompt does not give me the adult to write to,
so it might be smart to choose someone who can actually help me initiate the
change.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Work independently, with a partner, or
with your group to analyze prompt 2
for your group’s assigned element. Use
the My Notes space to record your
group’s assigned element.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Prompt 2: Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose a
controversial local, national, or global issue with which you are
familiar. Then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that
carefully considers opposing positions on this issue and
proposes a solution or compromise.
1. Subject:
2. Speaker:
3. Type of Response:
4. Task:
5. Hints:
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Prompt 2: Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose a
controversial local, national, or global issue with which you are
familiar. Then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that
carefully considers opposing positions on this issue and
proposes a solution or compromise.
1. Subject: controversial local, national, or global issue that you
are familiar with
2. Speaker: a citizen
3. Type of Response: argumentative essay
4. Task: write an argumentative essay that considers opposing
positions on the issue and proposes a solution or compromise
5. Hints: use appropriate evidence, carefully consider opposing
positions, choose something you’re familiar with
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Work independently, with a partner, or with your
group to analyze this prompt for all 5 elements.
Write a well-organized essay in response to the
following question: What is one of the key themes
evident in Bless Me Ultima, and how does the author
use literary devices to communicate this theme?
Remember theme is not just a topic, but the
author’s message on that topic. Provide evidence to
support your claim and explain how that evidence
illustrates the theme.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
Write a well-organized essay in response to the following question: What is one of
the key themes evident in Bless Me Ultima, and how does the author use literary
devices to communicate this theme? Remember theme is not just a topic, but the
author’s message on that topic. Provide evidence to support your claim and
explain how that evidence illustrates the theme.
1. Subject: Key theme & lit devices in Bless Me Ultima
2. Speaker: A reader interpreting literature
3. Type of Response: Literary analysis essay
4. Task: Write an well-organized essay that explains how the author uses literary
devices to communicate a key theme in Bless Me Ultima. Identify a key theme and
then how the author uses multiple lit devices to communicate that theme.
5. Hints: Theme is not topic, but the author’s message on a topic. Provide
evidence of the author using multiple lit devices to communicate your chosen
theme and then explain how your evidence supports your claim that the author is
using these lit devices to communicate this theme.
DECONSTRUCTING A PROMPT
The five-paragraph essay is an excellent way to
organize your thinking in a clear and logical
progression. A clear, arguable thesis provides a
roadmap for your essay. Your entire essay is built
upon your thesis, so it’s important to get it right! It
should be a CAR that drives your essay:
Clear (not vague or confusing)
Arguable (debatable claim, not a fact)
Roadmap (lay out where you’re going: how will you
support your claim?)
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Your thesis:
1) describes your topic, what your essay will be
about.
2) introduces a specific claim you are making
about your topic.
3) describes three ways in which you
will support and develop your claim.
THESIS = subject + claim + 3 points of support
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Let's look at this example:
"Going back to college was a complex
process that involved researching a
school, applying for admission, and
enrolling in classes."
Can you find the three different components
in this thesis statement?
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1) The Subject or Topic of the Essay:
"Going back to college..."
The essay is about going back to college.
But there is a lot to say on this subject, so now you
have to narrow it down to one specific claim.
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2) The Claim Made About the Subject or
Topic of the Essay:
"Going back to college was a complex
process..."
The topic is narrowed down to the complexity of going
back to college. Now the topic is easier to talk about.
You just need to list
three points to support this claim.
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Copyright 2012
3) Three Points of Support for the Claim:
"...a complex process that involved
researching a school, applying for admission
and enrolling in classes."
Three reasons going back to college is complex:
1) you need to research a school
2) you need to apply for admission
3) you need to enroll in classes
Copyright 2012
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Copyright 2012
"Going back to college was a complex
process that involved researching a
school, applying for admission, and
enrolling in classes."
1.subject or topic
2.claim
3.three points of support
Copyright 2012
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Copyright 2012
Supporting your Claim:
Your thesis statement comes in your introductory
paragraph; then you need devote at least one paragraph
for each supporting point.
One paragraph will be about researching a school.
The next paragraph will discuss applying for admission.
And the third paragraph will be about enrolling in classes.
These will be followed by the concluding paragraph,
summarizing how these points prove your claim.
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Copyright 2012
Do I have to list three points of support in
my thesis?
Not necessarily, but it is one way to make
sure that your thesis is a CAR (clear,
arguable roadmap).
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
To write a strong thesis for your Bless Me
Ultima essay, consider:
1) What is the subject?
2) What claim will you make about the
subject?
3) What will your three points of support
be?
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Try using this format for your thesis: In the novel
(title), (author’s name) uses (lit device 1), (lit
device 2), and (lit device 3) to communicate that
(theme).
In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya uses
juxtaposition, imagery, and symbolism to
communicate that although outside influences
and pressures abound, the creation of our destiny
is ultimately in no one’s hands but our own.
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Each paragraph then has a topic sentence that
connects back to the thesis. You can think of
your topic sentences as baby theses.
Baby thesis 1 / topic sentence 1: How Anaya uses
Lit Device 1 to communicate theme
Baby thesis 2 / topic sentence 2: How Anaya uses
Lit Device 2 to communicate theme
Baby thesis 3 / topic sentence 3: How Anaya uses
Lit Device 3 to communicate theme
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Mama/papa thesis: In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
uses juxtaposition, imagery, and symbolism to communicate that
although outside influences and pressures abound, the creation of
our unique destiny is ultimately in no one’s hands but our own.
Baby thesis 1: Anaya uses juxtaposition to highlight the intensity
of the tug-of-war between the opposing forces vying for Antonio’s
identity.
Baby thesis 2: Additionally, the imagery Anaya employs indicates
Antonio’s confusion as he attempts to reconcile the contradictory
influences pressuring him.
Baby thesis 3: Finally, Anaya uses symbolism to indicate that no
one but Antonio can decide his destiny.
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Now just follow up your topic sentence with evidence
that supports it and an explanation of how your
evidence supports it!
Baby thesis 1: Anaya uses juxtaposition to highlight the
intensity of the tug-of-war between the opposing forces
vying for Antonio’s identity.
Next sentence: An example from the text of an
instance where Anaya uses juxtaposition to
communicate this idea (with enough context that the
example makes sense).
Next sentence: An explanation of how the juxtaposition
helps communicate this idea.
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
Remember that the purpose of your entire
paper is to prove or support your thesis.
Choose each piece of evidence carefully to
support your thesis, and ALWAYS explain
how each piece of evidence supports your
thesis.
ORGANIZATION IN WRITING
The two key questions you are answering in your
Literary Device Glossary entries are these:
1) How does the usage of this lit device in this
passage help achieve the author’s purpose in
this passage?
2) How does the usage of this lit device in this
passage help achieve the author’s purpose in the
work as a whole?
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
When you think about “author’s
purpose,” what is the key purpose for
which authors write texts?
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
You may talk about how the author’s use
of foreshadowing in this passage brings
attention to this very important plot event.
Now go one step further – why is this plot
event so important to the development of
the theme (the achievement of the
author’s purpose: to deliver a message)?
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
You may say that the use of metaphor in
this passage indicates that a certain
character is trustworthy or wise. Now go
one step further – how does this help send
the author’s message and thereby achieve
his purpose?
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
“Anaya uses the golden carp to symbolize Antonio’s confusion
and demonstrate how conflicted Antonio is.”
Yes, but WHY is it important that the author communicate how
conflicted Antonio is? How does that help Anaya achieve his
purpose? His purpose goes deeper than showing us that Antonio
is conflicted – he is showing us that Antonio is conflicted to
communicate a message. What is that message, and how does
this help deliver it?
“Anaya uses Antonio’s inner conflict to demonstrate the
importance of questioning and examining one’s beliefs and
choosing one’s own path instead of walking a path that others
have chosen.”
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
Review proper citations, both for intext parenthetical citations and a
works cited! See the example I gave
you in the Lit Device Glossary
assignment and the document called
“Citations” under Helpful Resources
on my website.
LIT DEVICE GLOSSARY
TOMORROW: Vocab quiz 3 on Vocab
boxes 5 & 6
DUE WED 12/16 midnight to Turnitin.com:
Lit Device Glossary entry 2 (Joy Luck Club)
DUE FRI 12/18: ALL LATE WORK
I will accept revisions up until semester
finals (Tues 1/26).
ASSIGNMENTS
Remember that in order to submit
revisions, you must ALWAYS submit your
graded original with rubric to the revised
work box. For Bless Me Ultima essay
revisions, please type up and submit your
revision on Turnitin.com. Lit Device
Glossary revisions are submitted to the
revision assignment on Turnitin.com.
REVISIONS
Please grab a Chromebook and check my
feedback on your Lit Device Glossary entry
1 on Turnitin.com while I hand back Bless
Me Ultima essays and Lit Device rubrics.
You have the rest of the period to work. I
recommend working on Lit Device
Glossary entry 2 (Joy Luck Club) as it is due
Wed midnight.
WORK TIME
TOMORROW: Vocab quiz 3 on Vocab
boxes 5 & 6
DUE WED 12/16 midnight to Turnitin.com:
Lit Device Glossary entry 2 (Joy Luck Club)
DUE FRI 12/18: ALL LATE WORK (with late
tickets) – I will accept revisions up until
semester finals (Tues 1/26).
ASSIGNMENTS