8th Grade English Formative Poetry Essay
Graphic Organizer
“Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned . . .”
from “Poetry” by Pablo Neruda
Direction: Choose a poem from your Interactive Notebook. You may
choose a poem that we have worked on in class, a poem for which you
have already completed a TP-CASTT, or a poem that we have not read.

PROMPT:
How is the theme of the poem revealed through word choice,
imagery, and relationships?
[Relationships are Mechanical Shifts . . . stanza length/changes,
line length/changes, changes in diction, changes in speaker, changes
in punctuation, irony.)
Helpful Tips:
___ Am I using textual evidence for EVERY claim?
___ Am I placing my poem in quotation marks (e.g. “A Poison Tree”) and
acknowledging the author in my essay?
___ Are my three body paragraphs aligned with the three components
of the prompt? (Word Choice, Imagery, Relationships)
___ Am I citing lines from the poem in MLA format? (Poet Line
number) For example: “I don’t know how or when” (Neruda 4).
___ Is my essay formatted in MLA format? Correct heading? Clever
Title? Double-Spaced?
___ Am I using my transitions packet? Am I using my essay notes in
my Interactive Notebook?
___ Am I acknowledging the difference between the SPEAKER and the
POET? (e.g. “The speaker’s attitude is vengeful”)
___ Am I consistently referring back to the theme?
___ Am I writing in Present Tense?
___ Have I removed all State of Being Verbs?
___ Am I writing in third person?
___ If I use TWO lines from a poem in a quote, am I placing a
backslash between the lines? (e.g. “I don't know how or when,/no they
were not voices, they were not” (Neruda 4-5).)
___ Am I using elements of voice, domain vocabulary, and strong
vocabulary?
1. Introduction: Thesis – “The theme of . . . is . . .” “The theme of . .
is illustrated through word choice, imagery, and relationships.”
How is the essay going to PROVE the theme? Textual evidence.
Thesis: ___________________________________________
2. First Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence about word choice and
theme. THREE details supported by two “pieces of proof” apiece.
Three Quotes. Textual evidence.
Topic Sentence: ____________________________________
3. Second Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence about imagery and
theme. THREE details supported by two “pieces of proof” apiece.
Three Quotes. Textual evidence.
Topic Sentence: ____________________________________
4. Third Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence about relationships and
theme. THREE details supported by two “pieces of proof” apiece.
Three Quotes. Textual evidence.
Topic Sentence: ____________________________________
5. Conclusion: Restated thesis. How does the essay prove the
thesis? Final hook or call to action.
All three body paragraphs in following format:
Green = Topic Sentence
Yellow = Main Point 1
Red = Quote
Red = Analysis
Yellow = Main Point 2
Red = Quote
Red = Analysis
Yellow = Main Point 3
Red = Quote
Red = Analysis
Green = Conclusion and Transition into next paragraph
Domain Vocabulary
(Pertaining to Poetry AND/OR
to your particular poem):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Intentional Strong Vocabulary:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.