Friday
January 11, 2013
Continue working on your literary essay
rough draft.
 Remember you need to complete the
rough draft on your plot diagram that you
created yesterday.
 Your final copy is due today 
 Work diligently to get your work done
you don’t need to be talking but
working

Literary Essay Reminders
Prompt: Write a story about someone who is lost?
What is the experience like?
How do they find their way back to familiar
territory?
 Your character can be a person, animal, alien, ghost,
be creative.
 Make sure you have each part of the plot…



◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Exposition 1 event
Rising Action 3 events
Climax 1 events
Falling Action 2 events
Resolution 1 event
Literary Essay Outline: Plot
Diagram
Copy the plot diagram, write in the five stages of the plot and what
takes place in each stage.Try filling this in without my help, when
everyone is done we will check our work
Writing a Literary Essay
January 10, 2012.
Lesson Frame

Objective: We will discuss what a literary
essay is, the parts of a story, and how to map
out the story before writing. We will write a
one page literary essay.

Closing Task: I will understand what a
literary essay is, the parts needed in a story,
and how to map out my story before writing
it. I will write a one page literary essay and
turn it in at the end of class on Friday.
What is a literary essay?
A literary essay is a fictional story- meaning it
is NOT REAL.
 Purpose: to tell about a series of events,
usually in chronological order using the plot
diagram
 Examples: The Hunger Games trilogy,
Twilight, the Fast and Furious movies ,The
Scarlet Ibis and The Odyssey.

The Plot Diagram
Check your plot diagram! If you made a mistake, fix it!
Climax
Rising Action
Building of the
story; conflict
introduced
Turning point of the story;
What decision does the
character make about the
conflict?
Exposition
Introduction of characters and
setting (time and place of the story)
Falling Action
What happens to the
character based on
the characters
decision about the
conflict?
Resolution
How does the
story end?
Literary Essay Prompt

Read: It’s usually not fun to realize
you are lost.You might feel
panicked or disoriented until you
can figure out where you are. On
the other hand, sometimes being
lost for a short time can lead to an
interesting new experience or
perspective.

Think: Think about different ways
that people can become lost. What
is the experience like? How do
they find their way back to familiar
territory?

Write: Write a story about
someone who gets lost.
This is your actual
prompt.
Writing your Literary Essay
The prompt is asking you to write a story
about someone who gets lost.
 This means you should create a character,
tell how the character becomes lost, and
describe how the character deals with
this problem.
 Your main character does not have to be
a person

A literary essay is part of your
final..
If your prompt on your final next week gives
you a picture, DO NOT write a story about
what you see in the picture. THAT IS
WRONG. You are only given the picture to
help you with your ideas. If you want, you can
completely disregard it.
OR Do not write about
yourself! This should
be made
Up.
Respond to the prompt

As a class, we will plan by listing situations in which
people become lost. Then YOU will select ONE that
you will write your story about.

Put your ideas in a plot diagram- Draft your
response by introducing your main character and
showing how he, she, or it becomes lost. Then, in a clear,
sequential order, describe the events that follow.

Revise to use more precise wording, to vary the lengths
and types of sentences you use, to make your story
more suspenseful, and to add transitions to clarify the
order of events.

Edit your writing to correct any errors in spelling,
grammar, punctuation, or capitalization that could
distract readers from enjoying your story.
Let’s brainstorm for a minute..
What are some different ways a person can
get lost?
Plot diagram and rough draft

Once you have chosen your topic, you will
complete a plot diagram for your story that
you intend to write.

On the back of your plot diagram, you will
write your rough draft for your literary
essay/story.
The Plot Diagram
Turning point of
the story
At least 3 examples
of rising action
Setting, conflict,
main characters
At least 2
examples of rising
action
Closing of the
story; how it ends
Your plot diagram which is your rough
draft will be due at the end of class
today.
Tomorrow, you will write your final copy.
When writing your literary essay
remember…

Your story should one page long (not shorter or longer)

You need the five stages of the plot included in your story and
they need to be fully developed
◦ Exposition
 setting (time and place of the story)
 Introduction of the character (s)
◦ Rising Action
 Building of the story
 Conflict is introduced (conflict can be internal or external)
◦ Climax
 Turning point of the story
 What decision does the character (s) make about the conflict
◦ Falling action
 What happens to the character based on the decision that the character makes about
the conflict?
◦ Resolution
 How does the story end?
 How do things end up for the character?

Your character (s) need to be engaging