The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
writing assignment
Closely examine each of the three texts provided, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
“What’s Moral About Huckleberry Finn?” and “The Six-Letter Word.” Then, write a
source-based argument on the topic below.
Topic: Should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be taught in high school English
classrooms?
Your task: Carefully read each of the three texts provided. Then, using evidence from
all three texts, write a well-developed argument regarding the teaching of The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a high school English classroom. Clearly establish
your claim, distinguish your claim from alternate or opposing claims, and use specific,
relevant and sufficient evidence from the three texts to develop your argument. Do
not simply summarize the texts.
• Be sure to:
• Establish your claim regarding the teaching of Huck Finn in a high school English
classroom.
• Distinguish your claim from alternate or opposing claims.
• Use specific, relevant, and sufficient evidence from the three texts to develop your
argument.
• Identify each source that you reference by using appropriate MLA citation.
• Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner.
• Maintain a formal style of writing.
• Follow the conventions of standard written English.
Writing the essay
Be sure to review your notes on essay writing,
including the guidelines for the introduction,
body paragraphs (formatted paragraph model),
and conclusion.
What follows is an explanation of how to embed
the quotations into your body paragraphs.
ICE…3-step quoting
Introduce…Lead into using the quotation by
explaining the surrounding circumstances of the
quotation; set up the context so it is logical.
Control & Cite…Insert the quotation within your
own sentence, making sure it is grammatically correct.
Explain…Write at least two sentences that explain
how the quotation supports the point you are trying to
prove—in other words, how it is relevant to your claim
or thesis statement.
Example ICE
What follows is an example of an “ICE”d
quotation. For the example, we will consider
the following claim as the one being supported
by the quotation:
In the novel, superstition serves as an excuse for
Huck to avoid taking personal responsibility, as
well as a means to explain the unexplained.
Introduce: Early in the novel, as Huck and Jim take
refuge on Jackson’s Island, Huck plays a trick on Jim
and places a dead rattlesnake on Jim’s bedroll. The
snake’s mate returns and bites Jim, and Huck lets
Jim think it was the bad luck of touching a
rattlesnake skin earlier that causes the bad luck.
Control & cite: Huck thinks to himself, “[…] I
warn’t going to let Jim find out it was all my
fault,[…]” (Twain 47).
Explain: Huck’s line of thought illustrates the role
superstition plays for him as he uses it to remove
blame from himself. Clearly, attributing the bad
luck to a superstition Jim believes allows Huck to
ignore the personal responsibility he bears for Jim’s
injury.
You may notice that the guidelines for writing a
formatted paragraph are basically at work when
“ICE”ing a quotation: the quotation itself (and
the introduction to it) serves as a CD, while the
explanation serves as the CMs. Notice, as well,
that the ratio of CDs to CMs remains the same:
at least two (2) CMs for each CD. Each body
paragraph needs to include two (2) CDs, (for
this assignment that would be two quotations),
and two CMs for each CD.
Reminders when ICEing quotations:
• Choose quotations that are brief (keep them to approximately
10 – 15 words).
• Your own explanation and analysis needs to make up most of
the ICE; the quotation is only necessary as textual evidence for
support of your ideas.
• Be sure to cite quotations correctly: use the author’s last name
and page number (Twain 227).
• Use an ellipsis in brackets […] if omitting any of the quotation
(as in the example on the earlier slide).
Guidelines for essay writing:
• Maintain literary present tense when
analyzing literature.
• Use transitions between ideas within
paragraphs and between paragraphs.
• Do not use first- or second-person pronouns
(e.g. avoid “I,” “me,” “you,” “your”).
• Try to use newly acquired vocabulary, but be
sure you are using it correctly.
• Proofread carefully to avoid errors in grammar,
spelling, and punctuation.
Happy Writing!
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