Name:__________________________________________

Period:_____

The Great Gatsby --- Essay Planning --- Part 2

By now, you should have formed a timeless question that you will answer in an essay, using The Great Gatsby
and one other text to support your answer. Your essay will include an introduction, body, and conclusion,
and will be driven by a strong and clear thesis statement. You will include at least three quotes from the
novel, as well as at least two quotes from an outside source. Your essay will be written academically, in MLA
format so, you will not use slang, and you will write in third person only. Because you are using two texts
in your essay, you will need to include an MLA-style works cited page. This essay will show that you have
thought about the themes and ideas in the novel in relation to the real world.
This packet is due after break on Monday, Aptil 13th. It will count as a homework grade.
After spring break, you will be writing your essay on google docs. If you do not remember your school gmail, please
come talk to me or go to Mr. Rutz in the office ASAP! It will be very important that you know your email I will not
make acceptations for people who fall behind due to no email access!
You will have a rough draft due on Tuesday, April 14th. Your rough draft will count as a classwork grade. You are
welcome to get started on this rough draft during break if you write it on google docs and would like my input
before break is over, feel free to share it with me (cwertz@bousd.us) - just make sure to hit the send notification via
email button when you share, or email me to let me know you shared it. I will comment on it so that you can revise
before the rough draft is due.
We will peer- and self- edit throughout the week (for a classwork grade as well as a participation grade), and your final
essay will be due on Friday, April 17th. The final essay will count for a tests & projects grade. If your essay is submitted
late, you will lose 10% from your grade for each day after the due date. This means that after five days late, even a
perfect essay will receive a failing grade. DO NOT TURN YOUR ESSAY IN LATE.
If you are prone to technical difficulties, I suggest you save your essay to google docs AND a word processing system
on your computer, or copy and paste the essay into an email to yourself. If you have computer problems, there are
plenty of computers available to use in the library, and there is the extra computer in our classroom, as well. In the
last quarter of the year, it is crucial that you turn in all work on time. Please communicate with me if you are having
any sort of problems! You know I will work with you if you communicate with me ahead of time! If you come to me
at the last minute with a problem, I will ask you, Why didnt you come to me sooner? or What could you have
done to prevent this from happening? Think ahead, do your work, come to me with questions, and you will do well
on this essay!

Doing work over spring break frequently ends up with procrastination. To avoid this, it is helpful to make a
plan that will outline when you hope to complete each step. Create a timeline to help yourself succeed.
Consider the questions provided to help with your planning.

When will you take the time to search for your outside sources? Will you do it all at once, or will you
spend a small amount of time here and there? Give yourself a specific plan.
When will you have this packet completed by? (Dont forget to give yourself time in case you need to
email your teacher or a friend for some help! Plan on getting it done before break is over.)
Considering that you will write your essay in class on Monday 4/13, when will you take the time to selfassess by grading yourself with the provided rubric?
Throughout the week after spring break, when will you sit down outside of class to make changes to
your essay so that you continue to improve?

Time to Start Planning Your Essay!

1. Write your timeless question here:

2. Why did you choose this question? What is interesting about it? How does it relate to Gatsby?

2. Now, in a few sentences (at least 3-5 or more), answer your question. Feel free to refer to The Great
Gatsby, real life events, or other stories youve read, but remember that your answer (just like your question)
should refer to the way people are / the way life is in general not in a specific place or at a specific time. Its
okay if you have a hard time answering the question. This is your opportunity to think out a possible
answer. You may consider all sides to the argument you do not need a specific answer yet!

3. Over spring break, you will need to find at least two other sources besides Gatsby to help you answer your
question. You will cite at least one of these in your essay, but you are welcome to use both. Both sources
must be credible. For each source, answer the following questions:
Source One

Source Two

Title:

Title:

Author:

Author:

Journal, Newspaper, or Website where source was

found (you should copy this link down and save it
for your own personal use later):

Journal, Newspaper, or Website where source was

found (you should copy this link down and save it
for your own personal use later):

How do you know that this source is credible? (Must

have at least three reasons for why it is credible)

How do you know that this source is credible? (Must

have at least three reasons for why it is credible)

How does this source relate to your question? How

does it help answer your question?

How does this source relate to your question? How

does it help answer your question?

How does this source relate to The Great Gatsby?

How does this source relate to The Great Gatsby?

Choose 1-2 quotes from this source that you feel

really relate to your question. Write down the
quotes (and author + page number for citation), and
explain how it might help you in your essay.

Choose 1-2 quotes from this source that you feel

really relate to your question. Write down the
quotes (and author + page number for citation), and
explain how it might help you in your essay.

4. Now, its time to start thinking about what your essay will prove. Remember earlier when you tried to
answer your question (on the first page of this packet)? Now, you need to come up with a specific answer to
a question. Essentially, you need a sentence that states your opinion. This is what your essay will prove. You
can change the wording of this later, but since your essay will be based directly off of this, you cannot
change your answer. Write your opinion here (also called a claim):

5. Youll need three quotes from The Great Gatsby to help prove your opinion. If you have access to the
book at home, find the quotes (it can be found online at: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/fiction/greatgatsby/ in case you need it!). If you dont have access to the book at home, come up with three specific parts
of the novel that you will pull quotes from. Dont forget to write down the page number for citation!
Quote 1:
Quote 2:
Quote 3:

What is the necessary context to

help make this quote make
sense?

What is the necessary context to

help make this quote make
sense?

What is the necessary context to

help make this quote make
sense?

How does this support your

claim (opinion)?

How does this support your

claim (opinion)?

How does this support your

claim (opinion)?

Rubric for the Essay:

Criterion:

A Fantastic

B Great

C Average

Thesis
Sentence

Thesis sentence gives a clear

and arguable claim that answers
the prompt question and sets
the essay up for a strong
argument.

Thesis sentence is arguable

and somewhat clear. It answers
the prompt question but may
not set the essay up for a
strong argument.

Thesis sentence is arguable

but does not clearly answer
the prompt question. It does
not clearly set the essay up for
a strong argument.

Intro &
Conclusion

The essay includes an

introduction that includes a
hook and a thesis & a
conclusion that wraps up main
ideas and re-states the thesis.
The essay has at least three body
paragraphs. Paragraphs are at
least two-chunk and strongly
support the thesis.

The essay includes an

introduction with a thesis and
a conclusion that wraps up
main ideas and re-states the
thesis to some extent.
The essay has at least three
body paragraphs. Paragraphs
may not be two-chunk, but
they do support the thesis.

The essay has an introduction

and a conclusion in some
form, though they may not be
very clear.

Quotations

The essay includes at least three

quotes from Gatsby and two
quotes from an outside source.
All quotes are blended into a
contextual sentence and
correctly cited.

Commentary

Commentary for each CD

(quotation) gives a clear
explanation as to how the quote
supports the topic sentence and
thesis, and aids in creating a
strong argument.
The essay is written using
academic language, third
person, and avoids slang. There
are few to no grammar or
mechanical mistakes.

The essay includes at least

three quotes from Gatsby and
two quotes from an outside
source. All quotes show an
attempt at blending and are
given some context. Quotes
are incorrectly cited.
Commentary for each CD
(quotation) gives an
explanation as to how the
quote supports the topic
sentence and thesis.

The essay includes some

quotes from Gatsby and
possibly one quote from an
outside source. Quotes are
not blended and are given
little context. Quotes are not
cited.
Commentary for most CDs
(quotations) gives some sort
of explanation, but does not
clearly support the topic
sentence / thesis.

The essay shows an attempt at

using academic language, is in
third person, and avoids slang.
There are a few grammar or
mechanical mistakes.

The essay is written mostly in

third person and uses
conversational language, but
avoids slang. There are more
than a few grammar or
mechanical mistakes.

The essay is written in nearly

perfect MLA format, but is
missing one or two aspects.

The essay is written using

some elements of MLA
format.

The overall essay shows a good

analysis of the prompt
question and The Great Gatsby.
The essay shows a good
attempt throughout at
supporting the argument using
clear evidence and
commentary.

The overall essay shows a

good attempt at answering
the prompt question and uses
clear and helpful examples
from The Great Gatsby with
commentary to support.

Body
Paragraphs

Language,
Grammar,
and
Mechanics

MLA
Formatting

Overall
Analysis

Comments:

The essay is written in perfect

MLA format: double-spaced, no
extra spaces between
paragraphs, Times New Roman
12-pt font, proper heading, and
a header with last name and
page number.
The overall essay shows a strong
analysis of the prompt question
and The Great Gatsby. The essay
shows a clear argument
throughout that is supported
with strong and clear evidence
and commentary.

The essay has two-three body

paragraphs, but they are not
two-chunk. Paragraphs
somewhat support the thesis.

D/F Needs
Improvement
Thesis sentence is not
arguable. It may simply
re-state the prompt
question, but does not
provide a claim or set
the essay up for any
argument.
The essay does not
have an introduction
and a conclusion.

The essay has one-two

body paragraphs that
are not two-chunk, and
do not clearly relate to
the thesis.
The essay includes few
to no quotes. Quotes
are not blended, are
not given context, and
are not cited.

Commentary for CDs

(quotations) is unclear
and does not seem to
support the main
argument.
The essay is written
using conversational
language, slang, and
first and second person
pronouns. There are a
lot of grammar and
mechanical mistakes.
The essay only has one
or two elements of
MLA format.

The overall essay does

not seem to answer the
prompt question, and
may or may not have
some helpful evidence
with some
commentary.