English11MidtermExam

WritingPortfolio
Part1:
WritingReflection
Chooseonewritingthatyouthoughtwasyourmosteffectiveandonethatwasyourleast
effective.Writea
12paragraph
reflectiononeach.Inyourreflection,youmust
specificallyexplainwhyeachpiecewaseffectiveorineffective.Forexample,what
specificwritingelementsmakeyourmosteffectivepiecethebest?Whatspecifically
wouldyouchangeororworkoninyourotherwritingpieces?

Writingsthisyear:
FormalBookAnalysis
Maus
and
TheGreatGatsby
SummativeEssays
NarrativeWritingsSuperHeroNarrativeandtheNanowrimo

1. Mosteffectivepieceofwritingandwhy.

MyNanowrimowasmystrongestwriting.ItwaseasierformewritebecauseIgottobe
creativeandmakeupthestorymyself.Thestorywasmadeupfrommypersonal
experiencesandmydreamslikemyonedreaminlifeistoliveinHawaiiandmy
characterImadeislivingthedreamoflivingrightonthewaterinthebeach.MyplotI
feelwasstrongandkeptthereaderengagedbecauseitwasamixofromanceandaction.
Thetransitionsinthestoryarethemostimportanttome,itfirsttalksaboutherdadso
yougettoknowwhoheis.Thenbringsinthepersonthatiseffectedwithromanceand
thenturnsintoactionslowbutfastandthentiesbackintoherdadandyouunderstand
reallywhoheisandwhytheymoved.

2.Leasteffectivepieceofwritingandwhy.

MyleasteffectivepieceofwritingwasmySuperheropaper.Istruggledwritingthis
paper,thethemewasmakeupaherothatwasntrealandhadmorefairytaletype.Thisis
notmykindofwritingbecauseitshardformetogetintothem,withrealisticwritingsi
canbutreallifesituationsandrelatetothem,withstorieswemakeupitshardforme
comeupwiththingsthathaventorcanthappen.AsthiswasnotstrongbecauseImade
astorythatwassupposedtobeallSuperHerowithflyingpeopleandsuperstrengthI
madeitamorerealistichero,relatingtolawenforcement,whichissomethingIam
interestedandcanwriteaboutitbecauseIknowaboutit,whichishouldhavemadethe
topicmoreunrealistic.Thismadethepapernotontopicandnotascreative.

Part2:
WritingProcess
Takinga300400wordssectionofyourNanowrimoassignmentfromNovemberplease
reviseitfromitsroughdraftform.


1. Copyandpastethe
roughdraft
below.DoNOTrevisethispieceinthisarea.

HelloMrs.Tess.Hicomeonintomyofficewheniwalkinhisentirefamilyandmy
momwasthereiknewthiswasnotgood.thisonehepointedtoasmallroomandit
wasjustmeandhim.whatisthisaboutheisdeadwhatelseistheretotalktotoo.
AgainihavebignewsforyouTess,wefoundoutwhokilledhim.Okayyougotmy
attention.Well,hepausedalltheevidenceleadinguptoothekillermakessense.
TheMOwasangryandplannedheknewwhenandwhereTaylorwasgoinginorder
toknowwhenandwerehewassurfingandgoingthatdayheknewhewastobe
aloneassumingheknewaboutyoursguysfightthatswhyhewasalone,Alsowecan
tellthatthesuspectisfromoutoftownbecusewerehedumpedthebodyisatoo
obsilyspotforsomeonethatknowsourbeachesandwerepeopleare.Wecheck
anyonewhohadtakenafighttothisspotinpastmonths,annarroweddowntoowhite
malesstrongafisherhadtohaveaboatofthierownbecusenowboatswererentedto
anyonearoundthattime,thenwelookatallthepeoplethathadbeenstaying
someawhereformorethan4weeks,andonemanwhofititcametoourattention.He
slidapicturetome,Tessthatmanisyourdad.Mymindwasspillingover,firstthis
mancomesintomyhouseandtrystotellmethatmyboyfriendwasmuderedand
completelyfuckedupmyentiremindset,makingwakeupinthemiddleofthenight
cryingbeaucseidropofwatertouchingthinkiamdrowndingwithTaylorbeingshoved
underthewater,Andnowheisheretellingmethatmydaddidthis!?Mydadisin
Washigtonandhasnoideawherewelivenowsoyouarewrong.iwassomadiwas
fouriousButhedoesntliveinWashigtonanymoreTessheliveshereHemoved
downhereaboutamonthagoandhavebeenlivinginamotel.Ihadnowordsthis
couldnotbehappeningrightnow.Alsowehavereasontobelievethathehavebeen
stalkingyouandyourmom.

2. Copyandpastetheroughdraftinthissectionandbegintoreviseyourwork.
Highlightanychangesin
yellow
andadditionsin
green.

HelloMrs.Tess.Hicomeonintomyoffice.Thisone,hepointedtoasmallroom,
he
closedthedoorbehindhim,hisfacewasfullofconcern,thatmythefeelinginmy
chestfeelabout20pounds.Afterhesatdownimanagedtogetout,
whatisthisabout
heisdeadwhatelseistheretotalk
about?
.Igavehimthemostsassytoneever,I
wasreallysickofthisguygivingmebadnews.
AgainihavebignewsforyouTess,
wefoundoutwhokilledhim.
OfcoursehedidwhatnowIthoughttomyself.
Okay
yougotmyattention.Well,hepausedalltheevidenceleadinguptothekillermakes
sense.TheMOwasanangry
oldermanwhohadnoreallysoultodrownandthrough
ayoungmanintheocean.
Oursuspectobviouslyplannedheknewwhenandwhere
Taylorwasgoinginordertoknowwhenandwherehewassurfingandgoingthatday
heknewhewastobealoneassumingheknewaboutyoursguysfightthatswhyhe
wasalone,Alsowecantellthatthesuspectisfromoutoftownbecausewerehe
dumpedthebodyisatooobviousspotforsomeonethatknowsourbeachesand
wherepeopleare.Wecheckanyonewhohadtakenaflighttothisspotinpast
few

months,annarroweddowntoowhitemales.
Itislikelya
strongafisherhadtohavea
boatoftheirownbecausenowboatswererentedtoanyonearoundthattime,thenwe
lookatallthepeoplethathadbeenstayingsomewhereformorethan4weeks,and
onemanwhofititcametoourattention.Heslidapicturetome,Tessthatmanis
yourdad.Mymindwasspillingover,firstthismancomesintomyhouseandtriesto
tellmethatmyboyfriendwasmurderedandcompletely
messed
upmyentiremind
set,makingwakeupinthemiddleofthenightcryingbecauseidropofwatertouching
thinkiamdrowningwithTaylorbeingshovedunderthewater,Andnowheishere
tellingmethatmydaddidthis!?MydadisinWashingtonandhasnoideawherewe
livenowsoyouarewrong.iwassomadiwasfuriousButhedoesn'tlivein
WashingtonanymoreTessheliveshereHemoveddownhereaboutamonthago
andhavebeenlivinginamotel.Ihadnowordsthiscouldnotbehappeningrightnow.
Alsowehavereasontobelievethathehavebeenstalkingyouandyourmom.

3. Pleasewritea
12paragraph

reflectiononwhythechangesyouhavemade
improvesthewriting.Keepinmindyouraudiencewhenthinkingabouthowthis
improvesthewriting.
ThechangesImadearemadetohelpthethissectionofmy
storymoreunderstandable.Thisistheendwhereallofthestoryleadstoo,anditsthe
biggestturningpoint.Thefirstchangewasaddinginwhereshemeetsthespecial
officertohearthebignewsidecidedtoaddinwhatitwasliketobecalledinaftershe
alreadyknewthatherboyfriendhadbeenmurderbythesameman.Itgoesintoher
mindliketherestofthestorydoesandgivesheropinionofthesituationandtheguy
sheistalkingtoo.Ialsoaddedinhergivinghimsasstohimbecausesheismadand
upsetathimfortellinghimthatitmakesyoufeelherpain.Anotherhighlightedplace
wasputtinginthatheisanoldermanandprobablyhasnosoulfordownloadinga
youngboyandleavinghimtheoceanwhichdescribesherfatherinthebeginningof
thestory.

Part3:
WritingSkills
For
six
oftheitemsbelow,youwillneedtocopypastetheexamplefromanyofyour
essaysandexplainhowtheexamplebelowmeetthestandard.

Makesuretoidentifythe
writingthatitcomesfrom.

1.
Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesimagery(ShowNOTTELL)
(Explainwhy
youchosetoputimageryhereandwhyitiseffective)
NaNoWriMo

BeforeIbecameabeachbum,IwasfromWashington,letmetellyou
somethingaboutWashingtonitsthemostboringplaceintheworld.
Allthereis
thereisjustwettrees,wetdirtanditrainsalmosteveryday,italmostfeelslike
2.

thedarkgreyskiescomehauntyou.
Thisiseffectivetoaddinimagery
becauseitisshowingthatWashingtonrainingandgloomy,whichmakestosad
andgloomymoodsmakingitsoundboringlikeherdadleadingintothenext
topic.

specific)noun(
Explainwhyyouchosetoputaspecificnounhereandwhyitis
effective)
4. Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesavividverb(
Explainwhyyouchosetoputavivid
verbhereandwhyitiseffective)
5. Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesafigurativelanguage(
Explainwhyyouchosetouse
figurativelanguagehereandwhyitiseffective)
6. Effectivelyandcorrectlyuseofsymbolism
(Explainwhatthesymbolismis,why
youchosetouseithere,andwhyitiseffective)
3.

NaNoWriMo
Iamfromtheforensicsautopsyunitandihavesomenewsfor,standardprocedure
whenthepolicefindabodyweneedtodosomeinvestigationwellpertainingtoTaylor
hewasonlyinthehospitalforaday,wecouldnotdothatsowedecidedtodoitafter
mortim.YouseeMr.Taylordidnotdrownedfrombeingintheoceanhewas
murder.
Thewordshewassayingdidntseemreal,thiswasnthappening,nonotto
me.Ifeltmyotherhalfofmewasgoneifeltemptylikeaghost.
Thisiseffectiveto
addinbecauseitisusingsymbolismtoletyouknowhowshefelttoknowthather
boyfriendhadbekilledbyanotherperson.Herfeelinglikeherotherhalfisgoneislike
sayinghowsheloveshimandshefeltlostwithouttheonethatsheloved.
7.

Revisebyaddingasentence(s)orword(s)thatsupportthepurpose.
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay).

TheGreatGatsby
The20'swerejusttimeofmoneybutnotallhappiness,aswelookbacktodayonit,it
seemstobetheonegreatesttimesbutinrealityitreallyisn't.
Everyonehadits
problemseventhetimeperiod,ourproblemsaredifferentthanwhattheirswhere
.The
Americandreamwillneverstaythesameitwillalwayschangewiththetimeandnew
things.Thisimprovedmyessaybyrestatingmytopic,itwasabouthowweseethis
timeperiodcomparedtooursandthattheyhaveproblemstothanwhatwehavebeen
thoughtabout.

Showanexampleofacomplexorcompoundsentenceinyourwriting.
(Explain
howthisisbetterthanusingmultiplesimplesentences)
9. Revisebydeletingunneededorofftopicsentence(s)orword(s)
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay)
SuperHero
.Makesyouthinkwhoyoucantrust.Igrabbedhishandsandreadhimhisrights
"Youhavetherighttoremainsilenteverythingyousaycanandwillbeused
againstyouinthecourtoflaw,youhavethetoagaintoattorneyifyoucannot
affordanattorneyonewillbeappointedtoyou,ifyoudonotunderstandthese
rightsIjustreadtoyou,youhavetherighttospeaktome"
AsIdraghimoutto
thecarIlookcloselyandlistenIhearhismind.He'ssinging,thesongthatwas
playingdownstairsnotanythingaboutusorthecrimesjustsinging.Iknew
somethingelsewasup.
Takingoutthepartofthisparagraphwillimprovemy
essaybyaddingtoomuchinformationnowaboutwhatiswrongwithhimandid
8.

hedidit,andifshecouldreadmindsshewouldseeifhedidthenitjustisn't
neededhere.
10. Createsanintroductionthatsetsthestagefortherestofthepiece.
(Explainthe
strategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)

Anotherdayinthe
officeiwalkedandknewitwasadaytosavelives,assoonasIgetinto
myofficemyassistantcomesrushingin,iknewwehadacase.
AsI
lookedupfrommydeskundermyglasses(whichmakesmefeelway
morenormal)BythewayIamtheheadoftheNYPDpoliceforce,Iama
formerFBIagent.Ihavesomespecialthingsthatmakemylifeandjob
wayeasier,Icanseethroughpeople.NotactuallyseethroughthembutI
canreadminds,beinginthepoliceforceit'skindacheatingbutithas
savedsomanylives.Iamalsoinvisible,whenIwannabe.Thisismy
introductionformySuperHeroessay.Takingouttheintroandaddingin
the1stsentencethatichanged,,willhelpthereaderunderstanditmore
wheresheis,whereittakesplaceandthatsheloveswhatshedoesto
savelifes.
11. Createsaconcludingparagraphthateffectivelybringsthepiecetoaclose.
(Explainthestrategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)
NaNoWriMo
howisitmomsfaultthatyou'reinsane.Isnappedbackexcuseme?hiseyesmet
mineandfroze,itwasthatlookIwassoscarediwassoscaredIcouldhardlymoveI
knewthatlookIwasdead."Dadwillupleasestop!"Hecameatme,hegotsocloseto
myfaceicouldtastethewhiskeyjustlikeoldtimes.ThensomeoneIcouldnoteven
understandhappenedhepulledoutaknifeandheldhelditheldittomyneck"dad!
Stop!!"Iscreamedhelp!Ilookoverandthecopswererightbehindhim,"Stanputthe
theknifedown,andwewon'thaveandwewon'thaveanyproblems."
Iwillkillheri
swear!ThechiefyelledbackyoudonthavetosheisyourdaughterStanno!His
handstartedtomoveandmyeyesandthechief'seyesmetandhepulledthetriggerI
couldfeeltheimpactonhimfrombulletbehindme.Theknifedroppedwithhimoffthe
dock,hewasfinallygone.
Thisconclusionwaschangedtohelptheendingbemore
ofcloser,nowitismoreunderstandablehowhediedandwhatwashappening.

Createsatonethroughwordsanddescriptions(connotation/denotation)thatare
appropriateforacertainaudience.
(Explainwhoyourintendedaudienceisand
howyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
13. Createsvoicethroughuseofdialogueandcolloquialvocabulary.(
Explainwho
yourintendedaudienceisandhowyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
(Howdoesthisaddtoyourwriting)?
12.


Reading
Inthereadingsectionofyourportfolio,pleaseshowandreflectonyourgrowthasa
readerinEnglish11.Pleaseinclude:

Part1
:
RequiredReadings
Pleasereflectontheskillsyoulearnedaboutwritingorreadingfromatleast
two
ofthe
elevenrequiredtextsfromthiscourse.Youwillfindalistofsomeofthoseskillsbelow.
Writea
23paragraph

reflectiononthoseskillsbelow.Pleasemakesuretoincludeat
least
three
ofthoseskillsinyourreflectionMakesuretoidentifythetextitcamefrom
andbespecificonthatauthorsstyle.

ShortStories
FortunateSonbyDaveMarshstartsonpage12
ChameleonSchlemieleonbyPatricSTracy
HillsLikeWhiteElephantsbyErnestHemingway
TheMasqueofRedDeathbyEdgarAllenPoe
ARoseforEmilybyWilliamFaulkner
TheLotterybyShirleyJackson

Poems
RubriksCubebyBenjaminBarker
FinalExamForMyFatherbyJoaquinZihuatanejo
TheRavenbyEdgarAllenPoe

Novels
Maus
byArtSpiegelman
Vol.1

Vol.2
TheGreatGatsby
byF.ScottFitzgerald

Readingskillslist:
Choose
threeforyourreflection.

1. Canidentifytheauthorspurposeinapieceofwritinganduseevidencefromthe
texttosupporttheclaim.PleasedothiswithANYpieceofwritingwehaveused
thisyear.
2. Canidentifytheauthorsintendedaudienceinapieceofwritinganduseevidence
fromthetexttosupporttheclaim.(Ethos,Pathos,andLogosorShowNotTell)
3. Canyouidentifyanauthorsabilitytohookareaderintotheirstory.(Ethos,
Pathos,andLogosorShowNotTell)check
4. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatesvividcharactersthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,Connotation/Denotation,etc.
5. Canyouidentifytheinferentialmotivationsofcharactersinareading.
6. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatevividscenesthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,SymbolismConnotation/Denotation,etc.check
7. Demonstratesuseofconnecting(connectingthebooktosomethingoutsideofthe

book)strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
Demonstratesuseofquestioning(openendedquestionsthatgeneratediscussion)
strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
9. Demonstratesuseofpredicting(askingquestionsorusingcontextualcluesto
predictthepossibleoutcomeofastory)strategiestounderstandatext.(Socratic
Seminar)
8.

Pleasewriteyourreflectionbelow:
ARoseforEmilysheisafallenmonumentaccordingtothetown.Thisisanexample
ofsymbolism,itiscomparinghertohertown,sheisthelastoftheoldtimesandwhen
shedieditwasanewsignofanewera.Herlastnameandfamilywerehighclassand
wellrespected,theyarecomparingtohertolikeamonumentusuallytheyare
representingsomeonefromthepastandshehadfallenandthepastwasgone.So
nowthatsheisdeadtheretownhasfallenbutreallyshejustpassedawaylikeher
family.

TheGreatGatsbyisbasicallylikeashownottellbook,throughoutthewholebook,the
authorshowsyouhowtheyactinsteadoftellingyouwhatisgoingon,likeDaisyhe
doesnttellyouthatsheisunhappybuthegivesyouhintslikeshowingthingsthatshe
saysordoes.LiketheattentionofGatsbysheismarriedbutalsolovesgetting
attentionfromGatsby,peoplewholikeattentionusuallyarenothappyandneed
somethingintherelifesotheyhaveotherpeopletrytofillit.Alsointhebookthereare
reallifeconnections,liketheAmericanDream.TheAmericanisntdirectlypointedin
themoviebutinthebookittouchesonthatfactoflivingrichandlivingnormal.That
youdontneedmoneytobehappy,andtheAmericanDreamisalwayschanging
becausebackthenitwassomethingdifferentthanitistoday.

Part2
:
ReadingAnalysis
Inthefollowingcoldreading,
OnDumpsterDivingbyLarsEigher
,pleasewriteashort
200400wordessayansweringoneofthefollowingquestions:

1. Howcouldthetextbereadandinterpreteddifferentlybytwodifferentreaders?
2. Ifthetexthadbeenwritteninadifferenttimeorplaceorlanguageorfora
differentaudience,howandwhymightitdiffer?
3. Howandwhyisasocialgrouprepresentedinaparticularway?
4. Whichsocialgroupsaremarginalized,excluded,orsilencedwithinthetext?
5. Howdoesthetextconformto,ordeviatefrom,theconventionsofaparticular
genre,andforwhatpurpose?(Forexampleisthisahistorytext?)
6. Howhasthetextborrowedfromothertexts,andwithwhateffects?

Pleasehighlightthequestionyouaregoingtoanswerabove
yellow
andwriteyouressay
below.

Anothersocialgroupmightreadthisandcompletelyjudgethismanfordumpsterdiving.
Asocialgroupsuchastherichorpeoplethathaveneverreallyexperiencedanymoney
problems.Theymayseehimaspatheticandlowandjustnothing.
Comingfromafamilythathashadtimeswherewehadstruggledwithmoneyand
havetodogobywithverylittle,Iunderstandwhypeopledoit.Whenyouhave
absolutelynothingsomethingiseverything,butnoteveryonehasthisempathyforthese
trashdiggers.Othersmayseeitastheirfaultthattheylivethiswaylikeyoucouldgeta
jobandraiseupmoneyortheycouldhaveworkedharder,somemaybethatisthecase,
butmostofthetimetheycan'tcontrolit,wheretheauthortalksaboutthedumpster"fase"
abouthowyouareshyanddon'twannafacepeople.Youthinkthatpeoplethathave
nothingandeatputofthedumpsteraregoingtogetupauotherbredeendgolookfora
job.Whenyougetlowpeopleseeitassomethingbadbutyouareonthelowestofthe
lowestdoinganythingseemsimpossible.Peoplejustdon'ttakethetimetounderstand
whatit'sliketoloseeverything.