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.
TheGreatGatsbywasmymosteffectivepieceofwriting.Ibelieveitwas
effectivebecauseIdisplayedhowFitzgeraldrepresentedsocialclasses,andhowcertain
socialclassesreflectsonhowpeopleact.Igraspedabiggerconceptthatwentbeyondthe
book.Irelatedhowsocialstatusaffectedhowsomeonewasasaperson.

2. Leasteffectivepieceofwritingandwhy.
MyNanowrimowritingwasmyleasteffectivepieceofwriting.FormeIdidnot
accomplishthetaskofwritingadetailedstory.Ididnotgraspthereadersattentionina
waythatwouldbeeffective.Ididhaveastrongplot,butdidmoretellingnotshowing.In
orderforittohavebeenaneffectivepieceofwritingIwouldhavetohaveprovidedmore
detailandmakeyoufeelasifyouwereinthestory.

Part2:
WritingProcess
Takinga300400wordssectionofyourNanowrimoassignmentfromNovemberplease
reviseitfromitsroughdraftform.

1. Copyandpastethe
roughdraft
below.DoNOTrevisethispieceinthisarea.

Hewasgassedandwhenhewokeupthemenweregone.Bwasntsurewhattodo.
Hecrawledoutofthevanstilldisoriientedfromwhatevertheyusedtoknockhimout.
Oncehegothisbearinghenoticedastrongodor.Curiousashealwayswasheslowly
followedthatsmell.Closerandcloserhewalkeduntilhewasstoppedbyalargedoor.
Thedoorwasboltedandrequiredasecuritycode.Basheiswasnotonetoback
downfromachallenge.Thushesaid,welliguessimjustgoingtohavetofindaway
toopenit.Afteraweinngatthedoorhenoticedwhatlookedlikedryblood.Hemoved
closerandsawnotonlywasthereblood,buttherewasalsothisslimesubstance.He
couldntidentifyit,butwhenhelookedawayandlookedbackitwasntthere.Hesaid
tohimself,thatwasjustmyimagination.afterthishethenwenttothelargebolted

door.forawhilehelookedatthedoorwonderingwhereitletto.Hethenlooked
aroundandsawthattherewasacarsittingthere.nowbeingascuriousasheishe
couldntjustleave.asofrightnowhedidntseemtobeinanyapperantdanger.he
thenwentbacktothebloodandaroundthecornerhesawthatthetwomenthathad
takenhimweredeadandnowfearsetwithinhim.heknewhehadtwooptions.Oneis
thathetakesthecarandleavesallofthisbehindhim.Grantedthathewasnothappy
withthecurentslifehelivedhechosethedoor.hewalkeduptoitandassoonashe
touchedithisbodyturnedtobecomefrozen.confusedbythishenowbegantofreak
out.whatwouldhedo?howwouldhegetout.howlongbeforeallthethingswent
wrong.somebodycouldcomebackliketheguysthatkilledthetwowhohadtaken
him.Hethennoticedthathisleghappenedtobeunfroze.

2. Copyandpastetheroughdraftinthissectionandbegintoreviseyourwork.
Highlightanychangesin
yellow
andadditionsin
green.
Hewasgassedandwhenhewokeupthemenweregone.
Bobby

wasntsurewhatto
do.Hecrawledoutofthevanstill
disoriented
fromwhatevertheyusedtoknockhim
out.
AstrongpungentodorreachesBobbysnose
.
Wowthatisastrongsmell,said
Bobby.
Curiousashealwayswasheslowlyfollowedthatsmell.Closerandcloserhe
walkeduntilhewasstoppedbyalargedoor.
Bobbybeingwhohe
iswasnotoneto
backdownfromachallenge.Thushesaid,welliguessimjustgoingtohavetofinda
waytoopenit.After
awakening,
atthedoorhenoticedwhatlookedlikedryblood.He
movedcloserandsawnotonlywasthereblood,buttherewasalsothisslime
substance.Hecouldntidentifyit.
Somethingcaughthiseye,whenhelookedbackhe
noticedthatthegreenslimewasnolongerthere.Hethoughttohimself,Imusthave
hitmyheadandIwasonlyimaginingthat.Dontgetyourselfworkedupofsomething
thatdoesntevenexist
.Thenhenoticedalargedoor.
Forawhilehelookedatthe
doorwonderingwhereitletto.Hethenlookedaroundandsawthattherewasacar
sittingthere.Nowbeingascuriousasheishecouldntjustleave.Asofrightnowhe
didntseemtobeinany
apparent
danger.hethenwentbacktothebloodandaround
thecornerhesawthatthetwomenthathadtakenhimweredeadandnowfearset
withinhim.Heknewhehadtwooptions.
Mylifeisnothing,Ineverhavedone
anything.Thisismyoneopportunity.Nothingwillcomefrommynogoodboringlife.I
meancomeonBobbybehonestwithyourselfhalfoftheschooldoesntevenknow
yourname.Whywouldyouwanttogoback,saidBobbytohimself.
SlowlyasBobby
approachedthedoorhenoticedthatthedoorlookedliketoinsideofadeepfreezer.
Thedoorwascolderthantheaironawinterstormynight.Lookingoveratthetwo
deadguyssentchillsthroughouthisbody.Itcouldhaveverywellbeenbecausehe
wasstandingagainstwhatmightaswellbeenafreezerdoor.Hasconfusedandhis
headstartedspinningfasterandfasterandfaster.Everythingbecamestillandfrom
thenonBobbyslifechangedforever.

3. Pleasewritea
12paragraph

reflectiononwhythechangesyouhavemade
improvesthewriting.Keepinmindyouraudiencewhenthinkingabouthowthis
improvesthewriting.


Imademanychangesthatimprovedthiswriting.Iaddedthingslikeimagerythat
providedbetterdetailtothestory.Iaddeddialoguewhichisonewaytoshowthestory
insteadofjusttellingyouwhathappened.Ialsoneverflatoutsaidhewentthroughthe
door.Ileftthatpartuptothereadertoinferthat.Tomethatmadethebookmore
interesting.
Imainlyaddeddialoguetoimprovethiswriting,butIalsochangedaround
sentencestructuresothatthesentencedsoundmoreinteresting.Forexamplesaying
Thedoorwascolderthantheaironawinterstormynight.Lookingoveratthetwodead
guyssentchillsthroughouthisbody.ismuchmoreinterestingthansayingThedoor
wascoldandthedeadguysscaredhim.ThesewerealsowaysIshowedimagerytogive
thereaderabetterunderstandingofthereading.Itengagesthereadermoreandmakesthe
storyinteresting.

Part3:
WritingSkills
For
six
oftheitemsbelow,youwillneedtocopypastetheexamplefromanyofyour
essaysandexplainhowtheexamplebelowmeetthestandard.

Makesuretoidentifythe
writingthatitcomesfrom.

1. Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesimagery(ShowNOTTELL)
(Explainwhyyou
chosetoputimageryhereandwhyitiseffective)
MaussummativeassignmentWhenArtiegetsanewtaperecorderVladekasks,
So,howmuchyoupaid?Artiereplieswith,Only75bucks!Itwasonsale.InArties
viewthisisagooddeal,butVladekdoesnotthinkthesame.Insteadhereplieswith,
Pssh,atKorvettesyoucouldfinditformaximum$35.00
IusedthisasimagerybecauseitallowedthereadertobetterunderstandwhatI
amsaying.SimplysayingthatVladekisfrugalwithhismoneywhileartiespendsmoney
morefreelydoesnotprovetohavethesameeffect.Iuseddialoguebecauseitshowsyou
howVladekfeelsaboutmoney.YouthereadercanunderstandhowVladekfeels.IfIjust
tellyouthenyouwillmissthatVladekhassomewhatofagrumpyandrashtonetowards
Artie.YoualsounderstandbetterhowArtiedoesntfeeltheneedtohavehisfather's
approval.WiththeadditionofdialogueitshowshowArtieisindependent.Without
dialogueitwouldleavethereaderwithmanyquestions.Thiswouldresultinthereader
makingassumptionsthatmaymisleadthepointIwasmakinginmyS.A.
2. Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesaproper(specific)noun(
Explainwhyyouchoseto
putaspecificnounhereandwhyitiseffective)
Spiegelmandemonstratestheclashingviewsoffatherandson,butmore
importantlythisshowscorrelationtohowsomeoneolderwouldseepayingtofixtheleak
asValeksaid,foolish.HealsoshowshowsomeoneyoungersuchasArtiewouldsee
thathiringitoutwouldbepracticalandsimple
PuttingthenounSpiegelmanletsthereaderknowwhoissayingthis.Itclearsup
anyconfusionthereadermay.IfIweretosayheitwouldhavelessofaneffectonthe

clarityofwhatwasgoingon.ItalsoclearlytellsyouwhoisspeakingwhenIsayhein
thenextsentence.ItiseffectivebecausethesentencebeforeitVladekistalking.IfIdid
notsaySpiegelmanthanitwouldconfusethereadersandhe/shewouldwonderwhy
Vladekwassayingthat.Itwouldntmakesense.
3. effectivelyandcorrectlyusesavividverb(
Explainwhyyouchosetoputavivid
verbhereandwhyitiseffective)
NaNoWriMo
Alltheseunansweredquestionsheisgrippingtoanswer.
Theverbgrippingeffectivelydoesitsjob.Ittellsthereaderthathehasallthese
questions,butcantanswerthem.Theverbgrippinghelpsthereaderbetter
understandthestruggleofthecharacter.Simplyusingtheverbwantingorsomething
similarwouldnotservethesamepurpose.Theverbgrippingalsoimpliesthatitis
somethingthatheistryingeversohardtoachieve.Heisntjustwantingthese
questionsanswered,butheisrathergrippingtogetthemanswered.Youcaninferhe
isdoingallhecantofindtheanswers.

Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesafigurativelanguage(
Explainwhyyouchosetouse
figurativelanguagehereandwhyitiseffective)
5. Effectivelyandcorrectlyuseofsymbolism
(Explainwhatthesymbolismis,why
youchosetouseithere,andwhyitiseffective)
TheGreatGatsbySomeexamplesofthiswouldbewhenTombuysMyrtlea
dog.Myrtlewantsadogandshegetswhatshewants.
Myrtledoesntwantjustanydog.Myrtlewantsapolicedog.Thiscould
symbolizethatapolicedogwouldmakeherfeelprotectedfromTom.Rememberthat
Tomisaphysicalspecimenwithabodythathasanaggressiveleantoit.Myrtlealsois
notthesmartestandeventhoughTomhasneverhurther,shemaythinkthatifsheleaves
Tomthenhewillhurthe.Apolicedogwouldgivethatprotection.Theprotection
wouldntnecessarilybeactualprotection,buttoMyrtleitwouldfeelthatway.
6. Revisebyaddingasentence(s)orword(s)thatsupportthepurpose.
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay).
MausSummativeAssignmentOlderpeoplewerealiveduringthedepression
andhadtodealwiththosehardtimesalongwithonesafterthat.
Thedepressionnotonly
ruinedpeoplefinancially,butitchangedhowpeoplethought.Beforethedepression
peoplewerebuyinglargeamountsofstockoncredit.Somepeoplewereabletobuystock
withonlya10%downpayment.
Thesefewsentencesprovideexamplestowhyolderpeoplearefrugalwith
money.Theyseetheyouthspendingmoneyjustassomeofthemdidthemselves.Buying
oncredithurtthem,thereforetheydontwantyoungergenerationstomakethesame
mistake.Thatisthepointthatentailswithaddingthesefewsentences.Thisiswhythese
sentenceswereneededinordertoprovideastrongerpointinwhichwhyolderpeopleare
morefrugalwiththeirmoney.
7. Showanexampleofacomplexorcompoundsentenceinyourwriting.
(Explain
howthisisbetterthanusingmultiplesimplesentences)
8. Revisebydeletingunneededorofftopicsentence(s)orword(s)
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay)
TheGreatGatsbyGatsbyalsodoesnotfitintothecliqueofoldmoney.
Gatsby
howeverisrich,butstilldoesnotfit.
4.

Theparthighlightedingreeniswhatneedstobedeleted.Itissimplyrepeating
whathasnotonlybeenimplied,butspeculatedon.InthebeginningoftheparagraphI
sayhowGatsbyrepresentsnewmoney.LaterIalsosayhowGatsbymadehismoney.
ThesearetwopointsthatobviouslypointoutthatGatsbyisrich.Thatiswhysaying
Gatsbyisrichisnotneeded.Thereasonsayinghestilldoesnotfitisnotneeded
becausethesentencebeforesaysGatsbydoesnotfitintothecliqueofoldmoney.
9. Createsanintroductionthatsetsthestagefortherestofthepiece.
(Explainthe
strategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)
10. Createsaconcludingparagraphthateffectivelybringsthepiecetoaclose.
(Explainthestrategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)
11. Createsatonethroughwordsanddescriptions(connotation/denotation)thatare
appropriateforacertainaudience.
(Explainwhoyourintendedaudienceisand
howyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
12. Createsvoicethroughuseofdialogueandcolloquialvocabulary.(
Explainwho
yourintendedaudienceisandhowyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
(Howdoesthisaddtoyourwriting)?

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)
4. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatesvividcharactersthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,Connotation/Denotation,etc.
5. Canyouidentifytheinferentialmotivationsofcharactersinareading.
6. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatevividscenesthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,SymbolismConnotation/Denotation,etc.
7. Demonstratesuseofconnecting(connectingthebooktosomethingoutsideofthe
book)strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
8. Demonstratesuseofquestioning(openendedquestionsthatgeneratediscussion)
strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
9. Demonstratesuseofpredicting(askingquestionsorusingcontextualcluesto
predictthepossibleoutcomeofastory)strategiestounderstandatext.(Socratic
Seminar)

Pleasewriteyourreflectionbelow.
Fortheloveofmoney.
Theauthorsintendedaudiencewassomeonewhoisrich.Basicallyheissayingthat
nomatterhowrichyouareyouwillalwayswantmore.Theunintendedaudiencewould
bepeoplethataren'trich.Whatheisportrayingisapictureofhowbeingrichreally
hasn'tturnedouthowheexpected.
ThegreatGatsby
IwasabletopredictmanyoutcomesintheGreatGatsby.Theauthoruses
symbolismtogiveyoucluesaboutwhatwillhappen.SomethingasDaisyalwayswears
white.Itnotonlyrepresentspurity,butyoualsocaninferthatsheisonlypurebecause
shewasportrayedthatway.AnexamplebeingwhenshehitsMyrtle.Gatsbytakesthe
fallforhercrime.Itsuggeststhatnoteveryoneiswhotheyareportrayedas.

Part2
:
ReadingAnalysis
Inthefollowingcoldreading,
OnDumpsterDivingbyLarsEigher
,pleasewriteashort
200400wordessayansweringoneofthefollowingquestions:

Howcouldthetextbereadandinterpreteddifferentlybytwodifferentreaders?
Ifthetexthadbeenwritteninadifferenttimeorplaceorlanguageorfora
differentaudience,howandwhymightitdiffer?
Howandwhyisasocialgrouprepresentedinaparticularway?
Whichsocialgroupsaremarginalized,excluded,orsilencedwithinthetext?
Howdoesthetextconformto,ordeviatefrom,theconventionsofaparticular
genre,andforwhatpurpose?(Forexampleisthisahistorytext?)
Howhasthetextborrowedfromothertexts,andwithwhateffects?

Pleasehighlightthequestionyouaregoingtoanswerabove
yellow
andwriteyouressay
below.

Therearetwogroupsofpeoplethatwouldseethisarticledifferent.Thetwogroups
wouldbethewealthy.Theothergroupwouldbethepoor.Theywouldseethisdifferent
becausewhatsocialclassyou'reineffectswhoyouareasaperson.
Someonethatfitsintothesocialclassofwealthywouldsee"dumpsterdivingas
unclean.Theywouldnotunderstandanyreasonfordumpsterdiving.Theycouldseethe
wordscavengingwhichrelatescloselytoscrappingby.Someonethatispoorwould
understandthereasonforit.Theyunderstandthattherearesomethingsthathavetobe
donetomeetends.Theyunderstandhowcurtaintimesyouhavetoscrapeby.However
someoneofwealthdoesnotknowwhatitmeanstoscrapeby.
Inconclusiontworeaderswouldinterpretthisarticledifferently.Someonewhois
wealthywouldnotunderstandthereasonfordumpsterdiving.Howeversomeonethatis
poorwould.
AroseforEmily
Thisbookdemonstrateshowtocatchthereadersattention.Thenonuseof
chronologicalorderkeepsthereaderengaged.Itmakesthebookasifyoucan'twaitany
longertoturnthepage.Itisgrippingandkeepsyouguessinguntiltheend.Herearranges
theorderofeventssothereadercan'tpredictwhatwillhappennext.Thisishowthe
authorhooksthereaderintothestory.