English 11 Midterm Exam

Writing PortfolioPart 1: Writing ReflectionChoose one writing that you thought was your most effective and one that was your least effective. Write a 1-2 paragraph reflection on each. In your reflection, you must specifically explain why each piece was effective or ineffective. For example, what specific writing elements make your most effective piece the best? What specifically would you change or or work on in your other writing pieces?

Writings this year: Formal Book Analysis - Maus and The Great Gatsby Summative Essays Narrative Writings - Super Hero Narrative and the Nanowrimo

1. Most effective piece of writing and why.

My most effective writing is my Super Hero Narrative. I had a specific story line that I stuck to. Also I used descriptive language throughout the narrative. I thought about my word choice a lot more with this writing. I needed to work on more show and less tell though. I enjoyed writing this story out and it turned out how I wanted it to.This was also my first time that I actually finished a fictional story. Overall this was my best completed writing so far this year.

2. Least effective piece of writing and why. My least effective writing was my NaNoWriMo narrative. First off I didnt finish it. Its really about a third of the way through the story. I made a bad choice in picking to write on what I did. I was basing it off my life and whats happened and what I want to happen. My problem was that I wasnt comfortable enough with telling my story, so I tried to make it so it wasnt completely based off of me which made it really confusing to write. I need to go back and change it so it is based off me, because thats what I wanted to write. It didnt turn out how I wanted it to at all.

Part 2: Writing Process Taking a 300-400 words section of your Nanowrimo assignment from November please revise it from its rough draft form.

1. Copy and paste the rough draft below. Do NOT revise this piece in this area.

My dog lifts head looking as excited as me to be awoken at such an early hour. I pull on my navy blue scrubs and throw my hair in a pony tail. Stumbling down the stairs i let the dog out and go to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Looking in the mirror I really look. Can I do this 5 days a week all the time? No. My eyes have bags, my skin is pale and not the pretty ivory kinda pale, the I just puked so Im kinda greenish blue sick looking pale. My eyes are dull and I look dead. Letting my dog in and grabbing my coffee I head out the door. My cars freezing and is taking its sweet time warming up. Rubbing my hands together I pull on my gloves and head off. The retirement home looks well lit and cheerful as I pull in the drive. Little bushes covered in snow illuminated by lamps. Downing the last of my coffee I head in the doors. The instructer greets us and we set off to do morning rounds of bed baths, showers, sheet changing, and breakfast. People dont believe me when I tell them the part I hate most is feeding. Anything else I can hadle, but the feeding room feels like my own specialized horror movie designed to keep me up at night and haunt me in my mind when ever Iift a spoon to my mouth. The reason I hate it, and I dont care to explain to most people, is that the people who need to be fed every day who cant do it they arent really themselves they are lost within themselves their own bodies have become a prison sentance they dont deserve. Smile, I remind myself. Hows the food today? My resident stares back her once beautiful eyes are now clouded with age and so I prepare another spoonful. On our lunch break I barely eat as usual when Im there. Between the smell and the thought of where my thoroughly washed hands had been I cant quite convince myself to take a bight.

2. Copy and paste the rough draft in this section and begin to revise your work. Highlight any changes in yellow and additions in green. My dog lifts head looking as excited as I am to be awoken at such an early hour. I pull on my navy blue scrubs and throw my hair in a ponytail. Stumbling down the stairs I let the dog out and head to the bathroom. I brush and check my teeth in the mirror. My eyes focus drifts and suddenly Im staring at tired blue eyes. The purpling color under them tells me I need more sleep. Can I do this 5 days a week all the time? No. My eyes have bags, my skin is pale and not the pretty ivory kinda pale, the I just puked so Im kinda greenish blue sick looking pale. My eyes are dull. I look dead. I let the frozen wind blow against my face hoping to feel something while my dog comes in. I grab my straight black cup of sanity before I head out the door. My cars freezing and is taking its sweet time warming up. Rubbing my hands together I pull on my gloves and head off. The retirement home looks well lit and cheerful as I pull in the drive. Little bushes covered in snow illuminated by lamps. Downing the last of my coffee as I head in the doors prepared to just buckle down and get through the day. The instructor greets us and we set off to do morning rounds of bed baths, showers, sheet changing, and breakfast. People dont believe me when I tell them the part I hate most is feeding. Anything else I can handle, but the feeding room feels like my own specialized horror movie carefully designed to keep me up at night and haunt me in my mind whenever I Iift a spoon to my mouth. The reason I hate it, and I dont care to explain to most people, is that the people who need to be fed every day who cant do it they arent really themselves. They are lost within themselves. Their own bodies have become a prison sentence they dont deserve. Smile, I remind myself. Hows the food today? My resident stares back. Her once beautiful eyes are now clouded with age, and so I prepare another spoonful. On our lunch break I barely eat. I dont know how some of the other girls are. The smell and thought of where my thoroughly washed hands had been plague my brain, and I cant quite convince myself to take a bight.

3. Please write a 1-2 paragraph reflection on why the changes you have made improves the writing. Keep in mind your audience when thinking about how this improves the writing.The section I chose is about how this character is having a hard time, but she keeps doing these things that are dragging her down even farther. The edits I made in the first paragraph are to show that she isnt okay. First, she isnt getting enough sleep and she even realizes she looks dead. Second, standing in the cold hoping to feel something tells you shes been distant from emotions.In the second paragraph I tried to focus on how much she hated what she was doing with her life. I added in the line about Prepared to buckle down and just get through the day., so the reader knows from the beginning this is not something she enjoys or finds fulfilling. Where I explain what it feels like for her I tried to be as descriptive as possible.

Part 3: Writing SkillsFor six of the items below, you will need to copy paste the example from any of your essays and explain how the example below meet the standard. Make sure to identify the writing that it comes from.

1. Effectively and correctly uses imagery (Show NOT TELL) (Explain why you chose to put imagery here and why it is effective )

The leaves on the trees fell around her. It was like the sun, dirt, grass, and the colors from the clouds at sunset all gathered to give her relief for a moment. (Super Hero Narrative) I wanted to show that things were changing, fall represents change.

2. Effectively and correctly uses a proper (specific) noun (Explain why you chose to put a specific noun here and why it is effective)

The following scene shows Mr. Speigelman and his father walking while his father explains a hiding spot he built. (Maus Summative Essay) I used Mr. Speigelman here to refer back to the author. Its effective because the reader knows who Im talking about. If I would have used a pronoun it would have been confusing.

2. Effectively and correctly uses a vivid verb (Explain why you chose to put a vivid verb here and why it is effective) I remember thinking if I shattered the timer it would stop. I put a vivid verb here because it was an emotional moment and I wanted the reader to be able to understand that. Shattered means it's completely broken there arent any whole pieces left. To want to do that to a timer should show you there is more to it than the timer. The timer represents Deans control.3. Effectively and correctly uses a figurative language (Explain why you chose to use figurative language here and why it is effective)4. Effectively and correctly use of symbolism (Explain what the symbolism is, why you chose to use it here, and why it is effective) The carrot timer was set and again he left. Like I said before the timer represents his control. I mentioned the timer multiple times in this section and my reaction to when it went off. Its effective because in a nutshell thats what my life was; a timer ticking down to the next argument or angry outburst.5. Revise by adding a sentence(s) or word(s) that support the purpose. (Explain why your revision improved your essay). 6. Show an example of a complex or compound sentence in your writing. (Explain how this is better than using multiple simple sentences)7. Revise by deleting unneeded or off-topic sentence(s) or word(s) (Explain why your revision improved your essay) However, Art Speigelman has been creating comics since 1966 and is the format hes used to writing in. I could cut out the things highlighted in green. I probably just added these to increase my word count. They dont add anything to my writing.8. Creates an introduction that sets the stage for the rest of the piece. (Explain the strategy you used and how it contributes to your essay)9. Creates a concluding paragraph that effectively brings the piece to a close. (Explain the strategy you used and how it contributes to your essay) Supers? Doctor? Meeting? Now Im even more confused! She complained to her cat, What does this have to do with anything? The cat bumped his head against her hand hoping to be pet. He was clearly not worried about the letter or what was troubling his owner. No matter how hard she tried to piece together what had just happened she couldnt come up with an answer. She seriously considered that it may have been a bad dream, until she looked down at the letter in her hands. Finally she gave up on it. Then, her mind wandered to what the letter had said. Alexis wondered if she should really be meeting complete strangers, mysterious strangers at that, in her current condition. Especially because she didnt even know what her current condition was. How did they know what had happened today anyways? Well I guess Ill figure it out in the morning To Be Continued.. The ending paragraph sums up Alexis's thoughts and foreshadows about her being a super hero. Its a superhero story so ending on a cliff hanger is makes sense, because this clearly is just the beginning of the healing chameleon.

10. Creates a tone through words and descriptions (connotation/denotation) that are appropriate for a certain audience. (Explain who your intended audience is and how you targeted that audience specifically). 11. Creates voice through use of dialogue and colloquial vocabulary. (Explain who your intended audience is and how you targeted that audience specifically). (How does this add to your writing)?

Reading In the reading section of your portfolio, please show and reflect on your growth as a reader in English 11. Please include:

Part 1: Required ReadingsPlease reflect on the skills you learned about writing or reading from at least two of the eleven required texts from this course. You will find a list of some of those skills below. Write a 2-3 paragraph reflection on those skills below. Please make sure to include at least three of those skills in your reflection Make sure to identify the text it came from and be specific on that authors style.

Short StoriesFortunate Son by Dave Marsh - starts on page 12Chameleon Schlemieleon by Patric S TracyHills Like White Elephants by Ernest HemingwayThe Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allen PoeA Rose for Emily by William FaulknerThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson

PoemsRubriks Cube by Benjamin BarkerFinal Exam For My Father by Joaquin ZihuatanejoThe Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

NovelsMaus by Art Spiegelman - Vol.1 Vol. 2The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reading skills list: Choose three for your reflection.

1. Can identify the authors purpose in a piece of writing and use evidence from the text to support the claim. Please do this with ANY piece of writing we have used this year.2. Can identify the authors intended audience in a piece of writing and use evidence from the text to support the claim. (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos or Show Not Tell)3. Can you identify an authors ability to hook a reader into their story. (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos or Show Not Tell)4. Can you identify how an author creates vivid characters through use of Show Not Tell/Figurative Language, Connotation/Denotation, etc.5. Can you identify the inferential motivations of characters in a reading. 6. Can you identify how an author create vivid scenes through use of Show Not Tell/Figurative Language, Symbolism Connotation/Denotation, etc.7. Demonstrates use of connecting (connecting the book to something outside of the book) strategies to understand a text. (Socratic Seminar) 8. Demonstrates use of questioning (open ended questions that generate discussion) strategies to understand a text. (Socratic Seminar) 9. Demonstrates use of predicting (asking questions or using contextual clues to predict the possible outcome of a story) strategies to understand a text. (Socratic Seminar)

Please write your reflection below:In A Rose For Emily the author uses Emily and her house to symbolize the fall of the south. The purpose is to show that the rest of the world was changing while the south was trying to cling to its old ways. Only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores.(Faulkner 1). In Final Exam for My Father the speaker, Zihuatanejo, uses pathos to hook you in. You either feel awful that as a young boy his father left him or you can relate, because you had a parent leave you too. It makes you want to listen to the rest of what he has to say. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby each character had their own agenda. Ill focus on one of the main characters, Jay Gatsby. While it doesnt explicitly say until later Gatsbys motivations have always been derived from his longing for Daisy. He wanted her to leave Tom and marry him. You could infer this from the way he planned their meet, how he acted around her, and how he showed off his wealth for the first time in the book.

Part 2: Reading AnalysisIn the following cold reading, On Dumpster Diving by Lars Eigher, please write a short 200-400 word essay answering one of the following questions:

1. How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? 2. If the text had been written in a different time or place or language or for a different audience, how and why might it differ? 3. How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?4. Which social groups are marginalized, excluded, or silenced within the text? 5. How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? (For example is this a history text?)6. How has the text borrowed from other texts, and with what effects?

Please highlight the question you are going to answer above yellow and write your essay below.This text could be interpreted differently by a person who thinks scavenging is okay and by the college students whose dumpsters are getting scavenged. If a scavenger read this they would probably be able to relate to a lot of it. If a college student read this they might find it disgusting or feel like scavenging shouldnt be allowed.The scavenger is looking at the dumpster and its contents as a way to acquire things they need to survive. They dont really care about any personal information they find in the dumpsters. They look for food and useful items. The things they take the student threw out and didnt want anymore. Reading this they might pick up new ideas for how to scavenge or places to scavenge. The college student reading thi may feel violated that someone is going through their trash. They may have thrown something away that they dont want people to know about. They may think the scavenger is trying to find out personal information about them. The student could also be upset that they are paying all this money to go to school while someone is just living off of what they dont use. Basically living for free. Not all college students would think this obviously.Some of them might view it as recycling.Word Count: 218