English 11 Midterm Exam Writing Portfolio Part 1: Writing Reflection Choose one writing that you thought was your most effective and one that was your least effective. Write a 1­2 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.

The Great Gatsby was my most effective piece of writing. I believe it was effective because I displayed how Fitzgerald represented social classes, and how certain social classes reflects on how people act. I grasped a bigger concept that went beyond the book. I related how social status affected how someone was as a person.

2. Least effective piece of writing and why. My Nanowrimo writing was my least effective piece of writing. For me I did not accomplish the task of writing a detailed story. I did not grasp the readers attention in a way that would be effective. I did have a strong plot, but did more telling not showing. In order for it to have been an effective piece of writing I would have to have provided more detail and make you feel as if you were in the story.

Part 2: Writing Process Taking a 300­400 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. He was gassed and when he woke up the men were gone. B wasn’t sure what to do. He crawled out of the van still disoriiented from whatever they used to knock him out. Once he got his bearing he noticed a strong odor. Curious as he always was he slowly followed that smell. Closer and closer he walked until he was stopped by a large door. The door was bolted and required a security code. B as he is was not one to back down from a challenge. Thus he said, “well i guess i’m just going to have to find a way to open it. After aweinng at the door he noticed what looked like dry blood. He moved closer and saw not only was there blood, but there was also this slime substance. He couldn’t identify it, but when he looked away and looked back it wasn’t there. He said to himself, “that was just my imagination.” after this he then went to the large bolted

door. for a while he looked at the door wondering where it let to. He then looked around and saw that there was a car sitting there. now being as curious as he is he couldn’t just leave. as of right now he didn’t seem to be in any apperant danger. he then went back to the blood and around the corner he saw that the two men that had taken him were dead and now fear set with in him. he knew he had two options. One is that he takes the car and leaves all of this behind him. Granted that he was not happy with the curents life he lived he chose the door. he walked up to it and as soon as he touched it his body turned to become frozen. confused by this he now began to freak out. what would he do? how would he get out. how long before all the things went wrong. somebody could come back like the guys that killed the two who had taken him. He then noticed that his leg happened to be unfroze.

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.

He was gassed and when he woke up the men were gone. Bobby wasn’t sure what to do. He crawled out of the van still disoriented from whatever they used to knock him out. A strong pungent odor reaches Bobby’s nose. “Wow that is a strong smell, “ said Bobby. Curious as he always was he slowly followed that smell. Closer and closer he walked until he was stopped by a large door. Bobby being who he is was not one to back down from a challenge. Thus he said, “well i guess i’m just going to have to find a way to open it. After awakening, at the door he noticed what looked like dry blood. He moved closer and saw not only was there blood, but there was also this slime substance. He couldn’t identify it. Something caught his eye, when he looked back he noticed that the green slime was no longer there. He thought to himself, “ I must have hit my head and I was only imagining that. Don’t get yourself worked up of some thing that doesn’t even exist. Then he noticed a large door. For a while he looked at the door wondering where it let to. He then looked around and saw that there was a car sitting there. Now being as curious as he is he couldn’t just leave. As of right now he didn’t seem to be in any apparent danger. he then went back to the blood and around the corner he saw that the two men that had taken him were dead and now fear set with in him. He knew he had two options. “My life is nothing, I never have done anything. This is my one opportunity. Nothing will come from my no good boring life. I mean come on Bobby be honest with yourself; half of the school doesn’t even know your name. Why would you want to go back, “ said Bobby to himself. Slowly as Bobby approached the door he noticed that the door looked like to inside of a deep freezer. The door was colder than the air on a winter stormy night. Looking over at the two dead guys sent chills throughout his body. It could have very well been because he was standing against what might as well been a freezer door. Has confused and his head started spinning faster and faster and faster. Everything became still and from then on Bobby’s life changed forever.

3. Please write a 1­2 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.

I made many changes that improved this writing. I added things like imagery that

provided better detail to the story. I added dialogue which is one way to show the story instead of just telling you what happened. I also never flat out said he went through the door. I left that part up to the reader to infer that. To me that made the book more interesting.

I mainly added dialogue to improve this writing, but I also changed around sentence structure so that the sentenced sound more interesting. For example saying “ The door was colder than the air on a winter stormy night. Looking over at the two dead guys sent chills throughout his body. “ is much more interesting than saying “ The door was cold and the dead guys scared him.” These were also ways I showed imagery to give the reader a better understanding of the reading. It engages the reader more and makes the story interesting. Part 3: Writing Skills For 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 ) Maus summative assignment ­ When Artie gets a new tape recorder Vladek asks,

“So, how much you paid?” Artie replies with, “Only 75 bucks! It was on sale.” In Artie’s view this is a good deal, but Vladek does not think the same. Instead he replies with, “Pssh, at Korvettes you could find it for ­maximum­ $35.00”

I used this as imagery because it allowed the reader to better understand what I am saying. Simply saying that Vladek is frugal with his money while artie spends money more freely does not prove to have the same effect. I used dialogue because it shows you how Vladek feels about money. You the reader can understand how Vladek feels. If I just tell you then you will miss that Vladek has somewhat of a grumpy and rash tone towards Artie. You also understand better how Artie doesn’t feel the need to have his father's approval. With the addition of dialogue it shows how Artie is independent. Without dialogue it would leave the reader with many questions. This would result in the reader making assumptions that may mislead the point I was making in my S.A.

2. Effectively and correctly uses a proper (specific) noun (Explain why you chose to put a specific noun here and why it is effective) Spiegelman demonstrates the clashing views of father and son, but more

importantly this shows correlation to how someone older would see paying to fix the leak as Valek said, “foolish.” He also shows how someone younger such as Artie would see that hiring it out would be practical and simple

Putting the noun Spiegelman lets the reader know who is saying this. It clears up any confusion the reader may. If I were to say “he” it would have less of an effect on the

clarity of what was going on. It also clearly tells you who is speaking when I say “he” in the next sentence. It is effective because the sentence before it Vladek is talking. If I did not say Spiegelman than it would confuse the readers and he/she would wonder why Vladek was saying that. It wouldn’t make sense.

3. effectively and correctly uses a vivid verb (Explain why you chose to put a vivid verb here and why it is effective)

NaNoWriMo ­ All these unanswered questions he is gripping to answer. The verb gripping effectively does its job. It tells the reader that he has all these

questions, but can’t answer them. The verb gripping helps the reader better understand the struggle of the character. Simply using the verb wanting or something similar would not serve the same purpose. The verb gripping also implies that it is something that he is trying ever so hard to achieve. He isn’t just wanting these questions answered, but he is rather gripping to get them answered. You can infer he is doing all he can to find the answers.

4. Effectively and correctly uses a figurative language (Explain why you chose to use figurative language here and why it is effective)

5. Effectively and correctly use of symbolism (Explain what the symbolism is, why you chose to use it here, and why it is effective) The Great Gatsby­ Some examples of this would be when Tom buys Myrtle a

dog. Myrtle wants a dog and she gets what she wants. Myrtle doesn’t want just any dog. Myrtle wants a police dog. This could

symbolize that a police dog would make her feel protected from Tom. Remember that Tom is a physical specimen with a body that has an aggressive lean to it. Myrtle also is not the smartest and even though Tom has never hurt her, she may think that if she leaves Tom then he will hurt he. A police dog would give that protection. The protection wouldn’t necessarily be actual protection, but to Myrtle it would feel that way.

6. Revise by adding a sentence(s) or word(s) that support the purpose. (Explain why your revision improved your essay). Maus Summative Assignment ­ Older people were alive during the depression

and had to deal with those hard times along with ones after that. The depression not only ruined people financially, but it changed how people thought. Before the depression people were buying large amounts of stock on credit. Some people were able to buy stock with only a 10% down payment.

These few sentences provide examples to why older people are frugal with money. They see the youth spending money just as some of them did themselves. Buying on credit hurt them, therefore they don’t want younger generations to make the same mistake. That is the point that entails with adding these few sentences. This is why these sentences were needed in order to provide a stronger point in which why older people are more frugal with their money.

7. Show an example of a complex or compound sentence in your writing. (Explain how this is better than using multiple simple sentences)

8. Revise by deleting unneeded or off­topic sentence(s) or word(s) (Explain why your revision improved your essay) The Great Gatsby­ Gatsby also does not fit into the clique of old money. Gatsby

however is rich, but still does not fit.

The part highlighted in green is what needs to be deleted. It is simply repeating what has not only been implied, but speculated on. In the beginning of the paragraph I say how Gatsby represents new money. Later I also say how Gatsby made his money. These are two points that obviously point out that Gatsby is rich. That is why saying Gatsby is rich is not needed. The reason saying “he still does not fit” is not needed because the sentence before says Gatsby does not fit into the clique of old money.

9. 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)

10. Creates a concluding paragraph that effectively brings the piece to a close. (Explain the strategy you used and how it contributes to your essay)

11. 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).

12. 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 Readings Please 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 2­3 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 author’s style. Short Stories “Fortunate Son” by Dave Marsh ­ starts on page 12 “Chameleon Schlemieleon” by Patric S Tracy “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway “The Masque of Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson Poems

“Rubrik’s Cube” by Benjamin Barker “Final Exam For My Father” by Joaquin Zihuatanejo “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe Novels Maus by Art Spiegelman ­ Vol.1 Vol. 2 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Reading skills list: Choose three for your reflection.

1. Can identify the author’s 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 author’s 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 author’s 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. For the love of money. The authors intended audience was someone who is rich. Basically he is saying that no matter how rich you are you will always want more. The unintended audience would be people that aren't rich. What he is portraying is a picture of how being rich really hasn't turned out how he expected. The great Gatsby I was able to predict many outcomes in the Great Gatsby. The author uses symbolism to give you clues about what will happen. Something as Daisy always wears white. It not only represents purity, but you also can infer that she is only pure because she was portrayed that way. An example being when she hits Myrtle. Gatsby takes the fall for her crime. It suggests that not everyone is who they are portrayed as.

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

How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? 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? How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? Which social groups are marginalized, excluded, or silenced within the text? 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?) 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. There are two groups of people that would see this article different. The two groups would be the wealthy. The other group would be the poor. They would see this different because what social class you're in effects who you are as a person. Someone that fits into the social class of wealthy would see " dumpster diving as unclean. They would not understand any reason for dumpster diving. They could see the word scavenging which relates closely to scrapping by. Someone that is poor would understand the reason for it. They understand that there are some things that have to be done to meet ends. They understand how curtain times you have to scrape by. However someone of wealth does not know what it means to scrape by. In conclusion two readers would interpret this article differently. Someone who is wealthy would not understand the reason for dumpster diving. However some one that is poor would. A rose for Emily This book demonstrates how to catch the readers attention. The non use of chronological order keeps the reader engaged. It makes the book as if you can't wait any longer to turn the page. It is gripping and keeps you guessing until the end. He rearranges the order of events so the reader can't predict what will happen next. This is how the author hooks the reader into the story.