A Raisin in the Sun Essay Writing Packet!!!

In this packet you will find the resources you need to successful complete your essay in the Toulmin style. This is a step-by-step guide that will help you construct a great essay!

Due Date: January 21st/January 22nd Note on Due Date:There will be no exceptions or extensions on this deadline. You MUST turn your paper in during class (not during another period, or after school). E-mailing your paper to me is unacceptable. If you do not have a printer at home, make sure you come to school early the day BEFORE it is due so that you can print it out in the office. Late papers will be docked major points.

Homework/Classwork:YOU NEED TO BRING YOU PACKET EVERYDAY TO CLASS. Your worksheets for classwork, as well as your homework are all included in this packet.

A Raisin in the Sun Essay Writing Passport

Introduction: Warrant #1

Claim: Warrant #2

Clarification: Conclusion:

Evidence #1: MY ROUGH DRAFT IS READY!

Evidence #2:

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Understanding the Essential Question

Essential Question:

What character in A Raisin in the Sun best exemplifies the theme of the play?

To understanding the essential question, we must break it down to discover what the prompt is asking us to do.

CLASSWORK:To answer the essential question you must:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Let’s review THEME!Theme is ____________________________________________________________Steps to Identify Theme:

1.

2.

3.

4.

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PREWRITING BRAINSTORMINGCHARACTER WALTER BENEATHA MAMA RUTH

SITUATION AT THE

BEGINNING OF THE PLAY

SITUATION AT THE END

OF THE PLAY

WHAT DID THE

CHARACTER LEARN?

= THEME

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ORGANIZATION OF A TOULMIN

Order to Paragraphs:1. Introduction (claim at the end)2. Clarification3. Evidence #1 + Warrant #14. Evidence #2 + Warrant #25. Conclusion

MECHANICS (SPELLING & GRAMMAR)

You want your reader to focus on your brilliant thoughts and not be distracted by spelling and grammatical errors. If you present a paper that is filled with errors, it conveys to the reader that you have rushed your essay, and that you do not care enough to simply read it over.

A Great Paper Should Not Have: Spelling mistakes (Spellcheck is your friend! There is no excuse for spelling

errors) Spelling the author, title, or character’s names incorrectly (these are all found in

the book; if you are unsure, simply look in your book) Incomplete sentences (“A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry” is not

a sentence) Informal language (u, hisself)

Proofreading your paper will only take 5 minutes! You must proofread!

Tips on Proofreading: Spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck! Read it out loud! As silly as this sounds, reading your work out loud will

dramatically improve your writing. This is the best way to catch run ons, incomplete sentences, and grammatical mistakes.

Show it to a parent or friend OR MS. MADDEN! Oftentimes, we do not catch our own mistakes. Show your work to someone before you hand it in. They will catch the mistakes you might have overlooked.

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WRITING YOUR CLAIM

Claim – a claim is a _________________ in which you answer the ____________________________________________. A strong claim:

Is the last sentence of the introduction Expresses an opinion that can be argued (this just means that evidence can be chosen

that proves your claim) Is stated confidently (no “maybe,” “probably,” “might be,” or “could be”) Uses clear language (do not use any ambiguous terms like “stuff” or “things”)

Let’s remind ourselves of the essential question. Rewrite the essential question here:

CLASSWORK (January 6th or January 7th)Formula for Claim:

__________________________ best exemplifies the theme because at the beginning of (Character)the play ____________________________________________________________ (describes the character’s situation at the beginning of the play)while at the end of the play _________________________________________________________. (describes the character’s situation at the end of the play)

Look at your claim and see if you can check off every box in the criteria for a strong claim:

A strong claim: Is the last sentence of the introduction Expresses an opinion that can be argued (this just means that evidence can be chosen

that proves your claim) Is stated confidently (no “maybe,” “probably,” “might be,” or “could be”) Does not use any vague words like “stuff” or “things”

Lastly, CIRCLE any unclear terms in your claim that you think you will have to clarify in your clarification.

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SELECTING EVIDENCE

Evidence – _________________ from the play that prove your claim is ____________

Strong Evidence: Strongly supports the argument being made in the claim Is properly cited with MLA format Is not longer than 3 sentences Is introduced by stating who said the quote and when

Selecting Strong Evidence:- Ask yourself: Does this piece of evidence PROVE my claim?

HOMEWORK: Due Dates: Period 2 (1/8), Period 1 & 3 (1/9)

Directions: Which piece of evidence best supports the claim, a or b?1. Claim: FDAHS provides a better education than other schools in the surrounding area.

a) The end-of-the-year state tests indicate that FDAHS students are stronger in English and history than their peers at Crenshaw, Manual Arts, and Dorsey.

b) FDAHS has a good athletics program. 2. Claim: “Single Ladies” is one of the best music videos of all time.

a) The simple black-and-white video paired with the complex choreography makes the video entertaining.

b) The song is extremely catchy with a great melody and humorous lyrics.3. Claim: The 9th grade is the best class at FDAHS

a) Ms. Madden likes the 10th graders the best. b) Unlike the upperclassmen, the 10th graders are (for the most part) well behaved in

assemblies.

How to Introduce Your Evidence:

Good Introduction to Evidence: Tells the reader who is speaking Tells the reader to whom the speaker is speaking to Provides a context that tells the reader what is happening when the quote is being said

Examples: 1. Evidence: “ I want to do so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy.”Poor introduction to evidence: On page 66 in Act Two, Troy saysStrong introduction to evidence: During an intense conversation with his mother, Walter says

1. Evidence: “Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs” a) Who is speaking?b) Who is the speaker talking to?

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c) What is happening when the quote is being said?

Strong introduction to evidence: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to Cite Your Evidence

Citing a piece of evidence from a play is different than citing a piece of evidence from a novel or short story. When citing a piece of evidence from a play, the writer must include the author’s name, the act, the scene, and the page number.

Example: Let’s say your evidence is found on in Act 1, scene 1, on page 33. The proper citation would be: (Hansberry I.i.33)

Placement of Citation: The citation goes after the quotation mark, and before the period. Example: “I ain’t got no extra money. I can’t afford to be giving you every payday” (Wilson I.i.16).

Cheat Sheet for Roman Numeral Usage:1 = I or i2 = II or ii3 = III or iii4 = IV or iv5 = V or v

Homework: Select, Introduce, & Cite EvidenceDue Dates: Period 2 (1/8), Period 1 & 3 (1/9)

Introduction to Evidence 1:

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Quote with citation:

Introduction to Evidence 1:

Quote with citation:

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WRITING YOUR INTRODUCTION

A strong introduction: Starts with a strong hook Includes the author’s name and the underlined title of the play Short summary of the play and the major characters Description of the theme A claim at the end of the paragraph Gives the reader a good sense of the plot so that the claim make sense (don’t just say

Walter in your claim without really explaining to your reader WHO Walter is)

Hook:In the past we’ve used quotes to start off our essays. With this essay we are going to learn another way of hooking your reader – asking a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is not answered. Using a rhetorical question will get your reader thinking about the topics you are about to discuss?

Examples of Rhetorical Questions as Hooks: Is money more powerful than family?

DO NOT USE “YOU” or address your reader directly in the question.

When writing a summary ask yourself the following questions- If someone were to ask me to say in a just a few sentences what the play was about, what would I say?- Who? What? When? Where? Why? * Your summary should only be about 3 sentences

Remember: The play should be UNDERLINED and not in quotations

Write Your Introduction Below! *Don’t forget that the last sentence of your introduction is your claim

HOOK:

SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERS:

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THEME: The theme of play is…..

CLAIM:

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WRITING YOUR CLARIFICATION PARAGRAPH

Clarification – clarifies any unknown terms into your claim

A strong clarification: Defines unknown terms in your claim in a clear way

1. Go back to page 5 in your packet. Rewrite your claim here:

2. Circle any words in your claim that might be unclear

Look at any terms your circled in your claim. Determine whether or not these terms need to be clarified in your clarification paragraph.

NOTE: You MUST define one word that is in your claim; you may, however, choose to define two.

Term to Define:

Your Definition of the term:

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WRITING YOUR WARRANT

Warrant – ______________ of the quote; explains how the piece of evidence proves the claim

*This is the meat of your essay; you should spend the most time writing and revising your warrant

Strong warrant: Clearly links evidence to the claim Supports the claim Directly connects the evidence to the claim Contains a logical argument Analyzes the evidence

Steps to Writing A Great Warrant

Pre-write:1. Look at your piece of evidence. Then look at your claim.2. Ask yourself: How does my piece of evidence prove the argument made in my claim? Jot

down a few notes.a. If you answer to this question is “it doesn’t prove my claim” you need to chose

another piece of evidence to use

Writing Your Warrant- Explain the evidence literarily - Explain the evidence figuratively (subtext, underneath the surface)- Provide an extension connection between your evidence and the CLAIM (this should be the majority of your warrant)

Remember – the best warrants spend the most time connecting the evidence to the claim rather than simply explaining what the evidence means

Topic Sentence: At the beginning of the play, _____________________________________________________________________(Character’s situation at the beginning of the new play – first half of claim)

+

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Evidence #1:

+

Warrant for Evidence #1 (5 sentences)Answers the questions:- How does the evidence show what the character was like at the end of the play?- How does this relate to the theme of the play stated in the claim?

+Concluding Sentence: Restates your topic sentence in new words

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Topic Sentence: At the end of the play, _____________________________________________________________________(Character’s situation at the end of the new play – second half of claim)

+

Evidence #2:

+

Warrant for Evidence #2 (5 sentences)Answers the questions:- How does the evidence show what the character was like at the end of the play?- How is the character’s situation at the end of the play different the beginning situation?- How does this relate to the theme of the play stated in the claim?(The majority of this warrant should be about theme)

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+Concluding Sentence: Restates your topic sentence in new words

WRITING YOUR CONCLUSIONConclusion – Summarizes the main points of your essay and then takes the argument further

Good Conclusion: Restates the hook Attempts to answer the question

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Summarizes the main points of your essay without directly repeating or copying any part of your essay

Ends your paper on a strong note Relates back to the claim

FORMATTING YOUR PAPERRequirements:

Size 12, Times New Roman font Double-spaced Appropriate Heading Indented paragraphs

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Optional: Cover page with some sort of art work

You Paper Should Look Like This:

Joanna HallELA 10 – Period #Ms. Madden15 January 2009

dlakjsf;klsajd;lgkja;sijoiawueoriwaeoijradsghjfdsdghfwaeofisughdjfkawfjsdghjkfsjdas;kldfjslkdjf

;laskjfo;eiawjgoihewo;irjawo;eijrowaieroiajwfkhajksgh;oaiwejor;awiueroaiwueouaeo;r;lkldfjslkd

jf;laskjfo;eiawjgoihewo;irjawo;eijrowaieroiajwfkhajksgh;oaiwejor;awiueroaiwueouaeo;

kldfjslkdjf;laskjfo;eiawjgoihewo;irjawo;eijrowaieroiajwfkhajksgh;oaiwejor;awiueroaiwueouaeo.

dlakjsf;klsajd;lgkja;sijoiawueoriwaeoijradsghjfdsdghfwaeofisughdjfkawfjsdghjkfsjdas;kl

dfjslkdjf;laskjfo;eiawjgoihewo;irjawo;eijrowaieroiajwfkhajksgh;oaiwejor;awiueroaiwueouaeo;r;l

kldfjslkdjf;laskjfo;eiawjgoihewo;irjawo;eijrowaieroiajwfkhajksgh;oaiwejor;awiueroaiwueouaeo;

MLA CITATIONS

The last page of your essay should be titled Works Cited. You should list any works you cited in your paper. For our purposes, it will just one source: A Raisin in the Sun.

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Format for MLA citation of a play:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Play Title. Publishing City: Publishing Company, Year.

The last page of your essay should look like this:

Works Cited

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Play Title. Publishing City: Publishing Company, Year.

CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU ARE D-O-N-E!!!!!!!

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