Commentary on Chang’s Short Stories
DUE along with your commentary:
Three Excerpts You Have Prepared for Commentary (Tues, Wed, Thursday)
(Even though you write onlyONEcommentary)
Preparation Includes Steps 1-4: The three excepts should be
· Color-Marked (5-8 colors)
· Annotated (“thinking on the page”)
· Literary Features A-H identified on a separate sheet of paper
· A LITERARY ARGUMENT proposed for the excerpt.
For the ONE excerpt you choose for your written commentary, an OUTLINE is also required:
· Can be typed or hand-written.
· Should establish what each paragraph will discus.
· Should have a clear structure ( Linear? Organized by Literary Features?)
· Does not have to be presented in exhaustive detail.
Requirements For You Commentary:
· Typed, Proper MLA Format
· 3rdperson only
· Present Tense
· Introduction Paragraph includes Title, Author, Context and Underlined Literary Argument
· Body Paragraphs examine many smaller quotes for the work of close reading. Identify ALL literary devices in your excerpt!
· Conclusion Paragraph takes analysis a bit further and identifies any unanswered questions.
· Spotless grammar, spelling, evidence of careful proofreading
· Logical progression of ideas: Outline in advance to ensure this!
· 2-3 pages in length
· A Declarative Title that tells what this Commentary is about.
ALL OF THIS DUE IN CLASS WEDNESDAY MAY 15.
Unexcused Late Work Receives No Grade Higher Than 70% C-.
Writing an IB Commentary
What is Your Task?
Present an informed UNDERSTANDING/INTERPRETATIONof the excerpt by
· Identifying the writer’s choices of STYLE and TECHNIQUE;
· Appreciating WHY the writer makes these choices, for what effect.
Your commentary is also evaluated for its
· STRUCTURE and ORGANIZATION(outlining in advance is key)
· The extent to which you use appropriate, specific, academic LANGUAGE.
WHEN YOU SEE YOUR EXCERPT:
1) Read it once for meaning
2) Read it a second time with pen in hand, annotating (“thinking on the page”)
2.5) Color Mark, 5-8 colors
3) Consider All Questions on the Reverse Side, A-H
4) Come Up with a Literary Argument that focuses on ONE literary feature: Argue that the author uses X Literary Feature to Shape Meaning in Y way, or to create Z effect.
5) Plan and Outline what you will write in your commentary
6) Write your commentary, PRESENTING QUOTES CONSTANTLY throughout and making ample use of LITERARY TERMS. If there’s paradox, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc. and you missed it, you need to review these terms and make them your own.
7) Proofread, Revise, Make Sure there are no typos, that you have a Declarative Title, that your MLA Format is Spotless.
A - SETTING
Is there one setting or several? What are they?
What role does setting play in the excerpt?
Are characters in harmony with the setting, or in opposition?
Does setting carry particular connotations, or create a certain atmosphere?
B - CHARACTERS
Who is the central character? What do we learn about him or her? How do we learn this?
What do we learn about the central character’s relationship with other characters?
What secondary charactersemerge and what relationships do they present?
Conflict or Tension in relationships?
C - LANGUAGE
What part does description play in the novel? Does it providesetting, addatmosphere, tell us about the characters?
How are images used and what effect do they create?
How does diction (word choice) enhance meaning? Think about dialogue: what purpose does it serve? Does it develop character and plot?
D - LITERARY DEVICES (Identify any and all)
· Metaphor / Simile Personification Pathetic Fallacy Paradox
· Alliteration Assonance Consonance Contrasts
· Allusion Pun Hyperbole Onomatopoeia Ambiguity!
E - STRUCTURE
How is the excerpt structured?
On what rationale is the structure based (e.g., stages of a journey, progression of thought)
Beginning and Endings: Anything striking about these? What do they aim to establish?
Attend to:
· Syntax(sentence structure and word order )
· Inversion(change of usual word-order: “ Humble he was not! ” )
· Punctuatione.g. what is the effect of colons, semi-colons, ellipsis etc ?
· Paragraphing: are there transitional links or do they represent breaks in thought?
· Sentence lengthe.g. series of short sentences creates tension
· Turning Points?
F - TONE
Attitude of author to his/her subject matter
e.g. Is the author: serious, satirical, persuasive, angry, critical, humorous, regretful, didactic?
How are we invited into the novel? With empathy? Critically? With curiososity?
Point of View/Narrative Method e.g. what kind of narrator is used ? Is the author or narrator remote or intimate with the reader?
G – THEME
What main ideas or statements about life does the work appear to convey?
How does the writer develop these themes?
H- MOTIF
What recurring images or ideas emerge? Their symbolic significance ?
- Even though we are not meeting for class Tuesday, there are NO CHANGES IN THIS SCHEDULE except that Commentaries will be accepted Monday at the start of class with no late penalty.
- This is an optional extension and ALL STUDENTS STILL MUST READ the assigned pages in HUNGER.
- Bring Hunger with you to class on Monday 22 April.
-
4/16
Students should spend an hour on Tuesday planning their commentary, annotating, and color-marking their excerpt.
Email Ms Potter with any pressing questions, or ask in class tomorrow.
ENGLISH 10
APRIL - MAY 2013
REVISED READING SCHEDULE, 11 April 2013
April 15 PATRIOTS DAY NO SCHOOL | April 16 Work on Written Commentary | April 17 Work on Written Commentary | April 18 Work on Written Commentary | April 19 Fences or Streetcar Written Commentary Due |
April 22 Hunger pp 11- 38 due | April 23 Hunger pp 39- 66 due | April 24 Quiz | April 25 Hunger pp 66 - 90 due | April 26 Hunger pp 90-end due |
April 29 “Water Names”and “San” due | April 30 “The Unforgetting” due | May 1 Quiz on Chang’s short stories | May 2 “The Eve of The Spirit Festival” due | May 3 “Pipa’s Story” due |
May 6 Commentary Work | May 7 Commentary Work | May 8 Commentary Work | May 9 Commentary Work | May 10 Written Commentary due BeginThe Catcher in the Rye Chapters 1 & 2 due |
May 13 Catcher Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 due | May 14 Catcher Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 due | May 15 Catcher Quiz Chapters 1-10 | May 16 Catcher Chapters 11,12,13 14 due | May 17 IOP’s explained |
May 20 Catcher Chapters 15, 16, 17, 18 due | May 21 Catcher Chapters 19, 20, 21, 22 due | May 22 Catcher Chapters 23, 24, 25, 26 due | May 23 IOP topics due | May 24 Work on IOPs |
May 27 Final Exams week IOP’s Periods 1 & 2 | May 28 Final Exams week Periods 3 & 4 | May 29 Final Exams week Periods 5 & 6 | May 30 Final Exams week Periods 7 & Make Up | May 31 NO SCHOOL |
PLEASE NOTE: First Written Commentary for Gatsby is now due THURSDAY FEBRUARY 14 due to snow days.
We will have time to work on the commentary in class on Wednesday, and you should come with any questions you may have as you are writing.
Reading Schedule (posted below) REMAINS INTACT. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 vocab ARE STILL DUE Thursday February 14.
First Written Commentary forThe Great Gatsby
DUE DATE: (extension) Thursday February 14. Any papers not submitted by this date will earn no higher than 70% C-.
How to Begin:
· Select an excerpt from Chapters 1-4 that is 1-2 pages in length.
· Present a Written Commentary that addresses the following
a)Context(Placement in larger story; what happens before leading to this, what happens after as a result of this)
b)Content / Literal MeaningWhat is the speech about? What is happening? What do we learn?
c) Imagery(Consider5 sensesand emotional imagery; how do specific images affect or enhance the overall meaning?)
d) Language Choices/Literary Devices (identify any instances of simile, metaphors, assonance, consonance, alliteration, rhyme, allusions, puns. Consider not only WHAT the soliloquy says but HOW it says)
e) What speech reveals about character(What are the speaker’s motives and priorities? What is the speaker’s attitude toward his subject [tone]? How effectively does the speaker reason, reflect, or plan? To whom or to what are the speaker’s loyalties?)
f) Larger Significance and Theme(Why is the passage significant? What do we learn about the character(s)? Their interaction? What do we learn about human nature/theme?)
Requirements:
· Introduction paragraph includes author’s name and title of novel initalicsand ageneral opening insight or argument about the excerpt (underlined)
· 3-4 Pages in Length, Typed (double spaced)
· Present specific shorter quotes from the excerpt to examine in detail
· All quotes must be sufficiently explained and discussed.
· Proper MLA Format, including MLA heading and Last Name Page Number at the top right hand corner of every page
· Present Tense for literary discussion
· Third person only (no “you,” “I,” “we” etc)
· Include a declarative title – i.e., one that declares what your paper will be about.
· A conclusion should revisit your Opening Insight and take analysis a step further, reinforcing the larger significance of the excerpt.
Paper 1: Literary Commentary Rubric (HL)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Criterion A:
Understanding and interpretation
How well does the student’s interpretation reveal understanding of the thought and feeling of the passage? How well are the ideas supported by references to the passage?
| There is a basic understanding of the passage but virtually no attempt at interpretation and few references to the passage. | There is some understanding of the passage, with a superficial attempt at interpretation and some appropriate references to the passage. | There is adequate understanding of the passage, demonstrated by an interpretation that is supported by appropriate references to the passage. | There is a very good understanding of the passage, demonstrated by sustained interpretation supported by well-chosen references to the passage. | There is excellent understanding of the passage, demonstrated by persuasive interpretation supported by effective references to the passage. |
Criterion B:
Appreciation of the writer’s choices
To what extent does the analysis show appreciation of how the writer’s choices of language, structure, technique and style shape meaning? | There are few references to, and no analysis or appreciation of, the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning. | There is some mention, but little analysis or appreciation, of the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning. | There is adequate analysis and appreciation of the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning. | There is very good analysis and appreciation of the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning. | There is excellent analysis and appreciation of the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning. |
Criterion C:
Organization and development
How well organized, coherent and developed is the presentation of ideas? | Ideas have little organization; there may be a superficial structure, but coherence and development are lacking. | Ideas have some organization, with a recognizable structure; coherence and development are often lacking. | Ideas are adequately organized, with a suitable structure; some attention is paid to coherence and development. | Ideas are effectively organized, with very good structure, coherence and development. | Ideas are persuasively organized, with excellent structure, coherence and development. |
Criterion D:
Language
How clear, varied and accurate is the language? How appropriate is the choice of register, style and terminology? (“Register” refers, in this context, to the student’s use of elements such as vocabulary, tone, sentence structure and terminology appropriate to the commentary.) | Language is rarely clear and appropriate; there are many errors in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction, and little sense of register and style. | Language is sometimes clear and carefully chosen; grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction are fairly accurate, although errors and inconsistencies are apparent; the register and style are to some extent appropriate to the commentary. | Language is clear and carefully chosen, with an adequate degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction despite some lapses; register and style are mostly appropriate to the commentary. | Language is clear and carefully chosen, with a good degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction; register and style are consistently appropriate to the commentary. | Language is very clear, effective, carefully chosen and precise, with a high degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction; register and style are effective and appropriate to the commentary. |
Revised Schedule for
The Great Gatsby
MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
Jan 28 Memorized Poem Presentations | Jan 29 Memorized Poem Presentations | Jan 30 Memorized Poem Presentations | Jan 31 Introduction toThe Great Gatsby | Feb 1 Fitzgerald Movie DUE TODAY Chapter 1 Vocab |
Feb 4 DUE TODAY Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Vocab | Feb 5 DUE TODAY Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Vocab | Feb 6 Quiz on Fitzgerald, Roaring 20’s, Chapters 1 & 2 | Feb 7 DUE TODAY Chapters 3 Chapter 4 Vocab | Feb 8 PARENT CONFERENCES NO SCHOOL |
Feb 11 Work on Commentary | Feb 12 Work on Commentary | Feb 13 First Written Commentary Due | Feb 14 DUE TODAY Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Vocab | Feb 15 DUE TODAY Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Vocab |
Feb 18 PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND NO SCHOOL | Feb 19 PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND NO SCHOOL | Feb 20 Quiz on Chapters 3, 4, 5 | Feb 21 DUE TODAY Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Vocab | Feb 22 DUE TODAY Chapter 7first half (stop at “There is no confusion like. . .” |
Feb 25 DUE TODAY End of Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Vocab | Feb 26 DUE TODAY Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Vocab | Feb 27 Quiz: Chapters 6, 7, &8 | Feb 28 DUE TODAY Chapter 9 | March 1 Gatsby Movie |
March 4 Work on Commentary | March 5 Work on Commentary | March 6 Second written commentary due | March 7 Gatsby Movie | March 8 Gatsby Movie |
Here is the MLA citation information for every text that does not tell you its MLA information in the Green Book. Also on this document is how to cite quotes fewer than 4 lines, more than four lines, and quotes within a quote:
Good information!!!!
Tagged: Drew Niziak, Samantha Steefel, Maggie Canty, Nessy, OGC, Kayla Lynch, Starr, Hannah, Benjamin :) and Catherine #Youwishyouwerehere
Begin to research your topic in preparation to work with your group members on Monday 11/5 and to present Tuesday 11/6. Be sure you are doing your part to contribute to your group! Avoid Wikipedia and be prepared to name your sources following your presentation.
Homework for over the weekend of November 3-4:
Topics are:
1) Thoreau's Early Life and General Biography
(Sheila W this is yours, since you were absent; you're with Saleh, Zedal, and Jerusha)
2) The U.S. Mexican War
3) Thoreau's Experience at Walden Pond (when ? where? why? how? what did he write about it? what have others written about it?)
4) Thoreau's Lasting Influence (Scholarships, foundations, institutions, etc. inspired by HDT, other activists who have been inspired by HDT.
For Monday October 22, read closely and attentively:
Pre-IB English 10:
Fall Semester 2012, Second Quarter
Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, King, and Short Story Unit
MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
Oct 15 ParentConferences No Classes | Oct 16 Introduction to Benjamin Franklin | Oct 17 Benjamin Franklin presentations | Oct 18 Aphorisms due | Oct 19 Moral Perfection due |
Oct 23 In class: Buddhism and the eightfold path comparisons | Oct 23 Written Response due | Oct 24 Ben Franklin Quiz | Oct 25 Start Emerson | Oct 26 “Friendship” due |
Oct 29 First Half of “Self Reliance” due | Oct 30 Finish “Self Reliance” | Oct 31 No school | Nov 1 “Self Reliance” Group Work | Nov 2 Start Thoreau & Political Chart |
Nov 5 Research Thoreau | Nov 6 Research Thoreau | Nov 7 First half “Civil Disobedience” due | Nov 8 Second Half “Civil Disobedience” due | Nov 9 Wendy McElroy article due |
Nov 12 Veterans Day No School | Nov 13 Review | Nov 14 Test on Emerson and Thoreau | Nov 15 Read First Half Birmingham Jail | Nov 16 Finish Birmingham Jail |
Nov 19 “Harrison Bergeron” due Explain Final Essay | Nov 20 “Revelation” due | Nov 21 “Revelation” Article due Release at 12 noon | Nov 22 Thanksgiving No School | Nov 23 Thanksgiving Break No School |
Nov 26 “The Lame Shall Enter First” due | Nov 27 “Magic Barrel” due | Nov 28 “Everyday Use” due | Nov 29 “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” due | Nov 30 “Two Kinds” due |
Dec 3 Discuss themes/motifs; Discuss Works Cited | Dec 4 Essay Outline in class work day | Dec 5 Essay Outline in class work day | Dec 6 Essay Outline in class work day; Nearly-completed outline due at end of class. | Dec 7 Computer Lab |
Dec 10 Computer Lab | Dec 11 Computer Lab | Dec 12 Rough Draft due for Peer Critiques | Dec 13 Computer Lab | Dec 14 Final Draft of Essay Due |
Dec 17 Final Exams Periods 1 &2 All Classes In Session | Dec 18 Final Exams Periods 3 & 4 | Dec 19 Final Exams Periods 5 & 6 | Dec 20 Final Exams Periods 7 & 8 | Dec 21 No School Grades Due |
Pre-IB English 10
Romeo and Juliet
Individual Oral Commentary
October 2012
Your Task:
· Select an excerpt from the play, 30-50 lines in length. Dialogue or Soliloquy, either is fine. (It must be continuous; not 20 lines in one place and 20 in another.)
· On your assigned presentation day, read the excerpt aloud and then proceed to present an oral commentary, 5-7 minutes long, to the class.
· You may use notes to guide you, but you MAY NOT read a pre-written commentary. Anyone reading a pre-written commentary will earn a D (65%).
TIPS TO PREPARE:
• Read the entire passage through first.
• Re-read for literary devices, tone, mood, rhythm, word choice, etc. and jot notes
• Read the passage for the third time to make sure you caught everything.
• Do a quick outline for organization of information and thoughts
• Introductionto the commentary: treat it the same as you would an introduction to an essay. Start with a general statement about the passage, topics you’ll be covering and your thesis statement, following your outline.
• Structure
1 minute for the introduction
4-5 minutes of discussion
1 minute for conclusion
• Conclusion– like the introduction, it should be similar to an essay. Did you cover all your points; were questions answered; was your information clearly addressed?
• In general,a conceptual approachis best: proceed idea by idea, not line by line
• Use colored pencils for color-marking (underline recurring image patterns with same color)
• Pay close attention to LANGUAGE andbe sure to identify at least three literary devices throughout your commentary(e.g., paradox, assonance, allusion, simile, metaphor)
Circle Your Presentation Day:
Tuesday Oct 9 Wed Oct 10 Thurs Oct 11 Friday Oct 12
Anyone not prepared to present on his or her assigned day can earn no higher than 70%, C-. In the event of legitimate illness or emergency, a parent must email me (cpotter@newmanboston.org) to corroborate that yours is an excused absence deserving of an extension.
Specific Reminders for Shakespeare
--Know context: Be able to frame the passage specifically.
--Know content: What is the passage about? What is happening? What do we learn?
--Knowsignificance: Why is the passage significant? What do we learn about the character(s)? Their interaction? What do we learn about human nature/theme?
Howis this message, lesson, understanding about human nature delivered? (soliloquy, dialogue, etc.)
Remember that “Shakespeare did not attempt to explain history or the gods to men, but rather to explain men and women to themselves. His narrow topic is humanity, and it is immense: everything from stalking guilt to bawdy humor, from insanity to jokes about passing gas, from love to death to those moments when they are inseparable.”
“The most important and dramatic choices are made in the human soul” (Gerson, 2007).
Tie understanding to dramatic and poetic features; each has distinctive effects.
Dramatic Features | Poetic Features |
Questioning Physical movement Sound Light/lighting Costume Location Aside Soliloquy Props Irony | Meter/rhythm Poetry (verse)/Prose Tone Metaphor/simile Imagery/motives Duality/antithesis Juxtaposition Sound devices: alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme Paradox/oxymoron |
Pre-IB English 10
First Written Assignment Due Wednesday October 3
Prompt:
Present some argument, value judgment, or key insight about Juliet’s character and choices in Act 4.
* DO NOT address other Acts unless briefly to establish basic information for your discussion.
Requirements:
- · Introduction paragraph includes title of play initalicsand a clear thesis argument(underlined).
- · 2-3 Pages in Length, Typed (double spaced)
- · Present at least five quotes from R&J Act 4, properly cited (e.g., II.i.29-30)
- · All quotes must be introduced with SPEAKER & CONTEXT
- · All quotes must be sufficiently explained and discussed.
- · Proper MLA Format, including MLA heading and Last Name Page Number at the top right hand corner of every page
- · Present Tense for literary discussion
- · Third person only (no “you,” “I,” “we” etc)
- · You may NOT consult any internet sources for help. Your analysis and ideas must be entirely your own. Do nottouchthe internet for this assignment.
- · Include a declarative title – i.e., one that declares what your paper will be about.
- · A conclusion should revisit thesis and take analysis a step further.
MLA RULES FOR DRAMA: Three Scenarios
If citing one character speaking four lines or fewer:
Romeo tells Juliet how he came to her balcony: “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, / For stony limits cannot hold love out, / And what love can do, that dares love attempt” (II.ii.71-3).
If citing one character speaking more than four lines:
Friar Lawrence does not believe that Romeo can truly love Juliet now after loving Rosaline just a few hours before. He tells Romeo:
Young men’s love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine
Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
How much salt water thrown away in waste
To season love, that of it doth not taste! (II.iii.71-76)
If citing two or more characters speaking, no matter how many lines:
Romeo boldly kisses Juliet at the Capulets’ party, and he and Juliet banter a bit about whether their kiss is a sin or the purging of sin:
ROMEO. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is
purged.
JULIET. Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
ROMEO. Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again. (I.v.118-121)
Pre-IB English 10:
Fall Semester 2012, First Quarter
Romeo and Juliet
MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
| | | Sept 6 Syllabus & Welcome | Sept 7 Academic honesty IntroduceRomeo & Juliet |
Sept 10 Shakespeare’s Life & Shakespeare’s Theater due pp xxv-xli | Sept 11 Prologue & Act 1 Scene 1 due | Sept 12 Act 1 Scenes 2 &3 due | Sept 13 Act 1 Scenes 4 & 5 due | Sept 14 Quiz Background Info and Act I |
Sept 17 Act 2 Scenes 1 & 2 due | Sept 18 Act 2 Scenes 3 and 4 due | Sept 19 Act 2 Scenes 5 & 6 due | Sept 20 Act 3 Scene 1 due | Sept 21 Act 3 Scenes 2 & 3 due |
Sept 24 Act 3 Scenes 4 & 5 due | Sept 25 Acts 2 & 3 Review | Sept 26 Quiz Acts 2 & 3 | Sept 27 Act 4 Scenes 1 & 2 due | Sept 28 Act 4 Scenes 3, 4, 5, due |
Oct 1 Act 5 due | Oct 2 Act 5 and Final Discussions | Oct 3 Act 4 Short Essay due | Oct 4 Color marking, literary terms, language day | Oct 5 Quiz Act 5 |
Oct 8 Columbus Day No Classes | Oct 9 IOPs | Oct 10 IOPs | Oct 11 IOPs | Oct 12 IOPs |
Oct 15 ParentConferences No Classes | Oct 16 IOPs | Oct 17 | Oct 18 Introduction to Benjamin Franklin | Oct 19 Benjamin Franklin movie |
Oct 23 Aphorisms due | Oct 23 Moral Perfection due | Oct 24 In class: Buddhism and the eightfold path comparisons | Oct 25 Written Response due | Oct 26 Ben Franklin Quiz |