Character Focus Paragraph – Self-EvaluationName: ______

Follow the instructions.

A topic sentence for a short one-two paragraph assignment like this one has a few key requirements.

Find your own topic sentence, read it, and check for these items:

Character’s name (Ex: Abigail Williams, Miss Strangeworth, Huck Finn, etc.)

Name of the text (Ex: “The Crucible” To Kill a Mockingbird “The Most Dangerous Game” etc.)

Name of the author (Use author’s first and last name, or just last name)

The point you are making (Ex: …is a dynamic, complex character that is difficult to define.)

To show you know how to make a topic sentence with all these requirements, make any edits you need to your original then copy your best, new topic sentence here:

In this character focus assignment, you are trying to prove what kind of personality traits your character has. Last class you chose adjectives to describe your character, and each adjective you put in a sentence. These sentences with adjectives are your RDFs in this assignment. To avoid sounding boring, you don’t want them to all sound exactly the same, yet they all should include three elements:

Character’s name

Adjective (the word used to describe him/her at this point)

A general definition for the adjective

Examples:

  • One aspect of Abby Williams’ character is her deceiving nature; she lies when it suits her, despite the price others must pay.
  • Abigail Williams lies when it suits her, despite the price others must pay; this behavior reveals her deceiving nature.
  • A last key element of Miss Strangeworth’s character is her meddling; she constantly takes an active interest in the business of others in town.

Show you can make three RDFs that don’t sound exactly alike; copy your three RDFs here, and make any edits from your originals you think necessary.

The key to this assignment is your use of the evidence and examples from the text. You focused on THREE different parts of the text for evidence. Go back and read your paragraph then fill out the three items below:

“My first RDF states that the character is …

… and I backed that up by using a summary from the part of the text when …

“My second RDF states that the character is …

… and I backed that up by using a summary from the part of the text when …

“My third RDF stated that the character is …

… and I backed that up by using a summary from the part of the text when …