BRAVE NEW WORLD – UNIT ESSAY – October 2014

Goals:

  • Apply a specific literary perspective (Marxist or Psychoanalytical) to explore what is stated, implied, and omitted in the text Brave New World.
  • Use text evidence to support interpretations and draw conclusions that go beyond what is overtly stated in the text.
  • Demonstrate adherence to MLA style guidelines and conventions of standard English.

Timeline:“TBOT” means “To Be On Track” you should have finished ___ on that day.

Sun. / Mon. / Tues. / Weds. / Thurs. / Fri. / Sat.
10/6
LAB 200
Essay requirements
TBOT: topic, thesis, part of intro. / 10/7
LAB 200
Work Time
TBOT: intro plus first paragraph / 10/8
LAB 200
Work Time
TBOT: intro plus all body paragraphs / 10/9
LAB 200
Work Time:
TBOT: whole essay, ready for final revisions / 10/10
NO SCHOOL
Finish in Drive by 1159pm / 10/11
Gardner reads, comments; NO HW
10/12
Gardner reads, comments; NO HW / 10/13
LAB 100
Work Time:
REVISIONS / 10/14
LAB 200
Work Time:
REVISIONS / 10/15
LAB 200
Work Time:
REVISIONS
HW=Finish / 10/16
Back in 810… Next Unit…
HW=Finish / 10/17
Final Draft in Drive by 1159pm

Prompt:

Select either a Marxist critical perspective or a Psychoanalytical critical perspective from which to examine Brave New World. Establish a claim about the novel, its themes or its characters, and analyze evidence in support of that claim while applying your critical perspective.

Format:

  • Locate the document I shared with you titled “[your name] BNW Unit Essay.” Your essay must be composed on this document.
  • Your essay must follow MLA formatting rules:
  • Times New Roman 12 point font
  • Double-spacing
  • Proper page citation
  • Proper heading (not a header!) with your name, my name, the class and the properly formatted date
  • Use formal academic voice: (no “you” or “I” unless in a directly quoted concrete detail; “we” or “us” is permissible if making generalizations in your conclusions paragraph).
  • Avoid contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t, they’ll).
  • Avoid abbreviations (etc., b/c, w/, i.e., eg, roflmao).

Resources:

  • In your Drive, I have shared with you a document called “Literary Analysis Scaffold.” Use the search bar to find it in your Drive, then consider using it to help you frame your argument.
  • Visit my website: staff.camas.wednet.edu/blogs/mgardner and click on the “Writing Help” tab.
  • Review the feedback and goals I wrote on your Mini-Analysis

Assessment Scales:

Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Introduction / An attempt at engagement is made, and may be cliché or disconnected from the topic or purpose.
Synopsis is present and overly broad or unnecessarily specific.
Thesis is present and represents superficial or surface-level interpretation. / Engagement strategy is generally effective.
Synopsis is present and provides basic background information the reader will need, though feels like a transplanted summary.
Thesis is present and represents an interpretive claim or synthesis of ideas; may be a three-prong model. / Engagement strategy is effective, related to the topic and thesis, and fluidly blends into the synopsis.
Synopsis presents important background information necessary for the reader but may include superfluous detail.
Thesis establishes a broad claim about which the paper will present subclaims and supporting arguments. / Engagement strategy is innovative, effective, directly related to the thesis, and draws the reader seamlessly into the synopsis.
Synopsis clearly anticipates the key content of the paper and provides necessary background that enables the reader to fully understand the context of the argument.
Thesis establishes a precise claim about which the paper will present subclaims and supporting arguments.
Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Body Paragraphs / Claim represents overtly stated facts.
Needs context for clarity.
Needs convincing evidence from the text to support the claim.
Commentary/analysis repeats ideas already presented; lacks depth; represents summary rather than analysis. / Claim represents an opinion or interpretation.
Includes adequate context to establish background for the evidence.
Evidence provided addresses the claim but may simply restate it.
Commentary/analysis is largely summary but does draw some inferences or insights; may be overly broad or needing focus. / Claim represents an interpretation that is inferential or demands intra-text connections.
Context smoothly connects the claim and the evidence while providing necessary contact.
Evidence provided is illustrative of the claim and demands interpretation.
Commentary articulates focused reasoning that goes deeper into critical interpretation of the text; text evidence is deconstructed for implicit meaning. / Claim represents insightful inferential claim that applies a distinguishable literary perspective.
Context focuses on key background details that are particularly relevant for the claim.
A pattern of convincing illustrative evidence supports the claim offered.
Commentary articulates focused reasoning that clearly connects to tenets or key ideas of a specific literary perspective (lens) and is deconstructed with that lens in mind.
If relevant, counterclaims are articulated, respected, and skillfully refuted.
Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Conclusion / Summarizes the main points given by the essay.
Overtly restates the thesis. / Summarizes the main points given by the essay and identifies the common thread within those points.
Attempts to extend the thesis beyond the essay to suggest broader significance of the topic or theme.
Brings the essay to a sense of closure by echoing opening language. / Reviews the evidence provided in a concise and balanced way and identifies the common thread (thesis) this evidence contributes to proving.
Extends the thesis by drawing a conclusion around the implications, significance, or broader meaning of the topic or theme explored in the essay.
Skillfully echoes the opening language from the intro to bring a good sense of closure. / Achieves Level 3, and also draws a conclusion that shows insight, innovation, great depth of understanding, and mastery of the content of the essay.
Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Conventions / Errors in basic capitalization and end-of-sentence punctuation are present.
MLA citation is not adhered to consistently.
Spelling errors on even common words.
Grammatical errors and construction impede the reader’s understanding. / Minor lapses in MLA citation are present.
Spelling errors are present only on uncommon or difficult words.
Grammatical errors, if present, are only on more complex or challenging syntactical devices. / No errors in MLA citation.
No spelling errors.
More complex grammatical structures are attempted, with some success. / No errors in MLA citation.
No spelling errors.
Complex grammatical structures are used intentionally to enhance the meaning and organization.

GRADING: Each body paragraph is assessed separately.

A / B / C / D
October, November / Mode of 3, no 1’s / Mode of 3 / Mode of 2 / Mode of 2, multiple 1’s
December, January / Mode of 3, at least one 4 / Mode of 3, no 1’s / Mode of 3 / Mode of 2
February, March / Mode of 3, multiple 4’s / Mode of 3, at least one 4 / Mode of 3, no 1’s / Mode of 2, multiple 3’s
April, May, June / Mode of 4 / Mode of 3, multiple 4’s / Mode of 3, no 1’s / Mode of 2, multiple 3’s