Unit Activity

Unit: The Anglo Saxon and Medieval Periods

This activity will help you meet these educational goals:

Common Core State Standards—You will write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence (W.1.); gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation (W.8.);cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain (R.1.); draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research (W.9).

Introduction

In this unit activity, you will analyze aspects of the medieval English stories The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.You will also read George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language,”analyze it, and express your own views on how language usage changes over time.

______

Directionsand Analysis

Task 1: Analyzing Literature

You've read excerpts from secular works written in the medieval period such asSir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales. Both are quest narratives that reveal much about the social life and codes of conduct followed in the medieval period. Writean essay on one of the topicsprovided in part a of this task.Follow the guidelines in the table below for writing the essay.

Guidelines
gathering and evaluating sources
  • Refer to online resources or books in a library on the relevant topic inorder to write the essay.
  • Make sure you look for the date and the author of the resource and check whether the resource provides valid information that is useful in writing the essay.
  • You can refer to thisarticleor search for other web pages like it to find out more about evaluating sources.

developing a thesis or argument
  • Your essay should be built around a thesis statement or the main argument.
  • The thesis statement should be well supported by your research and the text you are analyzing.
  • This article will provide you with more information on thesis statements and developing a topic.

writing the essay
  • Consult thisresource for guidelines when writing an analytical essay.
  • The structure and language of your essay should be your own. Read these guidelineson how to avoid plagiarism.Make sure you cite all sources you refer to using a consistent format. You can use either the MLA format or the APAformat.
  • Reread your essay to eliminate spelling errors and to rule out grammatical mistakes before turning in the essay.

  1. Choose one of the two topics detailed below for your essay:
  • A medieval romance is a kind of writing that has a mysterious,supernatural setting,idealizes chivalry and courtly love, and mayinvolve masking a character's real identity. Usually the hero of a medieval romance is a knight who takes up an unusual challenge and whose triumph brings glory to the king and the nation. Reread the selection fromSir Gawain and the GreenKnight(or you may choose to read more of it from an onlinesource)and write an analytical essay to determine how the poem fits into the genre of medieval romances.
  • Reread portions ofThe Canterbury Tales. Pilgrims relate the stories on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. However,the stories often have an irreverent tone. Examine to what extent “The Pardoner’s Tale”or “The Nun's Priest’s Tale”(or other sections of stories if you want to read more online) seems to mock aspects of religion in general or Christian beliefs and church practices of the time in particular.

Type your response here:

  1. You consulted various sources to write your essay. Briefly describe how you decided your sources were credible.

Type your response here:

Task 2: Analyzing an Essay

In this task, you will read George Orwell’s “Politics and theEnglishLanguage.”Write your reactions to the parts of the essay that cite rules for writing or state methods for stopping the language from decline and decadence.

  1. Choose one point from Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”on which you agree with him and one point on which you disagree. Include reasons for your arguments.

Type your response here:

  1. George Orwell gives examples of bad writing in the essay “Politics and the English Language.”Choose two examples from the essay and discuss what you feel about the quality of writing. Do you think Orwell’s criticism is valid? What other comments would you make about his examples? Do you think people write in similar ways now, and if so, is that a problem?

Type your response here:

  1. Language changes with time and context.What is your opinion about what constitutes good or bad usage? Is it necessary for speakers or writers to follow a particular standard of correctness? Do such standards vary with the audience and the situation?
    Do you think an individual or a group of individuals can actually maintain the quality of language and usage?If your answer is yes,state how these rules can be applied effectively.If your answer is no, then state the reasons why such control should not be exercised. Write a short essay to state your position on these questions.

Type your response here:

Resources

Here are some sources you can consult for writing your essay:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (full text)

The Canterbury Tales(full text)

Below, note the sources you used inthis writing task. At minimum, include a title and URL for any Internet resource.

Evaluation

Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit.

Task 1: Writing an Analytical Essay

Criteria
Distinguished
(4 points) /
  • The essay is centered on the main point or the thesis statement, which is clearly stated.
  • The student demonstrates a good grasp of the topic in question and analyzes the textsconvincingly.
  • The essay is very well organized and containsonly minimal spelling or grammatical errors.
  • The student's choice of sourcesis highly appropriate.
  • The student consistently cites sources according to the chosen format.

Proficient
(3 points) /
  • The essayis centered on the thesis statement, which is somewhat clearly stated.
  • The student demonstrates a moderate grasp of the topic in question and analyzes the texts moderately well.
  • The essay is moderately well organized and contains a few spelling and grammatical errors.
  • The student's choice of sources is appropriate.
  • The student cites sources correctly according to the chosen format.

Developing
(2 points) /
  • The essay is not centered on a clear thesis statement and presents conflicting views.
  • The student demonstrates some grasp of the topic in question and analyzes the text to some extent.
  • The essay is not structured well and containsseveral spelling and grammatical errors.
  • The student's choice of sources is passable.
  • The student cites sources butnot in a standard format.

Beginning
(1 point) /
  • The essay is not centered on a thesis statement but is formed of ideas loosely strung together.
  • The student does not demonstrate understanding of the topics in question and the essay lacks analysis.
  • The essay isincoherent or jumbled and containsmanyspelling and grammatical errors.
  • The student does not cite sources, or the choice or use of sources is not appropriate.

Task 2: Analyzing an Essay

Criteria
Distinguished
(4 points) /
  • The student chooses highly appropriate examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint clearly.
  • The student choosesthe most appropriate excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
  • The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards effectively with valid reasons to support the view.
  • The answers are very well organized and contain only minimal spelling or grammatical errors.

Proficient
(3 points) /
  • The student chooses appropriate examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint moderately well.
  • The student choosesappropriate excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
  • The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards moderately well with valid reasons to support the view.
  • The answers are moderately well organized and contain only a few spelling and grammatical errors.

Developing
(2 points) /
  • The student chooses somewhat relevant examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint meaningfully.
  • The student chooses somewhat relevant excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he orshe agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
  • The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards fairly well with some valid reasons to support the view.
  • The answers are not structured well and contain several spelling and grammatical errors.

Beginning
(1 point) /
  • The student does not choose relevant examples of writing presented by the author, and his or her viewpoint reflects confusion.
  • The student does not choose relevant excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
  • The student vaguely presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards but fails to cite valid reasons.
  • The answers are incoherent or jumbled and contain many spelling and grammatical errors.

1