Lord of the Flies Final Essay Assignment

English 10

Due:

Learning Expectations

We believe that successful students:

Communicate in a meaningful way for a variety of purposes and audiences, and
Demonstrate a sensitivity to the precision and nuances of written medium through comprehension, interpretation, and evaluation.

Your final essay for our Lord of the Flies unit will establish a link between the themes of Golding’s novel and the modern world to explain how the ideas represented in the allegory are still relevant to our time.

Select a current news story—global, national, or local—and draw parallels between the events and people associated with it and the characters and events in Lord of the Flies. Questions to consider while developing your connection:

How do the psychological shifts of the characters in the novel resemble psychological shifts in the people involved in your news story?
How does Golding’s representation of man’s destructive nature mirror the destruction you see in the news event you selected?
How does society fail/prevail in matters of human survival and the greater good of the populace?
How do the morally and/or ethically correct people in your news story experience the same treatment/fate as Simon or Piggy?
How is power attained and maintained? Do the leaders in your current event use tactics resembling Jack’s or Ralph’s?

Your essay should be accompanied by at least one article about the current event from a reputable news source, which you will cite and include in a Works Cited page formatted according to MLA standards.

Requirements:

Minimum of three pages, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font with proper MLA formatting (visit the Library/Learning Commons web site for guidelines).
Upload to Turnitin.com prior to the due date.
Submit a hard copy (complete with Works Cited and a copy of your news sources) at the start of class on the due date.
WHS Writing Rubric is attached to this handout. Use it as you write your essay.
The school handbook states that “all work submitted by students should be a true reflection of their effort and ability.”

Weston High School Writing Diagnostic Rubric

Purpose / Thinking / Organization / Language / Mechanics
EXEMPLARY / purpose is fulfilled in a creative, ambitious, and original way and strongly supports needs or interests of the audience / rigorous, highly analytical thinking shows sophistication of original ideas and interpretations / organization reflects the intricacies of the ideas in a nuanced and
complex way / student's mastery of language is evident in employment of sophisticated vocabulary and artful, exceptionally well-written sentences / very few or no mechanical errors are present
DISTINGUISHED / piece has a clear and consistent purpose and clearly supports needs or interests of the audience / thinking shows skillful development of important original ideas and defensible interpretations / organization reflects
a consistent and nuanced understanding of how structure communicates meaning / employment of appropriate, diverse vocabulary and varied, deliberately designed sentences is evidence of student’s control of language / few mechanical errors are present
COMMENDABLE / piece has a clear and consistent purpose and generally supports needs or interests of the audience / thinking shows consistent evidence of important original ideas and defensible interpretations / organization reflects a consistent understanding of how structure communicates meaning / employment of vocabulary and sentence structure is appropriate, with consistent control and some diversity / mechanical errors do not distract the reader or interfere with meaning
PROFICIENT / piece maintains an adequate focus and purpose and generally supports needs or interests of the audience / thinking shows evidence of attempts at original ideas and defensible interpretations / organization reflects an understanding of how structure communicates meaning, although there are inconsistencies / employment of vocabulary and sentence structure is appropriate, although there is not diversity or consistent control / mechanical errorsgenerally do not distract the reader or interfere with meaning
EMERGING
(approaching
proficiency) / purpose of piece is not consistently clear, and audience considerations appear to have been limited / thinking shows some evidence of attempts at original ideas and somewhat defensible interpretations / organization does not adequately support piece’s meaning / vocabulary and sentence structure do not demonstrate sufficient evidence of student’s control of language / mechanical errors distract the reader or interfere with meaning
LIMITED / purpose of piece is unclear, and audience considerations appear to have been ignored / thinking does not demonstrate evidence of original ideas or interpretations / organization is ineffective or confusing / vocabulary and sentence structure contain significant errors / mechanical errors significantly distract the reader or interfere with meaning

Overall Holistic Rating (circle one):EXEMPLARYDISTINGUISHEDCOMMENDABLEPROFICIENT EMERGING LIMITED