Happy Tuesday! (9/8) Pick up a warm-up and

helping/linking verbs handout from the front table.

Begin working on the Tuesday column. Look over your previous diagramming practices for reminders on what to do if you get stuck! You need to have your

composition notebook today. Get it out and have your essay draft open and ready to go!

Homework Reminder Vocabulary Workshop Unit 1 Activities

(pages 12-21) due Friday, 9/11 Make sure to study the 20 words as

there will be a quiz on Friday!(You do not have to complete the Writing: Words in

Action section. All other activities must be completed.)

Extra Credit Opportunity for the 1st Nine Weeks:

Read A Separate Peace by John Knowles(timed writing to be completed in tutoring by the

end of the nine weeks – Friday, Oct. 23)

Your Introduction & Thesis(write on blank side of

notecard)

How did you organize your essay? (Number of paragraphs, what went into each paragraph, etc.)

Did you write a thesis? If so, write it down on the front side of the notecard. If not, write “no thesis.”

If you were absent on Friday (9/4), read over the prompt and decide on a dangerous scene to cover. If time permits, write what you believe a good thesis

sentence would be for your essay.

Table of ContentsDate Notes and

Assignments Page #

9/4 AP Essay Prompt (Danger Influence)

1

9/4 Essay Draft (Danger Influence)

2-4

9/8 Writing Workshop: Deconstructing a prompt and thesis sentences

5-6

**Your page number might be different for the writing workshop notes depending on how many pages you wrote on for your essay draft. The writing workshop notes must start on a left page (odd number).

Deconstructing a Prompt Read the prompt all the way through

once.

Reread, looking for key words.

Break the prompt into the essential components of the essay.

L

Deconstructing a PromptThe central character in a novel or play often encounters moral, physical or psychological danger. From a novel or play select a situation (episode or scene) in which the central character encounters danger. In a unified essay describe:

a) how the situation reveals the character,

b) how the revelation of character in this situation relates to the structure

and meaning of the work.

Breaking Down the Thesis1. Situation of moral, physical or

psychological danger:

2. Central Character:

3. Character trait revealed:

4. Connection to meaning:

RApply these four steps to the scene you already selected.

Breaking Down the Thesis1. Situation of moral, physical or psychological

danger: Ishmael alone in the woods (chapter 8)

A. Physical: lack of water, lack of sleep, animal attacksB. Psychological: mental images of violence and war plaguing his

mind.

2. Central Character: Ishmael

3. Character trait revealed: Resilience

4. Connection to meaning: Mankind will do whatever is necessary to survive.

Thesis Statements Your thesis is the roadmap to your paper. It

lets readers know where your paper is headed.

The thesis is generally located at the end of your introduction.

A strong thesis answers the question asked in the prompt AND provides new insight.

A well-constructed thesis statement makes the difference between a thoughtful essay and a simple retelling of facts.

L

Breaking Down the Thesis1. Situation of moral, physical or psychological

danger: Ishmael alone in the woods (chapter 8)

A. Physical: lack of water, lack of sleep, animal attacksB. Psychological: mental images of violence and war plaguing his

mind.

2. Central Character: Ishmael

3. Character trait revealed: Resilience

4. Connection to meaning: Mankind will do whatever is necessary to survive.

Sample Thesis Statement

Wondering lost and lonely in the woods, Ishmael Beah faces both physical and psychological dangers with a resiliency that ultimately proves mankind will do whatever is necessary to survive.

Breaking Down the Thesis1. Situation of moral, physical or psychological

danger: Bonzo and his friends corner Ender in the bathroom in order to teach him a lesson (physical danger – chapter 12)

2. Central Character: Ender Wiggin

3. Character trait revealed: Cunning

4. Connection to meaning: People have a killer instinct when threatened.

Sample Thesis Statement

Facing the threat of physical violence from Bonzo and his lackeys, Ender Wiggin relies on his cunning to surmount the odds and ultimately unleash a killer instinct that reveals humans will stop at nothing when threatened.

On the Lined Side of Your Card:

Create your new thesis using the four components we identified when deconstructing the prompt.

When you are finished, trade cards with a neighbor to compare ideas and provide feedback.