EMBEDDED ASSESSMENT #2UNIT 3

WRITING A CHARACTER ANALYSIS of STANLEY YELNATS

This will be completed as a TIMED writing TEST. After directions are given, you will plan, and write a rough draft. You will have 60 minutes to complete your rough draft. Revise and Edit. Write a final copy. You will be given 60 minutes during the next class period to complete the essay.

• Persuasive Writing • Expository writing

characterDeveloping Character via courage

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YOUR TURN! • CHOOSE CHARACTER TRAITS

• STANLEY AT THE BEGINNING (3) STANLEY AT END, HOW ZERO HELPS STANLEY CHANGE

• ORGANIZE QUOTES: character chart• PLAN: Introduction and Conclusion• WRITE ROUGH DRAFT• REVISE• EDIT• WRITE FINAL DRAFT

CHARACTER TRAITSCHOOSE AT LEAST 3 TRAITS ABOUT STANLEY FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY.

CHOOSE 3 TRAITS THAT DESCRIBES STANLEY AT THE END OF THE STORY AFTER ALL OF HIS CHANGES.

CHARTUSE THIS CHART TO HELP ORGANIZE QUOTES, EVENTS AND CHARACTER ACTIONS THAT ILLUSTRATE THE CHARACTER TRAITS.

PG. 268• Drafting• 4. Begin your essay with an introduction that includes a thesis

statement.• Your thesis statement should clearly state that Stanley Yelnats has• experienced some significant changes throughout the course of the novel• and indicate what may have contributed to those changes. Remember• that one way to begin your introduction is with a quotation from the• novel, as you practiced Activity 3.24, “Hector Zeroni.”• 5. Begin the first body paragraph with a topic sentence describing

Stanley• at the beginning of the novel. Use at least three details or examples from• the beginning of the novel. Then provide commentary on how the details• support your topic sentence. Use transitions to show when or why things• happened.

PLANoPLANNING PAGE

PLAN YOUR INTRODUCTION/THESIS, THE SEQUENCE OF YOUR PAPER AND YOUR CONCLUSION

STEPS- USER FRIENDLY!On hand out and in Spring Board Book

1. Begin your essay with an introduction that includes a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should clearly state that Stanley Yelnats has experienced some significant changes throughout the course of the novel and indicate what may have contributed to those changes. Remember that one way to begin your introduction is with a quotation from the novel, as you practiced Activity 3.24, “Hector Zeroni.”

2. Begin the first body paragraph with a topic sentence describing Stanley at the beginning of the novel. Use at least three details or examples from the beginning of the novel. Then provide commentary on how the details support your topic sentence. Use transitions to show when or why things happened.

STEPS 3 and 4• 3. Begin your next paragraph with a topic sentence stating how

Zero affects Stanley’s change. Ask yourself, “How does Stanley’s friendship with Zero make him a better person?” In the rest of this paragraph, provide textual support for your opinion. Use at least three details you have noted in your graphic organizer about the relationship between Stanley and Zero in Activity 3.19, “Stanley and Zero.” Explain the importance of the details with commentary. Include transitions that show cause and effect.

• 4. Next, start your last body paragraph with a topic sentence stating how Stanley’s character has changed by the end of the novel. Then, complete the paragraph using at least three details and examples from the novel, and include commentary on how these details support your topic sentence.

STEP 5 +• In your conclusion, restate your thesis. You can also

think ahead to Stanley’s future, or you can connect the book to real life or to a universal idea such as “friendship” in a way that supports your thesis.

IN SHORT, A CONCLUSIONoRestates the subject of your essay.o Summarize how these traits support your

point of view.oConclude with a summary of your opinion.

*****Concluding sentence goes beyond a simple summary.

THESIS: PARAGRAPH 1

Begin your essay with a thesis statement. Use the following as a model:

• In the beginning of the novel Holes, by Louis Sachar, Stanley Yelnats is ______________ , but by the end of the novel, partly because of his friendship with Hector Zeroni, Stanley is ___________________, __________________ and ____________________.

SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE 1:

• Throughout the book Holes, by Louis Sachar, the main character Stanley goes through many changes. At the beginning of the story, he is _______________, ______________ and __________________but by the end of the story with the help of his friend Zero, Stanley is _______________, _________________ and ___________________.

SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE 2:

• “As long as Zero could keep going, he could keep going too.” (page 162, paragraph 15) In the book Holes, Stanley made dramatic changes with the help of his friend Zero. He went from being ______________, ____________ and ____________at the beginning of the story to ______________, _________________ and ________________.

SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE 3:

• “Higher and higher they climbed. His strength came from somewhere deep inside himself…” (page 170, paragraph ____) Stanley found that in the face of near death, he discovered things about himself that turned his life around. At the beginning of the novel Holes, he was _________________, _____________________ and ________________. With the help of his friendship with Zero, by the end of the story he was ____________________, ___________________ and ______________________.

SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE 4:

• No friends and always being made fun of. Stanley had been miserable for many years. On page 7, paragraph ___, “He didn’t have any friends at home. He was overweight…” At the beginning of the novel Holes, he was _________________, _____________________ and ________________. With the help of his friendship with Zero, by the end of the story he was ____________________, ___________________ and ______________________.

PG. 269• 6. Begin your next paragraph with a topic sentence stating how Zero affects• Stanley’s change. Ask yourself, “How does Stanley’s friendship with Zero• make him a better person?” In the rest of this paragraph, provide textual• support for your opinion. Use at least three details you have noted in• your graphic organizer about the relationship between Stanley and Zero• in Activity 3.19, “Stanley and Zero.” Explain the importance of the details• with commentary. Include transitions that show cause and effect.• 7. Next, start your last body paragraph with a topic sentence stating how• Stanley’s character has changed by the end of the novel. Then, complete• the paragraph using at least three details and examples from the novel,• and include commentary on how these details support your topic• sentence.• 8. In your conclusion, restate your thesis. You can also think ahead to• Stanley’s future, or you can connect the book to real life or to a universal• idea such as “friendship” in a way that supports your thesis.

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• 12. Summarize your ideas about how Stanley has changed through the course of the novel.

• 13. Summarize your ideas about how Zero influenced the changes in Stanley.

• 14. What do you consider to be the strongest part of your essay? Why?

• 15. Read your character analysis essay softly to yourself, correcting mistakes that you notice along the way. Make sure your essay sounds right.

PG. 270• 16. Compare the draft of your essay to the graphic organizers you completed• and the outline of an essay provided for you. You might use colored pencils to

underline the different parts of the outline to make sure they are all addressed in your essay. You might have changed your mind about some of your ideas once you got started writing, but be sure to check to see if you left out any important elements of a character analysis essay. If any elements are missing or need more development, revise accordingly.

• 17. Mark your draft as follows to determine where you may still need• revision:

– A. Highlight the following elements in your essay (you may want to use different colors). If you have a small amount of highlighting, you probably want to revise: transitions (words or phrases) to help your reader follow your essay

• b. descriptive details with precise adjectives and action verbs• b. R evisit the Assignment and the Scoring Guide and ask youself how• successful you have been in meeting the criteria of the assignment.• Make notes, either in the margin or by using sticky notes, of any• additional changes you want to make.

YOUR TURN!

• Rough• revise• Edit• Write final• proofread

Revising video

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REVISEo ADDING OR ELABORATING

o Make sure you have your quotations, page, paragraph, commentary and details.

o Find a key (important) sentence- Add 2 more sentences of elaboration. (more details)

o Add similes, metaphors and other descriptive language.

o REPLACINGo Look for overused words like “then”, “and”, “I”

etc. Try replacing them with synonyms. (a thesaurus can help)

o Look for inaccurate facts or quotations/dialogue and replace with accurate information.

o DELETINGo Look for any statements that are off topic or not

necessary and take them out of the story.

GO BACK AND READ/REREAD YOUR ESSAY BEFORE WRITING FINAL

Revising is different from editing.

When you revise your job is to make sure all your information is written in a clear and interesting way.

REVISEEMBEDDED ASSESSMENT 2

LEVEL 1, UNIT 3WRITING A CHARACTER ANALYSIS ESSAY

• Directions: Check off each task that you complete during your revision process.

My introduction paragraph uses parallel sentence structure. I began with an attention getter, than wrote a topic sentence.

My introduction paragraph uses powerful adjectives to describe Stanley at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story. (actions, personality, appearance)

I have completed my graphic organizer (character chart) to record the lines from the text to support my thesis statement.

I have gathered the evidence to describe and discuss Stanley and Zero’s friendship.

GO BACK AND READ/REREAD YOUR ESSAY BEFORE WRITING FINAL

REVISE In the second paragraph I used at least three

adjectives to describe Stanley and gave examples for each. I added personal commentary and used at least one line or quotation from the novel to support my opinion. (Page, Paragraph)

In the third paragraph I used at least three examples to describe how Zero helped Stanley change. I added personal commentary and used at least one line or quotation from the novel to support my opinion. (Page, Paragraph, Quote, Commentary.)

In the fourth paragraph I used at least three adjectives to describe Stanley at the end of the story and gave examples for each. I added personal commentary and used at least one line or quotation from the novel to support my opinion. (page, paragraph)

My concluding paragraph refers back to my introduction.

GO BACK AND READ/REREAD YOUR ESSAY BEFORE WRITING FINAL

REVISEI have revised my work to

reflect super-strong thinking.

I have attached my rough draft, my character chart, my plan, a revision and editing checklist to the back of my final draft.

I have graded myself on the rubric and attached it to the paper.

GO BACK AND READ/REREAD YOUR ESSAY BEFORE WRITING FINAL

EDIT EDITING CHECKLIST• Did I use words that are capitalized correctly?• Did I check that ALL my words are spelled

correctly?• Have I indented all my paragraphs?• Have I put quotation marks around any lines

from the story?• Have I written complete sentences?• Is my name on all my papers?

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