See yesterday's post for the weekend reading

Beloved In-class Essay 2016

Wesley 3AP

April 21, 2016

Assignment: On Friday, April 29, you will be asked to hand-write an insightful, coherent, and textually-supported essay in response to one of the following essay prompts. More specifically, on the day of the assessment I will narrow your options to two of the following seven, and you will choose one to write on. You may use your copy of Beloved to help you find pertinent quotes for your essay (each essay should contain at least three to four embedded and properly cited (pg #) quotes.  The essay is worth 70 possible points, and I will assess it holistically according to the rubric on the back. Typically students write 2 ½ to 4 pages depending on the size of their handwriting and variation in style and/or development of their writing.

Objectives: Reflect thoughtfully and articulately on an important American novel and prepare for timed AP writing.

1. Choose a character from Beloved who is pulled in conflicting directions. Identify the forces of conflict and explain how this illustrates the meaning of the novel as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2. The setting of a literary text often has special significance for the development of characters, plot, and/or theme. Write an essay in which you analyze the significance of the setting (Sweet Home, 124, Cincinnati, the North/South, the river, etc.) of Beloved and its effect on the meaning of the novel as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

3. No act of violence exists without a specific purpose or intention. Choose one such scene from Beloved, and write a well-organized essay in which you identify the violence and analyze its significance to the meaning of the novel as a whole. Avoid plot summary.

4. The quest for power is a strong human drive. Choose a character from Beloved who either seeks to gain power over another or seeks to free himself or herself from the power of another. Write an essay in which you illustrate how this power struggle is essential to the meaning of the novel. Avoid mere plot summary.

5. Select a character from Beloved who serves as the instrument for the suffering of others and analyze how this action contributes to the meaning of the novel as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

6. Choose a character from Beloved who has to deal with guilt. Identify the situation and analyze how effectively the character deals with his or her struggle. Relate this situation to the meaning of the novel as a whole, avoiding mere plot summary.

7. Select a character from Beloved who demonstrates irrational behavior. In a well-organized essay, analyze how this behavior can be considered reasonable and relate the behavior to the text as a whole.

AP Scoring Guide

9 Essays earning a score of 9 meet all the criteria for papers that earned 8 points and, in addition, are particularly persuasive or carefully reasoned or demonstrate impressive stylistic control.

8 Essays that earned a score of 8 persuasively respond to the prompt. They present cohesive and carefully reasoned arguments using appropriate evidence to develop their positions. Their prose demonstrates their ability to control a wide range of the elements of effective writing, but they are not flawless.

7 Essays earning a score of 7 fit the descriptions of essays that received 6 points but are distinguished by fuller or more purposeful argument or stronger prose style.

6 Essays earning a score of 6 adequately respond to the prompt by presenting interpretations that are generally sound and that use appropriate evidence. A few lapses in diction or syntax may be present, but for the most part the prose of these essays conveys the writers’ ideas clearly.

5 Essays earning a score of 5 understand the task, and their interpretations and arguments are generally clear, although they may use superficial or limited evidence or exhibit uneven development. A few lapses in diction or syntax may be evident, but for the most part the prose of these essays conveys the writers’ ideas clearly.

4 These essays inadequately respond to the prompt. They may misunderstand, misrepresent, or oversimplify Morrison’s views, or use evidence inappropriate or insufficient to make their own case. The prose of these essays usually conveys the writers’ ideas, but may suggest inconsistent control over such elements of writing as organization, diction, and syntax.

3 Essays that received 3 points are described by the criteria for the score of 4 (see above), but are less persuasive in their attempts to state and defend an interpretation, or are less consistent in their ability to control the elements of writing.

2 Essays earning a score of 2 demonstrate little or no success in responding to the prompt. They may have seriously misread Beloved or substitute a simpler task, such as summarizing the novel or writing responses only tangentially related to the prompt. The prose of these essays may reveal consistent weaknesses in control of elements of writing, such as organization, grammar, or diction.

Grade Equivalents:

AP Score	Average	Points (out of 70)	Letter Grade
1	55%	39	F
2	60%	42	D-
3	65%	46	D
4	73%	51	C
5	78%	55	C+
6	83%	58	B
7	88%	62	B
8	93	65	A-
9	97-100%	67-70	A