Midterm In-Class Essay

By now in the semester you have read a variety of different texts from authors with distinctive cultural, historical, and personal backgrounds. We have
looked at literary devices and the ways in which they are used in literature to strengthen the messages of a text.

Now you will write an in-class essay about ONE of the texts we’ve read thus far. This in-class essay is meant to be analytical; you need to analyze the
meaning of your chosen text.

This in-class essay MUST:

➢ Have a recognizable introduction, thesis statement, and conclusion
➢ At least three quotes from your chosen text
➢ Be written without the use of any electronic device
➢ Be written within a single period of class time
➢ Address the author’s or character’s cultural, historical or personal background
➢ Mention at least one literary device used in the text
➢ Show evidence of risk-taking with grammar and sentence structure

If you so choose, you are paper dictionarallowed to bring in ay to the exam. These dictionaries will be inspected by instructors before the exam begins.

Paper copies of your chosen text will be provided on the day of the exam.
 CATEGORY & RANGE Needs Improvement
STRUCTURE AND FLOW Essay does not have a coherent
20 points structure. Transitions are not used.
It is missing a recognizable all of the
following: a recognizable
introduction, thesis, body
paragraph(s) and conclusion.
8
ANALYSIS OF LITERARY DEVICE
20 points
Student does not mention any
literary device..
8 incorrectly.
USE OF TEXT
20 points
Student never mentions the text
they chose.
8 analysis.
GRAMMAR/ VOCABULARY
There are many errors in grammar,
20 points
punctuation, and spelling in most
sentences. Most sentences use
simple grammatical concepts, no
risk-taking is evident.
8 11
CULTURAL ANALYSIS
20 points
Student makes no mention of
author/poet’s/character’s cultural
background
8
Almost Meets Standards
Student rarely uses transitions.
Essay is missing three of the
following: a recognizable
introduction, thesis, body
paragraph (s), and conclusion.
11
Student incorrectly analyzes the
literary device they chose. They
confuse one literary device for
another.
11
Student rarely mentions the text
they chose or mentions the text in a
superficial way with little to no
11
There are errors in grammar,
punctuation, and spelling in many
sentences. Many sentences use
simple grammatical concepts, and
very little risk-taking is evident.
Student mentions an inaccurate
representation of an
author/poet’s/character’s cultural
background.
11
Meets Standards
Student sometimes uses transitions.
Essay is missing two of the
following: a recognizable
introduction, thesis, body
paragraph (s), and conclusion.
14
Student gives one example of how a
literary device is used in their
chosen text.
14
Student sometimes mentions the
text they chose. Student sometimes
mentions the text in thorough and
thoughtful ways.
14
There are few errors in grammar,
punctuation, and spelling. Some
sentences use simple grammatical
concepts, but some risk-taking is
evident.
14
Student mentions the
author/poet’s/character’s cultural
background once in a superficial or
brief way.
14
Exceeds Standards
Student often uses transitions.
Essay is missing one of the
following: a recognizable
introduction, thesis, body
paragraph (s), and conclusion.
17
Student gives two examples of how
a literary device is used in their
chosen text but one or more of their
examples is analyzed superficially or
17
Student often mentions the text
they chose. Student often mentions
the text in thorough and thoughtful
ways.
17
Grammar, punctuation, and
spelling are often error-free. Many
sentences use more complex
grammatical concepts, and
risk-taking is often evident.
17
Student mentions the
author/poet’s/character’s cultural
background multiple (two or more)
times.
17
Exemplary
Student frequently uses transitions
effectively. Essay contains all of the
following: a recognizable
introduction, thesis, body
paragraph (s), and conclusion.
20
Student gives two or more examples
of how a literary device is used in
their chosen thoroughly and
thoughtftext. All examples given are
explainedully.
20
Student mentions the text they
chose using thoughtfully embedded
quotes. Students uses the quotes
they analyze to support their
argument for the main idea/ theme
of the text.
20
Grammar, punctuation, and
spelling are mostly error-free. Most
sentences use more complex
grammatical concepts, and
risk-taking is always evident.
20
Student mentions the
author/poet’s/character’s cultural
background multiple (two or more)
times and uses their knowledge of
the author’s cultural background to
analyze their chosen text in a more
thoughtful way.
20