Sandi Greene

Mrs. Sandi Greene
ENG102
Spring 2012
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Hi Class,
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Here is a website you can use to read, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson: http://www.americanliterature.com/Jackson/SS/TheLottery.html 
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Following are the directions for Essay 1:
Essay 1 – Analytical or Evaluation Essay on a Short Story or Novel 
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One of key parts of this class will be learning how to analyze. Analysis is not simply summary – summary gives the reader a shortened overview of the topic. Analysis goes above and beyond summary and explains, examines, and tells us what you think or what you believe about the text or topic, and in literature we often use analysis to discuss the writer’s style choice or overall rhetorical context. 
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On the other hand, evaluation argues that something is “good” or “bad” or “better” or “worse” than something else (or out of all, etc…). You may also make a positive or negative evaluation of a written work based on your own knowledge of what you are arguing for or against.
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Your first essay should be at least 750 words (3 pages) and use either analysis or evaluation (or even a little of both!). You will choose a short story to write about. Some choices are below. If you would rather choose a novel over a short story, you may; however, the novel must deal with some type of social, economical, or cultural issue. I’ve provided examples of these below as well.
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Begin to research the story/novel. You may use sources such as Wikipedia and Sparknotes to help give you a general understanding of the story; however, these types of sources may not be used in your paper.
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In your paper, you must use the story itself as one source, and a second source. This must be a .edu site (such as a website written by a professor) or it could be a book, journal, etc… There are literary databases as well. It may be tougher to find articles on recent novels, so you can use critical reviews for these, or you can also use a source that deals specifically with the novel’s topic.
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Short Story Ideas 
Here are some Short Stories to choose from. Most are classics, and some are just my favorites. A word of warning that these stories are on free websites, so many of the sites have pop-up ads. Be sure your pop-up blocker in on. If the links don’t work when you click on them, try copying and pasting them into your browser. If they still don’t work, try finding the story you want by using a search engine on the Internet (or choose a different story). Remember, you are only choosing ONE to read and write about.
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“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant 
http://www.bartleby.com/195/20.html

“A&P” by John Updike
http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/158/

“The Flowers” by Alice Walker
http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/~brice/pdfs/The%20Flowers.pdf

“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
http://www.esubjects.com/curric/general/english_one/unit_two/pdf/TheLesson.pdf 

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor:
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html

“A Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/poe/telltale.html

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/thingstheycarried.htm

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
http://www.fullbooks.com/An-Occurrence-At-Owl-Creek-Bridge.html

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
http://www.enotes.com/open-boat-text/open-boat-1

“A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
http://www.zwyx.org/portal/kafka/kafka_hunger_artist.html “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-yellow-wallpaper/e-text/section1/

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates
http://www.usfca.edu/jco/whereareyougoing/

“The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck
http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/american/4/steinbeck/chrysanthemums.htm

Novel Ideas
Below I have provided titles of novels that also address “topical” issues (i.e., suicide, eating disorders, etc…). You can check out one from the library—all these novels are within the Phoenix Public Library system. They will also ship books for free from one library to another if you live closer to one that doesn’t have it. You will also be able to find these books online for cheap or at used bookstores. For example, I found Wintergirls at www.half.com for $1.81 plus $3.49 for shipping.
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These are just examples; you can choose a novel yourself, however, it has to be something you are going to read or have read within the last six months. If you read it before that time then you need to re-read it. Also, I need to approve the novel choice before you begin. 
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Contemporary Young Adult:
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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (anorexia)
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (suicide/bullying)
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (attempted rape/speaking out)
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (physical abuse)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (rape)
Glass or Crank by Ellen Hopkins (drugs)
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (cutting)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (society/government/traditions)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
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Good list of young adult problem/issue novels: http://slayground.livejournal.com/74061.html 
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Contemporary Adult:
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (sexual assault)
The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (sex trafficking)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (race/social issues)
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (science and ethics)
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (high school shootings) 
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Classics:
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The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (war)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (society and class)
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (how society views immorality)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (race/social issues)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (society/government)
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Paper Formatting and Citing Sources in MLA
Your paper must be in Times New Roman, 12 point font, have 1 inch margins around the paper, be double-spaced, and use ½ inch paragraph indents. (See the Paper Format Sheet from day one of class).
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Reminder: I take plagiarism seriously, whether you do it intentionally or not. Please be careful when using sources. Place quotation marks around direct quotes. Use in-text citations and a Works Cited page for anything you summarize, paraphrase, or quote from a source. Be sure that no more than 25% of the paper is someone else’s thoughts—the rest of the paper needs to be your own writing.
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The sources must be in MLA format. You must have in-text citations where you quote or paraphrase them, and you must have a works cited page at the end.
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How to Write an Analysis
The short story choices deal with many themes. Think about theme as you read: socioeconomic class, gender, race, identity, etc…. Consider focusing on one of these themes in your paper.
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Additional resources on how to write a story analysis:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/697/1/

OWL’s basic information on what is a literary analysis, with a presentation.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/01/

OWL’s information on writing a thesis for a literary analysis.

http://www.csun.edu/~hbeng112/098/howtowriteshortstoryanalysis.pdf

This is a professor’s assignment and helps break the analysis down.

http://www.ehow.com/how_6321692_write-good-short-story-analysis.html

A simple explanation from ehow.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5467215_write-critical-analysis-short-story.html

Another one from ehow, and this one uses “The Necklace” as an example.

http://www.gmc.edu/students/arc/documents/Literary%20analysis.pdf

A college document with a lot of great advice about how to write an analysis (and specific examples of such).

http://www.bookrags.com/articles/21.html

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There are many more helps on the web if you need them; just do a search for “How to write a literary analysis” or “How to write a short story analysis.” The main thing is to go above and beyond summary and instead use analysis/evaluation, along with supporting your paper. Your organization might look like this:

1. Introduction – Something “catchy” about the topic/story. If you want to give a history of the story or author, please keep it short (remember, analysis not summary).
   1. Thesis at the end of the introduction – The thesis argues your paper’s main point. It does not say “I think” or “I believe.” See the “Thesis Worksheet.”
2. Body paragraph – Point 1
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
3. Body paragraph – Point 2
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
4. Body paragraph – Point 3
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
5. Conclusion

Below are some examples of what I’m putting together for my Books for Arizona Kids project. The items I can use the most are the books. Even if you go through your books and find ones that your kids are no longer reading (but are in good shape), I would love them. Of course, I would be happy with any tote bags, journals, etc… as well. Thank you!

“61 Percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children”
(Reading Literacy in the United States).
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This statistic is alarming, and as a mom, an English teacher, and a writer, it really hits me.
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This holiday season, my kids and I are doing a project together to help these kids in our community. We are filling tote bags with new or gently used age-appropriate books, along with items such as bookmarks, journals, pen/pencils, and local library information (I will have pictures posted soon).
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I will work with non-profit organizations in the greater Phoenix area to find children to give these bags to. I also may be able to go into some schools, and if I do I’ll be taking “create your own bookmark” kits to do a craft with the kids. My hope is to educate children about reading/writing, but also to give kids their very own books.
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So far I have bought all the items myself or I’ve asked stores for a discount on the books. I would love to do 100 bags, so I’m hoping for donations. I can use the following:
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* New or used children’s books (all ages) – These can be found at stores such as Goodwill for a dollar or two, or you might go through your own children’s book collection and find some they don’t read any more.

* Tote bags (from the Dollar Tree, Oriental Trading Co., etc….)

* Bookmarks (with reading or learning slogans on them)

* Journals

* Pens and pencils

* Magnet alphabet letters (for ages 1-3) – Can be found at Walmart for $1.27

 * Items to decorate plain bookmarks with (such as foam stickers, puff paints, etc…).

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I am hoping individuals and/or groups (Girl Scouts, churches, etc…) will have book drives or donate the items. If you are interested, please send me an email at: sg (at) sandigreene.com or sandigreene (at) hotmail.com. I would appreciate if you could pass on this message in any way.
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Let’s get books into the hands of kids!
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Thank you 
Sandi

Facts:

“Nearly two-thirds of low-income American families do not own any books for their children.”

(The National Center for Education Statistics)

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“There is a common theme among our underperforming children – they don’t own books.”

(United States Department of Education)

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“If more access leads to more reading, and if more reading leads to better reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and a larger vocabulary, this means that the first step any literacy campaign needs to take is to make sure children have access to plenty of books.”

(Stephen Krashen, Literacy Network News, 2007)

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“The most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children is to increase their access to print. Communities ranking high in achievement tests have several factors in common: an abundance of books in public libraries, easy access to books in the community at large, and a large number of textbooks per student.”

(Stanford Newman, et al, “American’s Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy,” Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2000).

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“Simply providing access is the first and most important step in encouraging literacy development.”

(Stephen Krashen, Bridging the Equity with Books, 1998)