English11MidtermExam

WritingPortfolio
Part1:
WritingReflection
Chooseonewritingthatyouthoughtwasyourmosteffectiveandonethatwasyourleast
effective.Writea
12paragraph
reflectiononeach.Inyourreflection,youmust
specificallyexplainwhyeachpiecewaseffectiveorineffective.Forexample,what
specificwritingelementsmakeyourmosteffectivepiecethebest?Whatspecifically
wouldyouchangeororworkoninyourotherwritingpieces?

Writingsthisyear:
FormalBookAnalysis
Maus
and
TheGreatGatsby
SummativeEssays
NarrativeWritingsSuperHeroNarrativeandtheNanowrimo

1. Mosteffectivepieceofwritingandwhy.
Mymosteffectivepieceofwritingwas
TheGreatGatsby
SummativeEssay.Ibelieve
thisbecauseitwasmysecondsummativeessay,sothereforeIknewwhattoexpect.I
alsokeptbetterquotestofitmythemeoftheessaywhichincreaseditsvalue.Also,Iam
furtherintotheyearonEnglishandhavelearnedmorewritingelementsthathasmade
myessaybetter,likeshownottell.

2. Leasteffectivepieceofwritingandwhy.
MyleasteffectivepieceofwritingwastheNanowrimo.Ibelievethiswastheleast
successfulbecauseitwasnotthekindofwritingIamusedto.Wewouldhaveonlya
weektoaccomplishacertainsetamountofwords,anditwasjustcontinuouswriting.
ThisiswhatIwaspoorat.Iamusedtoplanning,thenwritingastructuredessay,butthis
wasmoreofjustaflowofthoughtswithoutrevisingoranything.Ihadahardertimewith
this,andthereforeitaffectedmywriting.

Part2:
WritingProcess
Takinga300400wordssectionofyourNanowrimoassignmentfromNovemberplease
reviseitfromitsroughdraftform.

1. Copyandpastethe
roughdraft
below.DoNOTrevisethispieceinthisarea.
Breakingmytrainofthought,mymomgotup,avoidingeyecontactwithme
clearly.andlefttheroom.Mystomach,ifievenhadoneleftanymore,sankevenfurther
downthanwhereithadcurrentlybeensitting.Myeyesstartedtoswellupwithtearsand
therewasabsolutelynostoppingthemeither.Itriedtocontrolmybreathing,butit
continuedtobecomemorerapidasmyheartbeatincreasedtoo.Mymonitorshowedthis
blantlyonthescreen,also,asificouldntfeelithappeningtomyself.Thiswasnotthe
timeforananxietyattack,Isimplycouldnthadleit.Thisobviouslydidn'thelpeither,but
icouldntdoanything,Icouldfeelmyselfstartingtofreakout.Everythingsuddenly

becameclosertome,tooclose.Itwassuffocating.Icouldntbreatheatall,foritfeltasif
mythroathadcompletelyclosedoffandiwasnowchoking.Thetearsfinally
overwhelmedmyeyesbarriersandwentstreamingdownmyface.Themonitorbeganto
beeplouder,thisbroughttheJamesattentionfromthetvscreentome.Hiseyeswidened,
asiwatchedhimblurrilythroughmytears.Herushedovertomeandpulledupachair.
Shhhh,Chels.Itsokay,itsokay,Jamesvoicewasmusictomyearswithitssoothing
tone,Justbreathe,Innnnnandouttttt.Slowly.FocusChels.Itsokay.
Asifocusedonhisvoice,mybreathingbegantocalmwitheachandeveryrepeated
inout.Hewasnowbrushingmyhairbackoutofmyface,ashecontinuedtosootheme
withhiswords.Eventhougheverythingelsestillfeltclaustrophobic,Jwastheexactopposite.
Imprettysureifforanyreasonatallhedecidedtoleave,Iwouldhaveasevereheartattack.
Bynowmyeyeswereclosed,andmybreathingwasbacktonormal,butIcontinuedtofocus
onitmanually.Ifeltsleepynow.IfeltJameswipethetearsfrommyface,andkissmy
forehead.EvenwithoutopeningmyeyesIcouldtellhestillhadn'tleftmyside,iknewhewas
stillrightnexttome.Withthatfinalnote,iletmyselfslipintoanotherslumber,andtomaybe
ignorerealityalittlelonger.

2. Copyandpastetheroughdraftinthissectionandbegintoreviseyourwork.
Highlightanychangesin
yellow
andadditionsin
green.

Breakingmytrainofthought,mymomgotup,
clearlyavoiding
eyecontactwith
meandlefttheroom.Mystomach,ifievenhadoneleftanymore,sankevenfurther
downthanwhereithadcurrentlybeensitting.Mythroatbegantochokeup,andmynose
begantorun,asifihadacold.
Myeyesswelledupwithtears,untiltheywerepuddledup
totheabsolutemaximumpointandtherewasabsolutelynoholdingthemback.Thetears
rainedoutofmyeyeslikeawaterfall.Itwasalmostasiftheywerebeingheldbackbya
damandsuddenlythedamwasopenedup.
Itriedtocontrolmybreathing,butit
continuedtobecomemorerapidasmyheartbeatincreasedtoo.Mymonitorshowedthis
blatantlyonthescreen,also,asificouldn'tfeelithappeningtomyself.Thiswasnotthe
timeforananxietyattack,Isimplycouldn'thandleit.Thisobviouslydidn'thelpeither,
buticouldn'tdoanything,Icouldfeelmyselfstartingtofreakout.Everythingsuddenly
becameclosertome,tooclose.
Thewhitewallsfeltasiftheywereclosinginonme,
whilethetiledfloorsshook.Icouldalmostfeeltheceilingcrashinginonme,and
truthfullyialmostwisheditwould.Thepurityofthehospitalroomwasnolonger
comforting,itwasnauseating.

Thismustbewhatitfeelsliketobeclaustrophobic,or
mentallyinsane,maybeboth.
Icouldn'tbreatheatall,foritfeltasifmythroathad
completelyclosedoffandiwasnow
slowlysuffocating
.
Thetearscontinuedto
overwhelmthebarriersofmyeyesandstreameddownmyface.
Thetearsmergedwith
mysnotastheymetmynoseandtheonesthatmadeittomymouthstruckmytastebuds
withtheirsaltiness.
Themonitorbegantobeeplouder,andthisbroughtJamesattention

fromthetvscreentome.Hiseyeswidened,asIwatchedhimblurrilythroughmytears.
Herushedovertomeandpulledupachair.
Shhh,Chels.Itsokay,itsokay,Jamesvoicewasmusictomyearswithits
soothingtone,Justbreathe,innnnnandouttttt.Slowly.FocusChels.Itsokay.
AsIfocusedonhisvoice,mybreathingbegantocalmwitheachandevery
repeatedinout.Hewasnow
gently
brushingmyhairbackoutofmyface,ashe
continuedtosoothemewithhiswords.Eventhougheverythingelsestillfelt
claustrophobic,Jwastheexactopposite.
Iwasalmostcertain
ifforanyreasonatallhe
decidedtoleave,
Iwouldgointocardiacarrest.
Bynowmyeyeswereclosed,andmybreathingwasbacktonormal,butI
continuedtofocusonitmanually.Ifeltsleepynow.IfeltJameswipethetearsfrommy
face,andkissmyforehead.EvenwithoutopeningmyeyesIcouldtellhestillhadn'tleft
myside,iknewhewasstillrightnexttome.Withthatfinalnote,iletmyselfslipinto
anotherslumber,andtomaybeignorerealityalittlelonger.

3. Pleasewritea
12paragraph

reflectiononwhythechangesyouhavemade
improvesthewriting.Keepinmindyouraudiencewhenthinkingabouthowthis
improvesthewriting.
ThechangesImadetomyNaNoWriMoimprovedmywritinginalotofways.Iadded
itemsofimageryandshownottellwhichmadethewritingmoreinterestingandalsokept
theaudienceinterested.Itmakesiteasiertoimagineandengagesthereaders.Ialso
added,deletedorreviseditemsinorderforthewritingtoflowmoresmoothlyandjust
soundbetterThiscausesthereadertowanttocontinuereadingaswell.

Part3:
WritingSkills
For
six
oftheitemsbelow,youwillneedtocopypastetheexamplefromanyofyour
essaysandexplainhowtheexamplebelowmeetthestandard.

Makesuretoidentifythe
writingthatitcomesfrom.

1. Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesimagery(ShowNOTTELL)
(Explainwhyyou
chosetoputimageryhereandwhyitiseffective)
SuperHeroNarrative:TheflamedeepinsidetheDeviousDashersuddenlyignited,
herconfusionsporadicallytransformedtorage.Herhandstrembled,astheveinacrossher
foreheadthrobbed.Thewordsbasicallyspuedoutofhermouth.
IchosetoputimageryherebecausethecharacterwasextremelyangryandIwantedto
effectivelyshowherragetothereaders.

Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesaproper(specific)noun(
Explainwhyyouchoseto
putaspecificnounhereandwhyitiseffective)
SuperHeroNarrative:
ShetraveledtoCongo,Africa..
2.

IchosetouseCongo,AfricaasaproperandspecificnouninsteadofjustsayingShe

traveledoutofcountry..orsomethingofthatsort,inordertogiveinmorepersonality.

Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesavividverb(
Explainwhyyouchosetoputavivid
verbhereandwhyitiseffective)
SuperHeroNarrative
:
asthestenchoffear
smothered
theair.
3.

Ichosetousethisverbtoshowhowextremethesituationwasandtoalsogivea
clearerimage.

4.

Effectivelyandcorrectlyusesafigurativelanguage(
Explainwhyyouchosetouse
figurativelanguagehereandwhyitiseffective)

NaNoWriMo:Thewhitewallsfeltasiftheywereclosinginonme,
Ichosetouseasimilehereasanexampleoffigurativelanguagebecauseitshowshow
thecharacterwashavingaclaustrophobicmomentandcomparesthewallstoasiftheywere
actuallyfallinginonher.

Effectivelyandcorrectlyuseofsymbolism
(Explainwhatthesymbolismis,why
youchosetouseithere,andwhyitiseffective)
6. Revisebyaddingasentence(s)orword(s)thatsupportthepurpose.
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay).
NaNoWriMo:Thetearsmergedwithmysnotastheymetmynoseandtheonesthat
madeittomymouthstruckmytastebudswiththeirsaltiness.
Ichosetoaddthissentencetoinrevisionbecauseitgavethemomentmore
reality,aswellasdescription,sothereadercouldpossiblyrelatetoitmore.

7. Showanexampleofacomplexorcompoundsentenceinyourwriting.
(Explain
howthisisbetterthanusingmultiplesimplesentences)
TheGreatGatsby
SummativeEssay:TheWilsonsbothareattractedtoTomforhismoney,
5.

forGeorgetriestodobusinesswithhimandMyrtleisTomsmistress.
Ibelievehavingthisascomplexsentenceisbetterthantwosentencesbecausethetwo
clausesarerelatedanditmakesmoresensetohavethemtogether.

8.
9.
10.
11.

12.

Revisebydeletingunneededorofftopicsentence(s)orword(s)
(Explainwhy
yourrevisionimprovedyouressay)
Createsanintroductionthatsetsthestagefortherestofthepiece.
(Explainthe
strategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)
Createsaconcludingparagraphthateffectivelybringsthepiecetoaclose.
(Explainthestrategyyouusedandhowitcontributestoyouressay)
Createsatonethroughwordsanddescriptions(connotation/denotation)thatare
appropriateforacertainaudience.
(Explainwhoyourintendedaudienceisand
howyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
Createsvoicethroughuseofdialogueandcolloquialvocabulary.(
Explainwho
yourintendedaudienceisandhowyoutargetedthataudiencespecifically).
(Howdoesthisaddtoyourwriting)?

Reading

Inthereadingsectionofyourportfolio,pleaseshowandreflectonyourgrowthasa
readerinEnglish11.Pleaseinclude:

Part1
:
RequiredReadings
Pleasereflectontheskillsyoulearnedaboutwritingorreadingfromatleast
two
ofthe
elevenrequiredtextsfromthiscourse.Youwillfindalistofsomeofthoseskillsbelow.
Writea
23paragraph

reflectiononthoseskillsbelow.Pleasemakesuretoincludeat
least
three
ofthoseskillsinyourreflectionMakesuretoidentifythetextitcamefrom
andbespecificonthatauthorsstyle.

ShortStories
FortunateSonbyDaveMarshstartsonpage12
ChameleonSchlemieleonbyPatricSTracy
HillsLikeWhiteElephantsbyErnestHemingway
TheMasqueofRedDeathbyEdgarAllenPoe
ARoseforEmilybyWilliamFaulkner
TheLotterybyShirleyJackson

Poems
RubriksCubebyBenjaminBarker
FinalExamForMyFatherbyJoaquinZihuatanejo
TheRavenbyEdgarAllenPoe

Novels
Maus
byArtSpiegelman
Vol.1

Vol.2
TheGreatGatsby
byF.ScottFitzgerald

Readingskillslist:
Choose
threeforyourreflection.

1. Canidentifytheauthorspurposeinapieceofwritinganduseevidencefromthe
texttosupporttheclaim.PleasedothiswithANYpieceofwritingwehaveused
thisyear.
2. Canidentifytheauthorsintendedaudienceinapieceofwritinganduseevidence
fromthetexttosupporttheclaim.(Ethos,Pathos,andLogosorShowNotTell)
3. Canyouidentifyanauthorsabilitytohookareaderintotheirstory.(Ethos,
Pathos,andLogosorShowNotTell)
4. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatesvividcharactersthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,Connotation/Denotation,etc.
5. Canyouidentifytheinferentialmotivationsofcharactersinareading.
6. CanyouidentifyhowanauthorcreatevividscenesthroughuseofShowNot
Tell/FigurativeLanguage,SymbolismConnotation/Denotation,etc.
7. Demonstratesuseofconnecting(connectingthebooktosomethingoutsideofthe
book)strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
8. Demonstratesuseofquestioning(openendedquestionsthatgeneratediscussion)

9.

strategiestounderstandatext.(SocraticSeminar)
Demonstratesuseofpredicting(askingquestionsorusingcontextualcluesto
predictthepossibleoutcomeofastory)strategiestounderstandatext.(Socratic
Seminar)

Pleasewriteyourreflectionbelow:
Ihavelearnedmanyskillsinreadingandwritingthroughouttheyear.Oneof
theminvolvesbeingabletoidentifytheauthorspurposeinapieceofwriting.I
identifiedthisthewriting
ARoseForEmily.
WilliamFaulkner,theauthor,purposefully
scattersthechronologyoftheeventsaroundthroughoutthestory.Hedoessoitismore
interesting,aswellascreatesamystery.Ifhehadwentinorder,theentireshockfactor
wouldbeeliminatedandtheentirequalityofthestorywoulddrop.Instead,Faulkner
rearrangedtheorderoftheevents,andusedforeshadowingtoleaduptoashockingend,
whichmadethewritingsomuchmoreeffective.
Anotherskillisbeingabletoidentifytheauthorsintendedaudienceinapieceof
writingbyusingethos,pathos,andlogosorshownottell.Iusedthisskillin
FortheLove
ofMoney.
Ibelievetheauthorsaudiencewaspeoplesimilartohimself,whichareother
moneyaddicts.Heusespathostogettheemotionalconnectionofpeople.Forexample,
hesaysLikealcoholicsdrivingdrunk,wealthaddictionimperilseveryone.,andthis
drawsattentionthatwealthaddictionisveryextreme.Healsostatesdataandstatistics
aboutMcDonaldsCeo,whichisLogos,andthiscaptureswealthaddictsbecauseitswhat
theyaredrawnto.Finally,inthelastparagraphhedirectlyaddresseswealthaddictsand
useswe,andthisensureshisaudienceisthosepeople.
Howtoidentifyhowanauthoriscreatingvividscenesthroughtheuseofshow
nottell/figurativelanguage,symbolismconnotation/denotation,etcisanotherskillwe
havelearned.Thiswasdisplayedin
TheMasqueoftheRedDeath
byEdgarAllanPoe.
Poeusedamassamountofsymbolismandimagery,whichdefinitelycreatedvivid
scenes.Forthemostparthissymbolisticitemsrepresenteddeath,likethecolorsblack
(ebony,darkness,etc)andred(scarlet,blood,etc).Healsoreferredtoagrandfather
clock,likeAndthelifeoftheebonyclockwentoutwiththelastofthegay..Poes
symbolismwenthandinhandwithhisimageryuse.Forinsatnce,Theseventh
apartmentwascloselyshroudedinblackvelvettapestriesthathungallovertheceiling
anddownthewalls,fallinginheavyfoldsuponacarpetofthesamematerialandhue.

Part2
:
ReadingAnalysis
Inthefollowingcoldreading,
OnDumpsterDivingbyLarsEigher
,pleasewriteashort
200400wordessayansweringoneofthefollowingquestions:

1. Howcouldthetextbereadandinterpreteddifferentlybytwodifferentreaders?
2. Ifthetexthadbeenwritteninadifferenttimeorplaceorlanguageorfora
differentaudience,howandwhymightitdiffer?
3. Howandwhyisasocialgrouprepresentedinaparticularway?
4. Whichsocialgroupsaremarginalized,excluded,orsilencedwithinthetext?
5. Howdoesthetextconformto,ordeviatefrom,theconventionsofaparticular

genre,andforwhatpurpose?(Forexampleisthisahistorytext?)
6. Howhasthetextborrowedfromothertexts,andwithwhateffects?

Pleasehighlightthequestionyouaregoingtoanswerabove
yellow
andwriteyouressay
below.

OnDumpsterDiving
byLarsEigherisanaboutahomelessmanslifeandhowhe
survived.Inthisstoryheperceiveshimselfasaveryrespectableandintelligentman,
eventhoughheisinfactahobo.Usuallythosewordsarenotthefirstonestocometo
mindwhensomeonethinksofthosethatarehomeless,formostthinkofthemasthe
scumofsocietyortheyfeelsympathetictowardsthem.LarsEigherpresentsthesocial
groupofhomelessasmorerespectable,duetohisownexperience,becauseitalifeof
survival.
Eigherwaspersonallyahomelessman,andhealsobelieveshimselftobevery
smartandmanyothergoodthingsstill.Hethinksthisbecauseheknowsmanythings
othersdonot,anditisbecauseofhisneedtosurviveasabum.Heisknowledgeable
aboutmanydifferentfoodsandwhetherornotitissafetoeat.Hefindsthisascommon
andneededknowledge,eventhoughhemakesitclearmostregularpeopledonotknow.
Thisishimputtinghimselfandhissocialgroupaboveothers.HesaysButmorethan
thatIwonderwhyhe[hiscompanion]cannotevaluatetheconditionofthecrackerfor
himself.,andthisisanexampleofhowheisalmostmaterializinghislife.
Inanothersense,healsodiscriminatesagainstthosewhothrowoutfood,because
whattheytossisstillperfectlygood.Forinstance,aboutcollegepupilshestatesButin
thecaseofdiscardsfromstudentapartments,theanswermaybethattheitemwas
discardedthroughcarelessness,ignorance,orwastefulness..Hedeemsothersthatare
technicallyhigherthanhiminsociety,asiftheyshouldntbe.EigheralsosaysThe
studentdoesnotknowthat,andsinceitisDaddysmoney.thestudentsdecidesnotto
takeachance..Heisreferringtothestudentsthrowingouthalfemptypeanutbutterjars
thatdonotspoilinanyreasonabletime.
Overall,Larsdeemshimself,asotherfellowdumpsterdiversashigherthan
mostpeoplewouldthink,andhigherthantheothersocialgroups.Hedoessobecausehe
believestheyaremoreintelligentbecauseofthethingstheyknowfromtheirneedto
survive.