Studying a Mentor Text to Construct Literary Essays Unit 2 – Argumentative Writing Literary Essays

Essay Writing is like Barn Raising! It’s almost time to build the barn! You have… The framework The materials The interior decorations

Completing an Inquiry Questions: What makes for a good literary essay? What, exactly, does a writer do to go from making a claim and collecting evidence to actually constructing an essay? Mentor Text Look at a draft and ask, what has this author done that I, too, could do? Essay about “Raymond’s Run” Was written by a 6th grader “I was out to lunch with a friend; she asked me what I liked about our other friend, who can be difficult to get along with.” “I had a hard time figuring out what to say; my reasons just didn’t seem big enough.” “They didn’t seem to capture our friendship; it was an annoying feeling, like my brain was failing me.” “I kept coming up with ideas that showed only a tiny part of her – I like that she likes video games; She can be nice sometimes” “Later on, when I had more time to think I realized that the real reason I liked this friend is that she sees the world in interesting ways and helps me see it in those ways, too.” “This felt like a real thing to say about my friend, but it was hard to get to.”

While I read the first 3 paragraphs… Notice… The different parts of the essay The intonation as I read Annotate… What you notice Finish… Reading and annotating the rest of the essay on your own “I was out to lunch with a friend; she asked me what I liked about our other friend, who can be difficult to get along with.” “I had a hard time figuring out what to say; my reasons just didn’t seem big enough.” “They didn’t seem to capture our friendship; it was an annoying feeling, like my brain was failing me.” “I kept coming up with ideas that showed only a tiny part of her – I like that she likes video games; She can be nice sometimes” “Later on, when I had more time to think I realized that the real reason I liked this friend is that she sees the world in interesting ways and helps me see it in those ways, too.” “This felt like a real thing to say about my friend, but it was hard to get to.”

Pair Up! Partner 1: Specifically study the bits the author has tacked together to construct her introduction and last body paragraph Partner 2: Specifically study the bits the author has tacked together to construct the middle paragraphs Both: Think: What did the author do that I could try? “I was out to lunch with a friend; she asked me what I liked about our other friend, who can be difficult to get along with.” “I had a hard time figuring out what to say; my reasons just didn’t seem big enough.” “They didn’t seem to capture our friendship; it was an annoying feeling, like my brain was failing me.” “I kept coming up with ideas that showed only a tiny part of her – I like that she likes video games; She can be nice sometimes” “Later on, when I had more time to think I realized that the real reason I liked this friend is that she sees the world in interesting ways and helps me see it in those ways, too.” “This felt like a real thing to say about my friend, but it was hard to get to.”

Things to Look for When Annotating a Mentor Text Background information on the text Introduction Thesis Topic Sentences/Claims Transitions between parts Interior Transitions Stories/Examples Quotes Analysis of Evidence Conclusion As students are working with their partner, challenge their thinking… “If you look closely at a quoted section of the text, you can notice how the author quoted that part.” “Don’t just notice WHAT the author did. Notice HOW she did it. Why is this considered well-done work?” “What ideas do you have for why Yuko would quote the parts that she did?” After a while, bring students back together and ask them to share what they notice Mark down student comments on the mentor text; continue to refer students back to the “Things to Look for…”

Creating an Outline Sketch out your essay Think about… Organization What evidence will be used How evidence will be communicated

Outline Example (Just the beginnings) Introduction Claim Body Paragraph #1 Mini claim An example based on page 2 Analysis Quotes related to protection of Raymond mixed with Analysis Concluding sentence Body Paragraph #2….

Writing Time Draft your essay Work on/Finish your outline Remember: This is just a first draft written in your notebooks; there are no expectations for a first draft You’re just getting your ideas down on paper in an order that makes sense to you