Grendel Essay Common errors in the Grendel timed essays, tips for improvement, and metacognition. 4= 20 2 = 15 5 =20 3= 17 1= 12

The Parts of the Prompt “…uses literary devices” “…to bolster scenes of violence and establish implications of said violence” “…the central idea of the work.” The Parts of the Prompt 3. “Central idea” means THEME

Chose literary techniques that were not provable without text support (i.e. alliteration, ? diction, syntax, etc.) Skipped part of the prompt (typically part 2 and/or 3) Addressed all items in the thesis, but did not follow through in the essay itself Lacked a thesis all together (many simply restated the prompt) Common Oversights

More Common Oversights Analysis was simplistic (one must tie simplistic ideas [like a literary device] to big picture thinking [like a theme]) Repetitive ideas / formulaic organization (a conclusion paragraph shouldn’t be a simple repeat of the introduction) Casual diction choices More Common Oversights

Two Thesis Examples One student’s weak thesis: John Gardner uses descriptive diction & symbolism to bolster scenes of violence which adds to the central idea. One student’s fabulous thesis: Gardner utilizes personification and biblical allusions as a way to personalize the acts of violence that stem from Grendel’s own hands, supporting the central idea that isolation often leads to an individual’s breakdown. Two Thesis Examples Discuss issues with the first thesis: “descriptive” isn’t specific enough—”diction” is hard to prove without text support—”&” should be written out—the rest of the thesis is simply a reworded prompt, answering nothing Discuss the pros of the second prompt” “personification and biblical allusions” are provable without text support—the whole prompt is answers, not just the first part (and the student covered all parts in the essay itself)—the vocabulary is lovely (“utilizes,” “personalize the acts of violence,” “stem,” “supporting,” etc.)

A Bit About the Internet Many students research books we study in class on the internet. While the internet is wonderful, keep the following in mind: There is no Googling a text while taking the AP exam (in other words, this shortcut in thinking is hurting the development of the skill set you’ll need on test day) Just because you read it online doesn’t make it true, and it doesn’t mean it fits the essay prompt Even if the idea came from a website, you still have to support it if you use it in an essay A Bit About the Internet Specifically, this is true for students talking about “Zodiac parallels” within Grendel.

Metacognition Do this in the back of your RJ, right below your Beowulf Essay metacognition.

Looking only at your thesis, how could you have constructed it better Looking only at your thesis, how could you have constructed it better? What are the issues with it as is and exactly how would you rephrase it? Did you successfully address all three parts of the prompt in your thesis AND in the essay as a whole? What did you do well? What did you miss? If you could fix three elements of your essay, aside from those noted in questions 1 and 2, what would they be and why? In what two areas are you showing improvement when you compare this essay to the first two timed, in-class essays? The Questions