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

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

3. 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.”

4. 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.”

6. 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.”

7. 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…”

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

9. 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….

10. 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