1. “Two Kinds” Precis Assignment
Mrs. Foster
English 2
“Two Kinds” Precis Assignment

2. Prompt:
How do the cultural identities of Jing-mei and her mother create a conflict between them?
One piece of evidence should show Jing-mei’s cultural identity
Second piece of evidence should show the mother’s cultural identity
What do they say/do/think that displays that cultural identity? What are the underlying beliefs/values that cause them to behave this way?

3. Attention Grabber: Draw your reader in
Introduce the concepts, but not yet the story, author, or characters
Ideas:
Quote from a famous / historical figure
Statistic / startling fact
Commentary on society
What can you focus on?
Theme: Cultural identity, conflict.

4. Topic Sentence: Introduce your main idea/point and include key words connecting to the prompt.
You are telling your reader what your paragraph is about in this sentence so make sure it refers back to the prompt.
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SAY “This paragraph will be about…”
Must include TAG (title, author, genre)
Try restating the prompt

5. Evidence set up: must include background information, tell reader what you want them to see, and proper punctuation.
The set-up and evidence will end up being one sentence even though it is separated in the outline
You only have two choices for proper punctuation (:/,)
You should use the character’s name and key word from prompt (cultural identity / what is the cultural identity?) in setup
See MLA packet

6. Evidence: must include proper use of quotation marks and proper citation.
Be sure you are taking exact quote out of story
There is no punctuation before or after closing quotation marks, except ? Or !
Parenthetical citation has page number only
Period comes AFTER parenthesis – ex: (247).
Quote within a quote = use single quotation marks

7. Analysis: What does your evidence mean
Analysis: What does your evidence mean? HOW does it back up your idea (think prompt)? Make sure you include at least two sentences in your analysis
Make sure it connects back to the prompt with key words (character’s name, conflict, cultural identity)
Make sure you talk specifically about your evidence. If it’s not in your evidence, don’t talk about it in you analysis!
Don’t tell me what she said. Tell me HOW it reveals her cultural identity and WHY it creates conflict.

8. SECOND Evidence Set-up, Evidence, Analysis
Same as above; different piece of textual evidence

9. First, restate your topic sentence (NOT COPY/PASTE)
Concluding Sentences: Conclude your paragraph with two to three sentences that summarize how the evidence proves your main idea.
First, restate your topic sentence (NOT COPY/PASTE)
Then, write a one-sentence summary for each pair of evidence and analysis (summarize key point from evidence and its analysis)