8.01 The Great Gatsby
Graded Assignment: The Great Gatsby Literary Essay
This document provides an overview of the tasks and time line for completing this assignment.
Assignment Point Value: 300 pts.
Required Final Draft Word Count: 900–1500 words (5 paragraphs, about 180 words per paragraph)
Timeline: You will complete this project over the course of 10 school days.
Assignment Instructions
After reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you will choose one (1) prompt from below and answer the question(s) in an essay of at least five paragraphs.
You will submit your completed essay on the final day of Unit 8.
As you work through this unit’s lessons, you will be prompted to complete activities designed to help you prepare, draft, and revise your essay.
Good luck!
1) In The Great Gatsby, the story of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan is told through the perspective of Nick Carraway. As readers, we don’t even meet Gatsby until chapter 3. What are the impacts of this kind of narration? Include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response.
2) Love and marriage is a strong theme in The Great Gatsby. Based on his actions and feelings, is Jay Gatsby’s love for Daisy romantic? Why or why not? Additionally – which love is stronger? Jay’s love for Daisy, or Nick’s love for Jay? Include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response.
3) Wealth, and the emptiness of the upper class plays a big role in The Great Gatsby. Using specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel, write about how wealth, material belongings, and greed contributed to the characters’ relationships, and the characters’ demises.
Process
You should always use a process for your writing that includes planning and drafting. To complete this assignment, you will do the following:
· Review the assignment instructions and grading criteria thoroughly. The writing assignment you complete in this unit will be graded against a rubric that assesses the essay in a number of categories. These categories focus both on the essay’s contents and its clarity.
○ Read the rubric on the last page of this document. Keep the criteria listed on the rubric in mind as you complete the writing assignment.
○ Remember to write in standard formal English, in present tense, and use the third person (he/she/it ; no personal opinions, no I/me/you).
○ Be sure to include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response. Do not merely summarize the story.
· Complete a plan for your essay.
· Begin drafting your paper, using your plan as a guide.
· Review and revise your first draft. You should try to have another person read your work and give you feedback as part of your revision process.
· Write the final draft of your project. Be sure to follow these requirements and recommendations when completing your draft:
Open a new Microsoft Word document. Type your name, your teacher’s name, your school name, and the date at the top of your document. Type your essay in the document you create.
Save the file as:
ENG303_U8_Literary_Essay_FirstInitial_LastName.doc
Example: ENG303_U8_Literary_Essay_M_Smith.doc
Timeline: You will complete this project over the course of 10 school days.
Task
Start
Complete
Print and review assignment instructions.
Day 1
Day 1
Read the novel and take notes.
Day 1
Day 6
Develop a thesis statement for your essay. Answer questions to help you plan your essay.
Day 6
Day 6
Draft your essay.
Day 7
Day 8
Revise your essay.
Day 9
Day 9
Submit final draft for a grade.
Day 10
Day 10
Grading Rubric
Your essay will be evaluated using the rubric below.
Criterion
5
4
3
2
1
Purpose
The literary essay fulfills its purpose of analyzing the characters, themes, and/or historical context of the novel. This purpose is clearly articulated in a valid thesis statement.
The literary essay fulfills its purpose of analyzing the characters, themes, and/or historical context of the novel, but the analysis is not complete. The purpose is stated in a thesis statement.
The purpose of this literary essay is not entirely clear. The essay provides some analysis of the character, themes, and/or literary or historical context, but there are significant gaps that leave the reader questioning. The thesis may not be entirely clear, or it may not state the purpose of the essay.
The literary essay about the novel does not fulfill its purpose because it lacks significant analysis of the characters, themes, or historical or literary context, or contains irrelevant information, or is mostly a summary of the novel. The literary essay has a thesis, but the thesis is not entirely clear or it is not valid.
This essay is not a literary essay about the novel. It does not contain an analysis of the novel’s characters, themes, or historical or literary context. The literary essay does not have a thesis.
Ideas and Content
The literary essay contains insightful analysis and examples of the choices characters make, the consequences of the choices, the connection to theme, and the way in which these ideas reflect the broader historical or literary context in America. The writer explains the connections between the evidence and the thesis.
The literary essay contains examples and analysis, but some points remain unsupported, or the writer does not make a convincing connection between evidence presented and conclusions drawn. It may not fully explore or explain the way in which this work reflects its historical or literary context in America. The essay may present more summary than analysis.
The literary essay contains examples and analysis, but some points remain unsupported, or the writer does not make a convincing connection between evidence presented and conclusions drawn. The writer’s evidence is sometimes, but not always, supported by relevant paraphrases and quotations from the novel. The essay includes some irrelevant or tangential content. The essay may offer more summary than analysis.
The writer does not present clear examples and analysis of the characters, themes, and historical or literary context. The writer does not use paraphrases, examples from the novel, or quotations to support his or her analysis. The writer draws conclusions for which he or she offers little or no evidence, and the essay presents more summary than analysis.
The writer does not present clear examples and analysis of the characters, themes, and historical or literary context. The writer does not use paraphrases, examples from the novel, or quotations to support his or her analysis. The writer does not draw conclusions from evidence, and the essay fails to show any insight into the novel.
Structure and Organization
The essay has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The essay identifies the title of the novel and the name of the author, presents a thesis in the introductory paragraph, and ends with a concluding paragraph that summarizes the main points or restates the thesis of the essay. The body of the essay contains paragraphs that support the essay’s thesis. The essay consistently follows an organizational pattern such as order of importance. Transitions are well placed and make meaningful connections between ideas and paragraphs.
The essay has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The essay identifies the title of the novel and name of the author, presents a thesis in the introductory paragraph, and ends with a concluding paragraph that restates the thesis of the essay. The body of the essay contains paragraphs that support the essay’s thesis. The essay usually follows an appropriate organizational pattern, but a few details or ideas may be out of place. Transitions are generally used effectively.
The essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion, but not all parts are well developed. The essay identifies the title of the novel and name of the author, but may not do so in the introductory paragraph. The essay presents a thesis, but it may not be in the introductory paragraph, or the essay may have a concluding paragraph that does not restate the thesis. The body of the essay contains paragraphs that support the essay’s thesis, but there may be irrelevant or tangential content. The essay sometimes follows an appropriate organizational pattern, but it does not do so consistently. Transitions are occasionally used.
The essay may not have a clear introduction, body, or conclusion. The essay might not identify the title of the novel or the name of the author. The essay does not have a clear thesis that is identified in the introductory paragraph, or it may lack an introductory paragraph altogether. The conclusion, if present, does not restate the essay’s thesis. The essay does not follow a clear organizational pattern, and the writer tends to jump around without connecting ideas. Minimal transitions are used.
The essay does not have a clear introduction, body, or conclusion. The essay identifies neither the title of the novel nor the name of the author. The essay lacks a clear thesis and a clear conclusion. The structure of the literary essay is non-existent. The essay consists of only one long paragraph, or paragraph breaks seem random. There are no transitions between ideas.
Language, Word Choice, and Style
The writer uses effective, compelling language to express key ideas. He or she considers purpose, audience, and tone in language and word choice. The essay uses present tense when referring to the novel. The essay incorporates literary terms and contains no colloquialisms or slang expressions. The essay is written in the third-person point of view without first-person expressions of opinion. The literary essay is written in a formal style.
The writer uses effective language to express key ideas. He or she usually considers purpose, audience, and tone in language and word choice. The essay usually uses formal language, incorporates some literary terms, and does not contain colloquialisms or slang expressions. The literary essay is usually written in the third-person point of view, is mostly objective, and typically does not contain first-person expressions of opinion.
The writer’s language is occasionally compelling. The writer attempts to consider purpose, audience, and tone, but sometimes loses sight of one of these aspects and includes inappropriate language or wording. Few appropriate literary terms are used, and the writer sometimes incorporates slang, colloquialisms, or other informal language. The literary essay is not consistently objective, and third-person language sometimes lapses into first-person expressions of opinion.
The essay lacks compelling language. The writer does not consider purpose, audience, or tone and uses inappropriate language or wording. Literary terms are not used, and the language is informal. The literary essay is not objective or is not written in the third-person point of view. The writer includes many first-person expressions of opinion.
The essay’s language is often incoherent. The writer does not consider purpose, audience, or tone. The literary essay contains personal opinions, comments, and exclamations. The essay contains informal language, including slang and other inappropriate expressions.
Sentences and Mechanics
Each sentence expresses a complete thought. The title of the novel and the name of the author are capitalized correctly. The title of the novel is italicized, and quotations within the essay contain the exact words from the novel and are punctuated correctly. There are extremely few errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, and those that exist do not impede understanding.
Most sentences contain complete thoughts. The title of the novel and the name of the author are capitalized correctly. The title of the novel is italicized. Quotations from the novel include the correct words, but they are sometimes not punctuated correctly. There are few errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, and they rarely interfere with a reader’s ability to understand.
The title of the novel and name of the author might not be capitalized correctly, or the title of the novel is not italicized. Sentences do not all contain complete thoughts. There are several unintentional fragments and run-ons. Quotations do not contain all of the correct words or are not punctuated correctly. There are errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics that sometimes interfere with the reader’s ability to understand.
The title of the novel and name of the author, if present, might not be capitalized correctly. Many sentences are incomplete, and it is difficult to recognize quotations from the novel. There are errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics that make the essay difficult to understand.
Most sentences contain errors in structure. Quotations, if used, are incorrectly transcribed and punctuated. Multiple errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics make the essay difficult to understand.
