Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
How the writers experience supports this idea in similar and different ways
x Reflection/Realization/Insight
As we rehearse and then begin drafting our essays, we know to use our full
repertoire, or toolkit of strategies, including:
x drafting in essay structure
x really returning to texts to mine them for the best evidence
x quoting and paraphrasing and incorporating vivid details
x making sure to analyze the text evidence we include
x using transitions to move our reader along coherently
x using citation to reference texts accurately
As we look over our essays, sometimes we realize that we need to reconsider
our structure. Perhaps we have more support for a different structure. Or, we
may need to reconsider our thesisand revise it to match our evidence more
closely. We may need to return to the text, for more or sharper evidence.
We often study our essays with a partner, especially one who has read the same
texts, asking: Where are there holes in my argument? and What other evidence
might I include? and Where could I say more about why and how my evidence
is compellingam I analyzing my evidence enough?
We may also revise for compelling craft. We may, for instance:
x pace for suspense in retelling a scene.
x say what a character didnt do, as a comparison, and highlight the significance
of what he or she did do.
x comment not just on what happens in the story, but on howthe author has told
the story. We might discuss the narrators point of view, or contrasting points
of view, or the pacing to build suspense, or indelible images, or symbolism, or
repetition, or embedded discourse.
x revise to use the more inclusive we instead of I in an essay, or to include
the reader instead of I.
We may try to include a counter-argument, such as others might think . . . but
. . . or before reading these stories, one might think . . . but afterwards, a
conclusion we may draw is . . .
Part Three: Using Outside Sources within a Literary Essay
Literary essayists sometimes expand their topics by studying literary criticism on
a text. We might look up what others have said or written about a text, and then
either fit our idea into a tradition of thought or show how our idea is different
from what is traditionally said and written about a text. To find literary criticism,
we might search online, we might peruse curricular supports such as Spark
notes, or we might research the author.
Another way to incorporate literary criticism is to discuss a critical lens, or school
of thought. We might, for instance, offer a feminist interpretation of a text.
Sometimes we may want to quote a particular critic, and use that quote as a crit-
ical lens. Some interpretive lenses from literary and critical theories include
looking at:
x representationwho is included, who is invisible, what representations are
stereotypical or partial
x powerwho has it, how it shifts
x narrative trajectoryhow the story fits common-sense or traditional storylines
x discourse
Its also interesting to research historical context for a text. Is the text a com-
mentary on a certain historical era or social or political movement, for instance?
Essayists often compare a historical era that is described in a text. Or sometimes
a text feels like it is relevant to, or even a commentary on, contemporary events,
and we want to do some nonfiction research. We might, for instance, research
bystander apathy in relation to The Lottery or The Hunger Games. Or we might
research stoning, or reality television. We might compare a contemporary
character, movement, event, or discourse to that depicted in a text or texts.
We may research the author as a way to have more insight into a text.
Sometimes the authors biography feels relevant to our ideas about a text and we
may explore that biography in our essay, making comparisons to the text.
A CURRICULAR PLAN FOR THE WRITING WORKSHOP, GRADE 7, 20112012 119
2011 by Lucy Calkins. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH.
A CURRICULAR PLAN FOR THE WRITING WORKSHOP, GRADE 7, 20112012 120
2011 by Lucy Calkins. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH.
When we compare how a text reflects a historical or contemporary or biogra-
phical event, we compare differences as well.
Essayists know that as we decide to research and discuss the historical, bio-
graphical, critical, or cultural context for a text, or if we bring in nonfiction
comparisons, we still need to make sure our essay is exploring an idea we feel is
significant about a text, and that we turn to the context as one means of estab-
lishing authority, demonstrating our expertise, giving the reader more insight
into the background of the text, or suggesting possible implications of the text.
That is, we still need to write an analysis of the text, and we allude to our research
throughout our analysis or as part of our introduction or conclusion.
As always, its helpful to think about structure as we collect and draft. A possi-
ble structure for essays like this include:
x Idea/thesis