English 11

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

Process Essay

Standards met for this assignment:

Literary Response
Standard 3.5 Students analyze recognized works of American literature.

Writing
Standard 1.3 Students structure ideas and arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and sophisticated way and support
them with precise and relevant examples.

Conventions
Standard 1.1 Students demonstrate control of grammar, diction, paragraph and sentence structure and an
understanding and an understanding of English usage.
Standard 1.3 Students use MLA appropriate manuscript requirements in writing.

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Writing Prompts:

1. Death of the American Dream. Explain how the novel does or does not demonstrate the death
of the American Dream. Is the main theme of Gatsby indeed “the withering American Dream”?

2. Character Analysis. Create an in-depth analysis of one of the characters in the story. Trace
the trends through characters, events, and symbolism.

4. The stratification of social classes. Fitzgerald’s story shows the clear delineations between
different social/ economic classes: new money/ old money, “the haves”/ “the have -nots.” How
are readers to interpret his comments on each of these groups? Does he hold any one group above
the other? Are there ways in which people of all groups are alike? How are these ideas shown in
the text and what message do they ultimately convey?

5. Hollowness of the Upper Class. Discuss how the novel exemplifies the
dehumanizing/corrupting nature of wealth (consider examining characters, plot, symbols, etc.).
Consider doing a Marxist interpretation. Or, more generally, explain the theme of the corruption
of people and society through an examination of characters in the novel who are corrupt.

6. Passage Analysis. Do a close reading of a passage of your choosing, explaining the passage in
light of the entire novel. *Note: the passage must be approved by me first!

Example: In reference to Tom and Daisy, Nick remarks, “They were careless people,
Tom and Daisy; they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their
money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other
people clean up the mess they had made” (180-181). Explain this passage in light of the
entire novel.

7. Cultural Relevance. Is The Great Gatsby an outdated novel, or is it still relevant today? How
does our current day society relate to this story, and what, if anything, can we learn from
Fitzgerald’s story?

4 - Advanced
Conclusion Adresses all 3 aspects of what
needs to be in a conclusion
paragraph.
Leaves the reader with a lingering
thought that actually makes them
linger in thought. Relates content
of the essay and tells why they
matter.
Organization
and Structure Thoroughly develops complex
topic(s) with relevant body
paragraphs, building on
preceding
information
Creates cohesion and clarifies
relationships through skillful
use of transition/ linking
words, phrases, and
clauses within or between
paragraphs and sections
Purposefully and logically uses
a variety of techniques (e.g.,
headings, charts) to organize
ideas, concepts,
and information to aid
comprehension
Development Skillfully provides substantial
and Evidence and pertinent evidence to
develop the
topic appropriate to audience
Effectively integrates and cites
credible sources*
Shows insightful
understanding of topic or text
Language Uses purposeful and varied
sentence structure
Contains minimal to no errors
in conventions (grammar,
punctuation,
spelling, capitalization)
Competently uses figurative
language
Rubric
3 - Proficient
Addresses all 3 aspects
Answers the “So What?” question
but does not leave the reader with
a sufficient lingering thought.
Develops complex topic(s)
with relevant body paragraphs,
building on preceding
information
Creates cohesion and clarifies
relationships through
transition/linking words,
phrases, and clauses within or
between paragraphs and
sections
Uses a variety of techniques
(e.g., headings, charts) to
organize
ideas, concepts, and
information to aid
comprehension
Provides sufficient and
relevant
evidence to develop the topic
appropriate to audience
Competently integrates and
cites credible sources*
Shows competent
understanding of topic or text
Uses correct and varied
sentence structure
Contains few, minor errors in
conventions
Effectively uses figurative
language
2 - Basic
Superficially addresses all aspects
of a conclusion.
Fails to fully relate why the
content of the essay is relevant or
leave the reader with any
lingering thought.
Superficially develops topic(s)
with relevant body paragraphs,
building on preceding
information
Creates some cohesion and
clarifies relationships through
transition/ linking words,
phrases, and clauses within or
between paragraphs and
sections
Uses some techniques (e.g.,
headings, charts) to adequately
organize ideas, concepts and
information to aid
comprehension
Provides limited and/or
superficial evidence to develop
the topic
appropriate to audience
Ineffectively integrates and
cites sources*
Shows superficial
understanding of topic or text
Uses correct and varied
sentence structure
Contains few, minor errors in
conventions
Effectively uses figurative
language
English 11
1 - Below Basic
Fails to incorporate aspects of a
proper conclusion.
Inadequately develops topic(s)
with minimal body paragraphs,
building on some preceding
information
Uses limited or inappropriate
transition/ linking words,
phrases, and clauses
Uses few techniques (e.g.,
headings, charts) to
inadequately organize ideas,
concepts, and information to
aid comprehension
Provides minimal and/or
irrelevant evidence to develop
the topic appropriate to
audience
Incorrectly integrates or cites
sources*
Shows limited or flawed
understanding of topic or text
Uses limited and/or repetitive
sentence structure
Contains numerous errors in
conventions which cause
confusion
Inadequately uses figurative
language