Writing the Literature Essay. Introduction, Body paragraphs and conclusion

1. Bridgeport High School
English Department
Lesson Planning Session
Period: November 1-12, 2021
Grade 11 English B

2. What I have covered so far from the previous lesson
cycle
❖ General Poetry Analysis with samples
❖ God’s Grandeur- Analysis (students were
given assignment to write a 2 paragraph
analysis of the poem)
To Be Done this week
◈ To Da-Duh in Memoriam
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3. Topic:
Subtopic:
Poetry
“Sonnet Composed Upon
Westminster Bridge”
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4. General Objective: to help students demonstrate comprehension of the poems and an
appreciation of how poetic elements work to create meaning.
Specific Objectives: students should be able to:
1. identify and explain the subject matter and themes in the poem: “Sonnet Composed…”
2. give a reader-response to the poem “Sonnet Composed...”
3. recognize the poetic devices employed in poem
4. assess the effectiveness of the use of these poetic devices in the poem.
5. identify the form of the poem as a sonnet
6. plot the rhyme scheme of the poem
7. explain the relationship between the form and the content of the poem “Sonnet
Composed..”
8. identify other poems on the syllabus that can be compared with Sonnet Composed...
9. identify appropriate words and language structures that can be used when writing a
poetry analysis.
10. write an analysis of the given poem. 4

5. LESSON CONTENT
Please see content attached
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6. Dramatic Presentation of the Poem
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7. Evaluation Activities
1. https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5f685893e25c4900
1ba14a48
(Live Quiz via the Quizizz website.) See printed
version of quiz attached
1. Comparing “Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster
Bridge” with “God’s Grandeur” (Whole Class
Group Activity) 7

8. Evaluation Activities continue
1. Select any one of the following aspects of the
poem and write an analytical paragraph on it.
(Remember you can use sample poetry analysis uploaded in
the Poetry Section of the classroom as guides)
◈ Themes
◈ Literary Devices
◈ Voice and Tone
◈ Form and Structure
◈ Language/Diction
◈ Setting/Atmosphere 8

9. Topic:
Subtopic:
The Literary Essay
Writing CSEC English B Essay
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10. General Objective: To help students to provide appropriate critical response to
literary texts and to write effective essays in literature
Specific Objectives: students should be able to:
1. decode essay type questions
2. demonstrate an understanding of common terms used in literature questions
3. identify relevant content in response to given essay questions.
4. identify suitable textual evidence in support of arguments made in their literary essay
5. organize the literary essay effectively
6. effectively develop the different parts of the literary essay.
7. Write at least a satisfactory literary essay
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11. Methodology
● Audio-visual presentation(Video and Powerpoint)
● Discussion
● Question & Answer
● modelling/demonstration
● Guided practice
● Independent practice
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12. Instructional Materials
◈ Powerpoint presentation on how to write the
Literary Essay
◈ Sample Essays
◈ Literature Essay Checklist
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13. LESSON CONTENT
Writing The Literature Essay
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14. Writing The Literature Essay
The CSEC English "B" essay is one of the best ways for
you to develop your essay writing skills. It sharpens your
ability
● to think critically;
● to use evidence to support your arguments;
● to put your arguments in a clear and logical order,
and
● to sum up your arguments in an effective manner.
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15. The CSEC English "B" Essay
Your CSEC English "B" essay has THREE parts. They are, The
Introductory Paragraph, The Developing Paragraphs and The Concluding
Paragraph
The Introductory Paragraph
This is the first paragraph of your essay. Your Introductory Paragraph
gives your teacher or your CSEC examiner an idea of what you will be
discussing and how your points will be organized. This is done in
THREE-FOUR sentences.
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16. THE PEE METHOD
We use the PEE Technique to compose Developing Paragraphs.
PEE stands for POINT, EVIDENCE & EXPLANATION. Each
Developing Paragraph starts with the POINT you will be focusing on.
The POINT is supported by EVIDENCE from the prescribed text(s).
You should try to give sufficient evidence and quote or paraphrase
the text (s). After you have given your EVIDENCE, complete the
Developing Paragraph with EXPLANATION of the EVIDENCE.
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17. The Developing Paragraphs
These paragraphs get into the "meat of the matter". These
paragraphs discuss your points in sufficient details and
explain your answers to your teacher or your examiner. You
typically write about THREE to FOUR Developing
Paragraphs.
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18. The Concluding Paragraph
The final aspect of the English "B" essay is the Concluding
paragraph. This is where you summarize or even paraphrase
your Introductory Paragraph. This is a good way to ensure
that your essay comes to a good and effective conclusion.
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19. The CSEC English "B" Questions
The CSEC English "B" questions typically test your ability to recall
details from the text, be it the play, the poems or the novel/short stories
you have chosen.
Next, it tests your knowledge of themes, conclusions that could be
drawn from the details you remember or lessons learnt from the text (s).
Finally, the question tests your ability to analyze or explain how
techniques are used in the play, the poems or the novel/short stories .
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20. CSEC English B- Mark Allocation
Total Marks-35
25 marks is allocated for content and argument,
10 marks is allocated for language, organization and
competence in the mechanics of writing.
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21. Understanding Some Common Question Terms
https://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/analyse-
explain-evaluate-answer-essay-question-words/
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22. Literature Essay Checklist -(See Attachment)
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23. SAMPLE ESSAY
Comparing My Parents and Dreaming Black Boy
Question Source: June 2018 Paper 02: Question#3
QUESTION: “My Parents” and “Dreaming Black Boy” are poems in which the speakers yearn
to be accepted.
Write an essay in which you focus on this theme in these TWO poems. For EACH poem, you
must describe ONE instance in which the speaker’s yearning to be accepted is evident. You must
also discuss how EACH speaker responds to this feeling. Finally, for EACH poem, you must
examine ONE device used to portray the speaker’s yearning for acceptance.
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24. SAMPLE ESSAY
(Introduction)Acceptance is a quality that we all crave for as humans. We all
desire to feel like we belong. In the poems, “My Parents” and “Dreaming Black
Boy”, the personas both yearn to be accepted. The persona in “My Parents”
yearns to be accepted by his peers/the boys in his community while in ‘Dreaming
Black Boy’, the persona, wants to be accepted as a black persona by society in
general. Both poems give evidence of the personas longing for acceptance, their
response to this feeling and the poet's strategic use of literary devices effectively
portrays this feeling of longing.
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25. SAMPLE ESSAY
(Body Paragraph #1)In “My Parents”, there are two instances that can be viewed
as evidence of the speaker’s yearning for acceptance. The opening line of the
poem- “My parents kept me from children who were rough” implies that the
persona may have wanted to go and play with those other children but was
restricted by his parents who prevented him from doing so. Evidence in the last
stanza of the poem also shows the boy’s desire when he says that he longs to
forgive the boys who bullied him although they showed no remorse. In “Dreaming
Black Boy”, there are several pieces of evidence that show the speaker’s
yearning for acceptance. One such example can be found in stanza 1 when he
expresses a deep desire to be acknowledged by his teacher and to be praised
when he does something good like ‘kick a goal’.
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26. SAMPLE ESSAY
(Body Paragraph #2)The speakers in both poems respond to the feeling of
wanting to belong in different ways. In “My Parents”, the speaker responded by
“pretending to smile” with the boys who taunted him. This smile was his way of
showing them that though he felt hurt by their meanness, he still wanted to be a
part of their clique. He chose not to fight back because of his deep desire to be
accepted by them. He deeply wanted to forgive and make friends with them as he
stated in the final line “I longed to forgive them but they never smiled”. The
speaker’s response in “Dreaming Black Boy” was that of fear and anxiety where
he was afraid to answer questions in class for fear of rejection. He also responded
by dreaming. He dreamed of a better life when society would change and he
would not be made to feel unwanted or unwelcome due to the colour of his skin.
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27. SAMPLE ESSAY
(Body Paragraph #3)In order to effectively portray the yearning for acceptance,
both Stephen Spender and James Berry make use of literary devices. In “My
Parents”, irony is evident in the speaker’s response to the boys who bullied him. It
is ironic (situational irony) that despite the unpleasant treatment from the ‘rough’
children, the persona still wanted to be a part of their clique. He still longed to play
with them, hence he smiled and pretended not to feel hurt by their mean actions.
He wanted to forgive them. In “Dreaming Black Boy”, the device used is
repetition. The speaker kept repeating the desire to be accepted through the use
of the words “I wish”. Each stanza began with this phrase as he expressed his
yearning for acceptance in different aspects of life such as, education and
travelling.
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28. SAMPLE ESSAY
(Conclusion)Overall, the theme of acceptance and the yearning for it is dominant
in both poems despite the difference in contexts. In “My Parents”, it was a little
boy (likely to be white) of upper middle class who wanted to feel accepted by his
peers while in “Dreaming Black Boy”, it was a little black boy who wanted to be
accepted by society as a whole. In the end, it shows that this is a human desire
that transcends race and class.
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29. NOTE: Another Sample Essay is attached
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30. Evaluation 1
Students will write an essay in response to the following question.
‘Sonnet Composed Upon a Westminster Bridge’ and ‘God’s
Grandeur’ are two poems that deal with the appreciation of
nature.
a) explain briefly what each poem is about
b) discuss the persona’s attitude towards the subject matter in each
poem
c) Identify and discuss one poetic device, from each poem that
highlights the treatment of nature 30

31. Monthly Test # 2- Plan for Test Items
◈ Unseen Prose Extract (10 questions)
◈ God’s Grandeur (poem will be visible on test
paper) (10 questions)
◈ To Da-Duh in Memoriam (an extract from
the story will be used- 10 questions)
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