This document provides instructions for a personal analytical reflection task on the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird". It outlines key due dates, including a draft due on March 6th and the final submission on March 17th. It also explains what a personal analytical reflection is, how to support opinions with examples from the novel, and provides guidance on structuring the reflection with an introduction, body paragraphs analyzing a character, and a conclusion.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Assessment Task
Personal Analytical Reflection

2. • Week 7
• MONDAY 6 March: Draft Due
– Email script to Ms Styles by 4pm
WEDNESDAY 8 March: No lesson – Swimming Carnival
Thursday 9 March: Drafts returned, editing via feedback
Week 8
FRIDAY 17 March – DUE DATE
– Submit:
• Task sheet
• Final script
• All drafting (with feedback - print)
• Your video will be uploaded to YouTube – instructions to
follow
Key Dates:

3. Understanding the task
Analyse and reflect the way in which a character
in To Kill a Mockingbird affects you and makes you
reflect on ideas and values that you believe are
important in today’s world.

4. What is a Personal Analytical Reflection?
A Personal Reflection is a response to a particular stimulus
– in this term, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
It is written by an individual to explore personal thoughts,
experiences, feelings and events. (Not necessarily about
your own lives)

5. It is an opportunity to reconsider events, thoughts
and feelings from a fresh perspective.
A personal reflection, is used to gauge how
successfully you can interact with a text.
You need to show that you can -evaluate ideas and
draw a comparison between those ideas, and your
own.
What is a Personal Analytical Reflection?

6. What will I need to consider when writing a
Personal Analytical Response?
The task is a personal response made by you and will be
different to responses from others.
Your response will be influenced by:
1. Your opinions, beliefs and experiences
2. Similarities or contrasts to your own life but not
necessarily about you.(i.e. experiences you can
identify with)
3. Your connection and understanding of the character
4. Your emotional state at a given moment
5. Sympathy or empathy with characters

7. How do I support my opinion and ideas?
• Even though you have been asked to provide a
personal response you will still need to justify your
opinion.
• This means you need to give reasons as to why
you developed your ideas.
• You can support your response through:
1) Examples from To Kill a Mockingbird
2) Referring to specific events within the novel
3) Referring to specific quotes within the novel

8. What is the task asking me to do?
 Your task is to pre-record a reflective commentary answering
the question: What can we learn from fictional characters?
 You are to choose a character from the novel you have
studied in class.
You need to analyse what is
presented in the novel – what
were the actions/thoughts of
the character?
You then need to reflect on this – what
did I learn from this character? How has
this changed the way I think? Or the
way I might act? How can I relate? How
did this make me feel?

9. • St Paul’s School library is asking Year 10 students to contribute to their new
website pages where students are asked to record their insights into what
readers can learn from fictional characters. Your work will be considered for
the website: http://library.stpauls.qld.edu.au/reading/what-can-we-learn-
from-fictional-characters/
 Who is the audience
for this site?
 How will this affect the
way you write and
present your speech?
Audience and Context

10. • Entries can be recorded in one take or cut into
multiple parts
• Presentation should directly target audience –
peers.
• Consider:
– Language
– Dress
– Setting
– Complementary features
– Editing
– Sounds and music
The Process

11. Structure
• Similar to an essay, your personal analytical
reflection requires you to follow a
structure:
– Introduction
• Which includes your thesis
– Body Paragraph 1
– Body Paragraph 2
– Body Paragraph 3
– Conclusion

12. Body Paragraph
• Topic Sentence that covers thesis statement
• Example or two from novel.
• Analysis of the conflict or obstacle the character
faces.
• Reflect how we might learn from this
• Link back to thesis statement and next
paragraph

13. Body Paragraph Example:
Atticus Finch’s commitment to equity and social justice teach us the importance of
empathy in understanding the human condition even in the face of deep rooted
prejudice such as that seen in the town of Maycomb. An example of Atticus living this
philosophy can be seen when he agrees to take on the case of accused rapist, African
American Tom Robinson. Not only does he agree to take on this case, but he also refuses
to reveal to Scout that he had no choice to take the case as he is the court appointed
lawyer for the accused. His decision to keep this information private indicates that he
would rather teach his children about the importance of tolerance in the face of
prejudice than take the ‘easy way out’ and reveal that he had no choice but to defend
Tom Robinson. Atticus further reinforces this life lesson by telling Scout, ‘…You never
really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you
climb into his skin and walk around in it.’ (Chp 3. p34) I believe that the author Harper Lee
created the character of Atticus to act as an embodiment of this idea and placed him
in the town of Maycomb in the 1930s to highlight the contrast between Atticus’ progressive
views of race relations and empathy against the more typical prejudiced views of the
townsfolk. Also important is the way in which the concept of empathy is explained. The use
of Scout as a focal point for this message allows the definition and language to be explicit
and accessible via the metaphor of climbing into a man’s skin. This reading of empathy is as
relevant to the reader as it was when the novel was first published in 1960 as it is today
as a guiding principle for life. <link sentence here for next paragraph>

14. Approach
• Thesis
– This is embedded in your introduction and should
clearly outline the conflict, obstacle of your character,
and break this into three sub-points. These sub-
points make up the three paragraphs.
– It may be broken down into three way they have
dealt with the conflict or obstacle.

15. 1. Topic Sentence that covers thesis statement (Point)
2. Example or two from novel (Evidence)
3. Analysis of how the character deals with the conflict
(Evaluation)
4. Reflect how we might learn from this (Reflection)
- Perhaps you will be able to connect this issue to
other contemporary issues
- ‘I’ statements may be used
5. Link back to thesis statement and next paragraph (Link)
• It would be advantageous to use PEEL, but add an R for
reflection = PEERL
Approach
Body Paragraph

16. Questions?