In this activity, you will
write arguments to support claims using valid reasoning or sufficient evidence
evaluate evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis and research
Introduction
In this unit activity, you will analyze aspects of the medieval English stories The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. You will also read George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language,” analyze it, and express your own views on how language usage changes over time.
Evaluation
Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit.
Task 1: Writing an Analytical Essay
Criteria
Distinguished
(4 points)
The essay is centered on the thesis statement, which is clearly stated.
The student demonstrates a good grasp of the topic and analyzes the texts convincingly.
The essay is very well organized and contains only minimal spelling or grammatical errors.
The student’s choice of sources is highly appropriate.
The student consistently cites sources according to the chosen format.
Proficient
(3 points)
The essay is centered on the thesis statement, which is somewhat clearly stated.
The student demonstrates an adequate grasp of the topic and analyzes the texts sufficiently.
The essay is organized and contains a few spelling and grammatical errors.
The student’s choice of sources is appropriate.
The student cites sources correctly according to the chosen format.
Developing
(2 points)
The essay is not centered on a clear thesis statement and presents conflicting views.
The student demonstrates some grasp of the topic and analyzes the text to some extent.
The essay is not structured well and contains several spelling and grammatical errors.
The student’s choice of sources is passable.
The student cites sources but not in a standard format.
Beginning
(1 point)
The essay is not centered on a thesis statement but is formed of ideas loosely strung together.
The student does not demonstrate understanding of the topics and the essay lacks analysis.
The essay is incoherent or jumbled and contains many spelling and grammatical errors.
The student does not cite sources, or the choice or use of sources is not appropriate.
Task 2: Analyzing an Essay
Criteria
Distinguished
(4 points)
The student chooses highly appropriate examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint clearly.
The student chooses the most appropriate excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards effectively with valid reasons to support the view.
The answers are very well organized and contain only minimal spelling or grammatical errors.
Proficient
(3 points)
The student chooses appropriate examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint moderately well.
The student chooses appropriate excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards moderately well with valid reasons to support the view.
The answers are moderately well organized and contain only a few spelling and grammatical errors.
Developing
(2 points)
The student chooses somewhat relevant examples of writing presented by the author and presents his or her viewpoint meaningfully.
The student chooses somewhat relevant excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
The student presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards fairly well with some valid reasons to support the view.
The answers are not structured well and contain several spelling and grammatical errors.
Beginning
(1 point)
The student does not choose relevant examples of writing presented by the author, and his or her viewpoint reflects confusion.
The student does not choose relevant excerpts as evidence to support the points on which he or she agrees or disagrees with Orwell.
The student vaguely presents his or her opinion about the need for usage standards but fails to cite valid reasons.
The answers are incoherent or jumbled and contain many spelling and grammatical errors.
Analyzing Literature
You’ve read excerpts from secular works written in the medieval period such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales. Both are quest narratives that reveal much about the social life and codes of conduct followed in the medieval period. Write an essay on one of the topics provided in part A of this task. Follow these guidelines for writing the essay.
Guidelines
Gathering and evaluating sources
Refer to online resources or books in a library on the relevant topic in order to write the essay.
Make sure you look for the date and the author of the resource and check whether the resource provides valid information that is useful in writing the essay.
You can refer to article https://library.sdsu.edu/features or search for other web pages like it to find out more about evaluating sources.
Developing a thesis or argument
Your essay should be built around a thesis statement, or the main argument.
The thesis statement should be well supported by your research and the text you are analyzing.
This article https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/thesis/ will provide you with more information on thesis statements and developing a topic.
Writing the essay
Consult this resource https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_about_poetry.html for guidelines when writing an analytical essay.
The structure and language of your essay should be your own. Read these guidelines https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/avoiding_plagiarism/index.html on how to avoid plagiarism. Make sure you cite all sources you refer to, using a consistent format for both in-text citations and the Works Cited page. You can use either MLA https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html or APA formats https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html.
Reread your essay to eliminate spelling errors and to rule out grammatical mistakes before turning in the essay.
Part A:
Choose one of the two topics detailed below for your essay:
A medieval romance is a kind of writing that has a mysterious, supernatural setting, idealizes chivalry and courtly love, and may involve masking a character’s real identity. Usually the hero of a medieval romance is a knight who takes an unusual challenge and whose triumph brings glory to the king and the nation. Reread the selection from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight https://contentstore.ple.platoweb.com/content/sharedmedia/Passages/English11/assets/BLIT_06L_Gawain.htm (or you may choose to read more of it from an online source), and write an analytical essay that examines how the poem fits into the genre of medieval romances.
In The Canterbury Tales https://contentstore.ple.platoweb.com/content/sharedmedia/Passages/English11/assets/BLIT_08_PardonersTale.htm, pilgrims relate the stories on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. However, the stories often have an irreverent tone. Examine to what extent “The Pardoner’s Tale” or “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” (or another section of another story if you want to read more online) seems to mock aspects of religion in general or Christian beliefs and church practices of the time in particular.
Which topic did you choose?
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
You consulted various sources to write your essay. List your sources in MLA or APA format, and describe how you decided your sources were credible.
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
Part C
Write your thesis sentence in the space provided.
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
Part D
Upload your essay to the Graded Activities panel on the left-hand side of the screen. Be sure to submit the file for grading.
Analyzing an Essay
In this task, you will read George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/. You will write your reactions to the parts of the essay that cite rules for writing or state methods for preventing the decline of the English language.
Part A
Choose one point from Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language” with which you agree and one point with which you disagree. Include reasons for your arguments.
Write your response in the space provided.
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
Part B
George Orwell gives examples of bad writing in the essay “Politics and the English Language.” Choose two examples from the essay and discuss how you feel about the quality of writing. Do you think Orwell’s criticism is valid? What other comments would you make about his examples? Do you think people write in similar ways now, and if so, is that a problem?
Write your response in the space provided.
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
Part C
Language changes with time and context. What is your opinion about what constitutes good or bad usage? Is it necessary for speakers or writers to follow a particular standard of correctness? Do such standards vary with the audience and the situation?
Do you think an individual or a group of individuals can actually maintain a certain quality of language and usage? If your answer is yes, state how these rules can be applied effectively. If your answer is no, then state the reasons why such control should not be exercised. Write a short essay to state your position on these questions.
Write your essay in the space provided.
Space used (includes formatting): 0 / 15000
