Step One: The Prompt
This unit explores the concept of the journey as an act of traveling as well as a personal passage or transformation.
Recall the collection quotation by Kira Salak: “If a journey doesn’t have something to teach you about yourself, then what kind of journey is it?”
Review “The Odyssey,” and consider Salak’s perspective on travel.
Controlling Question: What compels characters or real people to set off on a journey—physical, mental, or spiritual—and what do they learn from their experiences?
Synthesize your ideas in an analytical essay. Use evidence from the texts and from additional sources to support your conclusions
Step Two: Prepare for writing your paper.
Review the following links:
Writing an Informative Text (opens in a new window)
Organizing Ideas (opens in a new window)
Introductions and Conclusions (opens in a new window)
Elaboration (opens in a new window)
Precise Language (opens in a new window)
Formal Style (opens in a new window)
Step Three: Conduct Research
Research the Web for well-written travel blogs that explore what the bloggers learn from their journeys. You might also conduct interviews with people you know who have taken interesting journeys or had other life-changing experiences. Take careful notes or record the interviews so that you can quote their subjects accurately.
Your essay must have the following:
Analysis of Odysseus’ journey in The Odyssey.
At least one additional source on journeys to lend evidence to your controlling idea.
Step Four: Draft Your Essay
Keep your audience in mind as you draft your essay.
While your language should be appropriately formal, you also want to engage your readers with interesting ideas, examples, and quotations.
Pause periodically to read aloud what you have written.
Ask: Are my ideas clear? Will my readers want to keep reading? What should I write next to keep my ideas flowing logically?
Step Five: Create your Works Cited page.
Complete: Tutorial on Works Cited Attribution (opens in a new window)
Step Six: Revise and Edit
Complete: Tutorial on Revising and Editing (opens in a new window)
As you revise, ask yourself:
What could be more clear, more accurate, or more precise?
Which ideas, if any, don’t belong? Did I use transitions to connect my ideas?
Are the sentences varied? Do they flow naturally?
Is the tone appropriate for a literary analysis?
As you edit, look for:
Spelling error can distract your reader. Look for commonly misspelled words (opens in a new window).
Grammar – A read aloud can often help you find grammatical errors.
Punctuation – A close read of each sentence separately can isolate needed punctuation. Try reading the last sentence to the first sentence!
Clarity – Underline your transition from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. Do you see a need for additional text to make context clear?
Word Usage – Look for commonly misused words and often-repeated words.
