Name: ______Period: _____
“The Scarlet Ibis” Paragraph
English 9
Prompt:
Please respond to the following prompt in a two-chunk paragraph (2 quotes; 8 sentences total):
Throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator pushes Doodle to overcome his disabilities. Ultimately, what drives the narrator to help his younger brother improve physically—love or selfish pride?
Brainstorm:
List ideas in support of the narrator loving his brother, and ideas of the narrator’s selfish pride.
What drives the narrator to help his younger brother improve physically—love or selfish pride?
LOVE drives the narrator
to help Doodle improve physically. / SELFISH PRIDE drives the narrator
to help Doodle improve physically.
ü
ü
ü
ü / ü
ü
ü
ü
Once you’ve brainstormed ideas for each column, CIRCLE which one (1) topic you want to focus on in your paragraph.
The narrator is motivated by love.
OR
The narrator is motivated by selfish pride.
“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
After finishing the story, complete the following literary elements review chart. When needed, use your Literary Elements packet (pink) for help.
Literary Element / “The Scarlet Ibis”Protagonist
Is the protagonist static or dynamic?
Antagonist(s)
Is the antagonist(s) static or dynamic?
Setting
Is the major conflict internal or external?
Point of view
Foreshadowing example from the story
Author’s purpose
Symbol / ______represents ______because…
Theme
Outline:
Topic Sentence (includes author’s name, title of the story, & response to the prompt): ______
______
______
1st Concrete Detail (Quote): “______
______
______” (Hurst ).
§ Commentary Ideas: ______
§ Commentary Ideas: ______
2nd Concrete Detail (Quote): “______
______
______” (Hurst ).
§ Commentary Ideas: ______
§ Commentary Ideas: ______
Concluding Sentence (wraps up the ideas of the whole paragraph): ______
______
______
Writing Requirements (how your paragraph will be scored):
1. Organization & Key Ideas (See “Summary vs. Analysis” packet for help.)
§ Topic Sentence
§ 1st Concrete Detail (Quote)
§ Commentary
§ Commentary
§ 2nd Concrete Detail (Quote)
§ Commentary
§ Commentary
§ Concluding Sentence
2. Concrete Details (See “Summary vs. Analysis” packet for help.)
§ Both Concrete Details (quotes) should clearly support your answer to the prompt and the one (1) reason you chose for what drives the narrator to help Doodle improve physically (love or selfish pride).
3. Commentary (See “Summary vs. Analysis” packet for help.)
§ Commentary should clearly and completely explain how each quote proves that love or selfish pride drives the narrator to help Doodle improve physically.
4. Parenthetical Documentation (See “Parenthetical Documentation” packet for help.)
§ No errors; clearly, you double-checked your quotes for proper parenthetical documentation.
5. Formal Style (See “Formal Style” packet for help.)
§ Stay in third-person.
§ No casual language or slang.
§ No contractions.
§ Stay in present tense (future tense okay when appropriate).
6. Conventions
§ No errors in capitalization, usage, punctuation, or spelling
7. Formatting (See attached formatting sample for specific instructions.)
§ Typed, perfectly formatted paragraph
§ Proper heading and title
§ No cover page