Animal Farm Essay Assignment Sheet
Context: You will be writing this essay from perspective of one member of a group of successful farmers who are also firm believers in animal rights. You all are in favor of the equal treatment of animals and wish to grant your animals independence; however, you all have heard about what has happened on Animal Farm and wish to avoid the mistakes they have made.
Purpose: You have been assigned the special task of analyzing the events and characters from Animal Farm and answering this question for your fellow farmers: Was it possible for Animal Farm to reach Utopia? Your response will vary depending on whether you answer yes or no. If your stance is that it was possible for them to reach Utopia, you must then explain what mistakes Animal Farm made that prevented them from reaching it. If your stance is that it was impossible to reach Utopia, you must then explain what about the animals and events from Animal Farm made it impossible. Your conclusion will then provide insight on what changes future farms could make to improve an animal-led farm chances at establishing prosperity.
Audience: Your “audience” for this written analysis on Animal Farm is your group of fellow farmers. Your fellow farmers are relying on your expertise to help them determine how they should proceed, what changes should be made, and how exactly they will allow their animals to be independent.
Requirements: Minimum Length: 2 ½ pages
à All papers must be typed and double-spaced with one-inch margins.
à Only standard fonts will be accepted. (Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica)
à Papers must have a title, introduction and clear thesis statement, refer to specific
examples from the novel, and have a conclusion that not only restates your main points but also makes suggestions on changes that should be made to avoid failure on the farms.
Dates: Rough Drafts: Due May 7th
Peer Workshop: In Class on Thursday, May 10th.
Final Draft Due: May 14th.
Tips:
1) Don’t use the idea “The perfect place (Utopia) doesn’t exist” to support your answer. Focus your efforts on analyzing characters or events from the novel.
2) This is a persuasive essay! Your job here is to sound convincing and to prove your points. This means you need to use precise language and explain and analyze everything from the book that you want to use as evidence. (It’s not all about finding the evidence—that’s all written by Orwell already—it’s about coming up with your ideas which are the commentary and analysis.
3) You’ll receive a rubric this week that will explain exactly how your essay will be graded.
Animal Farm Essay Rubric
Thesis and Introduction
(25 Points) / o Thesis takes a strong stance and is written clearly
o Intro previews the ideas in body paragraphs in the order they appear
o Written in a convincing manner that builds interest
o Voice and tone match the context for the assignment
(22-25) / o Contains a thesis that addresses the prompt
o Intro previews the ideas in body paragraphs
o Voice and tone match the context for the assignment
(18-21) / o Lacks clear thesis
o Intro is vague/does not give a preview of the ideas to come
o Voice and tone do not match the context for the assignment
(17 & below)
Body Paragraphs
(40 Points) / o Paragraphs contain clear topic sentences
o Paragraphs are focused and all help to prove the thesis
o Quotes/refers to well-chosen evidence and supplies at least two sentences of commentary for each concrete detail
o Good variety in main ideas
o Shows sophisticated thinking in commentary
o Uses transitions in and between paragraphs
(35-40) / o Paragraphs contain topic sentences
o Paragraphs are focused most of the time
o Quotes/refers to evidence from the novel and also supplies some commentary
o Uses some transitions in and between paragraphs
(28-34) / o Missing topic sentences
o Paragraphs are not focused
o Lacks sufficient commentary
o Lacks transitions
(27 & below)
Conclusion
(15 Points) / o Restates thesis
o Demonstrates the logical progression of main ideas
o Provides creative and well-developed suggestions for changes for future farms
o Gives the essay a closed feeling
o Voice and tone match the context of the assignment
(14-15) / o Restates thesis and main ideas
o Provides suggestions for changes for future farms
o Gives the essay a closed feeling
o Voice and tone match the context of the assignment
(11-13) / o Few to no suggestions
o Conclusion does not match thesis
(10 & below)
Grammar and Style
(15 Points) / o No spelling errors
o Few to no punctuation errors
o No subject-verb agreement errors
o Proper sentence structure
o No their/they’re/there and other usage errors
(14-15) / o A few spelling errors
o Some punctuation errors
o A few subject-verb agreement errors
o 1-3 their/they’re/there and other usage errors
(11-13) / o Frequent spelling errors
o Many punctuation errors
o 3+ subject-verb agreement errors
o 4+ their/they’re/there and other usage errors
(10 & below)
Manuscript Requirements
(5 Points) / o Fits within the length requirement
o One inch margins
o Font is 12 pt. in Times New Roman, Arial, or Helvetica
o Double spaced
(5) / o Comes close to the length requirement
o One inch margins
o Font is 12 pt. in Times New Roman, Arial, or Helvetica
o Double spaced
(3-4) / o Does not meet length requirement
o Incorrect Font/size
o Not Double-spaced
(0)