English 213—Junior English Name:

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Newton South High School Mission Statement

Newton South High School, a community of students, parents, faculty, and staff

(1) Is dedicated to equality and opportunity for all; (2) Expects integrity; responsibility; and respect for self, others, and the environment; (3) Creates a climate of safety and kindness; (4) Encourages communication and personal connections; (5) Nurtures curiosity, creativity, and a passion for learning; (6) Fosters self-confidence and success for all learners.

Zeitoun and the American Experience

Assignment: Choose one of the following passages and in a well-organized and thoughtful essay of at least 600 words, explore the passage’s significance to the American experience. How is Zeitoun’s experience important as a reflection of American life?

1.

As he drives through the city during the day and dreams of it at night, his mind vaults into glorious reveries—he envisions this city and this country not just as it was, but better, far better. It can be. Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light. Progress is being made. It’s so slow sometimes, so terribly so sometimes, but progress is being made. We have removed the rot, we are strengthening the foundations. There is much work to do, and we all know what needs to be done. We can only do the work, he tells Kathy, and his children, and his crew, his friends, anyone he sees. So let us get up early and stay late, and, brick by brick and block by block, let us get that work done. If he can picture it, it can be. This has been the pattern of his life: ludicrous dreams followed by hours and days and years of work and then a reality surpassing his wildest hopes and expectations.

And so why should this be any different? (325)

2.

Some nights Zeitoun struggles to sleep. Some nights he thinks of the faces, the people who arrested him, who jailed him, who shuttled him between cages like an animal, who transported him like luggage. He thinks of the people who could not see him as a neighbor, as a countryman, as a human.

Eventually he finds his way to sleep, and in the morning he awakens to the sounds of his children—four young ones in the house now, so many voices in this now-bigger house, the smell of fresh paint filling the home with possibility. The kids fear water, yes, and when a pipe burst last year there were screams and nightmares, but slowly they’re growing stronger. For them he has to be strong, and he needs to look forward. He needs to feed them, to hold them close, and he needs to show them that God had a reason for their trials. He tells them that perhaps God, by allowing him to be jailed, saved him from something worse.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he tells them. “You do your duty, you do what’s right, and the rest is in God’s hands.” (322)

3.

Doctors have asked Kathy what she thinks the most traumatic part of the Katrina experience was. She surprised herself and the doctors when she realized that it was after she knew Zeitoun was alive, and had been told he was at Hunt Correctional Center, but wasn’t allowed to see him or even know where a court hearing might be held. It was that moment, being told by the woman on the phone that the hearing’s location was “private information,” that did the most damage.

“I felt cracked open,” she says.

That this woman, a stranger, could know her despair and desperation, and simply deny her. That there could be trials withoug witnesses, that her government could make people disappear.

“It broke me.” (319)

4.

The Zeitouns were conflicted about what they heard about Lima and Gonzales. On the one hand, knowing that these two police officers had not purposely hunted and arrested a man because he was Middle Eastern gave them some comfort. But knowing that Zeitoun’s ordeal was caused instead by systemic ignorance and malfunction—and perhaps long-festering paranoia on the part of the National Guard and whatever other agencies were involved—was unsettling. It said, quite clearly, that this wasn’t a case of a bad apple or two in the barrel. The barrel itself was rotten. (307)

CHECKLIST FOR QUALITY AND COMPLETENESS

TOPIC DEVELOPMENT ( CLOUT —Say something meaningful; give it clout, significance.)

Content

1. sophistication, consequence—reveals a fresh, unique look; subtle organization and expression

2. fullness—fully and thoughtfully explained, not rushed or skimpy

3. details—clearly support the thesis

4. quotations—appropriately and effectively used for support

PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION ( CLARITY —Say it clearly.)

Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs

[title--interesting and/or descriptive; provocative; includes the work’s title in addition to an indication of the thesis]

1. hook/lead—interesting, provocative, stylish phrasing

2. thesis—a clear thesis is presented

3. roadmap—contains clear references (a roadmap) to the points covered in order to defend the thesis

Body Paragraphs

1. topic sentence—the topic sentence clearly identifies the important point or points to be made

2. supportive details—clear and relevant support is presented

3. transition words--the writer guides the reader with transition words (first, next, then, also, etc...); the paragraph progresses logically

4. concluding sentence ("clincher")--wraps up the paragraph in a satisfying way; may serve as a transition to the following paragraph

5. UNITY--maintains a singular focus throughout. Every supporting sentence serves (advances) the topic sentence.

STYLE (CLASS—Say it with flair.)

1. word choice / vocabulary—clear, exact, rich language; powerful verbs, strong adjectives

2. sentence variety--a rich, sophisticated balance of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and sentence lengths; unique phrasing; appositive phrases, participial phrases

3. voice—a unique tone of the writer; enthusiastic, expressive, sincere

WRITING CONVENTIONS ( CLEANLINESS —Be clean; follow the rules.)

Mechanics

1. quotations—correctly cited

2. spelling--words are properly spelled

3. capitalization--words in need of capitalization are capitalized

4. punctuation--sentences are properly punctuated

5. usage--words are used properly, e.g., subject/verb agreement, pronoun reference

6. sentence completeness--sentences are complete--no run-ons or fragments

Format

course guidelines are followed--double spacing; readable, 12-pt. conventional font; 1-1.25 in. margins; proper heading; contains writing process components (pre-writing, first draft, final draft)