WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Due Tuesday, January 27th

PROMPT

You have met the Logan children and have completed reading half of the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Your assignment is to contrast Cassie, Stacey, Christopher-John, and Little Man. Even though they are brothers and sister, and they have some common characteristics. They are also distinctly different people.

PREWRITING

On a piece of paper, write down the names of the four children leaving space to write notes under each name. Under each name write down a list of characteristics of that child. Next to the list of characteristics, jot down at least two good examples of something that character did to exemplify that trait.

DRAFT

Begin with a paragraph in which you introduce the Logan children and explain that they do have distinct personalities. In the body of your paper, write a paragraph about each of the children. State the main qualities of your character in a topic sentence of the paragraph and then fill in the paragraph with examples of the traits. Also, you will need to compare yourself to one of the Logan children. For example, if you and Stacey are similar or different, in the paragraph about Stacey include how the two of you are the same or different. Again, be sure to support your findings with details! Write a final paragraph to close your paper and to draw appropriate conclusions from the data you have provided. In your essay, you must use at least 4 vocabulary words from the novel so far.

PROOFREADING

Do a final proofreading of your paper double-checking your grammar, spelling, organization, and the clarity of your ideas.

Paragraph 1 Introduction

Paragraph 2 Little Man

Paragraph 3 Christopher John

Paragraph 4 Cassie

Paragraph 5 Stacey

Paragraph 6 Concluding Paragraph

Reminder – You must compare/contrast yourself to one of the Logan children.

Your paper should be 500-700 words! Don’t panic! This paper is 303 words!

Logan Children Essay Rubric – Pts. Poss. 45

Paragraph one: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Introduction)

This paragraph introduces the Logan children. It establishes the direction the writing will take. It grabs the reader’s attention.

Paragraph Two: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Stacey)

* Paragraph includes a topic sentence.

* Uses at least two details from the story for supporting evidence.

* Information is easy to understand and interesting.

* Clear organization

Paragraph Three: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Cassie)

* Paragraph includes a topic sentence.

* Uses at least two details from the story for supporting evidence.

* Information is easy to understand and interesting.

* Clear organization

Paragraph Four: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Christopher John)

* Paragraph includes a topic sentence.

* Uses at least two details from the story for supporting evidence.

* Information is easy to understand and interesting.

* Clear organization

Paragraph Five: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Little Man)

* Paragraph includes a topic sentence.

* Uses at least two details from the story for supporting evidence.

* Information is easy to understand and interesting.

* Clear organization

Paragraph Six: 5 4 3 2 1 0

(Concluding Paragraph)

This paragraph restates the purpose of the essay, summarizes the main supporting points, and/or leaves the reader with a clear idea of the essay’s importance.

Conventions: 5 4 3 2 1 0

* Follows the rules of capitalization, spelling, and punctuation

* Free of run-on sentences (two sentences joined without the correct punctuation)

* Free of sentence fragments (sentence missing a subject/predicate or both)

* No grammar or word usage errors

* Paragraphs are indented

Compare/Contrast 5 4 3 2 1 0

* Compared or contrasted you with one of the Logan children.

* Gave specific examples how you are alike or different.

Vocabulary 5 4 3 2 1 0

* Used at least four vocabulary words from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, in your essay.

(Here the word count is 646!)