A Raisin in the Sun Essay
Overview
This is an essay over a Raisin in the Sun. It can be used as a one-class exam (with students preparing a notecard in advance) or it can be an essay written over a few days. The essay is over the lessons A Raisin in the Sun teaches.
This essay may be done over a couple of days or it may be a one-period essay exam.
If it is an essay exam done over one period (or a limited time frame), I let students prepare a notecard in advance to use when they write their paper.
ENGLISH 10 A Raisin in the Sun Essay Students will write this essay after having read A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. _______/200 points Students may take notes on one notecard to use when they write their essay in class, but they cannot write the essay out on the notecard. The notecard will be turned in to the student's instructor after the essay is completed.) Write an essay that explains in specific detail what lessons A Raisin in the Sun teaches about THREE of the following. 1) Love 2) Faith in God 3) Forgiveness 4) Family 5) Dreams For each one topic, the writer must do the following: A) Tell us what lesson the play teaches about the thing they are writing about in their essay. B) Cite two specific examples from the play that show the lesson being taught. For example, if the writer says in their essay that the play teaches the lesson that we must forgive people we love, even if they hurt us, then the writer must cite two examples from the play showing where this happened. In their essay, the writer should use specific examples from the play to make their point. The entire essay must be written in class. All essays must be turned in by the end of the final exam period. Attach this sheet to your essay. Students may use one front side of a notecard to take notes over the essay final before they arrive in class. No other notes should be on this card. This notecard will be stapled to the back of the final copy of the essay. Example topic—HONESTY An important lesson the play teaches us is that it is best to be honest, even if that honesty might show we have done something wrong or upset someone because they do not agree with what we are saying. (This meets the criteria for A as explained above in bold print.) An example that shows this lesson in the play is when BoBo came to tell Walter the bad news about Willy running off with the money. BoBo told Walter that Bobo had not put in ten thousand dollars like he was supposed to do (126) Bobo did not have to tell Walter the truth about BoBo not putting in as much money as he was supposed to do. Walter would never have found out that BoBo did not put in the full ten thousand because the money had been stolen. Walter would have always believed that BoBo put in the full ten thousand like he said he was going to do. BoBo telling Walter the truth shows us that Bobo wants to tell the truth even though it shows he did something wrong in the past. He clearly wants a clean slate and wants to be honest in the future. (This meets the criteria for B--the first example that shows the lesson being taught--as explained above in bold print.) Another example in the play showed the importance of being honest even if you know what you are saying will not be popular with someone who does not agree with you. Beneathea told Mama God was just an idea to Beneatha. Beneatha said she did not believe in God. Beneatha knew Mama was a lady of faith, but Beneatha said her belief anyway (51). Again, Beneatha saying what she believed showed that it is best to be honest even if your honesty will not be popular with someone else. (This meets the criteria for B--the second example that shows the lesson being taught--as explained above in bold print.)
Raisin in the Sun Essay Rubric
It is recommended that students turn in their completed essays to turnitin.com.
TOTAL POINTS _______/200
A Raisin in the Sun Essay | Superior | Excellent | Limited | Developing |
The essay must have a clear introduction that introduces the topic (thesis) and the writer’s main points. | 19-20 The writer did a superior job of writing an introduction for the essay that included the thesis and the writer’s main points. | 16-18 The writer did an excellent job of writing an introduction for the essay that included the thesis and the writer’s main points. | 1-15 The writer did a limited job of writing an introduction for the essay that included the thesis and the writer’s main points. | 0 The writer did not write an introduction to the essay that introduced the thesis or the main points. |
For each of the essay's main points, the writer explains what lesson the play teaches about the point…love, forgiveness etc. The author cites examples that prove the lesson is taught in the play. | 54-60 For each of the essay’s main points, the writer did a superior job of stating the lesson the play teaches about the point and cites multiple, insightful, relevant examples from the play to prove the lesson is taught in the play. | 48-53 For each of the essay’s main points, the writer did an excellent job of stating the lesson the play teaches about the point and cites relevant examples that show the lesson is taught in the play. | 1-47 For each of the essay’s main points, the writer did a limited job of stating the lesson the play teaches about the point and does a limited job of citing examples that show the lesson is taught in the play. | 0 For each of the essay’s main points, the writer did not state the lesson the play teaches about the point or examples that relate to a lesson the play teaches. |
The essay has a clear conclusion that re-emphasizes the thesis (topic) and main points. | 19-20 The student did a superior job of writing a clear conclusion that re-emphasizes the thesis and main points. | 16-18 The student did an excellent job of writing a clear conclusion that re-emphasizes the thesis and main points. | 1-15 The student did a limited job of writing a clear conclusion that re-emphasizes the thesis and main points. | 0 The student did not write a clear conclusion that re-emphasizes the thesis and main points. |
The student’s works cited page and in-text citations (page numbers cited for paraphrases and direct quotes) follow the MLA format. | 36-40 The student did a superior job of writing a works cited page and in-text citations that follow the MLA format. | 31-35 The student did an excellent job of writing a works cited page and in-text citations that follow the MLA format. | 18-30 The student did a limited job of writing a works cited page and in-text citations that follow the MLA format. | 0 The student did not write a works cited page or in-text citations that follow the MLA format or is progressing on the in-text citations or works cited. |
The student uses direct quotes and paraphrases in the essay. The student must use at least one direct quote in the essay but they cannot use more than two direct quotes. The rest of the examples in the paper are paraphrases. | 27-30 The writer did a superior job of naming two traits that he/she has because of things in his/her life that influenced him/her. Examples are given of the events in the writer’s life that developed these two traits. | 23-26 The writer did an excellent job of naming two traits that he/she has because of things in his/her life that influenced him/her. Examples are given of the events in the writer’s life that developed these two traits. | 1-22 The writer did a limited job of naming two traits that he/she has because of things in his/her life that influenced him/her. Limited examples are given of the events in the writer’s life that developed these two traits. | 0 The writer did not name two traits that he/she has because of things in his/her life that influenced him/her. |
Spelling and Grammar | 27-30 The writing has no misspellings or grammatical errors that distract from the meaning of the writing. | 23-26 The writing has few misspellings or grammatical errors that distract from the meaning of the writing. | 15-22 The writing has a number of misspellings or grammatical errors that distract from the meaning of the writing. | 0-14 The writing has many misspellings or grammatical errors that distract from the meaning of the writing. |
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