Back to Female Author Project

 

SHORT STORY FEMALE AUTHOR PROJECT

 

ENGLISH 9

MRS. MCDEE

2003-2004

 

            Now that you have chosen your author, it is time to know what your research will entail and how you will proceed to accomplish this quarter long project.

 

            There will be two facets to this assignment. The first facet is an essay which will be written using the requirements listed below. The second facet will be a Power Point presentation which will entail using the information from your written essay to present an oral presentation to your classmates on your author. You will have very little classroom time to accomplish this task. Therefore, you will need to find time in your schedule to work on this project.

 

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT: Your essay will be FIVE paragraphs in length. It will be set up and written a bit differently that your previous essays. Pay close attention to the instructions given for the format of each paragraph in the essay.

 

            INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:  This paragraph should include the capture, motivational and assertion steps explained in class. The number of sentences for this paragraph is up to your discretion. However, the first sentence should be general yet should capture the attention of your reader. You may use a question, a quote, or an anecdote to catch the reader’s interest. Also, the last sentence in this paragraph should be your assertion (another name for a thesis statement) which will act as a map and state the main idea you will be writing about in the body paragraphs.

 

            THREE BODY PARAGRAPHS:  Be sure that each of these paragraphs begins with a well-stated topic sentence which gives direction to the information you will include in the specific paragraph. Be sure to conclude each of these paragraphs with a conclusive or summary sentence. Please remember to use a transitional word or phrase between the second and third paragraph.

 

                        BODY PARAGRAPH #1 should include: 

                        Biographical information on your author such as birth & death dates, family background, parentage, history of literary successes

 

                        BODY PARAGRAPH # 2 should include:

                        A summary of the short story you read by your author and how her life, in your opinion, influenced the story you read.

                       

BODY PARAGRAPH # 3 should include:

Your opinion, based on your author’s life and writing, on whether or not she was a gentle woman. Be specific and give specific reasons, based on her life experiences and/or her writings, which support your opinion.

 

            CONCLUSIVE PARAGRAPH:  This paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that deals with the relationship you discovered between the author’s life and the story you read. Be detailed and specific in this paragraph. Show ho w your author’s life was reflected in the writing you read. Conclude with a restatement of your thesis statement.

 

REQUIREMENTS:   

                       

                        1. DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS

 

                        2. DO USE     ***vivid, descriptive verbs and adjectives

                                                ***present tense

                                                ***First person when opinion is stated; otherwise, used third person

                                                ***develop a creative title

 

                        3. Word process the essay using the correct heading format

 

4. Essay will be worth 150 points

 

                        5. The essay will not be conferenced so do your best the first time around.

 

POWERPOINT ORAL PRESENTATION:   

Your task for this aspect of the project is to insert the material researched & written about your author into the PowerPoint outline form presented in class. On the PowerPoint scheduled days, please bring in a hard copy of your written essay so that you can use that to help you accomplish this part of the assignment. When you present your oral project in class the PowerPoint outline will be the only aid you will use to present the information ( no written copy of your essay or note cards will be allowed).

 

REQUIREMENTS:   

 

                        1. Creative title (Can be the same one used for your essay)

                        2. Follow the 6 format steps used in presenting speeches. (See handout given in class).

                        3. Only 4-6 slides may be used. One slide should include a picture of your author.                 

4. Follow the steps for presenting a speech given in class.

                        5. This part of the project is worth 100 points.

 

 

****HAVE FUN******************************************GOOD LUCK***

           

 

SCHEDULE & DUE DATES FOR FEMALE AUTHOR PROJECT

 

 

11/3 (M-B) & 11/4 (T-A)                   Introduce Project/Pick author

 

11/5 (W/SB) & 11/6 (TH/A)             Tablets/Research authors

 

11/7 (F—A/B)                                    Choice of short story to Mrs. McDee

                                                            Speech Techniques for Oral Presentations & Rough Draft due next class

 

11/10 (M/B) & 11/11 (T/A)               Peer conference rough draft on essay/PowerPoint on Tablets

 

11/12 (W/B) & 11/13 (TH/A)           Tablets/PowerPoint preparation

 

11/14 (F—A/B)                                 Work on PowerPoint Presentations in class --  Essays due Monday by Break by ALL

 

11/ 17 (M/A) 11/18 (T/B)                  PowerPoint presentations begin

 

11/19 (W/SA) 11/20 (TH/B)                       

and                                                     Complete PowerPoint Presentations

11/21 (F-A/B)