COMPOSITION ASSIGNMENT

English 12--American Literature

Mr. Welch

Composition #1

~Back to American Literature~

DUE DATE: Tuesday, 7 September 2004 by 7:45 a.m. in Office #242

TOPIC: Favorite film or book of the summer and lessons learned

ASSIGNMENT:

Based on your favorite film or book of the summer, write a composition that addresses a moral lesson of some kind--simply a life lesson.

Even when we watch a film for fun and pleasure or read a book at the beach or on a plane, we can be enlightened, and we can often learn valuable

lessons about life.

Consider the following:

--money is the root of all evil

--beauty is only skin deep

--beauty is in the eye of the beholder

--true friendship must be valued

--money cannot buy happiness

--judge not lest you be judged

--gossip can destroy lives

SKILL OR CONCEPT STRESSED: Reviewing the five paragraph essay

REQUIREMENTS:

1. a clearly stated thesis

2. an effective introduction and conclusion

3. introductory paragraph--"grabber," a strong bridge sentence, and a clearly stated thesis

4. "Grabber"--begin with something to "hook" or "grab" the attention of your reader in an interesting or exciting way that will make them want to read on

5. smooth paragraph transitions

6. present verb tense

7. topic sentence--explains the topic of the ONE idea that will be developed in this paragraph--the topic sentence explains or defends some aspect of the thesis

8. supporting sentences--support the topic sentence with facts, examples, reasons, and details

9. conclusion--relates to the thesis, ties together the various points made, and give the reader a logical sense in reaching the end

10. MLA--documentation, tags, worked cited page, etc.

CONFERENCES WILL BEGIN ON TUESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2004.