Page 156 - ELA_CA_HighSchool_Sampler_Flipbook

76 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Senior English
ACTIVITY 1.18
continued
Reading with a Cultural Criticism Lens
My Notes
Language and Writer’s Craft: Formal and Informal Style
You have learned that a reflective essay is a type of personal narrative in which the writer reflects on the significance of an incident or set of circumstances. Because such an essay reveals a writer’s unique feelings and perceptions yet also addresses universal issues and insights, the narrator may use a writing style that combines personal and formal elements.
Note how Orwell strikes a balance between the two styles in this example:
“All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula saeculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts.”
Orwell’s language and style demonstrate his political intelligence and awareness of the cruelty of imperialism: “hatred of the empire,” “unbreakable tyranny,” and “upon the will of the prostrate peoples.” He conveys a more personal and emotional style when he uses less formal language, such as “evil spirited little beasts” and “into a Buddhist priests’ guts.”
PRACTICE: Find another passage in the essay that demonstrates a mixture of formal and personal writing styles. Underline the passage in the text, and in the My Notes space, explain how the author uses both styles to achieve balance and convey meaning.
Narrative Writing Prompt
Using your quickwrite from the beginning of the activity, write a reflective essay about a significant event in your life that taught you a meaningful lesson. Be sure to:
• Include a clear event, response, and reflection.
• Describe the event and response fully and clearly, using vivid and precise language.
• Use language to create a balanced, appropriate style for the task.
• Use transitions to link the major sections of the text.
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ACTIVITY 1.18 continued
21 For the writing prompt, ask students to expand on the quickwrites they wrote at the beginning of the activity based on their greater understanding of a reflective essay.
Leveled Differentiated Instruction
In this activity, students may need support writing a narrative about a significant life event.
Have students use the
Narrative Analysis and Writing graphic organizer as a prewriting activity for their reflective essay. Have students use the graphic organizer as a guide to tell their story to a partner. Then have them support one another in adding details to their narratives.
Have students use the
Narrative Analysis and Writing graphic organizer as a prewriting activity for their reflective essay.
Prior to writing, have students
brainstorm a list of vivid and precise language to use to describe their event. Have students share with a partner and support one another in adding to their lists.
22 Whenthedraftsarecompleted, ask students to think-pair-share what they have written. Ask pairs to mark each other’s texts to identify event, response, and reflection. Have them also comment on any details that are vague or unclear or language that is imprecise. Provide additional writing time for students to revise the draft and add any missing components or to ensure that the details they provide are vivid and their language is precise.
23 Remindstudentstoreadand respond to the Independent Reading Link from the beginning of this activity.
Monitor the Check Your Understanding discussions to confirm that students can correctly identify the three elements of a reflective essay. Evaluate students’ responses to the writing prompt, checking that they have included all three requirements.
essay that can be read and analyzed in a brief reteaching exercise. You might want to use an online document sharing site where students can collaboratively annotate a reflective essay using different colors to indicate the events, responses, and reflections.
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76 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Senior English
If students need additional help with the reflective essay organizational structure, provide an outline of an essay that includes all three components. Choose a relatively short
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.