"The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary impulse... but rather the lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity through choice, repetition, and correction."
Glenn GouldThe term "essay" comes from the French word essai, meaning "attempt" or "trial." It was popularized by Michel de Montaigne in the 16th century, who used it to describe his short, reflective writings. Many schools teach the "5-paragraph essay," but with the tools you developed in the last unit, you can explore how essays are truly written in academia and move beyond the "training wheels."
In this assignment, you'll examine three real examples of academic writing that you find on Google Scholar and learn strategies to analyze them and understand the techniques and strategies used by published writers.
From your list of Macbeth themes (or a newly-generated one based on your biography, but we'll use Macbeth for examples), choose a topic you’re interested in learning more about. Go to Google Scholar, search for "Macbeth," and pick a few essays on topics you connect to (maybe about the theme you followed).
Use your LLM to assist you:
These summaries will give you a “map” of your essay, helping you understand what's happening at any point.
Include these summaries in a Google Doc and choose one of them to investigate further. Include a link to each essay you summarize.
The 5-paragraph essay provides a basic template to create something close to a real essay, but it’s rarely used in published journals. English essays are more about applying the scientific method to a text by:
The best structure to prove the thesis should inform the essay's format. A single point may require more than one paragraph, or multiple related points might be covered in one paragraph.
Copy one essay into your Google Doc and use bold to highlight sentences or short sections that do the things described in these four steps.
A memorable way to teach paragraph writing is "PEE":
Most sentences in an essay should serve one of these functions. Choose a few paragraphs from each essay, highlight them for PEE elements, and analyze their effectiveness.
Literary devices add style to writing. Have Gemini identify literary devices used in your essays and confirm your understanding of them. If your essay doesn't use any literary devices, have Gemini suggest how the essay could be "spiced up" with some literary devices. Include examples of your findings (or LLM suggestions) in your Google Doc, as well as a brief analysis of whether you think it would be an improvement, or just overdoing things.
Deliverable:
Include your summaries of 3 essays, and your structure and literary device analysis of the essay you selected.
After highlighting and analyzing your essays, create a short video answering the following questions:
Deliverable:
Reflect on what makes a good essay, and how you can use some of the strategies you learned.
Before you submit, please complete the Pre-Submission Self-Assessment.
Google Doc with:
Screencast video detailing your process and findings
We are learning to:
Apply effective reading strategies to approach and understand difficult academic writing
Develop independent judgment about what makes academic writing effective
I can:
Demonstrate my understanding of the main ideas and supporting details of selected academic texts
Recognize and explain forms, conventions, and stylistic elements used in academic essays
Analyze and comprehend difficult texts using a range of strategies
Evaluate the effectiveness of different reading strategies and adapt them as needed
Gather and organize information to support future reading and writing tasks
| Category | Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Knowledge / Understanding
How well does the student demonstrate understanding of the selected academic texts?
|
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the selected texts | Demonstrates a considerable understanding of most selected texts | Demonstrates some understanding of most selected texts | Demonstrates limited understanding of the selected texts |
|
Knowledge / Understanding
How well does the student demonstrate understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements?
|
Demonstrates a high degree of understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements | Demonstrates a considerable understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements | Demonstrates some understanding of most academic forms and stylistic elements | Demonstrates limited understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements |
|
Application
How effectively does the student apply reading strategies to understand complex texts?
|
Applies a wide variety of reading strategies very effectively | Applies a variety of reading strategies effectively | Applies some variety of reading strategies with limited effectiveness | Applies a limited number of reading strategies with minimal effectiveness |
|
Thinking / Inquiry
How effectively does the student identify which reading strategies are most effective?
|
Accurately identifies the most and least effective strategies across a wide range of situations | Identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation | Often identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation | Sometimes identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation |
|
Communication
How clear and concise is the student’s written communication?
|
Writing is very clear and concise | Writing is clear and concise | Writing is often clear and concise | Writing is somewhat clear and concise |
|
Thinking / Inquiry
How effectively does the student identify important elements to support future writing?
|
Identifies many important elements to support future writing | Identifies important elements to support future writing | Identifies a number of important elements to support future writing | Identifies a few important elements to support future writing |
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the selected texts
Demonstrates a considerable understanding of most selected texts
Demonstrates some understanding of most selected texts
Demonstrates limited understanding of the selected texts
Demonstrates a high degree of understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements
Demonstrates a considerable understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements
Demonstrates some understanding of most academic forms and stylistic elements
Demonstrates limited understanding of academic forms and stylistic elements
Applies a wide variety of reading strategies very effectively
Applies a variety of reading strategies effectively
Applies some variety of reading strategies with limited effectiveness
Applies a limited number of reading strategies with minimal effectiveness
Accurately identifies the most and least effective strategies across a wide range of situations
Identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation
Often identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation
Sometimes identifies which strategies are more and less effective for a given situation
Writing is very clear and concise
Writing is clear and concise
Writing is often clear and concise
Writing is somewhat clear and concise
Identifies many important elements to support future writing
Identifies important elements to support future writing
Identifies a number of important elements to support future writing
Identifies a few important elements to support future writing