English 11 Unit Four: Project Handout

Option 1: Essay
Due Date:

If you choose this option, your final project in English 11 will involve 1) conducting
research on the life and poems of an accomplished English language poet and 2)
composing an 800-1000-word essay in which you analyze 3 of his or her poems. The
essay may also include biographical information on the poets life, though this is not
required. Essays will be judged on the originality and persuasiveness of their arguments
as well as the depth of analysis of poems chosen.

In class, you will choose a poet to focus on and familiarize yourself with his or her
biography and works. Ideally, you will choose three poems to examine and will think
about how these poems connect to each other as well as to the poets own life. If you
choose to explore longer poems, you may decide to work with fewer poems. However, you
need my approval if you wish to write you essay on one or two poems instead of three.

You will then develop an argument for your essay. Good arguments will focus on hows
and whys. It is not enough to say that W.B Yeats is focusing on time in his poems. To
compose a good argument, you will have to go deeper, addressing how Yeats uses
language to consider time.

WEAK ARGUMENT: W.B. Yeats explores the theme of time in his poetry.

STRONG ARGUMENT: W.B. Yeats uses nature symbols such as water, trees,
and clouds to explore the theme of time in his poems.

Once you craft a compelling argument, you will complete an outline, developing three
ideas that persuasively support what you want to say about your chosen poems.

The essay should be 800 1000 words long. It should be double-spaced and in 12-point
Times New Roman font. The essay should include an outline as well as a Works Cited
page formatted according to APA conventions. All poems and biographical information
used should be cited. You are expected to use quotes from the poems to support you
argument. Substantial amounts of time will be given in-class to work on your essays,
and I will meet with you regularly to check progress and give guidance as it is
necessary.

The essay will be worth 100 points. The rubric used is included below.
 English 11 Unit Four: Project Handout

4 3 2 1

Creative and original
argument connecting
Argu poems.
Addresses hows and/or
ment
whys.
Genuinely thought-
provoking.
Expressed clearly.
Clear and detailed
support of the argument.
Use of various specifics
and examples that clearly
Suppo
relate to the argument.
rt At least one quotation per
body paragraph.
Solid argument with Argument present Argument is not
room for improvement. but not necessarily evident.
Addresses hows and/or creative or original. Doesnt address
whys. May address hows hows and/or whys
Somewhat interesting and/or whys. Is not thought
and thought-provoking. Not particularly provoking
Generally clear. thought-provoking. Confusing.
Unclear.
Solid support of Mostly relevant Irrelevant
argument, using details used to details.
relevant details. support argument. No examples and
Some examples and Few examples and specifics.
specifics. specifics. No quotations
Use of quotations. Quotations used. used.

Well-organized and Reasonably organized. Introduction/conclusi Introduction or

structured. Helpful transitions. on in need of conclusion are
Strong and appropriate Some interruptions to revision. missing.
transitions. flow. Some use of Major structural
Organ
Sentences flow naturally. One or two sentences transitions. issues.
ization Easy to read. need to be re-read. Able to follow with Very difficult to
/ effort. follow.
Fluenc Some incomplete or Short, choppy, or
y run-on sentences. incomplete
sentences.
Essay includes a Works Essay includes a Works Essay includes a No in-text
Cited page and in-text Cited page and in-text Works Cited page citations and / or
citations. citations. and in-text citations. Works Cited
All references and Almost all references Some references and page.
APA
citations are formatted and in-text citations are in-text citations are No references or
Forma correctly. formatted correctly. formatted correctly. in-text citations.
tting / Few to no grammatical Some grammatical Many grammatical Grammatical
Conve errors. errors. errors. errors present in
ntions every sentence.
 English 11 Unit Four: Project Handout

Option 2: Video

Due Date:
If you choose this option, your final project in English 11 will be a video autobiography
of your chosen poet. You will play the part of your poet and tell us about yourself. The
video will be in 2 parts:

1. Biography/Poetry Introduction

This includes important information about your life (e.g. birthplace,

education, major life events, etc.) Try to think about who your poet is as a
person and how this shaped your poetry. Teach us about who you are and
the poems you created. This section should be no more than 25% of the
total length of the video
An introduction to your poetry and style. What are your major themes?
What was the tone or style of your poetry? Who influenced you?
2. Poems #1 and #2

Read two poems written by your poet

Explain and compare these poems. Think about how these poems connect
to each other as well as to the poets own life.
*The goal of this part is to develop and present an argument. Good
arguments will focus on hows and whys. It is not enough to say that W.B
Yeats is focusing on time in his poems. To compose a good argument,
students will have to go deeper, addressing how Yeats uses language to
consider time.

WEAK ARGUMENT: W.B. Yeats explores the theme of time in his poetry.

STRONG ARGUMENT: W.B. Yeats uses nature symbols such as water, trees,
and clouds to explore the theme of time in his poems.

In addition, you are required to wear a costume. You must at least attempt to dress like
your poet, so find some images or videos to inspire your costume choice(s). Use editing
and/or voice over to make your video interesting. Special effects, props, etc. are all
encouraged. Since this is a video and you can shoot it as many times as you need to, I
expect it to be polished.

The video should be 7-10 minutes long. In addition, you must submit an outline as well
as a Works Cited page formatted according to APA conventions. All poems and
biographical information used should be cited. You are expected to use quotes from the
poems to support your argument. Substantial amounts of time will be given in-class to
work on your videos, and I will meet with you regularly to check progress and give
guidance as necessary.

The video will be worth 100 points. The rubric used is included below.
 English 11 Unit Four: Project Handout

4 3 2 1

Creative and original
argument connecting
Argu poems.
Addresses hows and/or
ment
whys.
Genuinely thought-
provoking.
Expressed clearly.
Clear and detailed
support of the argument.
Use of various specifics
and examples that clearly
Suppo
relate to the argument.
rt At least 3 quotations used
for support.
Solid argument with Argument present Argument is not
room for improvement. but not necessarily evident.
Addresses hows and/or creative or original. Doesnt address
whys. May address hows hows and/or whys
Somewhat interesting and/or whys. Not thought-
and thought-provoking. Not particularly provoking.
Generally clear. thought-provoking. Confusing.
Unclear.
Solid support of Mostly relevant Irrelevant
argument, using details used to details.
relevant details. support argument. No examples and
Some examples and Few examples and specifics.
specifics. specifics. No quotations
Use of quotations. Quotations used. used.

Well-organized and Reasonably organized. Part 1 or 2 is in need Part 1 or 2 is

structured. Helpful transitions. of revision. missing.
Strong and appropriate Some interruptions to Some use of Major structural
transitions. flow. transitions. issues.
Organ
Flows naturally. Almost all references are Able to follow with Very difficult to
ization Includes a Works Cited formatted correctly. effort. follow.
/ APA page that is formatted Some references are No Works Cited
Forma correctly. formatted correctly. page.
tting

Costume is both accurate Costume is fairly Costume lacks effort. No costume.

and creative. accurate and creative. Editing sometimes Editing distracts
Editing draws the Editing mostly draws the draws the viewers from the
viewers focus to the viewers focus to the focus to the argument.
Creati
argument. argument. argument.
vity