prompt attentionwriting about literature from topic to thesis dr. sue gilmore martin luther king...
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Prompt Attention Writing About Literature From Topic to Thesis
Dr. Sue GilmoreMartin Luther King Magnet SchoolNashville, TN
Barry GilmoreLausanne Collegiate SchoolMemphis, TN
Brenda RobinetteLausanne Collegiate SchoolMemphis, TN
Prompt Attention Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
5 Ideas for Writing-on-Demand Essays about the Once and
Future Classics
orWhat I have learned from my
AP Seniors
Prompt Attention Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
1. Responding to an on-demand prompt is a skill that develops
• 8th grade expository• 10th grade state assessments• AP social studies classes• Literary analysis
Prompt Attention Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
2. It matters who is demanding:know your audience
• TCAP for grades 7-11• AP social studies exams• College applications essays• AP Language• AP Literature / IB exams
Prompt Attention
3. They want some strategies that work.
DO:• Circle the tasks in the question• Plan before you write• Make your essay readable• Notice how the punctuation (or lack of it) helps
DON’T:• Underline the thesis• Use first person• Rely on stream of consciousness
Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
Prompt Attention
For example…
Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
Prompt Attention Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
4. Humor is hardest.
• Tone?• Theme?• Point of view?• Diction?• Detail?
Prompt Attention Writing About the Classics—in 40 Minutes
5. Favorite “once and future” classics
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
(Pessl)
Going After Cacciato(O’Brien)
God of Small Things
(Roy)
The Importance of Being Earnest
(Wilde)
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Copy That!
Reducing Plagiarism and Increasing Engagement
Through Student-Created Prompts and Theses
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Showing engine-uity
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Getting off track
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Showing engine-uity
Prompt Attention
Puck:If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended,That you have but slumber'd hereWhile these visions did appear.And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles, do not reprehend:If you pardon, we will mend.And, as I am an honest Puck,If we have unearned luckNow to 'scape the serpent's tongue,We will make amends ere long;Else the Puck a liar call:So, good night unto you all.Give me your hands, if we be friends,And Robin shall restore amends.
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream V.i.)
Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Prompt Attention
Puck:If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended,That you have but slumber'd hereWhile these visions did appear.And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles, do not reprehend:If you pardon, we will mend.And, as I am an honest Puck,If we have unearned luckNow to 'scape the serpent's tongue,We will make amends ere long;Else the Puck a liar call:So, good night unto you all.Give me your hands, if we be friends,And Robin shall restore amends.
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream V.i.)
Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Prompt Attention
Puck:If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended,That you have but slumber'd hereWhile these visions did appear.And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles, do not reprehend:If you pardon, we will mend.And, as I am an honest Puck,If we have unearned luckNow to 'scape the serpent's tongue,We will make amends ere long;Else the Puck a liar call:So, good night unto you all.Give me your hands, if we be friends,And Robin shall restore amends.
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream V.i.)
Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Prompt Attention
Sample student-generated questions (prompts)
• Does the play suggest it is okay to lie?• Why is it called a “dream?”• Why do both Theseus and Puck use the word “shadow”?• Why are some people “pardoned” in the play?• Why do only Puck and Bottom break the fourth wall?• Is Puck ultimately benevolent or malicious?
Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
A process for developing prompts(without the need to plagiarize)
• Create topics• Go back to the text—find examples• Discuss in pairs or groups• Write a thesis• Share and discuss (PINE)• Write an essay
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Sample student introduction
When Puck asks us to “pardon” him at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he points out the deep irony of the play: there is no justice in Shakespeare’s comedy, poetic, legal, or otherwise. We have no more power over Puck than the humans have over the fairies, their own fates, or love itself. Shakespeare’s world seems to include justice, but it can be seen that events in MSND are decided by power, not right and wrong.
Prompt Attention
The process in more detail…
Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
www.barrygilmore.com
Prompt Attention Copy That!—the Student-Created Prompt
Prompt Attention Prompts for literary text pairings
And now, Brenda…