Writing Assessment



Writing Assessment

Character Analysis for Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Goal: To write a 5 paragraph Character Analysis essay on one of the characters in Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes.

What is a Character Analysis?

A Character Analysis is a piece of writing that defines characters' qualities to explore how they react to various conditions or attempt to shape their environment. In other words, the reader/writer seeks to explain why characters behave/think/act in the manners they do. ()

How will I complete this goal?

1. You will brainstorm you ideas on a graphic organizer and use this tool to help you create your outline for the paper.

2. You will use the guiding questions below to help you create an outline for your paper.

3. You will write a five paragraph rough draft based on the guiding questions below. This rough draft is completely separate from your final copy.

4. You will have 2 people edit your piece and you will make revisions to your draft.

5. You will turn in a published piece on February 16, 2010.

Essay Assignment: Select a dynamic character from the novel Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher and write a character analysis essay answering the following questions about him or her. Be sure to be specific with your answers in each paragraph.

Guiding Questions:

Paragraph 1

(Remember to answer the questions but you must include a hook in this first paragraph and a thesis statement!)

• Who is your character?

• Why did you pick this character?

• What do you like and/or dislike about this character?

• Do you identify with this character on any level?

• Do you know someone similar to him or her? Explain.

• Your thesis statement should be a general statement to be proven throughout the story about the character.

Paragraph 2

• How is this character revealed at the beginning of the novel? In other words, how does the character come across at the beginning of the story? (This should be your topic sentence)

• Give at least 3 examples from the book or 2 examples and 1 direct quote that describe this character.

• How do these examples show what kind of character he or she is?

(Remember to close your paragraph or use the last sentence to transition to the next idea)

Paragraph 3

• Does the character change throughout the course of the plot? (This should be your topic sentence)

• How does this character change throughout the course of this novel?

• Give at least 3 examples from the book or 2 examples and 1 direct quote which illustrates how or why the character have changed (i.e. changes in their actions, attitudes, beliefs, or self-concepts).

• Explain why this change is import to the character and the plot.

(Remember to close your paragraph or use the last sentence to transition to the next idea)

Paragraph 4

• Describe the character near or at the end of the novel. (This should be your topic sentence)

• Give at least 3 examples from the book or 2 examples and 1 direct quote which illustrates how or why they have changed.

• Do you think the change is for the better or for the worse? How does it affect the plot?

(Remember to close your paragraph or use the last sentence to transition to the next idea)

Paragraph 5

• Explain what you have learned through the experiences of this character and how you feel about what this character has been through.

• Close your essay by restating your thesis and how you have proven your thesis throughout the paper (NO ELEMENTRY RESTATEMENTS).

What should I look for when I’m editing?

Have I…

________ presented a clear picture of my character’s personality?

________ conveyed a main impression of the character? (Thesis Statement)

________ shown how I feel about the character?

________ shown the change in the character from the beginning to the end?

________ used a clear organizational scheme?

________ included a strong conclusion?

________ put each paragraph in the perfect paragraph format? (topic sentence, 3 detailing sentences, concluding sentence)

________ created a coherent response, meaning can a reader understand EVERYTHING I am saying? (Writers are able to showcase coherence through specific examples from the book)

________ limited my use of personal pronouns, meaning do you not know who the writer is talking about due to using pronouns such as him, her, she, he, it, etc.?

________ created any fragments and run-ons as well as writing conventions (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization) in my piece?

How do I cite?

Even if you are summarizing a part in the book, you will cite that information. Direct quotes, of course, have to be cited. When citing information, you must put the parenthesis outside of any quotation marks and put the punctuation for the sentence after the parenthesis. If you are using a direct quote and you don’t introduce the author you must put the author’s last name in parenthesis with the page number. If you have introduced the author in the sentence before putting in your direct quote, you just need to put the page numbers in parenthesis.

Citation Example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263). [Example was taken from ]

Works Cited Page

You must include a Works Cited page when you turn in your Character Analysis essay. It should look like this:

Works Cited

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Print

Other MLA Tidbits

• Your entire paper should be double spaced, Times New Roman 12-pt font.

• The margins of your paper should be set to 1” all around.

• You can underline or italicize the book title, but you must keep it this way throughout your paper.

• Your title should be centered, but not bold, italicized, or underlined. It should still be 12-pt font.

• Each page needs a header which should be your LAST name and the page number

➢ Go to View on your toolbar. Select.

➢ Under View select Header and Footer.

➢ Align your cursor right by using the align right button next to the bold, italics and underline keys.

➢ Type your Last name and hit the space bar 5 times.

➢ In the Header and Footer pop up menu choose the button with the pound sign (#) without the hand. This will insert your page numbers.

➢ Close the Header and Footer pop up menu.

Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________ Period: ______

Outline for Character Analysis

Use the graphic organizers and guiding questions in your packet to create your outline for the paper.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Line 1 (Hook): _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 2:

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Line 3:

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Line 4:

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Line 5 (Thesis Statement):

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Paragraph 2: Body

Line 1 (Topic Sentence): _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 2:

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Line 3:

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Line 4:

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Line 5 (Concluding or Transitional Sentence):

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Paragraph 3: Body

Line 1 (Topic Sentence): _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 2:

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Line 3:

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Line 4:

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Line 5 (Concluding or Transitional Sentence):

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Paragraph 4: Body

Line 1 (Topic Sentence): _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 2:

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Line 3:

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Line 4:

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Line 5 (Concluding or Transitional Sentence):

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Paragraph 5: Conclusion

Line 1 (Topic Sentence): _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Line 2:

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Line 3:

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Line 4:

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Line 5 (Concluding Thought that closes your paper and gives reader something to think about):

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When writing your outline as well as your draft, remember the following points:

• You must prove your thesis throughout your entire paper.

• Your thesis comes at the end of the introduction.

• If you summarize a part in the book, you have to give page numbers that the reader can find that part in the book (in other words for each example give page numbers)

• Direct quotes must be in quotation marks with punctuation outside of the quotation marks unless the quote is in the middle of a sentence with citations.

• Use specific examples within your paragraphs.

• Always make your topic sentences general and your detailing sentences specific.

• Use transitions/transitional words to move your reader from one idea to the next.

• Make sure you don’t talk about more than one topic in a paragraph.

• Close your thoughts and your paper. Make sure the reader knows the piece is coming to a close!

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You don’t have to answer all of these questions, but pick at least 2.

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