Monday, May 19, 2014

Review the blog, notes, and tests on MACBETH, POETRY, & HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

Reading Day Appointments: Meet in Room 204 - across from the English Dept. Office

EXAM LOCATIONS: 
Tues. 27th 1:15-3:15
O’Brien
Intro Lit F
Classroom 215
O’Brien
Intro Lit Z
Classroom 217


How to study for the English exam: See previous posts - study guide, etc.


1. Poetry multiple choice 

You'll be given whole poems or parts of poems. (Poet biographies will NOT be on the exam).

They may be poems you've seen in class; there may be new poems you haven't seen (but you should feel confident in your ability to apply the poetry terms to the example).


a) make up list of literary terms 

We have already done this - you need to be able to identify these terms within examples 
(that you may or may not have seen before).


(we did this in the study session; get the notes from a buddy) and know how to use them


Remember: GOATVOK (imagery)
            G = gustatory (taste)
            O = organic (internal sensation)
A = auditory (sound)
            T = tactile (touch)       
V = visual
            O = olfactory (smell)
            K = kinesthetic (movement)

Review the adjectives for TONE.


b) practicing sight-reading poems from your poetry book (this is a GOOD thing to do with your teacher on Reading Day!)


2. Macbeth passage analysis 
The task is to identify context, summarize/paraphrase the passage, connect it to a key theme, and use a key literary term to enhance your explanation.  
MIT's Online: full play

When you answer these questions on the exam, point to specific language from the passages to support what you are saying.  That way, even if you are wrong about context, you may score some partial credit by allowing your teacher to see your reasoning.  Always give evidence to support what you are asserting.

a) prepare for context by remaking a Freytag's Pyramid or bullet point plot summary
b) make up a list of literary terms
Remember these:

c) make up a list of themes
See the many posts (and passages and video clips) on the blog.

d) practice reading passages from tests and worksheets (this is another GOOD thing to do with your teacher on Reading Day!) 

3. Essay - The House on Mango Street - 

Write a multi-paragraph thesis/support essay on a general question. 
It'll be the same question for ALL classes, no matter what book you read.  

The form (i.e., following the rules of structure and organization) matters as much as the substance (i.e., what you say about the book).  
DO NOT write a good intro and conclusion and then fill the space between with plot summary.  
All of the examples you give from the text should support the position you are taking.  
Don't go on tangents.  Stay focused.

a) review organization rules for intro, body PP, and conclusion

b) make a list of themes 

we have done this - see these posts: Essay, Annotating, Themes

c) formulate thesis sentences for themes and make bullet point outlines
Reread the stories so you can be specific with characters and examples.
Listen to Sandra Cisneros read The House on Mango Street as you read along

Consider other possible themes that may be on the exam -  see some Example Outlines Below.

YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO OUTLINE YOUR ESSAY ON THE EXAM - show your prewriting work on the exam.


Student Example #1 - here's an example that is good start, yet could be more specific with the argument/thesis.

The textual examples are very good in that they are specific and connect with the topic.

Education is a way out
·      Example #1
o   “Smart Cookie”
o   Mother wishing she had stayed in school
·      Example #2
o   “No Speak English”
o   The fat lady is unable to speak English, leads to her staying inside
o   Uneducated, no escape
·      Example #3
o   Sally
o   Foil of Esperanza
o   Leaves school and gets married
o   Shows how education is able to help Esperanza escape the vicious cycle 


Feedback from Mr. O'Brien: Here's a suggestion for an introductory paragraph:

                While education offers a way out of poverty, Esperenza sees first hand at home and in her neighborhood what happens without education. With friends that have lost their husbands, her mother wants her to be financially independent of men. Meanwhile, Mamacita and other women become prisoners in their homes since they are unable to assimilate and work outside the home. Friends like Sally marry young and endure physical abuse by their husbands. Esperanza uses education to gain independence, avoiding isolation and abuse that happens in many marriages in her neighborhood.

Student example #2

Feed back from Mr. O'Brien: The following outline is also a good example - yet as you can tell from the outline, it may be too ambitious of an essay in terms of trying to cover too many topics. My suggestion would be to elaborate and develop one of the subtopics such as the struggle of growing up into one essay related to otherness.

  • Thesis
    • The House on Mango Street demonstrates the theme of otherness due to the examples of segregation, being different, and the struggle of growing up.
  • Otherness
    • Segregation
      • tv vs real life
        • tv always shows stereotypical family
      • her name
        • non stereotypical name
        • people just assume that she is bad because of her name
      • Louie, his cousin and his other cousin
        • louie is driving a nice car with his cousins
        • cops were coming towards him with sirens on for no reason at all
          • did not do anything wrong
        • arrested him
    • Being Different
      • latina’s are a minority
      • My name
        • Esperanza’s name is different from american names
      • Family with little feet
        • people don’t expect that a 12 year old latina girl would have such nice shoes
        • thought that she stole them
    • Struggle of growing up
      • Red clowns
        • Esperanza is supposed to meet Sally by the red clowns at the fair but she never shows up
          • being a woman
          • patriarchal society
      • Marin
        • Marin is esperanzas eye into the world of boys
        • Esperanza kind of likes him but she is not sure
      • A rice sandwich
        • jealous of people who get to eat lunch at school
        • does not know how lucky she is to get to come home to her mom’s cooking  

Student Example #3

Feedback from Mr. O'Brien: This thesis is a good start, yet could use some focusing. The second bullet point represents a better thesis. The examples represent excellent support evidence. 


  • Community - bonds of love and connection but to others outside the community it can be considered dangerous
  • Within a community there is love and connection between neighbors, and a sense of belonging, but there are also threats and danger that come with it.
    • she doesn’t like Mango Street, but it has shaped her
    • she doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere
      • she doesn’t want to be in the community of Mango Street
      • doesn’t fit in Mango Street
      • doesn’t fit in the white communities
        • estrangement; she doesn't belong anywhere
    • community of the canteen
      • poorer kids who don’t go home to eat
      • she wants to eat here
      • she doesn’t belong here
        • she can’t even show where she lives because she is so ashamed
    • city life is not tight knit
      • Ruthie
        • trapped inside, her husband won’t let her out
        • not social
        • not close
      • Mango Street
        • everybody knows everyone else and things about them
          • even the ones that are trapped by their husbands
    • The Monkey Garden
      • place for the children of the community
        • all are brought together to play here
      • to others this may seem very dangerous for kids to be playing in
        • big garden (they could get lost)
          • poison ivy, thorns
      • bad things can happen here


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