English 120 Yanover Essay #1: Analysis of The Orchid Thief Value: Length: Format: 100 points 1,000 words (6 or more paragraphs) MLA Style Deadline: Submitted to Turnitin as a Single File Upload by 11:30pm on Tuesday, 2/20. Topic & Instructions: Write an essay in which you answer the question: According to Susan Orlean in her creative nonfiction book The Orchid Thief, what is the purpose of people s passions? Support your argument with evidence from the book, including interpretation and analysis of the book s main subtopics, patterns of evidence, and style. Be specific, and quote, paraphrase, and summarize correctly, providing correct attributive tags/signal phrases and in-text citation. (A Work Cited page is unnecessary.)
ESSAY STRUCTURE: PARAGRAPH #1: INTRODUCTION Step 1: Introduce the topic, that is, WHAT the book and your paper are about: people s passions. Because your topic is the book s topic, your first sentence should introduce the author s full name, the Book Title (italicized), and its topic. Step 2: Narrow your focus, indicating HOW the book communicates its topic to the reader. So you might present the particular subtopics, patterns of evidence, and/or style you find most relevant and important in the book, indicating how it s used to communicate the book s topic. These sentences should lead to and prepare for your thesis without giving it away. They should also prepare the reader for the body of your essay without listing your support points. Step 3: Present your Thesis, which presents in your words the argument Orlean/the book is making about the purpose of people s passions: WHY people have them or WHY they matter, according to Orlean. The thesis should be clear, specific, and present just one idea. BODY PARAGRAPHS Step 1: Present a (Support) Point. The point is a supporting argument related to but different from the thesis about a subtopic or aspect of the main topic. Like the thesis, it should be clear, specific, and present just one idea. Step 2: Support your point with evidence from the text and your interpretation and analysis (explanation of it), pointing out how it means what you say it does. Step 3: Connect the point back to the thesis and use it to develop the thesis. That is, use your discussion to explain how this point and evidence add to or change our understanding of the thesis. CONCLUSION: Step 1: Remind us of the thesis. Same idea, new sentence, possibly with commentary. Step 2: Develop the thesis. Explain SO WHAT, why, according to Orlean, passions matter because of this purpose. Add your own ideas about passion and its purpose in relation to this book, its topics, and thesis. Step 3: Close.
Grading Rubric An A essay (90-100 points) = SUPERIOR 1. The essay demonstrates excellent Critical Thinking, fulfilling the assignment completely and expertly by analyzing the text and thesis (the purpose of people s passions), according to Susan Orlean. 2. Excellent Focus is maintained throughout on a proving and developing a specific unified Thesis, and each body paragraph is focused on proving and developing one support point (related to but not simply repeating the thesis). 3. Excellent, detailed Support and Development of the thesis are provided with sufficient relevant, specific points and sufficient, specific, vivid, and relevant examples and details. 4. Effective Organization is demonstrated through logical divisions between paragraphs, logical progression from one aspect/one paragraph to another and one sentence to another, and clear, sophisticated transitions to indicate connections and shifts between parts. 5. The essay correctly and effectively presents, integrates, and cites quotations, summary, and paraphrase according to MLA style. 6. The Writing is clear and specific, free of grammar and spelling errors as well as slang. 7. The essay is correctly formatted according to MLA style. A B essay (80-89 points) = STRONG 1. The essay demonstrates good Critical Thinking, fulfilling the assignment completely by analyzing the text and thesis (the purpose of people s passions), according to Susan Orlean. 2. Good Focus is maintained throughout on a proving and developing a specific unified Thesis, and each body paragraph is focused on proving and developing one support point (related to but not simply repeating the thesis). 3. Good, specific Support and Development of the thesis are provided with sufficient relevant, specific points and sufficient, specific, relevant examples and details. 4. Effective Organization is demonstrated through clear paragraph divisions and progression and clear transitions to indicate connections and shifts between parts. 5. The essay correctly presents, integrates, and cites quotations, summary, and paraphrase according to MLA style. 6. The Writing is clear and specific, mostly free of grammar and spelling errors. A C essay (70-79 points) = ADEQUATE 1. The essay demonstrates adequate Critical Thinking, addressing all parts of the assignment to some extent and following the instructions adequately, occasionally slipping into plot summary or personal opinion, etc., without derailing the overall analytical purpose. 2. The Focus is inconsistent, and the thesis and points may be vague, general, and/or unfocused. 3. Support and development are present but general and vague, leaving much to the reader s imagination. 4. The reader can follow the organization, but some paragraphs and ideas may seem randomly ordered. 5. The essay adequately integrates sources, clearly distinguishing between the student s ideas and ideas from the text though presentation or use of quotations, paraphrase, summary, and parenthetical in-text citation may be inconsistent or incorrect in terms of MLA style. 6. The Writing communicates the ideas though some serious errors and considerable vagueness and awkwardness in style may exist.
A D essay (60-69 points) = WEAK 1. The essay demonstrates weak Critical Thinking, addressing most parts of the assignment to some extent, occasionally slipping into plot summary or personal opinion, etc., 2. The Focus is weak or vague, and the thesis and points may be vague, unfocused, or missing. 3. Support and development are weak or inconsistent. 4. The reader struggles to follow the organization, with paragraphs and ideas often seeming randomly ordered. 5. The essay only weakly integrates sources, attempting to distinguish between the student s ideas and ideas from the text though it may do so inconsistently or incorrectly. 6. The Writing inconsistently communicates the ideas as serious and sloppy errors interfere with clarity. An F essay (0-59 points) = INADEQUATE (Not Passing) 1. The essay lacks Critical Thinking, failing to complete or address the assignment: in length, completeness, topic, and/or purpose. 2. The essay lacks Focus. It lacks a thesis and/or points. 3. The essay fails to support or develop its ideas with evidence or presents evidence that seems irrelevant. 4. The essay lacks any sense of organization seeming like notes or free-writing rather than an essay. 5. The essay is plagiarized or contains plagiarism (intentional or unintentional), failing to identify source material or to distinguish it from one s own words and ideas. 6. The writing contains so many errors that the reader is left to guess at meaning. 7. The essay fails to conform to MLA style formatting.