InSync

Fall 2011

Paragraph 4

Name: _______________________________________________________________

Problem-Solving Draft Due:_____________

Audience Draft Due: ________________________ Grade: 25 points

Editing: 5 points

Prompt/Topic: Choose one of the following topics to write your Paragraph 4:

1. In his essay “Indian Education,” Sherman Alexie reports on certain events in his educational career that taught him valuable lessons. Look back to your own educational experiences so far—whether at the grade school or in college—and narrate an event which taught you a valuable lesson too.

2. Sherman Alexie illustrates how his life turned out to be different than other young men from the reservation. Write a paragraph to compare your life with that of someone you grew up with and say how you have grown up to be different from this other person and why.

Directions:

· The final draft of your paragraph should be about 200-250 words, typed/written and double-spaced

· Give your paragraph a Title. Center the title above the text of your essay

· Put your name, assignment, class and due date on upper right-hand corner of the first page

· Number your pages if there is more than one page

· You will be graded on Organization (Topic sentence; supporting details; concluding statement), Development (specific details about these resources, including names of people, hours of operation, and services provided), and Mechanics (spelling, sentence structures, punctuation) criteria.

Specific Steps:

Step 1: Using the Paragraph Outline form (Topic Sentence, Supporting Details, and Concluding Statement) as a guide, arrange your ideas in a logical order.

Step 2: Using this paragraph outline form as a guide, write the first draft of your paragraph.

Step 3: Write a second draft, looking for completeness, unity, logical order, and coherence. Bring your second draft to the peer editing session.

Step 4: Write a third draft of the paragraph, taking into consideration the feedback you received at the peer editing session. This will be the final draft you will turn in on the due date.

Paragraph Portfolio:

Hand in, in a manila folder, the following items:

1. Final, typed, double-spaced, draft of the paragraph

2. The second (edited) draft of the paragraph

3. Editorial comments

4. Paragraph outline, if any

Tentative Dates

Outline to class—Monday, October 31

Peer Editing Day—Tuesday, November 1

Paragraph Due—Thursday, November 3