Hi English 12,
Unfortunately I was unexpectedly away today. Here is more info about your test on Friday.
Friday – PARAGRAPH test for Catcher. You will write 2 longer literary paragraphs, that show your understanding of the text overall. Each will be marked out of 12. I will be marking holistically, which means I will be looking at your written expression (organization, style, mechanics) as well as the depth of understanding of the text. Remember that A-level grades (10,11,12s) need to reflect THEMATIC understanding of the text as well as a good response to the question.
You will be able to use your novel. A few sticky notes are OK but no extensive notes. You will be given a selection of questions to work from.
Here are some sample questions. You can do one or more for practice and I will make time to give you feedback while we do test prep on Wednesday. There will also be some quotes that serve as prompts (but I didn’t have my book handy while I was prepping these):
- In an organized paragraph, discuss how Allie’s death has affected Holden. You can focus on one part of Holden’s character or life, or discuss more broadly.
- In an organized paragraph, discuss Holden’s relationship with Phoebe. What are his hopes and fears for her? Be as specific as you can.
- Do you think Holden was justified in abandoning his education at Pencey Prep? Why or why not?
Examples
Note about all above:
-The webs are for planning. I’ve tried to capture my main points as well as specific examples I can use
-The paragraphs are FIRST DRAFTS written in class. They are not perfect! But I have tried to keep them organized, well-supported, and connected to the themes of the novel.
Other resources
-SparkNotes has good summary and analysis pages
-A Google search will lead you to other teachers’ essay topics. Quality may be uneven…
-Here is the marking package for the Provincial Exam. Scroll down a few pages for the 6 point scale for paragraph (“Stand Alone Text”) – https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/search/grade12/english/release/key/1213en_pk.pdf