How to …English MidtermA guide in six steps.

1. READ the rubric/instructions⬜Do not begin working based on your impression of what

someone said about the assignment. Read and understand your rubric first. This will make sure your work is meaningful and that you do no miss any details.

2. Brainstorm/ Find a passage⬜The passage must be significant somehow ⬜ The passage will contain one or more of the following:⬜ A theme⬜ Character information⬜ Conflict information

⬜The length of your extract depends on the passage (how dense the literary features are).

⬜As general rule: Your passage should be at least 10 lines. Make it no more than 20! (20 is pushing it - that will probably be a long presentation. The example in this slideshow is 17 lines… and the outline is very long/almost over 4 minutes).

2. Sample 17-line passage

3. Annotate/Translate That Passage⬜Use the guide to annotating a passage.

⬜Translate and then determine literary importance.

⬜From this annotation, you should be able to answer the following question in the form of a thesis statement:

⬜How do literary devices shape meaning?

4. Outline CER support for your answer to the question

⬜Once you know what the meaning (significance) of the passage is, find a few good examples of literary devices that show this.

⬜Make an outline using claim, evidence, and reasoning.

4. Sample Passage Annotation

⬜ I determined that my passage reveals a lot of important things (theme, character, character relationships, conflict, etc.)

⬜ I will choose to focus my presentation on the theme of love and Romeo’s opinions about this subject.

4. Sample Outline Part 1⬜BACKGROUND INFO/CONTEXT: First fight between Cap/Mon

is over. Benvolio is concerned for Romeo, who is sulking.

⬜Thesis: In this exchange between Romeo and Benvolio, Shakespeare uses antithesis and figurative language to establish the theme of love as tumultuous and compelling. Establishing this central theme is important to the play because it is critical to the plot, and it helps to characterize Romeo as someone driven and troubled by his emotions.

⬜Ex1: CLAIM: Romeo personifies love to show its control over him and the others:

⬜EVIDENCE: “Without eyes, sees pathways” (I.i.172)

⬜REASONING: Although love is blind, it has very deliberate movements that guide a person. By personifying love, he makes it have a life of its own (something in control of itself). He later states that he is troubled by the love he feels, and he also blames the brawl in the earlier scene on love more than on hate.

4. Sample Outline Part 2⬜ Ex2: C: Romeo begins to cry out to love in a series of exclamatory phrases beginning with “o!”.

The addition of antithesis shows how much love is in conflict with itself, and the very exposure to love creates conflict for the person feeling it.

⬜ E: “O brawling love, O loving hate…” “Feather of lead!” “Cold fire!” (I.i.176)

⬜ R: Each antithetical pair of words details something about how he feels. Feather of lead shows how he can both feel light and elated but also burdened by love. A cold fire describes the way he feels both emblazoned and also alone, isolated, and saddened by his love. He calls it a “sick health” – an illness he has in spite of his health..

⬜ Ex3: C: One final use of antithesis solidifies that love is never what it seems. It is contradiction of itself, and it is the reason for Romeo’s sadness.

⬜ E: “Still-waking sleep that is not what it is!” (I.i.182)

⬜ R: The waking sleep is very appropriate considering that Romeo has been immobilized by his love- awake by inactive. We know from an earlier set of lines that Romeo has shut himself up in his room all day and was not part of the earlier fight. Later in this passage, he directly states that this is the love he feels and the reason for what Benvolio says is Romeo’s “good heart’s oppression” or the sadness of the heart.

⬜ Conclusion: Antithesis is the main feature in this passage. Love is something that will bring Romeo happiness and tragedy.

5. Double check

⬜Compare your outline to the rubric and the assignment directions.

⬜Go through each criteria on the rubric and double check that your outline addresses the requirements. Make changes as needed.

6. Practice

⬜Practice speaking your analysis aloud. Remember, your presentation should be 2-4 minutes long.

⬜Presentations will be stopped at 4 minutes. You will not be able to go over the time limit.

⬜Create relevant visual aids. Add presentation techniques as needed.