The next writing assignment will be an analysis of a poem from either Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson. You get to choose the poem from the accompanying packet. Your task is to analyze what the poet has to contribute toward the theme we are studying. As always, the more nuanced and sophisticated your analysis is, the more successful your essay will be.
Whatever the poem you choose, your goal is the same: to identify one idea that the poet conveys in the poem and then support that idea with direct examples. You should have ample evidence from the poem in the essay. The closer you look at the language the poet uses, the better the essay will be.
After you turn in the rough draft, you will also present your poem and your analysis to the class in an informal presentation. Further information about the presentations will be forthcoming.

The Rough Draft will be due on Thursday, March 13th and will be worth 20 points.
The Final Draft will be due on Wednesday, March 19th and will be worth 100 points.

The Final Draft will be evaluated on the following criteria.

Depth will evaluate your insight into the writer’s treatment of the theme
Support will evaluate your ability to use direct quotes to substantiate your analysis
Organization will evaluate your ability to present your ideas in a clear and compelling manner
Thesis will evaluate your ability to create an insightful, declarative sentence.
Mechanics will evaluate your ability to turn in a paper free from grammatical or spelling mistakes
Vocabulary will evaluate your ability to use three of our vocabulary words in their proper context.

Rough drafts will only be accepted for credit on the due date. Final drafts turned in late will be penalized ten points per class period. See me if you need any help with the assignment.