Romeo & Juliet Essay ENG1P Per 1&5

Essay Prompt for Romeo and Juliet
OUTLINE WITH THESIS DUE Thursday, April 18th (20 points)
ROUGH DRAFT DUE Monday, April 23rd – (50 points)
FINAL ESSAY DUE Friday, April 27th* – (100 points)

*Any deviation from this schedule must be discussed with me by Friday, April 19th.
*If you will be absent on the due date, you must submit your final essay BEFORE you leave.
ESSAYS TURNED IN AFTER 4PM Friday, April 27th WILL RECEIVE A 50% REDUCTION.

For your unit essay on romeo and juliet, choose one of the following topics:

Night/Day imagery
One of the play’s most consistent visual motifs is the contrast between light and dark, often in terms of night/day imagery. This contrast is not given a particular metaphoric meaning—light is not always good, and dark is not always evil. On the contrary, light and dark are generally used to provide a sensory contrast and to hint at opposed alternatives.

The Inevitability of Fate
The mechanism of fate works in all of the events surrounding the lovers: the feud between their families (it is worth noting that this hatred is never explained; rather, the reader must accept it as an undeniable aspect of the world of the play); the horrible series of accidents that ruin Friar Lawrence’s seemingly well-intentioned plans at the end of the play; and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. These events are not mere coincidences, but rather manifestations of fate that help bring about the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers’ deaths.

The Forcefulness of Young Love or Youthful Lust
Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme. The play focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, love is a violent, ecstatic, overpowering force that supersedes all other values, loyalties, and emotions. In the course of the play, the young lovers are driven to defy their entire social world or is it just lust.

ROMEO AND JULIET Essay English 1P

*Staple this page to the front of your final essay, and your graded draft to the back.*


DRAFT (50 points): Graded on completion and effort. If you turn in a well-developed and thorough five-paragraph draft, you are likely to get full credit. You will receive only partial credit if any elements are missing.


FINAL ESSAY GRADING RUBRIC (100 points)
Format (20 points)
Correct header and page number format _____
12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced font _____
2-3 pages long with at least five paragraphs _____
Original Title that reflects the Thesis _____
Subtotal: _____
Introductory Paragraph (20 points)
Grabber sentence that relates well to the thesis _____
2-3 sentence plot summary containing “TAG” _____
Thesis statement that clearly states what you will prove (10 pts.) _____
Subtotal: _____
Body Paragraphs – at least three (40 points)
Clear Topic Sentences that support the thesis _____
Clear Context that properly introduces quotes _____
At least three relevant Quotes with proper page citations _____
Meaningful Analysis that helps to prove topic sentences/thesis _____
Subtotal: _____
Conclusion Paragraph (10 points)
Restates thesis and main points using different language _____
Closes with a relevant “universal statement”
(Should be at least 3 sentences long) Subtotal: _____

Grammar, Editing (10 points)
Uses present tense verbs _____
Well-edited with few grammar or spelling mistakes _____
Subtotal: _____


TOTAL POINTS: _______
GRADE: _______

Extra Credit Editorial Essay

Availible to all of my classes.

As a rule, I do not believe in extra credit. There are plenty of opportunities to make enough points to pass my classes and often I have extra credit on my tests and quizzes. In and effort to promote more non-fiction reading, writing and critical thinking I offer the following extra credit opportunity.

Write a letter to an editor in response to a current event, an article, an editorial or another letter to the editor. Attach a copy of this to your letter.
Use a standard typed business letter format: 12pt, Times New Roman, double spaced.
Write in the standard five paragraph essay format: Introduction with a thesis, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion that restates the thesis.

Turn this in prior to June 1st for an extra credit boost of up to 50 points.

I will then grade, edit and send it off to the newspaper of your choice.

If your paper is published I will double your extra credit, up to 100 points.

This may be used twice for a total 200 points for the forth quarter.