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Name & Date: ________________________________________

Quarter 2 LDC

Greetings English II students. It’s the end of the quarter, so naturally, we’ll be writing our
final essay. Finish strong – it’s our last project grade of Quarter 2. This one is a bit different
– here’s the prompt:

After reading excerpts of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates write a
narrative letter from the perspective of a fictional Baltimore resident in which you
describe how he/she was able to alter his/her fate. Utilize events and details from
the text to develop ideas and maintain the style and voice of the author. Include
narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple
plot lines to develop experiences, events, and characters.

So, put in a different way – you’re writing a letter from the perspective of a made up
Baltimore resident (they can resemble you, they can be totally different from you, your
choice completely), and in your letter, you’re describing:

1) Who they are, what they’re like, what they do, where they came up, how they came
up, where they live now, etc…
2) Two elements of society that they’ve dealt with in their lives, and how it affected
them
3) One anecdote (specific story) that illustrates this element of society in action
4) Their perspective on society and how it can impact someone’s fate, as of right now,
2018, in Baltimore

These (above) are the four main components that will show up in your essay. A few things
to keep in mind before we go forward: this essay isn’t as strictly structured or formatted
as either our first essay (about Ship Breaker) or how we’ve written argumentative
paragraphs (8 sentences). This is much more open-ended and creative, and while we’ll
review a suggested structure, as long as you include everything you need, it’s mostly up to
you how to go about it.

Completion of this packet is a CW grade. Your final essay is a Quarter 2 Project grade, and
is due on: __________________________________________________
Part One - Character Sketch (LDC Focus: Description)
Before you start writing, you need to plan out your character (the author of your letter). What are they like? How
old are they? We need to understand who they really are in order to best understand your letter. Complete the
following character sketch to assist with planning. Probably looking like 8-10 sentences for this opening
paragraph.

Character Name: ____________________________________________________

Physical Appearance (gender, age, height, weight, any Personality (friendly, shy, aggressive, charming, funny,
distinctive features) outspoken, etc…)

Feelings (priorities, strengths, weaknesses, likes, Behaviors (hobbies, actions, jobs, habits, etc…)
dislikes, etc…)

Relationships with Others (family, friends, significant Qualities that make your character stand out
others, enemies, etc…) (accomplishments, quirks, secrets, etc…)

Where in Baltimore did they grow up? What challenges How was your character able to alter their fate?
did they face while growing up in Baltimore?

Note: While all of this information does not (and should not) need to come out in your letter, it helps with planning and to get a
clear picture of who this fictional person is, that they are a complex character with multiple levels and a believable perspective.
Part Two – Two Elements of Society (LDC Focus: Description, Reflection)
Throughout the quarter, we’ve read about and discussed many elements of society (some good, though more bad)
that are prevalent and have the power to seriously affect someone’s life and fate. In the second part of your letter,
you’re going to thoroughly describe two elements of society – how they show in in daily life, how they have
impacted your character, your characters’ thoughts/feelings about these elements of society, how they experienced
these elements of society, how they were ultimately able to deal with these elements of society, etc… It’s not a
requirement, but a good idea, to choose from this list of societal elements we’ve discussed (circle the two you’ll be
writing about)

Race & Racism


Segregation/Two Baltimores Violence, Fear, Bravado
The Draw of Street Life Education/Schools
Police Interactions/Police Brutality Other: ________________________________________

You should devote a solid paragraph to each element of society you choose (so, two total); remember, again, this is
both a narrative account and creative, so it shouldn’t follow some clear-cut formulate (like, topic sentence, reason
1, explanation, etc…) Should likely be anywhere from 8-10 sentences. Make it read like an interesting, substantive
letter. Jot down brief notes below for each…

Element of Society #1: Element of Society #2:

How does this element show up in daily life in How does this element show up in daily life in
Baltimore? Baltimore?

What specific experiences did your character have What specific experiences did your character have
with this element of society? with this element of society?

How did this element of society affect your How did this element of society affect your
character? How did it make them feel/act? character? How did it make them feel/act?

How has your character ultimately come to How has your character ultimately come to
understand/deal with this element of society? understand/deal with this element of society?
Part Three – Illustrative Anecdote (LDC Focus: Description, Pacing, Dialogue)
Here, you’re going to tell a story (an anecdote). Your story must relate to one of the elements of society you
previously described (could relate to both if you want), and should clearly illustrate an experience your character
had dealing with this element of society. It could be good, bad, in the middle, but it should be a meaningful
experience that your character went through. It should be well-paced (clear beginning, middle, end) and include at
least two lines of dialogue (characters speaking to each other).

Fill out the graphic organizer below to help you plan out your anecdote. Story should likely be about a page in
length.

Outline:

Beginning of Story Middle of Story End of Story

Details:

Where/when was it?


What was the
setting/scenery?

Who was there? What


were they doing?

Who was talking?


What were they
saying?

How does this story


illustrate your
element of
society/how it
impacted your
character?
Part Four: Perspective/Lessons/Hope (LDC Focus: Reflection)
Wrap up your letter. Based on what you’ve previously written, who your character is, what they’ve experienced,
how they view the elements of society you described, what can lessons (2) can be taken away? What is their
current perspective on society as they see it in Baltimore 2018? What do you want your young reader to know?
Should they have hope for the future?

This part is purely reflective – it should be deep, thoughtful, profound. Fill out the graphic organizer below to help
with basic planning (you’ll want to cover two lessons/deep thoughts in this paragraph). Again, I’d say 8-10
sentences here.

Perspective 1/Take Away Lesson 1 Perspective 2/Take Away Lesson 2

Why is this important? Why is this important?

How does it connect to what you described earlier? How does it connect to what you described earlier?

Lastly, address your young reader – is there reason to hope? Looking ahead, to the remainder of 2018 and
beyond, do you think the elements of society will shape an individuals’ fate, or can individuals alter their
fate? Jot down some thoughts below…
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RUBRIC
This is exactly how you’ll be graded. Follow it carefully.

3 Points 2.5 2 Points 1.5 1 Point


Your character is well- Your character is somewhat well- Your character is not well-
Opening developed and believable – a developed and believable – a developed and believable – a
Paragraph - thinking, feeling, speaking, thinking, feeling, speaking, acting thinking, feeling, speaking,
Fictional acting person; there is a very person; there is a general sense acting person; there is very
clear sense of who they are of who they are little sense of who they are
Narrator

You clearly describe this You somewhat describe this You minimally describe this
Societal societal element – how it societal element – how it shows societal element – how it
Element #1 shows up in daily Baltimore up in daily Baltimore life, how it shows up in daily Baltimore
life, how it impacts your impacts your character, how they life, how it impacts your
character, how they see/understand it character, how they
see/understand it see/understand it

You clearly describe this You somewhat describe this You minimally describe this
Societal societal element – how it societal element – how it shows societal element – how it
Element #2 shows up in daily Baltimore up in daily Baltimore life, how it shows up in daily Baltimore
life, how it impacts your impacts your character, how they life, how it impacts your
character, how they see/understand it character, how they
see/understand it see/understand it

Your story is clear and Your story is somewhat clear and Your story isn’t clear, feels
Anecdote detailed, connects to and detailed, somewhat connected to irrelevant, doesn’t connect to
illustrates a societal element, a societal element, though point a societal element, no
has dialogue, and has a point isn’t clear; missing dialogue dialogue

Reflections are clearly related Reflections are somewhat related Reflections are minimally
Concluding to societal elements and fate; to societal elements and fate; is related to societal elements
Paragraph - has two clear lessons missing either one lesson, or and fate; is missing either one
Reflection described; addresses concept does not address the concept of lesson, or does not address
of hope hope the concept of hope

Addresses the prompt Addresses prompt appropriately, Attempts to address prompt


Focus appropriately and maintains a but with a weak or uneven focus but lacks focus or is off-task.
clear, steady focus.

Develops experiences, Develops experiences, Descriptions of experiences,


Development individuals, and/or events are
individuals, and/or events individuals, and/or events with
with sufficient detail to add some detail but sense of time, overly simplified or lack
depth and complexity to the place, or character remains at the details.
sense of time, place, or surface level.
character.

Your chapter contains 0-3 Your chapter contains 4-9 errors Your chapter contains 10 or
Conventions errors in capitalization, in capitalization, punctuation, more errors in capitalization,
punctuation, major spelling major spelling errors punctuation, major spelling
errors errors

Total Score: __________ / 24

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