1. ENGLISH II WRITING FOCUS MASTERING THE 5-PARAGRAPH FORM Sophomore Essay

2. Teaching Process All sophomore English instructors teach the 5- paragraph writing process from the ground up. Students learn how to brainstorm, outline, construct a thesis, and craft the three types of paragraphs needed in the essay: an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A major component of the essay is supporting an argument with proof from our texts. Students learn to support their claim with evidence (usually quotes) from the books we read.

3. Writing Opportunities & Resources English teachers will assign at least 3 essays before the sophomore essay exam. Students have many writing resources in their course packs. Pages 2-10 are devoted to the writing process. The grading rubric (used by all Eng II teachers) is also included. Students are required to revise their work to achieve a better essay and a better grade. All English teachers are available for extra help, to go over the essay one-on-one when necessary.

4. Practice Weekend As a trial run, all students will participate in the sophomore essay practice over this weekend and will be due November 19. Students will receive questions (similar to the options given on the real exam) and have the weekend to compose an essay in response. Students should complete this work on their own, as if it were an actual test, as the result will indicate how the student would fare on the midyear.

5. Scoring Process Each essay (both in the practice and the actual exam) will be scored according to the rubric by two English teachers: one the student’s classroom teacher, and the second another member of the department If the scores are more than 4 points apart, a third teacher (usually the department chair) will make the final grade decision. On the midyear, students must receive a 77% (C+) to pass the essay test.

6. Exam Day The sophomore essay counts as the English II midyear exam. The exam will be administered in a BC High computer lab during exam week (December 13-18). The essay will be literature-based and will require the students to write about 3 texts they have studied in their English class this year. They choose which texts they would like to use.

7. Pass or Retake If a student gets a C+ or higher on his first try, he has completed the sophomore essay process successfully. If he gets a C or lower, he will need to retake the essay. Generally the first retake occurs 6 weeks or so after the original exam, allowing for extra help. Students are given a total of three chances to achieve the score of 77. In the rare case that a student does not pass after 3 attempts, he will need to attend summer school to improve his writing.