“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe ES: Make decisions after reflection and review

TDA Prompts A villain is described as a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot. What characteristics of the narrator make him an effective villain? Use evidence from the text to support your claim. Setting contributes to the story’s suspense and tension – a frivolous time of the carnival season juxtaposed with the seriousness and gravity of the catacombs. How does the author’s description of the setting contribute to the mood? Use evidence from the text to support your claim.

INTRODUCTION – should be brief and focuseD In class writing - don’t focus on the “hook” like you would with an extensive paper. You can start immediately with the Author and Title of the text Give a brief summary of the story Craft a guiding statement that answers the question. Montressor is an effective villain because he is ______________, _______________, and ____________________.

BODY OF PAPER 1. Create a topic sentence for each characteristic Montressor is _______________ when he/because he _______________________ 2. GATHER SPECIFIC EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT – find 2-3 quotes to support your claim with page #s. Don’t Always use full-sentence quotes– use phrases too!

CONCLUSION - don’t spend a lot of time on… Restate main idea – thesis! Summarize the resolution of the story closing statement – General statement about poe/villain…

Grading an in-class essay Organization and Focus - Does the writer effectively address all parts of the task (question) demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the story? Is the essay structured properly, with an introduction, development, and conclusion? Does the structure strongly support the ideas and retain focus?   Content - Has the writer used evidence from the text (SPECIFIC EXAMPLES) to support their ideas? Is there accurate and direct reference to the text using relevant and substantial key details, examples, quotes, facts, and/or definitions? Is there substantial reference to the main ideas and details of the text(s) to support Poe’s purpose? Style - Are transitions used to link ideas? Has the student demonstrated use of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary drawn from the text(s) to explain the topic and/or to convey experiences/events? Conventions – Are sentence formations, grammar, usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation free of errors?