Sir Charles G.D. Roberts Medal of Literary Excellence

To the Teacher: This PowerPoint presentation is designed to introduce you and your students to the District 18 Sir Charles GD Roberts Medal of Literary Excellence which recognizes distinction in student essay writing. This competition is open to potential graduates enrolled in English 122/121.

Table of Contents slides 5 - 6 the award rationale slides 7 - 12 medal and format guidelines / submission forms slides 13 - 16 Sir Charles G. D. Roberts slides 17 - 33 the literary essay slides 34 - 38 scoring

To the Teacher: A separate PowerPoint, “How to Write a Formal Essay”, is available on the District 18 Website for use in your classroom. It outlines MLA guidelines and links. Click the link below to go directly to this resource. How to Write an Essay

Rationale to highlight and recognize excellence in essay writing in English 122/121 to provide every District 18 student enrolled in English 122/121 with a consistent approach to the critical analysis of a literary work or works to help motivate students to become actively engaged in the critical analysis of a literary work

Rationale continued to provide a venue for students to strive for excellence in English Language Arts to raise the public profile of good essay writing to provide a culminating academic experience that draws on all previous knowledge

Medal Guidelines Each contestant must compose an original essay that reflects his/her own writing and original thinking. Each entry will be checked for plagiarism. Works of fiction or poetry will not be accepted.

Medal Guidelines continued Include a Sir Charles G. D. Roberts Medal of Literary Excellence Official Entry Form with your submission. Submit both a written and electronic copy to the Coordinator of Secondary Literacy 6 – 12 at District 18 Office.

Medal Guidelines continued The award is open to all potential graduates enrolled in English 122/121 in District 18. Each school may submit a maximum of 5 entries selected by a school-based committee of at least 3 teachers.

Medal Guidelines continued The jury will be comprised of professionals who are not current employees of District 18. A winner will be determined for each school; from these, an overall winner will be selected. Winning submissions will be published in a ‘District 18 Journal of Student Writing’.

Format Guidelines Use MLA format, according to current MLA Formatting and Style Guide – The OWL at Purdue. The length of the essay should be between 1200 and 1600 words. Word count should not include the title or reference pages. Use MS Word or similar word count tools. Use 12pt Times New Roman font.

Format Guidelines continued Indent all paragraphs 5 spaces (1 tab). Use 2.5cm or 1 inch margins. Double space consistently throughout. Click the links below to access the “official rules” and “entry form”. Official Rules Entry Form

Who is Sir Charles? Known as the Father of Canadian Poetry, Charles G.D. Roberts was a poet, essayist, and prose writer who inspired creativity in other poets of his generation, including Bliss Carman (his cousin).

Sir Charles Roberts was born in Douglas, New Brunswick in 1860. The beautiful landscape of his childhood influenced and inspired his work. He graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1879. The following year, at the age of 20, he published his first book of poems, Orion and Other Poems (1880).

Sir Charles From 1879 to 1895, Roberts worked as a teacher in Chatham and Fredericton, and as the editor of the literary magazine The Week, Canada's leading political and literary periodical.

Sir Charles Roberts is remembered as a prolific and versatile writer whose early works inspired a generation of writers and laid the foundation for future achievements in Canadian literature. Biography by Nina Milner Canadian Literature Research Service http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/canvers/t16-205-e.html

Literary Essay

A Literary Essay Is ... an original, insightful, and exclusive interpretation of a literary work or works, presented in a properly structured format. not a summary of plot, character, or other elements of fiction in any given literary work or works. not a research paper . not a creative writing piece.

This Means that ... you provide your own interpretation and/or analysis of the topic. you use the literary work or works to prove or defend your understanding of the topic.

This Means that ... you provide an interpretation of an element of the work or works such as the plot, setting, character, conflict, and/or themes, as they relate to the topic. you validate your interpretation with textual support.

This Means that ... you do not summarize/retell the plot - understanding of the plot should emerge through interpretation/analysis. you do not prove that the characters, setting, or themes exist in the literary work; focus must remain on the literary value of the work. you do not use additional sources to research the topic.

The Structure of the Essay The literary essay should include an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The Introduction must... clearly introduce the general topic. identify the literary work and author. provide direction for the essay through a strong thesis statement.

Example of Topic and Thesis Example of a general topic: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Nelle Harper Lee, presents discrimination against black people. Example of a specific thesis statement: The persecution of Tom Robinson by the residents of Maycomb County demonstrates how an innocent man can be destroyed through racism.

The Thesis The thesis is a powerfully worded declaration of the intent of the essay. It states the purpose of the essay and establishes the focus and direction of the essay which will be proven in the body. It is often stated in the last sentence of the introduction.

The Body The content of the body provides analysis and evidence to prove and support the thesis. Organize, develop, and expand the analysis, evidence, and citations into paragraphs, each of which begins with a topic sentence.

The Body continued Provide an interpretation, not a summary, of each cited quotation and demonstrate its relevance to the development of the topic and thesis. Connect the paragraphs using transitional expressions.

A Body Paragraph Template The topic sentence introduces the main idea in the paragraph and supports the thesis. Supportive details/examples/citations relate to the main idea of the topic sentence. A linking sentence will reinforce what is stated in this paragraph, as well as connect it to the next point in the argument.

The Conclusion A restatement of your THESIS recaps the purpose. The conclusion is the last chance to fulfill the purpose of the essay. A restatement of your THESIS recaps the purpose. No new information should appear in the conclusion. The restatement of important points proves the thesis.

Citations MLA format should be used to cite quotations following MLA Formatting and Style Guide – The OWL at Purdue, a user-friendly guide for students. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

How to Use Quotations in Your Essay Quotations of 4 lines or less are included in the body of your essay using quotation marks. Example: “He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty” (Lee 63). author’s last name and page number

Quotations continued Citations that are more than 4 lines long are double spaced and indented 10 spaces on the left margin, as shown in the quotation below. I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.  It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.  You rarely win, but sometimes you do. (Lee 112)

Works Cited Following MLA guidelines, the essay will conclude with a page citing the literary work or works used.

Scoring

Scoring Rationale Click the following link to view the Common High School Writing Rubric for District 18. Common High School Writing Rubric District 18 Writing Rubric will be used to score the papers by an objective jury chosen from the academic community. Papers will be scored on each of the 6 writing traits PLUS presentation.

Scoring Rubric Content/Ideas 25% Organization 20% Word Choice/Vocabulary 15% Voice 10% Sentence Fluency 10% Conventions 10% Presentation 10%

Scoring Rationale continued Since this paper is based on presentation of original thought, Content/Ideas and Organization traits will be weighted heavily at 45%. Word Choice/Vocabulary will be evaluated at 15%.

Scoring Rationale continued Voice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions will be valued at 10% each. Presentation will be scored using the most recent MLA criteria as a guideline, and will be 10% of the overall mark.