A Raisin In The Sun Synthesis Essay
Student: _______________________________________ Date: _____________ Class: __________________
ASSIGNMENT: A Raisin in the Sun In-class Essay
PROMPT:
1. You have read A Raisin in the Sun, a play about one man's dreams for himself and his family.
You have read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in which he speaks of the realities of life and his dreams for the future for all Americans.
Although Raisin in the Sun is fiction and Dr. King's speech is non-fiction, one can find many similarities between the two, especially when the themes of each work are examined. In many ways Raisin exemplifies the points Dr. King made in his speech.
Your assignment is to compare--find the similarities between--A Raisin in the Sun and King's …show more content…
"I Have a Dream" speech. What is the message that both Hansberry and King convey in their works?
2. The title A Raisin in the Sun comes from a Langston Hughes poem “Dream Deferred.” Read the poem below, and discuss specifically how dreams are deferred in the play. You will use the poem and the play for textual evidence. You may choose one character or more to answer this prompt.
Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode? --Langston Hughes
3. Write a four-paragraph essay explaining how prejudice has affected the lives of the Younger family. Point out the strengths and positive values the family have developed as well as the problems that have arisen through their having to cope with prejudice.
CA STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
1.0 Writing Strategies 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
2.0 Writing Applications
2.2 Write responses to literature
Use the following rubric to assess the assignment:
SCORING
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2
1
Argument
Application: Does the writing have an argumentative thesis that responds to the prompt?
Analysis: Is the argument divided into logical parts?
Are provoking questions addressed and terms defined?
Synthesis: Are the parts related to the whole with an understanding of the big picture evident?
Evaluation: Are opinions presented in arguable fashion? Are judgments made? Is a thrust proposed?
Development
Evidence: Are specific, concrete details presented? Are the concrete details accurate and true?
Accuracy: Are the concrete details introduced/blended accurately?
Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the argument and the relevance explained? Does it validate the thrust of the argument?
Substance: Is enough evidence presented to validate the thrust of the argument?
Organization
Unity & Coherence: Does all of the writing center on the argument?
Order: Are the argument and evidence arranged in the most convincing/appropriate order?
Structure: Are introduction, thesis, body paragraphs, and conclusion constructed appropriately? Are paragraphs introduced, maintained, and concluded?
Presentation: Are symmetry, parallel structure, transitions, and variation employed effectively? Is the word count/length of the writing appropriate to the argument and the
prompt?
Expression
Style: Is the style appropriate to the assignment – formal, informal, scholarly, personal, or creative?
Voice: Is a recognizable identity present? Is the audience understood? Is the tone appropriate?
Diction & Language: Are the most effective words chosen? Is rhetorical or figurative language employed appropriately?
Clarity: Is the writing clear, active, readable, and appropriately concise?
Conventions
Diction & Spelling: Are words spelled correctly?
Grammar & Usage: Are person, tense, subject/verb agreement, and subordination used appropriately? Are words and phrases used according to custom?
Mechanics & Punctuation: Is sentence construction sound? Is punctuation correctly applied?
MLA: Is the proper formatting applied to font, margins, spacing, citations, etc.?
Rationale for numeric values:
ASSIGNMENT: A Raisin in the Sun In-class Essay
PROMPT:
1. You have read A Raisin in the Sun, a play about one man's dreams for himself and his family.
You have read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in which he speaks of the realities of life and his dreams for the future for all Americans.
Although Raisin in the Sun is fiction and Dr. King's speech is non-fiction, one can find many similarities between the two, especially when the themes of each work are examined. In many ways Raisin exemplifies the points Dr. King made in his speech.
Your assignment is to compare--find the similarities between--A Raisin in the Sun and King's …show more content…
"I Have a Dream" speech. What is the message that both Hansberry and King convey in their works?
2. The title A Raisin in the Sun comes from a Langston Hughes poem “Dream Deferred.” Read the poem below, and discuss specifically how dreams are deferred in the play. You will use the poem and the play for textual evidence. You may choose one character or more to answer this prompt.
Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode? --Langston Hughes
3. Write a four-paragraph essay explaining how prejudice has affected the lives of the Younger family. Point out the strengths and positive values the family have developed as well as the problems that have arisen through their having to cope with prejudice.
CA STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
1.0 Writing Strategies 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
2.0 Writing Applications
2.2 Write responses to literature
Use the following rubric to assess the assignment:
SCORING
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2
1
Argument
Application: Does the writing have an argumentative thesis that responds to the prompt?
Analysis: Is the argument divided into logical parts?
Are provoking questions addressed and terms defined?
Synthesis: Are the parts related to the whole with an understanding of the big picture evident?
Evaluation: Are opinions presented in arguable fashion? Are judgments made? Is a thrust proposed?
Development
Evidence: Are specific, concrete details presented? Are the concrete details accurate and true?
Accuracy: Are the concrete details introduced/blended accurately?
Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the argument and the relevance explained? Does it validate the thrust of the argument?
Substance: Is enough evidence presented to validate the thrust of the argument?
Organization
Unity & Coherence: Does all of the writing center on the argument?
Order: Are the argument and evidence arranged in the most convincing/appropriate order?
Structure: Are introduction, thesis, body paragraphs, and conclusion constructed appropriately? Are paragraphs introduced, maintained, and concluded?
Presentation: Are symmetry, parallel structure, transitions, and variation employed effectively? Is the word count/length of the writing appropriate to the argument and the
prompt?
Expression
Style: Is the style appropriate to the assignment – formal, informal, scholarly, personal, or creative?
Voice: Is a recognizable identity present? Is the audience understood? Is the tone appropriate?
Diction & Language: Are the most effective words chosen? Is rhetorical or figurative language employed appropriately?
Clarity: Is the writing clear, active, readable, and appropriately concise?
Conventions
Diction & Spelling: Are words spelled correctly?
Grammar & Usage: Are person, tense, subject/verb agreement, and subordination used appropriately? Are words and phrases used according to custom?
Mechanics & Punctuation: Is sentence construction sound? Is punctuation correctly applied?
MLA: Is the proper formatting applied to font, margins, spacing, citations, etc.?
Rationale for numeric values: