English Department
Summer Reading 2015
All students attending Dulaney High School must complete a summer reading assignment which requires students to read the assigned book and write a response to an essay prompt in a 500-600 word hand-writtenessay. Students may purchase the books or find them at the public library but are not required to have them for class.
Students will submit their essays to their English teacher by Thursday October 1, 2015. Essays will be scored by students’ English teachers and included in first quarter English grades. Essays will be scored using the 6-point SAT rubric.
Students in AP courses will receive separate assignments. These assignments will be due the first week of school.
Electronic copies of this document will be available on Sharpschool. Additional hard copies will be available in the guidance office and the local library.
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English 9 and Honors English 9 Text: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida Essay: Most books endeavor to teach understanding and empathy. How does the author use stories and details to elicit empathy for people with autism? Support your answer with at least three citations from the text. |
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English 10 and Honors English 10 Text: Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden Essay: In difficult or tragic situations, people sometimes emerge as heroes. Should ordinary people be considered heroes, or should the term "hero" be reserved for extraordinary people? Support your answer with at least three citations from the text. |
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English 11 and Honors English 11 Text: The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore Essay: Some people believe that books provide a way to understand other people’s experiences. What lessons do the main characters’ lives offer to readers? What can all readers learn from his story? Support your answer with at least three citations from the text. |
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English 12 and Honors English 12 Text: David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell Essay: Many contemporary psychological theorists assert that struggle is necessary for success. Is this true? Do people need to suffer or experience failure in order to experience happiness or success? Support your answer with at least three citations from the text. |
SAT Essay Rubric
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Score |
Development of Position |
Organization |
Use of Language |
Sentence Structure |
Grammar and Word Usage |
|
1 |
No plausible position is taken on the topic; severely lacking in examples, reasons and/or evidence |
Disorganized; little or no focus; incoherent |
Contains fundamental vocabulary mistakes |
Severely flawed sentence structure |
Grammar and word usage are so poor that they interfere with meaning; very poor mechanics (like punctuation) |
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2 |
Position on topic is unclear or extremely limited; inappropriate examples or reasons; insufficient evidence |
Poorly organized; lacks focus; problems with coherence or flow of ideas |
Poor use of language; indicates very limited vocabulary and poor word choice |
Frequent problems with sentence structure |
Grammar and word usage mistakes are frequent and interfere with meaning; poor mechanics |
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3 |
Position on topic demonstrates critical thinking skill applied inconsistently; inadequate examples, reasons or evidence |
Limited in organization and focus; demonstrates lapses in coherence or flow of ideas |
Displays developing use of language; contains indications of weak vocabulary and poor word selection |
Some problems with sentence structure; lacks a variety of sentence structures |
Contains many mistakes in grammar word usage and mechanics |
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4 |
Position on topic demonstrates competent critical thinking skill; example, reasons and evidence are adequate |
Generally organized and focused; demonstrates some coherence and attention to the flow of ideas |
Displays adequate, but inconsistent, use of language; vocabulary used is generally appropriate |
Good sentence structure; demonstrates some variety of sentence structure |
Contains some mistakes in grammar, word usage and mechanics |
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5 |
Position is effectively developed through strong critical thinking skill; examples, reasons and evidence are generally appropriate |
Well organized and focused; demonstrates coherence and ideas flow well |
Displays competent use of language; uses appropriate vocabulary |
Good sentence structure; demonstrates variety in sentence structure |
Generally free of mistakes in grammar, word usage and mechanics |
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6 |
Position effectively and insightfully developed through outstanding critical thinking skill; examples, reasons and evidence are clearly appropriate |
Well organized and clearly focused; clearly coherent and ideas flow seamlessly |
Displays skillful use of language; vocabulary is accurate and varied; words are appropriately and skillfully chosen |
Good sentence structure; demonstrates meaningful and skilled variety of sentence structure |
Free of most mistakes in grammar, word usage and mechanics |