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The House on Mango Street Essay

The House on Mango Street Essay. 9 th Grade Periods 2,3, and 6 Mr. Chao. Things You Did Well. Stating Themes Clearly Writing Strong Supports ( BETTER ) Elaborating on Plot ( BETTER ) Concluding Paragraphs ( MUCH BETTER ) High five? . Things To Improve.

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The House on Mango Street Essay

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  1. The House on Mango Street Essay 9th Grade Periods 2,3, and 6 Mr. Chao

  2. Things You Did Well • Stating Themes Clearly • Writing Strong Supports(BETTER) • Elaborating on Plot (BETTER) • Concluding Paragraphs (MUCHBETTER) High five? 

  3. Things To Improve • Outlining Supports in Topic Sentences • Using a Main Idea/Theme effectively • Being Specific • Using ANALYSIS to prove points • SHOWINGrather than TELLING • Context for Examples • Finishing the Essay

  4. Finishing • Advice for finishing a timed prompt: • Do a practice-run beforehand • Shorten quotes with […] • Get to the point quicker / streamline plot • Cut out useless words/phrases

  5. Themes • Most of addressed the prompt by discussing themes in your paper. • Very few mistook themes for subjects • Some very creative themes • A lot of you tried to use Main Themes!

  6. Rules of Thumb for Themes • Try not to use the word “theme” in your paper • Use PARALLEL STRUCTURE when outlining themes • Themes need to be outlined in TS • NOT subjects • Main Theme vs. Main Idea • The book discusses friendship • True friends are the ones that stick by you no matter what • If your themes aren’t stated clearly, then you aren’t addressing the prompt

  7. Topic Sentences Some of you are STILLnot outlining your supports in your topic sentences! • In the book, one topic that it explains is that growing up is not as fun as it seems. • Maturity isn’t always easy. On your way to becoming mature there are many responsibilities, hardships, and disappointments.

  8. Topic Sentences • Is your TS in parallel structure? • Family and friends can bring you up when you are down through helping you see new things, they can help you to have fun, and by helping you to reach your goals. • The first lesson that Esperanza learns is that growing up is a process; if you speed it up you’ll miss it. She learns not to rush it, to be ready, and that maturity takes time.

  9. Examples • “I have found three themes that occur in this book that connect with the main idea of these stories.” • “In the HOMS by Sandra Cisneros, the author shows the importance of healthy relationships with your family, true friend, and yourself when you are on the path to adulthood.” • In the HOMS by Sandra Cisneros, the book discusses friendship by showing us that friends are important because they bring out the real you, that real friends stick by you, and that friends are the ones that make you feel good about yourself. • In the HOMS Sandra Cisneros reveals that everyone has anchors, it’s what you do with them that makes you who you are. Esperanza learns all this because she learns that friends can be problematic, that you can’t let anything keep you from reaching your dreams, and that you need to learn to use your anchors to your advantage.

  10. Strong Themes vs. Weak Themes • Stronger themes were in general, more specific than weak themes • Maturing is equal parts learning to understand the world and learning to understand oneself • Life is difficult • Growing up isn’t easy • Anchors hold you back • Friends can bring you down

  11. Saying What You Mean • Try to use ACTIVE VOICE to avoid complicated, confusing sentences… • An instance of growing up at the right pace is key is in the chapter Canteen, when Esperanza, the girl trying to grow up, wants to sit and eat in the cafeteria with all the other kids who are labeled as special for eating there.

  12. Context • Make sure that your reader always knows where your example comes from in the book. Most of your quotes were not introduced with SPEAKER and CONTEXT. • NEVER start a sentence with a quote. ALWAYS introduce it!

  13. Transitions • Try to use TRANSITIONS when moving between supports and examples. They add FLOW to your paper and make it easier to follow your logic. • Examples: • Additionally, • In other words, • In contrast, • To sum things up, • However, • Likewise, • Etc. (see the handout I gave you)

  14. Telling vs. Showing • Examples that SHOWare stronger than examples that TELL. • You want to do your TELLINGin your supports • The examples need to SHOW using plot how the book PROVES your arguments. A paper that tells but doesn’t show is all flash and no substance. Like this guy on the left:

  15. Telling vs. Showing Telling: She might not always talk to her like Lucy or Rachel, but Nenny will always be there for her. Showing: • In the chapter “Laughter” Esperanza sees a house that reminds her of some she saw in Mexico. She doesn’t know why it does, she just knows it does. When Esperanza declared “Look at that house, it looks like Mexico” (18), her friends give her incredulous looks. Before they can degrade her however, Esperanza’s sister Nenny pipes up: “Yes, that’s Mexico all right. That’s what I was thinking exactly” (18). No matter how crazy Esperanza’s friends thought she was, they can’t make any remarks because Nenny was thinking the same thing. So like it or not, you are connected to your family and they can often guess at or empathize with what you’re feeling.

  16. Telling • When Esperanza first moved to Mango Street, she was reluctant to call it “home.” As she lives there longer and makes these memories, she realizes that out of all the places she’s lived before, Mango Street is the place she most remembers. • In the beginning of the book, Esperanza and her sister were very close, but over the course of the book, they grew apart. • For example, as we have said before, Esperanza doesn’t want to be tied down to a husband.

  17. Plot vs. Analysis • Theme: As much as you may want to, it is not possible to stop or speed up growing up. • Support: Growing up will happen when you’re ready. When the fake feeling of maturity is forced, things do not turn out well • Example: When Esperanza hung out with Sally again at the playground things were not the same. Esperanza expected a fun day with her friend at the playground doing things she grew up doing. But she was wrong. When Sally invited boys with them, Esperanza became very uncomfortable when there was kissing involved.Her view of her playground memories had now been ruined because this was a place for a good time and now while she’s trying to grow up there is so much more pressure from friends, boys, and maturity.

  18. Plot vs. Analysis • Theme: As long as you never give up you will win in the end. You just have to get there. • Support: If you let others be in charge you cannot decide the path they lead you down. • Example: Sally was always dependent on someone to get her out of Mango Street, and when that guy finally came around, it wasn’t a good thing. She wound up being trapped once again only this time by another man. Sally’s case reveals that you have to be in charge of your future no one else. The path may be difficult to go alone, but as long as you never give up, you will win in the end.

  19. Plot vs. Analysis • Theme: True friends stick by you while bad friends lead you down the wrong paths • Support: Friends accept who you are and where you came from. • Example: This can be seen when Esperanza, Nenny, Lucy, and Rachel are all playing jumprope. Nenny is young and starts to get annoying but Rachel and Lucy don’t say anthing because Nenny is Esperanza’s sister.

  20. Useless Words/Phrases • Words: • “this” • “it” • “I” • “You” • “We” • “thing” • “theme/support/subject” • Any contraction (it’s, that’s, who’s) • Phrases • “the fact that” • “it is” • “that is” • “I think…” • “is that” • “An example would be” • “this is”

  21. Common Mistakes • UNDERLINE/ITALICIZE books • The House on Mango Street • to vs. too • to = preposition (I went tothe store) • too = adjective (I ate toomany cookies) • then vs. than • Then = if-then (If I run a mile, then I will be tired) • Than = comparison (Running is better thanwalking) • there, their, they’re • there = location (Look, a cookie! Over THERE) • their = possession (That is THEIRcookie) • they’re = they are (THEY’REtaking my cookies!)

  22. More Common Mistakes • Passive vs. Active Voice • One of the many reasons growing up is hard is that your family can make growing up hard. • Your family can make growing up hard by… • KILL “this” “that” and “it” • This shows that… • One example of this is… • It shows that… • KILL “I” “We” and “You” • You is okay in themes

  23. Concluding Paragraph • Your conclusions were AWESOME this time around. You really took the time to make them meaningful and insightful and connect them to today. • So… you get two happy cats 

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