Tomorrow, When The War Began

Grade 8 Language & Literature

Name:

Joyce

Due date:

Unit
ever
to do the
the right

Your Task: You will write a

five-paragraph essay on one
of the themes from the novel
Tomorrow, When The War
Began.

Question: Is it
acceptable
wrong thing for
reasons?

Global Context: Fairness and Development

Key Concepts: Change and Logic
Related Concepts: Theme and Structure

Details & Conditions:

Your introduction states the theme of the novel.
Your introduction has a clear thesis statement.
Your body paragraphs use direct quotes from the novel or short story.
You use at least one of the literary terms we focused on throughout the
unit.
You make at least one connection to the short stories we read in class.
You make a text-to-world connection.
You submitted an essay outline, rough draft, and final draft of your essay
the day it is due.
You uploaded your essay to Managbac the night before your essay is due.

You will be assessed on the following MYP criteria:

Criterion B: Organizing
Criterion C: Producing Text
Criterion D: Using Language

Essay Choices
Choice #1
Weve all had to rewrite the scripts of our lives the last few
weeks. Weve learnt a lot and weve had to figure out whats
important, what matters what really matters. Its been quite a
time.
Develop a theme from the novel that focuses on how one character from
the novel changed as a result of the conflicts he/she went through.
Introduction: Clearly state the theme and your thesis statement
Body Paragraph #1: The conflicts your character experienced
Body Paragraph #2: How your character changed because of these
conflicts
Body Paragraph #3: Example from one of our short stories supports your
chosen theme
Conclusion: Text-to-world connection

Choice #2
It was hard for me to believe that I, plain old Ellie, nothing special
about me, middle of the road in every way, had probably just killed
three people.
In the novel, Ellie does the many bad things for good reasons. Develop a
theme from the novel that answers our unit question, Is it ever acceptable
to do the wrong thing for the right reasons?
Introduction: Clearly state the theme and your thesis statement
Body Paragraph #1: Example from the novel that supports your theme
Body Paragraph #2: Example from the novel that supports your theme
Body Paragraph #3: Example from one of our short stories that supports
your theme
Conclusion: Text-to-world connection

Choice #3
Humans would call it evil, the big dragonfly destroying the
mosquito and ignoring the little insects suffering. Yet humans
hated mosquitoes too, calling them vicious and bloodthirsty. All
these words, words like 'evil' and 'vicious', they meant nothing to
Nature. Yes, evil was a human invention.
Develop a theme that states your opinion on whether or not evil is a
human invention.
2

Introduction: Clearly state the theme and your thesis statement

Body Paragraph #1: Example from the novel that supports your theme
Body Paragraph #2: Example from the novel that supports your theme
Body Paragraph #3: Example from one of our short stories that supports
your theme
Conclusion: Text-to-world connection

How To Find The Theme In A Novel

Start:
What topics or
big ideas do the
stories deal
with?

What are the

authors saying
about one of
these topics?

End:
Put it into a
THEME
statement!

Your Turn:

Beauty of simple things

Change of power - necessity
Change versus tradition
Chaos and order
Character destruction, building
up
Circle of life
Coming of age
Communication verbal and
nonverbal
Companionship
Rebellion
Dangers of ignorance
Darkness and light
Death
Desire to escape
Destroying of beauty
Dreams
Empowerment
Everlasting love
Evils of racism
Facing darkness
Facing reality
Fading beauty
Faith versus doubt
Family blessing or curse
Fate and free will
Fear of failure
Female roles
Fulfillment
Good versus bad
Greed
Growing up pain or pleasure
Hazards of passing judgment
Heartbreak of betrayal
Heroism real and perceived
Hierarchy in nature
Identity crisis
Illusion of power
Immortality
Individual versus society
Inner versus outer strength
Injustice
Isolation

Knowledge versus ignorance

Loneliness
Losing hope
Loss of innocence
Lost honor
Lost love
Love and sacrifice
Man against nature
Materialism as downfall
Motherhood
Names power and significance
Nationalism complications
Nature as beauty
Oppression of women
Optimism powerful or pointless
Overcoming fear, weakness, vice
Patriotism
Power and corruption
Power of silence
Power of tradition
Power of wealth
Power of words
Pride and downfall
Progress real or illusion
Quest for discovery
Quest for power
Reunion
Role of men
Role of Religion
Role of women
Self inner and outer
Self-awareness
Self-preservation
Self-reliance
Social classes
Technology in society good or
bad
Temporary nature of physical
beauty
Temptation and destruction
Vanity as downfall
Vulnerability of the strong
War glory, necessity, pain,
tragedy
Will to survive

Wisdom of experience

Youth and beauty

THEME
Step One:

Example:

Select your
favorite theme
from page 3.

Dreams are
necessary in
order to
survive.

Step Two:

Example:

Rewrite your
theme in one
sentence that
includes the
titles of the
texts you will
be talking
about.

Both The
Outsiders by S.E.
Hinton and The
Dragon Rock by
Ellena Ashley
show us that
dreams are
necessary in
order to survive.

Your Turn:

Your final theme:

Tomorrow
When The
War Began
The Secret
Up The Slide

THESIS STATEMENT
Step One:

Example:

Your Turn:

Decide on the
topics of each
of your body
paragraphs.

1. Dallys love for

Johnny

1.

2. Ponyboys effort in
school

2.

3. The dragon would

save them from the
drought

3.

Step Two:

Example:

Your Turn:

Create one
sentence
that
connects
your theme
to your first
and second
body
paragraphs.

In The Outsiders, dreams

were a key force in Dalllys
love for Johnny and
Ponyboys efforts in school.

Step
Three:

Example:

Use page 2 to
help you.

Create one
sentence
(that begins
with a
transition
word), that
connects
your theme
to your third
body
paragraph.
Step Four:
Put it all
together!

Your Turn:

Similarly, in The Dragon

Rock, the villagers kept
their dream alive that the
dragon would save them
from the drought.

Example:
In The Outsiders, dreams
were a key force in Dalllys
love for Johnny and
Ponyboys efforts in school.
Similarly, in The Dragon
Rock, the villagers kept
their dream alive that the
dragon would save them
from the drought.

Your final thesis statement:

Now, write your theme and thesis statement below.

Example: Both The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and The Dragon Rock by
Ellena Ashley show us that dreams are necessary in order to survive.
In The Outsiders, dreams were a key force in Dalllys love for Johnny
and Ponyboys efforts in school. Similarly, in The Dragon Rock, the
villagers kept their dream alive that the dragon would save them
from the drought.

Your Turn:
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__________WRITING

A FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY

Introduction
Every essay will have an introduction to capture the reader's attention. The
introduction will preview the body of the essay for easier reading. The introduction
will include a thesis statement.
Beginning
Sentences

Here's your chance to introduce your topic and grab your reader's
attention. NEVER start your paper saying, "In this paper, I will" or "This
paper is about." Start strong. In your reading, have you come across an
odd fact or interesting quote? Try starting your paper with that. How about
starting with a story or comedy?

Middle
Sentences

The middle sentences cover the points in your paper. Since you've
already planned which order to write the points, you already know which
order to place them in your introductory paragraph. You don't have to
include every single point, but make sure the important ones get in there.

Ending
Sentences

First you will state the theme of the two novels you have selected. Then,
you will state your thesis. Your thesis statement expresses the overall idea
of your paper and show where you stand on the topic. After your thesis
statement, you will have one or two sentences that will transition your
reader into the body of your essay.

Aun San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace

Prize, wrote, The only real prison is fear, and the only real
freedom is freedom from fear. In S.E. Hinton's novel, The

Introduction Sentence. A quote from a famous

person to get the readers attention.

Outsiders, the protagonist, Ponyboy, discovers that people

should not let fear of being different, or not conforming,
shape their lives. Ponyboy learns that people should not be
judged by what gang or group they belong to. Throughout
the book, Ponyboy learns hard lessons about people and he
learns that there are good and bad people from both "sides
of town". Pony comes to see that Socs like Randy and
Cherry are not that different from him. He learns that just
because he is a greaser doesn't mean he has to resort to
violence and fighting. In The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton shows
us that judgment leads to rejecting new ideas and to
unnecessary violence. Ponyboys experiences forced him
to become a more mature adult, to stand up against
stereotypes within society, and not to fear those who are
different than himself. We should judge people as
individuals and not by the clothes they wear or the side of
town they are from.

A direct connection to the novel the essay will

be about.

A brief overview of what the essay will be

about, without getting into too much detail.
Theme of your essay
Your thesis statement
Concluding sentence/transitional sentence.
This links to your next paragraph.

Three Body Paragraphs

Every essay will have three (or more) body paragraphs to
explain each of your main points in detail.
You will also use quotations from the novel inside your body
paragraphs.
Each body paragraph should focus on a separate, main idea.
o Do not lose focus of your topic within each paragraph!
Your body paragraphs should reference the literary
terminology we have learned: the parts of plot, foreshadowing,
theme, register, simile, metaphor, and/or personification.
Each body paragraph should follow the PEEP format that we
learned in class.

Conclusion
Every essay will have a conclusion to bring the essay to a graceful end, and to
make sure the main points stick in the reader's mind. It will restate your thesis
statement, which should include the theme of your essay. You may also want to
connect back to the introduction hook that you used, to bring your essay to a full
circle. (If I referenced Aung San Suu Kyi in the beginning, maybe I want to bring
her up again.)
In conclusion, S.E. Hintons novel, The Outsiders,
illustrates that judgement leads to rejecting new ideas
and to unnecessary violence. All throughout Ponyboys
life, he was told that there were two main stereotypes:
Greasers and Socs. As the novel progressed, he no longer
let those judgements shape his relationship with the
Cherry, one of the Socs. He realized that passing
judgment will destroy our relationships, and that we must
be open-minded and tolerant of those around us. As
Aung San Suu Kyi said, we cannot let fear put us in a
mental, or physical, prison. We must overcome our fears
of others, and get to know others before we judge them.
If we all got to know each other better, not only would
we decrease our negative interactions, but we would
make the world a more positive place.

Introduction Sentence, where you restate

your theme. Include the author and title of
the book again.
A brief overview of what the essay was about,
without getting into too much detail.

A concluding sentence that connects back to

your original hook. (This is optional!)
Final takeaway sentence, to make your reader
feel impressed and to believe something new
about the world!

Embedding Quotations In Your Essay

The following excerpts come from the novel Of Mice and Men by
John Steinbeck:
Original Quote: I out to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnt ought to
have let no stranger shoot my dog (Steinbeck 27).
Embedding a quotation at the beginning of a sentence:
I ought to have shot that dog myself cries Candy, as he reflects on how he
should have performed this task (Steinbeck 27).
Embedding a quotation in the middle of a sentence:
Candy confesses to George and Lennie that he ought to have shot that dog
himself, and further says that he regrets allowing a stranger to do it (Steinbeck
27).
Embedding a quotation at the end of a sentence:
Candy tells George his sadness when he states, I ought to have shot that dog
myself (Steinbeck 27).
Embedding a quotation throughout a sentence:
Candy exclaims that he ought to have shot that dog [himself] and regrets letting
a stranger shoot [his] dog (Steinbeck 27).
Brackets [ ] do two things:
1. Change the authors original wording (i.e., conjugating, changing tense,
changing upper or lowercase, pronouns to nouns).
2. Add words for fluency and clarity.
Ellipsis () allows you to delete a word or words from the middle of the original
longer quote.
Note: You do not need ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quote, even if you
eliminate words.

Your Turn!
Original Quote: Did they cry when their boys were arrested, like Evie did when
Steve got hauled in, or did they run out on them the way Sylvia did Dallas? But
maybe their boys didnt get arrested or beaten up or busted up in rodeos (Hinton
15).
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ESSAY OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
a Hook (This sentence is the first sentence of your essay. It needs to catch the
readers attention. It should not be a question.)
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b Background Summary (Brief background to the text(s) and topic.)
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c Theme
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d Thesis Statement
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e Concluding/Transitional Sentences
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Body Paragraph 1

a) Topic Sentence (Include your first argument from your thesis statement):
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b) PEEPs (Point, evidence, explain, push You can have more than one PEEP
here.)
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c) Concluding Sentence (Summarize main argument of paragraph and link back
to your theme):
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Body Paragraph 2
a) Topic Sentence (Include your second argument from your thesis statement):
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b) PEEPs (Point, evidence, explain, push You can have more than one PEEP
here.)
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c) Concluding Sentence (Summarize main argument of paragraph and link back

to your theme):
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Body Paragraph 3
a) Topic Sentence (Include your third argument from your thesis statement):
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b) PEEPs (Point, evidence, explain, push You can have more than one PEEP
here.)
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c) Concluding Sentence (Summarize main argument of paragraph and link back
to your theme):
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CONCLUSION

a) Topic Sentence (Restate your theme. Include the authors and titles of your
books again.)
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Stude
nt

Teach
er

12

34

12

34

Criterion B: Organizing
Published Descriptors
Task Specific Descriptors

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the

descriptors given below.
i. makes minimal use of
organizational structures, though
these may not always serve the
context and intention
ii. organizes opinions and ideas
with a minimal degree of logic
iii. makes minimal use of
referencing and formatting tools
to create a presentation style
that may not always be suitable
to the context and intention.
i. makes adequate use of
organizational structures that
serve the context and intention
ii. organizes opinions and ideas
with some degree of logic
iii. makes adequate use of
referencing and formatting tools
to create a presentation style
suitable to the context and
intention.

Your introduction, body paragraphs, and

conclusion are not formatted correctly; it
is sometimes difficult to follow your
essay.
Your thesis statement is seldom
supported throughout your essay.
Your paragraphs seldom use PEEP format.
You struggle with using and formatting
your quotations, citations, and works
cited page.
Your introduction, body paragraphs, and
conclusion are sometimes formatted
appropriately; it is sometimes possible to
follow your essay.
Your thesis statement is sometimes
supported throughout your essay.
Your paragraphs sometimes use PEEP
format.
Your quotations, citations, and works
cited are seldom formatted and used
correctly.

b) Summary of Main Arguments (do not include new information here):

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c) Closer (If you want, you can connect back to your hook. You must make a textto-world connection. Make your reader feel impressed and believe something
new about the world.):
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56

i. makes competent use of

organizational structures that serve
the context and intention
ii. organizes opinions and ideas in a
logical manner, with ideas building
on each other

Your introduction, body paragraphs, and

conclusion are usually formatted appropriately
it is usually possible to follow your essay.
Your thesis statement is generally supported
throughout your essay.

iii. makes competent use of

referencing and formatting tools to
create a presentation style suitable
to the context and intention.

Your paragraphs generally use PEEP format.

Your quotations, citations, and works cited pag
are sometimes formatted and used correctly.

i. makes sophisticated use of

organizational structures that serve
7 8 7 8 the context and intention
effectively
ii. effectively organizes opinions
and ideas in a logical manner with
ideas building on each other in a
sophisticated way
iii. makes excellent use of
referencing and formatting tools to
create an effective presentation
style.
Student reflections:

Your introduction, body paragraphs, and

conclusion are formatted appropriately and
creatively; it is easy to follow your essay.
Your thesis statement is supported throughout
your essay.
Your paragraphs always use PEEP format.
Your quotations, citations, and works cited pag
are formatted correctly.

Teacher comments:
- You follow PEEP very well, but your explanations and push in your second and third body
paragraph get long. Try to shorten and clarify your ideas. It will make your ideas more clea
and strong for the reader.
- You introduced great ideas in your body paragraphs, but did not always link back to your
thesis. To earn a higher mark, make sure your thesis is referenced and supported all the
way through your essay.

Stud
ent

Teach
er

12

12

Criterion C: Producing Text

Published Descriptors
Task Specific Descriptors

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below.
i. produces texts that
You do not use direct quotations from the novel
demonstrate limited personal
and the short stories we read in class. If used,
engagement with the creative
your quotes may not be accurate or
process; demonstrates a limited
appropriate.
degree of thought or imagination
You do not make a connection to one of the
and minimal exploration of new
short stories we read in class.
perspectives and ideas
You do not make text-to-world connections. It
ii. makes minimal stylistic
used, they may not be appropriate or detailed
choices in terms of linguistic,
for your chosen topic.
literary and visual devices,
Your understanding of foreshadowing, theme,
demonstrating limited awareness
register, simile, metaphor, and/or
of impact on an audience
personification is missing/inconsistent, or
iii. selects few relevant details
incorrect.
and examples to support ideas.

34

34

i. produces texts that

demonstrate adequate personal
engagement with the creative
process; demonstrates some
thought or imagination and some
exploration of new perspectives
and ideas
ii. makes some stylistic choices in
terms of linguistic, literary and
visual devices, demonstrating
some awareness of impact on an
audience.
iii. selects some relevant details
and examples to support ideas.

i. produces texts that

demonstrate considerable
personal engagement with the
56
5 6 creative process; demonstrates
considerable thought or
imagination and substantial
exploration of new perspectives
and ideas
ii. makes thoughtful stylistic
choices in terms of linguistic,
literary and visual devices,
demonstrating good awareness
of impact on an audience
iii. selects sufficient relevant
details and examples to support
ideas.
i. produces texts that
demonstrate a high degree of
personal engagement with the
78
creative process; demonstrates a
high degree of thought or
imagination and perceptive
exploration of new perspectives
and ideas
8
ii. makes perceptive stylistic
choices in terms of linguistic,
literary and visual devices,
demonstrating clear awareness
of impact on an audience
iii. selects extensive relevant
details and examples to support
ideas.
Student Reflections

You use one or two direct quotations from the

novel and the short stories we read in class.
You may lack detail, or your quotes may not be
appropriately chosen.
You struggle to make a connection to one of
the short stories we read in class.
You struggle to make text-to-world
connections. They may not be appropriate or
detailed for your chosen topic.
You seldom reference the literary terminology
of foreshadowing, theme, register, simile,
metaphor, and/or personification (or your
reference may be incorrect).
You use a few direct quotations from the novel
and the short stories we read in class. You may
sometimes explain in detail.
You make a connection to one of the short
stories we read in class.
You make one or two text-to-world connections
that may sometimes be appropriate and
detailed for your chosen topic.
You correctly and sometimes reference the
literary terminology of foreshadowing, theme,
register, simile, metaphor, and/or
personification.

You use a variety of direct quotations from the

novel and the short stories we read in class,
which you explain in detail.
You make a strong and clear connection to one
of the short stories we read in class.
Your conclusion has a strong text-to-world
connection that is appropriate for your chosen
topic.
You correctly and often reference the literary
terminology of foreshadowing, theme, register,
simile, metaphor, and/or personification.

Teacher comments
- You have very strong ideas in this essay, and demonstrate a strong understanding of Bad
Boys thematic connection to TWTWB.
- You could improve your mark by selecting quotes from the novels that show stronger
literary language. (Such as a quote that has a simile or metaphor already.)

Criterion D: Using Language

Stud
ent

Teach
er

Published Descriptors

12

12

34

34

56

56

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below.
i. uses a limited range of appropriate
Your sentences are seldom wellvocabulary and forms of expression
written. They seldom contribute to the
ii. writes and speaks in an inappropriate
meaning of your essay.
register and style that do not serve the
You struggle using formal and
context and intention
academic vocabulary, adverbs, and
iii. uses grammar, syntax and punctuation
sentence structure.
with limited accuracy; errors often hinder
You have many errors. It is difficult to
communication
access your ideas due to your
iv. spells/writes and pronounces with
punctuation and spelling/writing.
limited accuracy; errors often hinder
communication
i. uses an adequate range of appropriate
Your sentences are sometimes clear
vocabulary, sentence structures and forms
and easy to understand.
of expression
You sometimes use formal and
ii. sometimes writes and speaks in a
academic vocabulary, adverbs, and
register and style that serve the context and
sentence structure.
intention

You have some errors. It is sometimes

iii. uses grammar, syntax and punctuation
difficult to access your ideas due to
with some degree of accuracy; errors
your punctuation and spelling/writing.
sometimes hinder communication
iv. spells/writes and pronounces with some
degree of accuracy; errors sometimes
hinder communication
i. uses a varied range of appropriate
Your sentences are generally wellvocabulary, sentence structures and forms
written and clear.
of expression competently
You generally use formal and academic
iii. uses grammar, syntax and punctuation
vocabulary, adverbs, and sentence
with a considerable degree of accuracy;
structure.
errors do not hinder effective

You have few errors. It is generally

communication
easy to access your ideas due to your
iv. spells/writes and pronounces with a
punctuation and spelling/writing.
considerable degree of accuracy; errors
do not hinder effective communication

78

7
8

i. effectively uses a range of appropriate

vocabulary, sentence structures and forms
of expression
ii. writes and speaks in a consistently
appropriate register and style that serve
the context and intention
iii. uses grammar, syntax and punctuation
with a high degree of accuracy; errors are
minor and communication is effective
iv. spells/writes and pronounces with a high
degree of accuracy; errors are minor and
communication is effective

Your sentences are creatively written

and enrich the meaning of your essay.
You use formal and academic
vocabulary, adverbs, and sentence
structure.
You have little, or no, errors. It is easy
to access your ideas due to your
punctuation and spelling/writing.

Student Reflections

Teacher comments
- Be careful; you switch between verb tenses.
- Nice academic language, but you do have an awkward mention of your friend and the eraser

poem. That aspect of your language detracted from the overall success of your writing.
It is trials, not trails. You have the i-e mixed up.