Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace Final Assessment

Name

Analytical Essay

Hour
This assignment is due ______________________.

Context
The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark is a drama about a troubled young man who struggles to
come to terms with the death of his father. The title character, Hamlet, seeks justice and peace of mind.
He ultimately decides to observe the Code of Hamurabi, an eye for an eye and attempts to avenge
his father's death by killing the assassin. Blocking the Transmission of Violence is an informative essay
about the CeaseFire Interrupters, a group of former gang members who discourage young people from
continuing the cycle of revenge and violence that has plagued inner city Chicago communities for
decades.
Our unit is titled Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace. The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark and
Blocking the Transmission of Violence have very different cultural settings the drama is set in
medieval Denmark and the essay is about modern day Chicago. Despite start contrast in context, the
essential question is the same: when a family member becomes a victim, how does a person seek
justice and peace of mind? The times change, the locations change, but people are the same.

Task
Type a 5-paragraph essay in MLA format that answers the question, how does violence affect people's
ability to control their lives? To answer this question, you will analyze how 3 different characters in
The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark and Blocking the Transmission of Violence handle their
conflicts. Do they resort to violence? If so, how does that work for them?

Pre-Writing
Graphic Organizer
Complete the graphic organizer on the back of this paper.
Body Paragraph Template
Fill out three body paragraph template hand outs: one for each body paragraph in this essay. The
exercise will make sure that you have all of the content you need to write a quality, college-ready essay.
Remember to cite your source on your CD with parenthetical citations.

Analytical Essay Graphic Organizer

Thesis ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character:
Character:
Character:

Conflict:

Conflict:

Conflict:

How Violence Influenced Fate:

How Violence Influenced Fate:

How Violence Influenced Fate:

Concrete Evidence:

Concrete Evidence:

Concrete Evidence:

Citation

Citation

Citation

Concluding Statement _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace Final Assessment

Body Paragraph
Concrete Detail (CD) A concrete detail is a piece of textual evidence. Concrete details are necessary
in a body paragraph because the writer must support his or her thesis using quotes directly found in the
book. Without concrete details a writer cannot adequately support his or her thesis and will
automatically lose credibility.
Commentary (CM) Commentary is a piece of self-generated statement that pairs with a concrete
detail. In commentary, an essay writer introduces the context of the concrete detail and explains how
the concrete detail supports the writer's thesis. Commentary is necessary in a body paragraph because
the writer must provide his or her own thoughts. Without commentary, the writer is simply
summarizing the reading and does not adequately demonstrate his or her knowledge.
Chunk (CD + 2CM) A chunk is a combination of one concrete detail and two pieces of commentary.
A concrete detail without commentary is a useless fact that does not relate to the writer's thesis. A piece
of commentary without a concrete detail is simply opinion that is not backed by relevant information.
Formula
To meet the requirements of this essay, each body paragraph must be 8 sentences long. This
requirement has been implemented to ensure that you formulate a thorough argument that supports
your thesis.
1. Topic Sentence (TS) Introduce the character and relate their experiences with violence back to
your thesis.
2. Concrete Detail 1 (CD1) Quote from the text that supports your thesis and ties into the topic
sentence.
3. Commentary 1a (CM1a) Sentence that explains the concrete detail and how it relates to your
thesis.
4. Commentary 1b (CM1b) Sentence that expands on the previous piece of commentary and
provides new insight, thus demonstrating your understanding of the text.
5. Concrete Detail 2 (CD2) Quote from the text that supports your thesis and ties into the topic
sentence.
6. Commentary 2a (CM2a) Sentence that explains the concrete detail and how it relates to your
thesis.
7. Commentary 2b (CM2b) Sentence that expands on the previous piece of commentary and
provides new insight, thus demonstrating your understanding of the text.
8. Closing Sentence (CS) Concludes the paragraph by rewording the topic sentence and
transitioning to the text paragraph.

Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace Final Assessment

Name

Hour

Body Paragraph Template

1. TS __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. CD1 ________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. CM1a ______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. CM1b _______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. CD2 ________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
6. CM2a _______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
7. CM2b _______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
8. CS __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace Final Assessment

Name

Hour
Due Date
All or Nothing Points
Below you will find a list of essay requirements. These are all or nothing points. In other words, you
must follow ALL of the directions to get these points. You will not receive partial credit for half-way
doing what you are supposed to do. Up to 70 possible pts.

Turned in On Time The following things were

turned in on time and stapled in the following
order.
1. Rubric Sheet
2. Essay
3. All three body paragraph template
handouts
4. Graphic organizer

10 possible points

Vocabulary Words You masterfully utilize two

vocabulary terms from the unit. Both terms are
highlighted and used correctly.

10 possible points

MLA Format The essay is written in MLA

format
double spaced
times new roman
1 inch margins
parenthetical citations

20 possible points

Pre-Writing All the pre-writing handouts are

100% completed AND approved by Mr. Lorber or
Ms. Hofsess prior to typing your essay.

20 possible points

8 Sentence Body Paragraphs Nothing is lost in

translation and all three body paragraphs in your
essay have a topic sentence, two chunks, and a
closing sentence.

10 possible points

Mastery Points
Below you will find a list of essay expectations. These points that are rewarded for demonstrating
mastery. In order to earn the maximum possible points, you must write well and show me that you
have a profound understanding of how violence affects fate.
Spelling and Grammar The words in the essay
are spelled correctly and there are no issues
related to verb tense, or any other common
grammatical error
Content The writer demonstrates mastery of
knowledge as it relates to Hamlet, Blocking the
Transmission of Violence, violence and fate.

5 6 7 8 9 10
10 possible points

8 10 12 14 16 18 20
20 possible points

Seeking Justice, Seeking Peace Final Assessment