Ms.

Bice

4/11/22

English 8h

Assignment:
Show your understanding of both concepts and novels by exploring the ways in which The
Alchemist and The Stranger develop themes (messages) about a similar topic. In your essay,
compare and analyze the themes developed in each book, where they are similar and where they
disagree with each other.

Why did you select this piece:

I selected this piece because it showcased my understanding of the entire unit, and I put a lot of
time and effort into it.

What did you learn:

I learned how to structure an essay better, and better supported my claims/quotes with evidence
and analysis. In the past, I often left quotes to “speak for themselves” and had paragraphs that
were all over the place. While there was still some of this, it was much less frequent. In this
essay, I learned to focus on an outline first, write clear topic sentences, and identify claims and
back them up.

In the future, how will you be able to use the knowledge, skill, or experience you gained by
completing this activity?:
Outlining and writing clear topic sentences is something that can be applied in all kinds of
writing, and can help me to understand literary works better as well. Additionally, drawing out
themes and comparing ideologies can be used in everything ranging from college English to the
workforce.

Evaluate your performance:

I would give my performance a 4. Compared to the low bar of some previous essays I’ve written,
I took my time more, and went about writing it in a more methodical manner. I poured over
many possible quotes, different talking points, different focuses on themes, and wording for
sentences. Additionally, I easily had enough material, and even had to cut about 200 words from
a draft that I felt I could go deeper into.

Evaluate the product:

I would give the product a score of 3.5. I was very happy with how it turned out in terms of flow,
word choice, topics, evidence, and structure. I felt like I had plenty of evidence to back up every
claim, and that my claims were not dull or unarticulated. Additionally, as backed up by my
feedback, I had clear arguments and topic sentences.