Short Story Essay

Step 1: Browse the paired stories/articles and choose a prompt by filling out this form.

Step 2: Carefully read and annotate a paper copy (provided) of the paired article; brainstorm how you will synthesize the story and the article.

Step 3: Create or copy a document in MLA format and give the document a specific title.

Step 4: Share your document with Mr. Bellini with editing access.

Step 5: Read over the essay requirements and rubric.

Step 6: Write a quick outline; use Mr. Bellini's sample outline as a model.

Step 7: Build your Works Cited page by using a citation calculator.

Step 8: Compose a 2-page rough draft, using Mr. Bellini's sample rough draft as a model. 

Step 9: Proofread by using Grammarly, the Writing Center, and other students; double-check that you've included and highlighted a semicolon, semicolon with conjunctive adverb, colon, and dash. After your essay is graded, fill out this form to earn back points.

Step 10: Post your final draft link in Schoology.

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Please fill out this form by Monday, April 15th to choose your topic.

Romanticism vs. Realism

“The Masque of the Red Death,“ by Edgar Allan Poe &

“The Super-Rich 'Preppers' Planning to Save Themselves from the Apocolypse” by Douglass Rushkoff, The Guardian

Tasting notes: An intensity of flavor you'll want to hold onto for eternity. 

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce &

"Reality is Setting In" by Zach Beauchamp, Vox

Tasting notes: A subtle sweetness complements the initial bitterness.

“To Build a Fire,” by Jack London &

“Her boyfriend died rock climbing. A new film about their lives brings back the heartbreak,” by Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times

Tasting notes: Ask your server for a sample: Sample Essay

“The Things They Carried,” by Tim O'Brien &

"A Soldier's Heart" by Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tasting notes: Its complicated aromas seem to carry memories of a past life.

Coming of Age

“A&P,” by John Updike &

“The office’s quiet quitters should follow this advice,” by John Gapper, Financial Times OR 

"NSA Whistleblowers" by Mark Hertzgaard, The Guardian

Tasting notes: Follow our lead or make your own burger.

“Barn Burning,” by William Faulkner &

"Two Serial Killers Struck Fear in America" by Lucia Stein and Rebecca Armitage, ABC News

Tasting notes: Served with charred vegetables, creates a surprisingly smooth finish.

Science Fiction

“The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury &

“Can You Really Be Addicted to Video Games?” by Farris Jaber, The New York Times

Tasting notes: Like entering a world of your own, you'll be back for a second serving.

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula Le Guin &

“The Young People Sifting Through the Internet's Worse Horrors,” by David Pilling, Financial Times

Tasting notes: Its long and brooding finish makes you question the world around you.

Women's Studies

“The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin &

“When My Father Died, I Discovered the Unmentionable Stage of Mourning: Relief,” by Rosalie Metro, The Washington Post 

Tasting notes: Exceptionally crisp yet still manages to play with your emotions. Walks a very fine line between dryness and sweetness.

“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman &

"My Hellish Youth in Sexual Conversion Therapy and How I Got Out," by James Guay, Time Magazine

Tasting notes: This untraditional dish rebels against the norm with its bittersweet end.

The Harlem Renaissance

“The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” by Richard Wright &

"Sean Scott Hicks," by Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine

OR

"Since I Been Down" by David Smith, The Guardian

Tasting notes: An immature expression redeems itself with its savoriness.

“Sweat,” by Zora Neale Hurston &

“How Britney Spears was trapped in a web of injustice,” by Henry Mance, Financial Times

Tasting notes: The overwhelmingly rigid and masculine flavor profile stifles its full potential.

OR

"French Woman convicted of killing husband set free," Al-Jazeera

Tasting notes: A brutally harsh front palette is saved by an exquisitely clean and graceful finish. Call it everlasting redemption!