ELA Writing Baseline

ELA Regents Responses

\Writing in Steps

• Introduction Paragraph

  • Hook

  • Background Information

  • Counterclaim Statement

  • Thesis Statement (X=Y because 1,2,3)

• Body Paragraph 1

  • Topic sentence

  • Evidence

  • Analysis

  • Concluding statement

• Body Paragraph 2

  • Topic sentence

  • Evidence

  • Analysis

  • Concluding statement

• Body Paragraph 3

  • Topic sentence

  • Evidence

  • Analysis

  • Concluding statement

• Counterclaim

  • Introduce opposing argument

  • Provide Evidence for opposing argument

  • Analyze and compare opposite arguments and evidence against your 3 body paragraphs - establish why you are right and they are wrong.

  • Concluding statement

• Conclusion

  • Conclusion that reiterates the thesis and concluding remarks regarding what it means for the world considering your argument is the right one (i.e. if my argument is correct then……)

Write your essay on the next page

Glee may be very relatable to some people, like me and maybe you too. Glee has been on air since 2009 and it has impacted so many lives.Glee is a show about a glee club trying to fit in at their school but no matter if they are outcasts they had each other and that was all that mattered to them. . Although, some may think that any anime show about fighting is better than glee because glee might be a boring show about show tunes. However, the show Glee is the best show in the world because it speaks about serious real life situations it plots around broadway and it shows so much representation to the LGBTQ+ community.

4/4

The background information included a lot of detail and the counterclaim is worded very well.

Glee showed a lot of representation to the LGBTQ+ community which impacted a lot of people that are a part of the community. Glee has six seasons and in most seasons it talked about characters suffering from being bullied because of their sexuality. Kurt Hummel a homosexual character got bullied so much he needed to transer schools, later on in rhe school he got harassed on the streets and got hurt very bad.Glee also had a character, Santana Lopez be outed to the school by a commercial. She then later came out to her family and friends as lesbian but was not supported by her grandmother, which broke her heart. Having these characters a part of the show has shown many teenagers their age that no matter what you're perfect in your own way. Glee has made many teens be themselves and not be ashamed of who they are.

2/4 write analysis and concluding sentences. Evidence was very specific and detailed

Glee also has represented many serious real life problems that teenagers might be going through. For instance, Quinn Fabray she’s a character that got pregnant at only 16. She got kicked out of her house by her parents and lived at three different friends' houses. She stayed at her friend Mercedes Jones’ house until she gave birth and her mother was asking her to come back now that her father was no longer living with her. Quinn showed many people that you should have friends that are willing to take you in when times get very rough.

¾ needs analysis and conclusion, good example of topic

Glee has been plotted around Broadway and acting. Rachel Berry, the annoying Jewish girl, has worked so hard in the years of high school to get into NYADA, an acting school in New York. It was always her dream to act on Broadway ever since she was little and she never gave up on that dream. She worked hard for many years and finally got into NYADA. When she arrived in New York she auditioned for a broadway musical, Funny Girl. She got the part of Fanny Brice, her dream role since she was two years old. Although Rachel was the annoying girl that almost everyone hated, she was the most talented and she worked the hardest to get her to where we got, years past and she got a tony award. All thanks to the hard work and patience she put into all those years. Rachel is an inspiration to me and other teenagers that want to get into acting, she represents that only hard work gets you to the top, no matter what you need to do in the process to get there. She shows that no matter what we go through we should never give up on our dreams because if we have faith we will get there eventually.

4/4

Although Glee isn't a very big show now and some might say that the show ‘shameless’ is the best show. Shameless is about six siblings who are trying their best to make a stable living for themselves. Their father isn't around most of the time and their mother has died. Shameless sometimes represents Black Lives Matter and representation to the LGTBQ+ community. It can be a comfort show to those who don't have good parents or a stable household. However, Glee shows more representation to more community than shameless

Glee has impacted many lives like mine. Ever since 2009 glee has shown many teenagers that it is okay to be yourself no matter what. I love Glee so much because it's been a huge representation to me and shows me that I can make it on Broadway one day just like Rachel did. Whatever your gender or sexualitiy, god makes no mistakes youre perfect the way you are, Glee represents that message.

ELA Baseline Writing Responses

Part 2

Argument

Directions: Closely read each of the four texts provided on pages 13 through 20 and write a source-based argument on the topic below. You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrap paper to plan your response. Write your argument beginning on page 1 of your essay booklet.

Topic: Does the Internet have a negative impact on our thinking process?

Your Task: Carefully read each of the four texts provided. Then, using evidence from at least three of the texts, write a well-developed argument regarding whether or not the Internet has a negative impact on our thinking process. Clearly establish your claim, distinguish your claim from alternate or opposing claims, and use specific, relevant, and sufficient evidence from at least three of the texts to develop your argument. Do not simply sum- marize each text.

Guidelines:

Be sure to:

• Establish your claim regarding whether or not the Internet has a negative impact on our thinking process

• Distinguish your claim from alternate or opposing claims

• Use specific, relevant, and sufficient evidence from at least three of the texts to develop your argument

• Identify each source that you reference by text number and line number(s) or graphic (for example:
  Text 1, line 4 or Text 2, graphic)

• Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner

• Maintain a formal style of writing

• Follow the conventions of standard written English
  Texts:
  Text 1 – OK, Google, Where Did I Put My Thinking Cap?
  Text 2 – Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains

• Text 3 – The Memex in Your Pocket
  Text 4 – Are We Losing Our Ability to Think Critically?

TYPE YOUR ARGUMENT BELOW THE LINE, USE AS MANY PAGES AS YOU NEED

In terms of the internet nowadays, I believe that it does have a negative impact on our thinking process. When we use the internet for educational purposes, it makes us believe that we don't really have to work because we can just research things now. With the internet, when we’re supposed to be doing work, we can get distracted by video games or messages then we’ll never get to our actual work. The internet can also slow down your brain if you always use google and never think thoroughly.

Furthermore, If we use the internet more than working things out ourselves our brains will slow down. Now that we have the internet we believe that we can google everything instead of doing the work with what we know. For instance, in the text “Ok, Google, Where Did I Put My Thinking Cap?” It states “Writer Nicholas Carr contends that the internet will take away our ability for contemplation due to the plasticity of our brains.” This shows that when we use the internet it takes away our ability to really think things through. Now that the internet can give us our answers we think we don't need to think things out and we can just research everything, but that is not the case.

When we use our technology for school work, we tend to get very distracted often. With all these internet based distractions it could be almost impossible to do your work. In the text “Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains” it speaks of many kinds of distractions. It states “We want to be interrupted, because each interruption- email,tweet, instant message.” This tells you that while working on the internet we want to be distracted,we want to be interrupted. We want to be interrupted because when we have interruptions we go straight to focus on that instead of focusing on our work.

Now that all we have to do for answers on a homework assignment, we believe that because the internet has ‘all of our answers’ we don't have to do any work. Which I think is incorrect because on a quiz at school, you won't have google to help you so where will you get your information? Your brain is the best source of information that you’ll have because everything you know is stored in your brain. Google won't be there every minute of everyday meaning you can’t always rely on it, you need to use your brain and what you know

Although the internet has many positive benefits when it comes to education. You can always look up information or evidence for yourself so you can take notes. We can read about topics online that we’re learning in class, therefore we have extra knowledge on what we need to know. Some brains can store information of what they learned off the internet in their brains. “Yet it would be a stretch to say that this information was part of people’s minds.” says Will Oremus in “The Memez In Your Pocket.” By that he means that the internet can be a way for people to grow their knowledge outside of school or work

However, in total, the internet doesn't help as much as you can help yourself. The internet may not always be reliable and accessible, but your knowledge will always be stored in your brain forever. You shouldn't rely on other things to help you with your work, especially the internet. You never know when the internet is incorrect so when you fail an assignment that you researched the answer for, who will you blame? You or the internet? Never rely on the internet when it comes to educational purposes, always believe in yourself and try your best

Part 3

Text-Analysis Response

Your Task: Closely read the text provided on pages 22 and 23 and write a well-developed, text-based response of two to three paragraphs. In your response, identify a central idea in the text and analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical device) develops this central idea. Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Do not simply summarize the text. You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrap paper to plan your response. Write your response in the spaces provided on pages 7 through 9 of your essay booklet.

Guidelines:

Be sure to:

• Identify a central idea in the text

• Analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical
  device) develops this central idea. Examples include: characterization, conflict, denotation/connotation,
  metaphor, simile, irony, language use, point-of-view, setting, structure, symbolism, theme, tone, etc.

• Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis

• Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner

• Maintain a formal style of writing

• Follow the conventions of standard written English

TYPE YOUR TEXT ANALYSIS BELOW THE LINE, USE AS MANY PAGES AS YOU NEED

I think the central idea of this passage is that, even though she lived through a rough time she still was a happy kid.This passage was told from her perspective as a child. She told her story of living during world war II. The passage was in order, she spoke about when she was child then when she was in high school and after she spoke in depth about materialism. Throughout the passage, she used a lot of words that were very descriptive about what she was talking about.

The passage had a lot of unfamiliar words to me, and by that I believe that she was very descriptive with everything she was talking about. Some of the words were difficult to understand and they seemed very advanced. On the bottom of each page you can see all the words she used that might have been hard for others as well. One of the words was ‘4poignant’, I did not know what that word was, I didn't even know that was a word. Some of the words seemed as if they were written for an older audience.

The author uses characterization on herself as she narrated the text. She would give a lot of details about herself as the text goes on. She talks about her interests in the last few paragraphs which can show people how she was as a person. “I realize that what I’m saying must seem pathetic to a person raised in the comforts of a free market economy3 where it’s enough to think of something to find it immediately in the store.” This shows that because she thinks she seems ‘pathetic’ she probably had low self esteem and she didn't want to seem like that. She also says that “​​My possessiveness may have had a lot to do with how difficult books were to come by.” That shows that she thinks because she was very possessive, books were difficult to come by.

Alanys Gomez Perez

Mr. Combs

Regents ELA 809

Dec,5th,2021

What motivates people to do bad things?

Everyday, we make choices that have consequences in life, whether theyre good or bad. When we make decisions that hurt others while we do it or out of vengeance, most of the time it has a bad outcome. However, seomthings the outcome may not always be negative, it may be positive due to the circumstances of the situation“When it comes to protecting my property I make my own laws” (Demile 19) Jusdon created his ‘own rules’ due to hatred upon the thief who stole his liquor..People are motivated to do bad things because of personal interests or trying to benefit from it, the person feels power, and vindictiveness.

Most of the time when we make bad decisions we arent really thinking about the consequences long term, we are only thinking about ourselves in the moment. We may not even realize that it is a bad decision, we are just thinking about our self interest and how it will affect us in the moment. In “Button, Button” Norma is given a button unit, everytime she presses it she gains 50,000 dollars but of the price of someone's life. “Norma closed her eyes. Fifty thousand dollars, she thought” (Matheson 69). Norma was only thinking about the money and how she was going to spend it, she was not worried about all the people she would be hurting if she wouldve hit that button. She was only interested in how it was going to benefit her, not even her own husband.

When we want to feel in power we do things that might have not been the best to do. We always do what comes to our mind when we want to feel in power. In teh story “Ruthless” Jusdon was rodded. He wanted to feel in power again by posioning his bottle for the next time the thief wanted to steal from him. “Now, Mr. Thief, when you break in, drink hearty; I won’t begrudge7 you this one.” He wanted to feel in power and he wanted to make the thief scared of him. He wasnt thinking about the consequences that couldve happened after he committed a murder.

Whenever we make a bad decision to hurt someone it is mostly coming from some vengance or hatred. We want to hurt them. Mary Maloney killed her husband in “Lamb To The Slaughter '' because he was leaving her. When he annouced that he was leaving she felt vindictive towards him. “All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him” She didnt feel any sorrow becuase she was looking for revenge. She felt anger towards her husband and it motivated him to do something bad to him.

Others may argue that people aren't motivated to do horrible things out of self-interest, domination, or revenge because harmful judgments are often made under peer pressure or without giving it much thought. Overthinking the decision will almost certainly prevent you from making it because you will be aware of the effects. That may be true, but people will need a reason to think about making the decision in the first place, which is usually self-interested. In any case, the decision will bring you what you want, and it will encourage you to focus on the benefits of the decision rather than the difficulties. When confronted with it, the excuses will encourage you to continue making poor decisions and victimize yourself.

People are inspired to do horrible things for a variety of reasons, including vengeance, rewards, wealth, and the amount of power they feel when making these judgments. Self-interest plays a large role in making poor decisions since people often create explanations to defend their actions as a good idea or to appear innocent. In truth, the person is well aware that it is a horrible idea, and they are only doing it for personal gain. When there is anything you can gain from it, it is tough to determine right from wrong, yet bad actions will harm you in the long run.

Works Cited

Matheson, Richard. “BUTTON, BUTTON.” Commonlit, June 1953, https://www.commonlit.org/en/students/student_lessons/9582510.

Demille, William. “RUTHLESS.” Commonlit, 1945, https://www.commonlit.org/en/students/student_lessons/9510617.

` Dahl, Roald “LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER” Commonlit, 1953,

https://www.commonlit.org/en/students/student_lessons/9807639[