English 8 Mrs. McDonald

Composition #2 Second Quarter Conferenced Essay

Assignment: A one paragraph personality sketch of a short story character.

Topic: Choose one of the characters listed below. Brainstorm some personality

traits (using adjectives not nouns) which you believe your chosen

character possesses. Be sure that you can support the personality trait

through something you read about the character in the story.

Kass (from “Mary”) Mrs. Flowers (from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”)

Crescent (from “Then He Goes Free”) Carol (from “Louisa, Please Come Home”)

TOPIC SENTENCE EXAMPLE: In the short story entitled “Louisa, Please Come Home” by

Shirley Jackson, it is evident that Paul’s personality trait of dishonesty

leads to Louisa’s rejection by her family.

Due Date: Rough draft (B) Thursday, October 19; (A) Friday, October 18

Final Original Friday, 26 October 2007 by All by Break

Skill/Concept

Stressed: The ability to describe a character in terms of a personality trait and

how that trait is shown through something that occurs in the story.

Requirements: 1.Original title. The same rule applies as for your proceeding

essays. DO NOT use the title of the story or the name of the

character. Catch the reader’s attention & use your imagination.

2.Write a well-developed one paragraph essay describing your chosen

character in terms of her personality trait and how it relates directly

to some event in the story.

3.DO NOT USE contractions or to be verbs.

4.DO USE present tense, third person, correct heading, and correct

spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and vocabulary

5.Type or word process the final copy of your original using the MLA style.

6.Double space heading and essay.

7.Essay will be worth 100 points.

8.Essays will be conferenced and revisions will be worth 100 points.