2019 English Language Arts Summer Assignment

Grade 10 Instructions

summer_assignment_grade_10.pdf


Instructions for Incoming Tenth Graders:
  1. Read one text from the list provided for English Language Arts (see below); you can get a copy of the text at your local library or online.
  2. Complete one text-analysis response, based upon your selected text, following the directions provided (see below).
  3. Write two separate, complete paragraphs responding to the Common Application essay prompts provided (see below). 
 
**All of your writing pieces should be typed and saved – preferably as a Google Doc.  

Assignment Guidelines and Requirements:
  • All work must be your own. Do not plagiarize. You will not receive credit for the assignment if your work is copied from any source.
  • The text analysis essay is directly correlated to the text you are reading.
  • The paragraphs responding to the Common Application essay prompts are modified personal statements. 

1. Text-analysis directions:

Your Task: Closely read one of the texts below and write a well-developed, text-based response of 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.

Central Idea: The central idea is the central, unifying idea of the story, which ties together all of the other elements used by the author to tell the story. The central idea can be best described as the universal truth found in the story.

Guidelines: Use these guidelines when writing your text-analysis response.

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
 

2. Common Application prompts and directions: 

 
Your Task: Write two, separate well-developed paragraphs (7-10 sentences each) answering the questions below:

  1. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
  2. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
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Grade 10 ELA Texts

Choose ONLY one of the texts below to read and use for your text-analysis response. 

Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz (fiction)
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or

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (a young readers edition) by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick (non-fiction)

or

Maus 1 & 2 by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)