Catfish and Mandala
1A ESSAY RUBRIC—FINAL EXAM—100 POINTS
Critical Thinking (1-50 pts). The essay is insightful, containing a thoughtful, clear, well-developed argument. _________________
Organization (1-20 pts). The essay opens with a hook such as an interesting question and moves clearly from general to specific, establishing appropriate context for the essay’s subject. The paper contains a 1-2 sentence long thesis that takes a clear, focused narrowed position. The essay ends with a thoughtful conclusion that extends the implications of the thesis by explaining why the focus of your paper matters to society. The paper has a logical and clear sequence of main points and ideas and does not just follow a formula. Well-focused paragraphs support all parts of the thesis ____________
Quotations (1-10 pts). Required quotations provide detailed, relevant support with clear and fully-developed explanations of what the quotations demonstrate. _________________
Grammar and Style (1-10 pts). The essay contains an interesting, original title, extensive, varied, and appropriate vocabulary, and contains minimal syntactic, grammatical, and spelling errors as well as a variety of sentence patterns and overall sentence fluency. _______________
MLA (1-10 pts). The essay contains correct MLA page headings, properly attributed/formatted quotes, and MLA in-text citations tied to a correctly formatted MLA Works Cited Page. ___________
Feel free to pick from any of these or create your own that you run by me.
1. Pick three chapters and explain how their titles are incorporated into the story.
2. Explore the “Falling-Leaves” chapters by picking three of these, and, in your thesis and the body of your paper, primarily discuss their similarities while acknowledging their differences.
3. What caused An to take this journey? What did he accomplish?
4. To what degree does An experience inner transformation throughout the book, achieving a kind of spiritual heroism?
5. What and / or where does An regard as his home by the end of the book?
6. In what ways has An’s concept of his identity changed by the end of the book? In answering this question, please first define what you think his concept of his identity is in the beginning of the book.
7. What does it seem to mean to An’s father to be a good father? What actions of An’s father show him to be a good or bad father?
8. After reading about An’s adventures, what similarities and differences do you see between An’s family and culture and your own?
9. How did An’s expectations of Vietnam change after he arrived there? To what extent was it how he remembered it as a child?
10. What caused An to take this journey? What did he accomplish?
11. Analyze / Reflect on the relationship of An’s immediate family members. Specifically, closely examine three incidents in the book that display family struggle.
