“Rutting among the stones under the eyes of the engraver’s son was not enough. Not only did she have to live out her years in a house palsied by the baby’s fury at having its throat cut, but those ten minutes she spent pressed up against dawn-colored stone studded with star chips, her knees wide open as the grave, were longer than life, more alive, more pulsating than the baby blood that soaked her fingers like oil.”
AP English Language and Composition Dr. Chon Beloved Close Reading Assessment Deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday, 5/20 (Submit collated readings online to Google Classroom) Length: 250-300 words per close reading 5 revised close readings total This assignment asks you to revisit, rework, and revise five close readings that you have written for homework on Morrison’s Beloved. The five readings must address five distinct excerpts from the text. If analyzing a passage discussed in class, your reading must go beyond a mere recap of thoughts shared in class. The objective of this assignment is to refine your interpretation and analysis skills and to provide the time and space to practice sustained revision. Since you will be revising writing submitted for homework, my goal is to offer you with at least one round of written feedback for each close reading, along with a preliminary grade. If you receive a 10/10 on a reading for homework, you will not be expected to revise it for this assessment. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with a reading submitted for homework, you may write an entirely new close reading for this assessment. I encourage you to come talk to me about your ideas throughout our reading of Beloved. Please retype your selected passage from the novel for each of your readings. State your argument within the first 1-2 sentences of your analysis. Avoid unnecessary summary and stay close to the textual excerpt selected. Each of your close readings will be assessed on: 1. The specificity, contestability, and originality of your reading’s thesis, 2. Selection, engagement, and analysis of evidence, 3. Prioritization of the passage’s how over the what (i.e. focus on how the passage says what it says, not only what it says), and 4. Style and mechanics on the sentence level. The final draft of your assignment should include all five close readings on one document and be formatted according to MLA citation guidelines. Late submissions will be penalized one full letter grade for each day they are late. This submission will be worth 50 points (10 points per close reading) and will fall under the “Assessments” category of your grade.