English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Graded Assignment Answer Key
Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
This document provides an overview of the tasks and a time line for completing this assignment.
Student Assignment Instructions
Respond to the following in the form of a short essay. Your essay should consist of at least five paragraphs.
Think about Rukmani’s relationship with the land in Nectar in a Sieve. In some ways, the land functions almost as
a character in Rukmani’s life. She interacts with the land much as she might interact with another member of her
community. What is the relationship like? What effect does the land have on her, and how does she respond to it?
In your response, describe what the land gives to Rukmani and her family. Then discuss what it takes away from
her. Finally, explain how she responds to both the benefits and losses associated with the land.
Cite specific examples from the novel in your response. Use the notes you take in the Reading Guide and the
questions you answer in the Student Guide to help you formulate your response.
You will hand in your completed response on the final day of this unit.
Process
You should always use a process for your writing that includes planning and drafting. To complete this
assignment, you will do the following:
•
Review the assignment instructions and grading criteria thoroughly. The writing assignment you complete
in this unit will be graded against a rubric that assesses the essay in a number of categories. These
categories focus both on the essay’s contents and its clarity.
o
Read the rubric on the last page of this document. Keep the criteria listed on the rubric in mind as
you complete the writing assignment.
o
Remember to write in standard formal English and use the third person (no personal opinions)
and the present tense.
•
Complete a plan for your essay.
•
Begin drafting your paper, using your plan as a guide.
•
Review and revise your first draft. You should try to have another person read your work and give you
feedback as part of your revision process.
•
Write the final draft of your essay. Be sure to follow these requirements and recommendations when
completing your draft:
Open a new Microsoft Word document. Type your name, your teacher’s name, your school name, and
the date at the top of your document. To help your teacher know from whom the project came, save the
file as:
ENG403B-ENG404B_NC_05_01_Nectar_in_a_Sieve_Literary_Essay_FirstInitial_ LastName.doc
Example: ENG403B-ENG404B_NC_05_01_Nectar_in_a_Sieve_Literary_Essay_M_Smith.doc
Type your essay in the document you create.
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Page 1 of 6
English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Student Time Line
You will complete this project over the course of this unit.
Task
Start
Complete
Print and review assignment instructions.
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 1
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 1
Read and take notes on the novel.
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 1
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 4
Develop a plan for your essay.
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 6
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 6
Begin drafting your essay.
Nectar in a Sieve,
Session 7
Your Choice
Complete writing and begin revisions.
Unit Review
Unit Test
Polish your essay and submit final draft for a grade.
Unit Test
Unit Test
Grading/Point Values
Assignment Point value: 300
Required Length
Word Count: 900–1,500
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Page 2 of 6
English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Novel Assignment Grading Rubric
Your essay will be evaluated based on the rubric below.
Criterion
5
4
3
2
1
Purpose
The literary essay fulfills
its purpose of analyzing
the characters, themes,
and/or historical context of
the novel. This purpose is
clearly articulated in a
valid thesis statement.
The literary essay fulfills
its purpose of analyzing
the characters, themes,
and/or historical context of
the novel, but the analysis
is not complete. The
purpose is stated in a
thesis statement.
The purpose of this literary
essay is not entirely clear.
The essay provides some
analysis of the characters,
themes, and/or literary or
historical context, but
there are significant gaps
that leave the reader
questioning. The thesis
may not be entirely clear,
or it may not state the
purpose of the essay.
The literary essay about
the novel does not fulfill its
purpose because it lacks
significant analysis of the
characters, themes, or
historical or literary
context; contains
irrelevant information; or is
mostly a summary of the
novel. The literary essay
has a thesis, but the thesis
is not entirely clear, or it is
not valid.
This essay is not a literary
essay about the novel. It
does not contain an
analysis of the novel's
characters, themes, or
historical or literary
context. The literary essay
does not have a thesis.
Ideas and
Content
The literary essay
contains insightful analysis
and examples of the
choices characters make,
the consequences of the
choices, and the
connection to theme, as
called for. The writer
explains the connections
between the evidence and
the thesis.
The literary essay
contains examples and
analysis, but some points
remain unsupported, or
the writer does not make a
convincing connection
between evidence
presented and
conclusions drawn. The
essay may present more
summary than analysis.
The literary essay
contains examples and
analysis, but some points
remain unsupported, or
the writer does not make a
convincing connection
between evidence
presented and
conclusions drawn. The
writer's evidence is
sometimes but not always
supported by relevant
paraphrases and
quotations from the novel.
The essay includes some
irrelevant or tangential
content. The essay may
offer more summary than
analysis.
The writer does not
present clear examples
and analysis of the
characters, themes, and
historical or literary
context. The writer does
not use paraphrases,
examples from the novel,
or quotations to support
his or her analysis. The
writer draws conclusions
for which he or she offers
little or no evidence, and
the essay presents more
summary than analysis.
The writer does not
present clear examples
and analysis of the
characters, themes, and
historical or literary
context. The writer does
not use paraphrases,
examples from the novel,
or quotations to support
his or her analysis. The
writer does not draw
conclusions from
evidence, and the essay
fails to show any insight
into the novel.
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Page 3 of 6
English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Criterion
Structure and
Organization
5
4
3
2
1
The essay has a clear
introduction, body, and
conclusion. The essay
identifies the title of the
novel and the name of the
author, presents a thesis
in the introductory
paragraph, and ends with
a concluding paragraph
that summarizes the main
points or restates the
thesis of the essay. The
body of the essay contains
paragraphs that support
the essay's thesis. The
essay consistently follows
an organizational pattern
such as order of
importance. Transitions
are well placed and make
meaningful connections
between ideas and
paragraphs.
The essay has a clear
introduction, body, and
conclusion. The essay
identifies the title of the
novel and name of the
author, presents a thesis
in the introductory
paragraph, and ends with
a concluding paragraph
that restates the thesis of
the essay. The body of the
essay contains
paragraphs that support
the essay's thesis. The
essay usually follows an
appropriate organizational
pattern, but a few details
or ideas may be out of
place. Transitions are
generally used effectively.
The essay has an
introduction, body, and
conclusion, but not all
parts are well developed.
The essay identifies the
title of the novel and name
of the author, but may not
do so in the introductory
paragraph. The essay
presents a thesis, but it
may not be in the
introductory paragraph, or
the essay may have a
concluding paragraph that
does not restate the
thesis. The body of the
essay contains
paragraphs that support
the essay's thesis, but
there may be irrelevant or
tangential content. The
essay sometimes follows
an appropriate
organizational pattern, but
it does not do so
consistently. Transitions
are occasionally used.
The essay may not have a
clear introduction, body, or
conclusion. The essay
might not identify the title
of the novel or the name
of the author. The essay
does not have a clear
thesis that is identified in
the introductory
paragraph, or it may lack
an introductory paragraph
altogether. The
conclusion, if present,
does not restate the
essay's thesis. The essay
does not follow a clear
organizational pattern, and
the writer tends to jump
around without connecting
ideas. Minimal transitions
are used.
The essay does not have
a clear introduction, body,
or conclusion. The essay
identifies neither the title
of the novel nor the name
of the author. The essay
lacks a clear thesis and a
clear conclusion. The
structure of the literary
essay is non-existent. The
essay consists of only one
long paragraph, or
paragraph breaks seem
random. There are no
transitions between ideas.
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Page 4 of 6
English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Criterion
5
4
3
2
Language
and Word
Choice
The writer uses effective,
compelling language to
express key ideas. He or
she considers purpose,
audience, and tone in
language and word
choice. The essay uses
present tense when
referring to the novel. The
essay incorporates literary
terms and contains no
colloquialisms or slang
expressions. The essay is
written in the third-person
point of view without firstperson expressions of
opinion. The literary essay
is written in a formal style.
The writer uses effective
language to express key
ideas. He or she usually
considers purpose,
audience, and tone in
language and word
choice. The essay usually
uses formal language,
incorporates some literary
terms, and does not
contain colloquialisms or
slang expressions. The
literary essay is usually
written in the third-person
point of view, is mostly
objective, and typically
does not contain firstperson expressions of
opinion.
The writer's language is
occasionally compelling.
The writer attempts to
consider purpose,
audience, and tone, but
sometimes loses sight of
one of these aspects and
includes inappropriate
language or wording. Few
appropriate literary terms
are used, and the writer
sometimes incorporates
slang, colloquialisms, or
other informal language.
The literary essay is not
consistently objective, and
third-person language
sometimes lapses into
first-person expressions of
opinion.
The essay lacks
compelling language. The
writer does not consider
purpose, audience, or
tone and uses
inappropriate language or
wording. Literary terms
are not used, and the
language is informal. The
literary essay is not
objective or is not written
in the third-person point of
view. The writer includes
many first-person
expressions of opinion.
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1
The essay's language is
often incoherent. The
writer does not consider
purpose, audience, or
tone. The literary essay
contains personal
opinions, comments, and
exclamations. The essay
contains informal
language, including slang
and other inappropriate
expressions.
Page 5 of 6
English | Graded Assignment Answer Key | Nectar in a Sieve Literary Essay
Criterion
Sentences
and
Mechanics
5
4
3
2
1
Each sentence expresses
a complete thought. The
title of the novel and the
name of the author are
capitalized correctly. The
title of the novel is
italicized, and quotations
within the essay contain
the exact words from the
novel and are punctuated
correctly. There are
extremely few errors in
grammar, usage, and
mechanics, and those that
exist do not impede
understanding.
Most sentences contain
complete thoughts. The
title of the novel and the
name of the author are
capitalized correctly. The
title of the novel is
italicized. Quotations from
the novel include the
correct words, but they are
sometimes not punctuated
correctly. There are few
errors in grammar, usage,
and mechanics, and they
rarely interfere with a
reader's ability to
understand.
The title of the novel and
name of the author might
not be capitalized
correctly, or the title of the
novel is not italicized.
Sentences do not all
contain complete
thoughts. There are
several unintentional
fragments and run-ons.
Quotations do not contain
all of the correct words or
are not punctuated
correctly. There are errors
in grammar, usage, and
mechanics that sometimes
interfere with the reader's
ability to understand.
The title of the novel and
name of the author, if
present, might not be
capitalized correctly. Many
sentences are incomplete,
and it is difficult to
recognize quotations from
the novel. There are errors
in grammar, usage, and
mechanics that make the
essay difficult to
understand.
Most sentences contain
errors in structure.
Quotations, if used, are
incorrectly transcribed and
punctuated. Multiple errors
in grammar, usage, and
mechanics make the
essay difficult to
understand.
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Page 6 of 6
Group Discussion Prompt: In lines 5–6 of "Work Without Hope," you can see that the speaker does not
work because he has no hope—no goal. In Nectar in a Sieve, Rukmani almost always has hope, even
when she and Nathan wander far from the land. They hope to return to the land, and they work toward
that goal, little by little.
Think about this idea in your own life. When do you work with hope toward an object or a goal? What is
an example of an object toward which you work? When do you work without hope? How does having or
not having the two requirements for work—hope and working toward a goal—affect your ability to
achieve?
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