Length: approximately 750 hand-written words Warren Cariou’s short story, “An Athabasca Story” seems to be an allegory, or a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. Discuss the main

GRADING RUBRIC: ENGLISH 100

TITLE (5%):______The title must be informative. After reading your title, the reader should be able to tell what your essay is about. Do not underline or bold your title. An example of a good title is one that captures the gist of your thesis statement, and that also mentions the author and the text.

INTRODUCTION— (10%):______Your introduction or opening should include the author and text. Your opening should pose a question and suggest how you will structure your argument. Your essay should have a thesis statement, or, at the very least, your introduction must give your reader a sense of what it is you are going to prove in the body paragraphs of your essay.

TRANSITIONS (10%): _______You must use transitions between sentences, within paragraphs, and between paragraphs. Transitions help your reader see the logical flow of your argument throughout the entire body of your essay.

PARAGRAPHS (10%): _______ All of your paragraphs should (ideally) have a recognizable topic sentence that expresses a sub-point of your main, controlling idea—thesis statement—and every paragraph needs to be supported with EVIDENCE—quotes, paraphrase, plot summary, other—what this support does is it shows your reader that you have a coherent, organized, and well developed plan.

EVIDENCE—Quotes/Plot Summary/Other (20%):_______ The EVIDENCE that you provide as support can be direct quotes of primary/secondary texts, can be paraphrases of plot (but not too much), and can be other secondary sources (if you are required to do research for the assignment). Evidence must be properly introduced and smoothly integrated into the body of your paragraphs—follow MLA format exactly.

ARGUMENT/CRITICAL INSIGHT (20%):_______In addition to the EVIDENCE as support in your essay, you must also interpret this evidence and provide your reader with critical analysis/insight, which means—interpret the EVIDENCE by offering your reader reasons why you are quoting, paraphrasing or plot summarizing certain details, and what these items are doing in your paper to help you develop and support your thesis or central claim. Show your reader in each and every paragraph the how and why of your use of EVIDENCE in an analysis of the text. Your opinions and feelings are important and valid; the way you balance your opinions and feelings with your use of evidence demonstrates your sophistication as a writer.

MECHANICS (15%):________Your essay should be free of serious problems with mechanics (spelling, grammar, or manuscript format) which hinder the reader of the paper. The reader should be able to read the paper and not feel hindered or interfered with—they should be able to read the overall effectiveness of the essay and not have to stop to mentally repair errors in mechanics.

CONCLUSION (10%):________A good conclusion is one that repeats (in different words) your thesis and your sub-points of each paragraph. A great conclusion is one that goes beyond the repetition of the latter, and is one that convincingly invites your reader to consider the implications of your argument beyond your essay.

TOTAL MARKS_________/100.