Kate Nickolson

Ms. Wilson
English II
February 1, 2019

Instructions:
1. Choose ​ONE​ of the stories you read for the Intro to English II assignment:
a. "A Dozen Keychains" by Firoozeh Dumas
b. "By Any Other Name" by Samantha Rama Rau

2. Write a well-constructed SPEPES paragraph in response to the prompt below. You must
CITE EVIDENCE​ from the text to support your response. Be sure to include the title(s)
and author(s) in your answer. You may use your annotations.

Prompt: ​The the people we are surrounded by and the things we go through in life ​change how
we see ourselves.​ In the text, how do social influences and experiences shape the protagonist's
attitude towards herself? (Type your response in the space below).

In the short story “By Any Other Name”, the protagonist, Santha, is a young girl that is
attending a school where the students and teachers discriminates her culture. The situations
that surrounded Santha began to impact her attitude towards herself by making her feel
ashamed about her culture and heavy while she carries around her other personality Cynthia. In
the text, the speaker states “The cotton dress should have looked strange, but all i could think of
was that I should ask my mother if I couldn’t wear a dress to school, too, instead of my Indian
clothes.” This statement shows that Santha slowly becomes to feel ashamed of her culture. She
wants to fit into her new school without facing any judgment of the culture she was raised in.
Although she viewed her dress as strange she still encouraged herself to ask her mother to
wear it instead of her traditional Indian clothes. Santha began to grow a new personality at her
school when she was given her new name Cynthia. The speaker states “I was pleased to be
home and to have left that peculiar Cynthia behind that i had nothing whatever to say about
school.” This statement reveals Santha’s negative tone of being annoyed and relief of becoming
herself again. She sees Cynthia as a strange personality because she becomes the opposite of
Santha. The text shows that her different personality is heavy on the character because she is
enthusiastic about being able to be herself when she is home. Throughout the passage, Santha
and her sister Premila are discriminated with the other indians of the school by changing each of
their names into English. This affects them by making them feel ashamed of themselves and
their culture. The events that occurs in “By Any Name” affect the protagonists by having her
develop a new personality and shame of her culture.

Proficie Earned Points

Requirements Based on Standards nt? (X) Points Possible
Statement - Student Produce an answer based on the proof you X 3 3
 makes a clear, collect.
straightforward,
Restate the question stem. Mention the name of
relevant claim X
the book, story, article.
(Standard Wa.9.1.a)
Write a specific and detailed claim that reflects the
X
proof you have collected.
Proof - Student Use direct textual proof when possible (direct
X
uses observable quotes, or paraphrase from the text)
evidence and
Choose the proofs that actually prove your
specific details to X 2 3
statement is true. The more specific, the better.
support opinion.
(Standards W.9.1.b, Cite proofs using appropriate formatting (includes
W.9.1.d) punctuation)
Explain ​how​ your evidence proves your
Explanation - X
statement, not just ​that​ it proves your statement.
Student uses
critical thinking to Use key words from the statement to connect the 12
X
support evidence proof(s) to the statement. 12 (3 points
and connect it to Anticipate questions your reader might have and each)
the claim. X
answer them. Leave no doubt.
(Standard W.9.1.b)
Use sound reasoning in explanation X
Synthesis - Student Restate your main point(s) using different words
X
summarizes with the same meaning.
argument and, if
Remind your reader of your strongest proofs X 3 3
necessary, offers
extension. Why is your argument important to understanding
X
(Standard W.9.1.e) the text?
Utilize transition words/phrases to aid organization X

Transitions/Organiz Vary sentence structure (simple, compound,

X
ation/ complex)
Formatting/Style/To Use formal language to convey clear ideas (no 2 2
ne slang) Uses strong verbs and adjectives that make X
(Standards W.9.1.a, your argument clearer.
W.9.1.c, W.9.1.d)
Present an objective argument (keep your
X
emotions/ feelings out of it)
Conventions: Avoid run-ons, comma splices, and fragments x
Grammar, Spelling,
Capitalization, and 1 2
Punctuation
(Standard L.9.2) Avoid capitalization and spelling errors

Total: 23 25