OPTIONAL Writing Assignment You may choose between Assignment A or Assignment B. Assignment A is a good assignment for someone who wants to work on writing more clearly and working on basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Assignment B is a good assignment for someone who wants to prepare for college. Assignment A: Write about someone you looked up to when you were young. Describe this person physically and also describe this person’s personality. Were they bossy, kind, energetic? Give some examples. If possible, use some metaphors or similes! Write about why you looked up to him or her. What was it about them that attracted you? Then, describe how your relationship with this person progressed. Did you change your feelings about him or her? Were you disappointed by this person? Why? Or did you continue to have a good relationship? Assignment B: In college, you will often have to write about short stories or novels. For this assignment, write three paragraphs about how the narrator of the story has changed. Use the template below. I have written the first paragraph, and part of the second paragraph for you as an example. Paragraph One: Include the title and author. State your thesis: the idea that you are going to “prove” by using evidence from the text (quoting). What does each character represent? EXAMPLE: The story “A Handful of Dates” by Taleb Salih is a story about a young boy who at first idolizes his grandfather, but then comes to see him differently. The story is not only about the relationship between the narrator and his grandfather, but also about what the boy values in life. In the beginning, the boy describes his relationship with his grandfather in a way that makes it clear he idolizes him. He describes his grandfather’s beard as “luxuriant,” and describes how proud his grandfather was of him for being able to recite passages from the Koran. The narrator says “I loved him and would imagine myself, when I grew up, to be tall and slender like him, walking with great strides.” Paragraph Two: Discuss the turning point or turning points. Does the character’s change of heart come from one big event, or from a smaller series of events? Describe them. EXAMPLE: The narrator’s relationship with the grandfather changes through a series of events. The first event is when the boy asks his grandfather about Masood. The grandfather says that Masood is “indolent.” When the boy asks why, the grandfather explains that he, the grandfather, now owns most of the land that used to belong to Masood, because Masood has married several times, and has had to sell off land to pay for his marriages. Here we see the first time the boy begins to disagree with his grandfather. He says “I don’t care, I told myself, who owns those date palms, those trees, or the black, cracked earth. All I know is that it’s the arena for my dreams and my playground.” In other words, the boy does not see the land in terms of ownership. The boy sees the land as a place for living and playing. This difference in values, represented by the boy’s grandfather and Masood, continues throughout the story.