“Can you help me write this assignment for 10th grade ELA Honors students # Author Life and Literature Research Project **Name:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Class/Period:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Due Date:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ## Assignment Overview Choose one author and investigate how a significant life experience, event, relationship, struggle, or historical context influenced that author’s writing. Your goal is **not** to write a biography. Instead, you will analyze the connection between the author’s life and literature. Your research should explain how a specific experience shaped the author’s themes, characters, conflicts, settings, style, or ideas. Your writing should use evidence from both: - Reliable biographical or historical sources - One or more of the author’s literary works ## Learning Goals You will: - Conduct research using credible sources. - Identify and explain connections between an author’s life and writing. - Support ideas with evidence from multiple sources. - Analyze literary evidence rather than simply summarize it. - Organize your ideas into clear, well-developed paragraphs. - Cite sources properly. ## Step 1: Choose Your Author Select **one** author from the list below. You may choose a different author with teacher approval. ### Authors - James Baldwin - Isabel Allende - Sherman Alexie - Maya Angelou - Margaret Atwood - Jane Austen - Ray Bradbury - Charlotte Brontë - Ta-Nehisi Coates - Charles Dickens - W.E.B. Du Bois - Roxane Gay - Yaa Gyasi - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Ernest Hemingway - Khaled Hosseini - Kazuo Ishiguro - S.E. Hinton - Jhumpa Lahiri - Victor Hugo - Langston Hughes - Jacqueline Woodson - Harper Lee - Lois Lowry - Louisa May Alcott - John Steinbeck - Markus Zusak - George Orwell - Edgar Allan Poe - Malala Yousafzai - J.K. Rowling - Rick Riordan - Ralph Ellison - Nathaniel Hawthorne - Stephen King - John Steinbeck - J.D. Salinger - William Shakespeare - Sylvia Plath - Jason Reynolds - Mary Shelley - Sylvia Plath - J.D. Salinger - William Shakespeare - Angie Thomas - Ocean Vuong - Mark Twain - Toni Morrison - Virginia Woolf - Zora Neale Hurston - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Elizabeth Acevedo - Maya Angelou **Author I selected:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Literary work I will study:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Teacher approval, if needed:** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ### Choosing a Strong Topic Choose one specific influence rather than attempting to cover the author’s entire life. Possible topics include: - A major loss or hardship - A family relationship - War or political conflict - Discrimination or social injustice - Immigration or cultural identity - Mental health or personal struggle - Education or professional experiences - A historical event - Love, friendship, or betrayal - Poverty, fame, or public criticism ## Step 2: Research and Find the Connection Research a specific experience from the author’s life. Then identify a moment, character, theme, conflict, setting, image, or idea in the author’s literature that connects to that experience. ### Life Evidence **What did you learn about the author’s life?** --- --- **Source or citation:** --- **Evidence or fact from the source:** --- --- **Why is this important? What does this reveal about the author’s experience?** --- --- --- ### Literary Evidence **What happens in the author’s work that connects to the author’s life?** **Literary work title:** --- **Evidence or example from the text:** Include a quotation, scene, character, conflict, theme, setting, or detailed summary. --- --- --- **Why is this important? How does it connect to the author’s life?** --- --- --- ### Additional Research Notes +---------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------+ | Source | Important information | How it may support my analysis | +=====================+=======================+================================+ | | | | +---------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------+ | | | | +---------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------+ | | | | +---------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------+ ## Step 3: Develop Your Thesis Statement Your thesis should clearly explain the relationship between the author’s life experience and literary work. A strong thesis identifies: 1. The author 2. The significant life experience or influence 3. The literary work or works 4. The theme, idea, or literary element shaped by that experience ### Example Formula > \[Author’s\] experience with \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ influenced their writing by causing them to explore \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Use this formula as a guide, not as a sentence to copy. Write your thesis in your own words. **My working thesis:** --- --- --- ### Thesis Checklist My thesis: - [ ] Names the author. - [ ] Identifies one specific life experience or influence. - [ ] Names the literary work or works I will analyze. - [ ] Explains what theme, idea, or literary element was influenced. - [ ] Makes an analytical claim rather than simply stating a fact. - [ ] Can be supported with evidence from both research and literature. ## Step 4: Write Your Body Paragraphs Use the **TEXXXI** structure to organize each body paragraph. Each paragraph should prove one part of your thesis. ### T – Topic Sentence State the main point of the paragraph. What specific connection between the author’s life and writing will you prove? **Topic sentence:** --- ### E – Evidence from the Author’s Life Provide evidence from a credible biographical or historical source. This may include a fact, event, relationship, struggle, or historical context. **Life evidence:** --- --- **Source citation:** --- ### X – Explanation and Analysis Explain why the biographical evidence matters. What does it reveal about the author’s experiences, beliefs, emotions, or perspective? --- --- --- ### X – Example from Literature Provide a specific example, quotation, scene, character, conflict, theme, setting, or detail from the author’s literary work. **Literary evidence:** --- --- **Work and page number, if available:** --- ### X – Explanation and Analysis Explain how the literary evidence connects to the author’s life. How did the experience shape what the author wrote? --- --- --- ### I – Insight and Transition Conclude the paragraph with an insight about the larger connection. Then transition smoothly to the next point. --- --- ### Body Paragraph Planner +-------------------+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | Paragraph | Main connection I will prove | Life evidence | Literary evidence | +===================+==============================+===================+===================+ | 1 | | | | +-------------------+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | 2 | | | | +-------------------+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | 3 | | | | +-------------------+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ ## Tips for Success - Choose a specific life experience instead of summarizing the author’s entire biography. - Use credible sources such as biographies, academic articles, library databases, museums, universities, and author interviews. - Use more than one source when possible. - Make sure your literary examples clearly connect to your biographical evidence. - Analyze the evidence instead of simply retelling what happened. - Introduce quotations and explain their meaning. - Cite all borrowed information, quotations, and ideas. - Use formal academic language. - Avoid claiming that an author’s life directly caused a literary choice unless your research supports that conclusion. - Recognize that literature may be influenced by several factors, including imagination, culture, history, and personal experience. - Review your work for organization, clarity, grammar, and correct citations. ## Suggested Essay Organization ### Introduction - Introduce the author. - Provide brief context about the relevant life experience. - Introduce the literary work. - End with your thesis statement. ### Body Paragraphs - Use the TEXXXI structure. - Include evidence from both the author’s life and literature. - Explain the connection in each paragraph. ### Conclusion - Restate the main idea in new words. - Summarize how the author’s experience influenced the writing. - Explain why this connection matters to readers. ## Standards Alignment This assignment supports the following high school English Language Arts standards: - **RL.9-10.1:** Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a literary text says explicitly and to support inferences drawn from the text. - **W.9-10.9:** Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. - **RL.11-12.1:** Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a literary text says explicitly and to support inferences drawn from the text. - **RI.11-12.1:** Analyze and cite strong and thorough textual evidence from primary and secondary sources. - **W.11-12.1:** Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence. - **W.11-12.9:** Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. ## Final Submission Checklist - [ ] I selected one approved author. - [ ] I focused on one significant life experience, event, relationship, struggle, or historical context. - [ ] I analyzed the connection between the author’s life and literature. - [ ] I included evidence from credible research sources. - [ ] I included specific evidence from the author’s literary work. - [ ] I wrote a clear thesis statement. - [ ] My body paragraphs follow the TEXXXI structure. - [ ] I explained the importance of each piece of evidence. - [ ] I cited all sources properly. - [ ] I proofread my final draft.”