Essay: Sample Question

R&W Level 07
BOOK: The Giver

Part 3. Essay
1. In four paragraphs, explain two advantages and two disadvantages of living in Jonas's society. What makes his society more efficient? What makes his society unchallenging? In your final paragraph, tell which society (yours or his) you would prefer to live in and why.

In Jonas's society everybody has a purpose, and no one is jobless or homeless. There is climate control so all the crops are good, and no one can freeze or get too hot. In Jonas's society are no dieses so everybody is healthy, and if someone gets hurt there are pills so you get better fast. In the society you don't know about death, and there is no fighting and wars. Everybody is polite, and there is almost always a organized schedule for each person.

The bad things in Jonas's society are that no one can meke their own choices in life, and they're lives are all controled. There are no colors climate temeratures for snow or warmth, and every thing is all sameness. No one but the reciever has feelings, and there are a set of rules that you must follow. When you are released your are actually given a shot with death poision in them. All the children you get you don't get to keep, but are randomly chosen to people. Each family member is only allowed one boy and one girl.

In Jonas's society the place is more efficient, because the leaders chose what job you will get so they can chose how many will be workers and how many will be Caretakers of the Old. No one dies without being released so there won't be a open spot where there is no worker. Jonas's society is more unchallenging than our world, because all you need to do for a good life is to do what you are told to do. Every aspect of your life is being monitered so if you do something wrong you will be punished so you can really take a risk. There is no challenge of what to wear according to the weather because the weather stays at a same temperature the entire time.

I would rather live in my society, because I would have a sense of belonging, because everybody is unique in there own way instead of being like someone else. There are colors, feelings, different weathers, and you can chose what to do with your life. Some feelings might be bad, but I think it is better than having any feelings at all. I like having all the different seasons and sometimes that dieses because when you get over one you feel victorious and happy to know you will never get that kind of sickness again. This is why I think my society is better that Jonas's.

You discuss Jonas' society quite clearly by pointing out the pros and cons (good and bad points) of the way they live. I think you pick effective points to discuss, too. The lack of pain and joblessness sounds great at first, but of course there is also no color and no free will and no choice in jobs and they do not raise their own children. Obviously, there are more options in our society (as you point out) and that creates both problems and challenges--but those are the things that keep life interesting. Right? Right! As you put it, even bad feelings sometimes are better than no feelings at all. That is a good way to express your thought, and it is a valid and important point. There are some grammatical errors to examine, however: --You would say, "there is no fighting or wars" in the first paragraph. --You can't say, "more unchallenging" because you are taking a positive (more) to a negative (un) word. It's better to say "less challenging" instead. Another example of this type would be saying "Everybody did not go" when it would much better to say "No one went" instead. --The first sentence in the final paragraph you have a sentence with "because" twice and it creates a comma splice. You need to write "...sense of belonging, AND because everybody is unique..." (by the way, you don't really need the "in their own way" because unique means there is only one in the world). --Make sure you study the differences between "their, they're and there." For example, the first sentence of your second paragraph says "they're lives are all controled" when it should be "their lives are all controlled." --Also in the second paragraph, in the fourth sentence, change "your" to "you" and "them" to "it." In the fifth sentence, change "you get" to "you have" and "chosen" to "given." Overall, make these corrections and correct the spelling I've listed below. Your content--the ideas, examples, and specific information--is quite good and strong. Spelling/typos: temperature, diseases, Receiver, controlled, poison, monitored, make, everything and choose.

Comprehension Example

STUDENT NAME: Sanghun ( R&W Level : 07 )
TEACHER NAME: Jason
BOOK: The Giver

1. What two occasions of release are not considered punishment?

	The two occasions when release are not considered punishment is when the person is a infant or a elder from the House of the Old.
	Correct--but notice that you must use "an" infant and "an" elder because you use "an" (not "a") before a word starting with a vowel sound. Also, you have your are and is reversed. The release IS but the occasions ARE, so take a closer look at this tricky phrasing.

2. What assignments do Ashen, Fiona, and Jonas get?

	Asher got the job of Assistant Director of Recreation, Fiona got the job of Caretaker of the Old, and Jonas got the job of the Receiver of Memory.
	Correct, but make sure to fix the spelling of Ashen's name. Also, it should be "gets" instead of "got," because when writing about books you always use the present tense.

3. What is the Giver's job?

	The Giver's job was to give Jonas the memories of the real world, and to make Jonas fell how it looks like or how it feels.
	Yes, to make him "know" how it looks and feels. I think you wrote fell instead of feels but saying he has to make Jonas feel how it feels is redundant. Right? Also, change "was" to "is."

4. What is Jonas's first good memory and first bad memory?

	Jonas's first good memory was the feeling of riding on the sled and his first bad memory was the feeling of sunburn.
	Yes, that is correct, just change "was" to "is."

5. What does Jonas do with Gabriel?

	Jonas ran away with Gabriel after he learned that Gabriel was going to be released. He takes him to a place in the real world where everybody could keep their own memories, and they have colors.
	Good answer. You understand the story quite clearly and don't seem to have any problem providing the correct information. Be sure to check over the phrasing and word choice corrections I've pointed out to you, however. This includes keeping your answers in present tense (see the first sentence of your answer to #5).

Short Answer Example

STUDENT NAME: Helen C. ( GRADE 9 )
TEACHER NAME: Judy P.
BOOK: I Am the Cheese

1. What did Adam's father do that forced the family to change its identity?

Because he found some documents that were about the State House in Albany. This information was about the state and federal part of Albany and it would change alot of people's lives. So Adam's father had to go and testify in Washington about this information and this information made small arrest. Later, after testifying many people were doing things to Adam's father like making ridculious phone calls saying that they are going to kill his family. So it was dangerous for the family so he was forced to change his name.

Good detailed reply. You explain the situation clearly. Notice that a lot? is a two-word phrase, not one word.

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