English IV Final Exam Essay
Select one of the following statements about nature, and write an essay that explores its validity. To support
your essay, refer to your personal experience and to the selections from this unit.
“The West of which I speak is but another name for the Wild; and what I have been preparing to say is, that in
Wilderness is the preservation of the World.”
--Henry David Thoreau
“Sometimes we forget that nature also means us. Termites build mounds; we build cities. All of our being—
juices, flesh and spirit—is nature.” --Diane Ackerman
“A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his
children.”
--John James Audubon
Unit Selections:
“The Clan of One-Breasted Women” Terry Tempest Williams
“2004 Nobel Peace Prize Speech” Wangari Muta Magthai
The Future of Life Edward O. Wilson
“Counting Carbons” Richard Conniff
“A White Heron” Sarah Orne Jewett
“The Chimney Sweeper” William Blake
William Wordsworth Poems:
“The Tables Turned”
“Ode on Intimations of Immortality from
Recollections of Early Childhood”
“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”
“The World is Too Much with Us”
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
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Guidelines: You will write this essay in class on the day of the final exam (TBA). You may prepare an outline of your essay
to bring with you on the day of the final. You will receive 10 extra credit points toward your final exam if you have a
completed outline at the start of the period.
1. Page Length: Your paper should be at least 3 handwritten pages long. 20 points will be deducted from
your overall grade for each missing page.
2. Sources: You must have at least 3 sources for your paper.
3. Main ideas: 5 points will be deducted if your paper does not contain a clear, specific thesis statement
and 1 point will be deducted for each topic sentence that does not state the main idea of the paragraph.
4. Focus: 1 point will be deducted for each paragraph that contains information not related to the topic
sentence.
5. Details: 5 points will be deducted for excessive repetition.
6. Content: you should use direct quotes and information from all 3 sources. 5 points will be deducted from
your overall grade for each missing source.
7. Style: All quotes should be embedded into your sentences. 2 points will be deducted for each quote that
is not embedded.
8. Grammar and spelling: 10 points will be deducted from your paper for excessive grammar and spelling
errors.
9. Internal citations: 5 points will be deducted from your overall grade for missing or incorrect internal
citations.
Nature Essay Outline
Thesis statement:
Topic sentence 1:
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)
Topic sentence 2:
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)
Topic sentence 3:
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)
Evidence: (source, quote)