Thing Case

Animal Farm

Writing Assignment 1: ¨The Seven Commandments¨

Rough Draft due on Monday, January 20th

**We will peer edit in class on Monday**

PROMPT

In chapter I, Old Major lays out several commandments for the animals. In chapter 2, these are solidified into ¨The Seven Commandments¨ , which are spelled out in no uncertain terms. Every society has certain rules that the members of that society must follow. There are many rules in our society that are written; law libraries are full of them. There are also some unwritten rules that guide our daily lives. (You shake hands when you meet someone new; you don't spit in someone else's soup; you say, "Excuse me" when you burp, or when you want to get past someone, etc.)

Your assignment is to create a list of The Seven Commandments for our society. Choose the seven most basic and important rules (written or unwritten) that guide our lives. Defend your choices with reasoning for why these are important to follow.

PREWRITING

Stop and think for a few minutes about what guidelines most people in our society follow. Jot down all your ideas. Then, go back and weed out those ideas that are duplicated or are not as important as some of the others on your list. Now, look at your list. If you were to give this list to a foreigner who had just arrived in this country, would these "commandments" serve him/her well? If not, go back and make revisions to your list until you are satisfied that you have the seven most

basic rules of our society.

DRAFTING

Your paper should have an introductory paragraph in which you lead up to and state your seven commandments (why might it be important to be aware of, and abide by the seven commandments??). You should then list the seven commandments and underneath each write 3-4 sentences describing why you chose the commandment (justify your choices, give examples of ways this commandment may benefit you in real life). Write a concluding paragraph in which you summarize your points and leave your reader with your most important thought.

PEER PROOFREADING

After reading your rough draft, he/she should tell you what he/she liked best about your work, which parts were difficult to understand, and ways in which your work could be improved.

Reread your paper considering your critic's comments, and make the corrections you think are necessary.

PROOFREADING

Do a final proofreading of your paper double-checking your grammar, spelling,