Closed prompt 1- 2008 question 2

Student 2A: This student does a remarkable job pointing out specific parts of the passage that support his discussion of Arun, which is highly sophisticated. He/she perfectly characterizes Arun's discomfort by describing a "more permanent unsettled feeling" and "deeper emotion of disgust and outright disbelief at the situation." The handwriting was hard to read, but this did not detract from the quality of the analysis. The student clearly understands the emotional nuances and subtle changes in language that the writer uses to evoke Arun's complicated feelings towards his host family and the general situation. Part of what makes the essay particularly effective is the way the student organizes these nuances chronologically, allowing the essay's structure to reflect the organization and interpretation of the passage. Had the essay been a little more specific in some places, it may have earned a 9, but an 8 is still an exceptionally high score.

Student 2B: This essay starts off with some very good points,  but ultimately falls short of its potential because of a lack of textual support and general brevity in the development of the ideas. The student does an excellent job relating Arun's perspective to the behavior of the mother, pointing out her self-contentment and the "ironic" summertime lyrics. However, these observant details do not do enough to support the main argument of the essay. The student also makes a good point about the "internal monologue" and even repeats that expression, but does not expand on it enough. Internal monologue clearly plays a huge role in this piece, and capitalizing on its importance would have made for a slam-dunk interpretation. This is a typical issue for students who comprehend the literature on the test, but do not fulfill their implied understanding in the essay. Despite its shortcomings, the ideas are strong enough to earn it a respectable 6.

Student 2C: This student seems to have one main idea about the passage, and that is that Arun prefers the city to the country. Maybe he/she skimmed this or maybe just gave up, but when it gets to the point that the student regards "speech" and "point of view" as fully formed literary devices requiring no further characterization, one knows the essay is doomed. Despite having clear language and legibility, the essay demonstrates a very limited grasp of the passage and does not expand on any ideas effectively. Much of the small details that well-written essays not only mention but take advantage of are lost on this student. Simplifying Arun's behavior down to the fact that he is from India and his hosts are American and thus prefer "leisure" is about as competent an interpretation as that which a passing stranger could grasp from reading the overhead description. Perhaps that stranger's essay is presented here. If that is the case, a 4 really isn't too bad.