Comparative Identity, Discussion & Presentation — Problem set, Grade 11

Compare identity and judgment across two complete works with attention to genre and form. Discuss counterinterpretations, revise a 1,500–1,800-word essay, and deliver a six-minute presentation.

Review the key ideas

Evidence-Based Discussion & Listening

Prepare a discussion with a question, a tentative interpretation, and two text references. Listening matters as much as speaking.

Speaking, Presenting & Responding

Plan a presentation around purpose, audience, a clear claim or explanation, and a small set of well-chosen evidence. Spoken structure needs signposts listeners can follow.

Narrative Judgment, Identity & Comparative Form

A narrator’s declared impartiality is a claim to test, not an automatic guarantee. Compare judgment, selection, reported speech, and changes across the complete narrative.

Problem 1

Record what the source explicitly states before interpreting it.
Answer and explanation

Partner speaks for several minutes. You disagree but have not heard their evidence. These are the supplied words; conclusions about motives or causes need additional reasoning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 2

Give a plausible alternative response and explain which source detail would help choose between responses.
Answer and explanation

Paraphrase the claim and ask which passage supports it. Then offer your contrasting detail and invite a response. Listening does not require agreement, but disagreement should address the actual argument. A different conclusion needs a source detail it explains at least as well; identify what would confirm or challenge it.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 3

Record what the source explicitly states before interpreting it.
Answer and explanation

A slide says “90% support” without naming a sample. The speaker knows only 18 of 20 club members answered yes. These are the supplied words; conclusions about motives or causes need additional reasoning.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 4

Give a plausible alternative response and explain which source detail would help choose between responses.
Answer and explanation

Label it “18 of 20 surveyed club members supported the plan.” Explain that the club is not the whole school. The revision makes the evidence traceable and preserves its limit. A different conclusion needs a source detail it explains at least as well; identify what would confirm or challenge it.

Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.

Response criteria

  • Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
  • Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
  • Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.

Problem 5

Compare a disclosure or omission in Douglass and Gatsby while preserving genre.
Answer and explanation

Douglass offers historically situated testimony and explains protective omission; Nick’s fictional account selects and revises a social story. Analyze the function without equating the works’ truth claims.

Compare the reasoning with the criteria. Accept a different interpretation supported by accurate evidence.

Response criteria

  • Make a focused, accurate claim.
  • Use specific relevant evidence or explain a purposeful language choice.
  • Explain the connection and address a meaningful complication.

Problem 6

Contrast an audience’s access in Hamlet with a reader’s access through Nick.
Answer and explanation

A soliloquy, enacted scene, or aside can give access unavailable to other characters; Nick mediates narration. Name the exact moments and avoid assuming drama has no mediation.

Compare the reasoning with the criteria. Accept a different interpretation supported by accurate evidence.

Response criteria

  • Make a focused, accurate claim.
  • Use specific relevant evidence or explain a purposeful language choice.
  • Explain the connection and address a meaningful complication.
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