St.

Adelaide School-Philippines
Don Matias, Burgos, Pangasinan

STUDY GUIDE 1 IN ENGLISH 10

GRADE LEVEL GRADE 10
TOPICS/TITLE  Argumentative Essay and Argumentative Writing Techniques
 Oedipus, The King (An Excerpt) By Sophocles
 Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus By William Carlos
Williams
QUARTER 3rd Quarter
WEEK/S: WEEK 1-3
DATE November 29 – December 16, 2021

I. Introduction/Overview of the Lesson

Good day, students! Congratulations for the job well done in Second Quarter. Keep up the good work. Now, I welcome
you to the 3rd Quarter of this Academic Year. Demonstrate burning desire in pursuing your goals. Few months from now, you will
be in a new stage of your high school years.
In this study guide, we will be studying Argumentative Essay and Argumentative Writing Techniques, Oedipus, The
King (An Excerpt) by Sophocles and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams. To enjoy this lesson, I want
you to ask yourselves with these two questions:
1. Is destiny pre-determined?
2. Do you believe that people make their own destiny?

II. Objectives of the Lesson

I will now post here the learning competencies as well as the essential questions which you may use as guide to
acquire meaningful learning.
Learning Competencies:
 Discuss the structure of a good argumentative essay;
 Explain the importance of writing an argumentative essay; and
 Compose an argumentative essay.

III. Discussion and Self-check

As defined by EnglishClub, "writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces)
to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. An essay is generally a short piece of writing outlining the writer’s
perspective or story. It is often considered synonymous with a story or a paper or an article. Essays can be formal as well as
informal. Formal essays are generally academic in nature and tackle serious topics. In this study guide we will discuss about the
Argumentative Essay.
To make your point heard in an argumentative essay, you'll need more than simply an opinion. It's a piece of writing
that expresses a point of view on a topic. To persuade readers, your position must be compelling and well-structured, with sound
reasoning and facts to back it up. There are elements of an argumentative essay that must be considered.
In academia, argumentative essays are essential. They enable students to build a well-thought-out argument that is
presented in a brief and measured manner. When writing your essay, the most crucial thing you need is the will to win, with the
main goal of influencing the reader's mind. You must be very persuasive with your statements by presenting all of the facts and
addressing all of the advantages and disadvantages or the pros and cons of a certain issue.
An argumentative essay is a type of essay that presents arguments about both sides of an issue. It could be that both
sides are equally balanced, or it could be that one side is presented more forcefully than the other. It all depends on the writer
and what side he supports the most.

Structure of a Good Argumentative Essay

1. Introductory paragraph- The first paragraph of the essay must outline the topic, give 1|Page
background information of the argument, outline the evidence, and state the thesis.
2. Thesis statement- This is part of your first paragraph. It is concise, one-sentence
summary of your main point and claim.
3. Body paragraphs- This part consists of three (3) or more paragraphs that explain the
reasons why you support your thesis. Each paragraph covers different idea or piece of
Steps to Writing a Great Argumentative Essay

1. Research. Before writing an argumentative essay, read and know more about your argument.
2. State your proposition. Define a short proposition or thesis statement as this is important to help you concentrate and be
focused on your topic. Make sure that the statement is making a debatable assertion.
3. Think about the opposition. Always remember that someone somewhere will disagree with your opinion. Your objective is to
anticipate what someone who is opposed to your argument may say and to counter and overcome their objections by noting the
following subsequently:
• Who may disagree with me?
• What points will they disagree with?
• How strong will the opposition be?
• How can I refute their opinions?
• Which points are the most debatable?
4. Structure your argument. Think of your essay in terms of paragraphs, with each paragraph addressing a separate element of
the argument following a good argumentative essay writing structure.

To persuade the readers through logical reasoning and analysis, you may use the suggested techniques in argumentation.

Five (5) types of argument claim that can drive your essay:

1. Fact: This technique presents the argument, whether true or false, clearly, and concisely. It asks you to answer the question
with a "Yes" or "No" that supports the facts.
2. Definition: This technique gives meaning to a concept that forms the argument through the dictionary definition of what you are
arguing, plus your interpretation of it.
3. Value: this technique gives importance to the value of your stance. It usually asks you to choose between things, ideas,
beliefs, or actions and explain why you did so.
4. Cause and effect: This technique presents the causes of the problem in your argument and its effects.
5. Policy: This technique appeals to the reader's emotions by stirring up the reader's thinking about why they should care about
your stance and what they should do about it after reading.

Another lesson that will be discussed in this study guide is a story of a King. I know that you are excited to learn more
about this, so keep on reading this study guide.

Oedipus, The King is an excerpt written by one of the three major Greek playwrights, Sophocles. There are three major or great
tragic poets and playwrights of Greece during Fifth Century (B.C.E.), these are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Their
works became popular in their times however, there are few surviving plays of this century.

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 Aeschylus (523-456 B.C.E.)- He is often referred to as “the father of tragedy.” Aeschylus is known to have written about eighty
plays, but only seven remain. Aeschylus won the tragic contest at the Festival of Dionysus thirteen times. His most noteworthy
contribution to the theatre is the addition of a second actor.
 Sophocles (496-406 B.C.E.) - Sophocles is considered the best of the three major tragedians. He won twenty-four contests at
the Festival of Dionysus, so the people of his time seem to have agreed. Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only seven
have survived the test of time. Of these, is his Oedipus the King, which is considered by many to be the most perfect of all Greek
tragedies.
 Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.) - Euripides’ work was not very popular during his lifetime. He only won the contests at the Festival
of Dionysus four times. However, his work was highly appreciated in the years and centuries after his death. Due to his incredible
popularity in later years, a remarkable number of his plays have survived, eighteen in total. Euripides was the most unique of the
three great tragedians. He was the first tragedian to meld tragedy with comic elements to create tragicomedies.

Task 1: GET INFORMED

 Read the information in GET INFORMED to know what Mythology is on p. 104 of English 10 textbook
 Then, read the GET IT FROM THE EXPERT to know the author of Oedipus, The King on p. 104 of English 10 textbook
 Read first GET HOOKED to know what the selection is all about on p. 104 of English 10 textbook

Task 2: WHAT IS A GREEK TRAGEDY?

 In ancient Greek theatre, it is a play in which the protagonist, usually a person of importance and outstanding personal qualities,
falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he or she cannot deal.

Task 3: REMEMBER AND STUDY (ELEMENTS OF OEDIPUS, THE KING)

THEME
 Tragic drama/tragedy

SETTING
 The Royal House of Thebes
 Thebes – City of Greece, a royal house founded by Cadmus, birthplace of Dionysius, home of Hercules, visited by plagues,
beset by the Sphinx.
 Corinth – a City in Greece, formerly known as Ephyre where Oedipus grew up.
 Kitharion – lonely mountain where Oedipus as a child was to be killed.

PROTAGONIST
 Oedipus Rex

ANTAGONISTS
 Tiresias
 Creon

CHARACTERS
 Oedipus – Long before the play begins, Oedipus became king of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx.
 Creon – Brother of Jocasta, right hand of Oedipus
 Tiresias – The blind prophet or seer.
 Jocasta – wife of King Laios, Queen of Thebes, biological mother of King Oedipus and became the wife of Oedipus.
 The Chorus – In this play, the chorus represents the elder citizens of Thebes, reacting to the events of the play.
 A Priest – He comes to the royal house to tell Oedipus of the city's suffering and to ask Oedipus to save Thebes once more.
 A Messenger – The messenger from Corinth informs Oedipus that King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth were not his
actual parents.
 A Shepherd – The former servant of King Laius who took pity on the baby Oedipus and spared his life.
 Antigone – Daughter of Oedipus and half-sister of Oedipus; took care of her father during his blindness.
 Ismene– Daughter of Oedipus and half-sister of Oedipus; stayed in Thebes, but was with her father at his death bed.
 Laois – King of Thebes, married Jocasta, and biological father of Oedipus
 Polybus – King of Corinth, known to be the foster father of Oedipus.
 Queen Merope - known to be the foster mother of Oedipus.
 Kadmos – founder of Thebes, ruled over it in great prosperity and wisdom, introduced the alphabet into Greece.

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TASK 4: YOUR TEXT (OEDIPUS, THE KING BY SOPHOCLES)
 Read Oedipus, The King (An Excerpt) By Sophocles on pp. 104 – 120 of English 10 textbook.
 Read the poem as if you are in a play
 Remember all the important details of the selection

Let us know more about the tragic story of Oedipus

Summary of Oedipus, The King by Sophocles
When the play opens, Thebes is suffering a plague which leaves its fields and women barren. Oedipus, the king of
Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the house of Apollo to ask the oracle how to end the plague. Creon returns,
bearing good news: once the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague (Laius was Jocasta's
husband before she married Oedipus). Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will find the murderer and banish him. The Chorus
(representing the people of Thebes) suggests that Oedipus consult Teiresias, the blind prophet. Oedipus tells them that he has
already sent for Teiresias.

When Teiresias arrives, he seems reluctant to answer Oedipus's questions, warning him that he does not want to know
the answers. Oedipus threatens him with death, and finally Teiresias tells him that Oedipus himself is the killer, and that his
marriage is a sinful union. Oedipus takes this as an insult and jumps to the conclusion that Creon paid Teiresias to say these
things. Furious, Oedipus dismisses him, and Teiresias goes, repeating as he does, that Laius's killer is right here before him - a
man who is his father's killer and his mother's husband, a man who came seeing but will leave in blindness.
Creon enters, asking the people around him if it is true that Oedipus slanderously accused him. The Chorus tries to
mediate, but Oedipus appears and charges Creon with treason. Jocasta and the Chorus beg Oedipus to be open-minded:
Oedipus unwillingly relents and allows Creon to go. Jocasta asks Oedipus why he is so upset and he tells her what Teiresias
prophesied. Jocasta comforts him by telling him that there is no truth in oracles or prophets, and she has proof. Long ago an
oracle told Laius that his own son would kill him, and as a result he and Jocasta gave their infant son to a shepherd to leave out
on a hillside to die with a pin through its ankles. Yet Laius was killed by robbers, not by his own son, proof that the oracle was
wrong. But something about her story troubles Oedipus; she said that Laius was killed at a place where three roads meet, and
this reminds Oedipus of an incident from his past, when he killed a stranger at a place where three roads met. He asks her to
describe Laius, and her description matches his memory. Yet Jocasta tells him that the only eyewitness to Laius's death, a
herdsman, swore that five robbers killed him. Oedipus summons this witness.
While they wait for the man to arrive, Jocasta asks Oedipus why he seems so troubled. Oedipus tells her the story of
his past. Once when he was young, a man he met told him that he was not his father's son. He asked his parents about it, and
they denied it. Still it troubled him, and he eventually went to an oracle to determine his true lineage. The oracle then told him
that he would kill his father and marry his mother. This prophecy so frightened Oedipus that he left his hometown and never
returned. On his journey, he encountered a haughty man at a crossroads - and killed the man after suffering an insult. Oedipus is
afraid that the stranger he killed might have been Laius. If this is the case, Oedipus will be forever banished both from Thebes
(the punishment he swore for the killer of Laius) and from Corinth, his hometown. If this eyewitness will swear that robbers killed
Laius, then Oedipus is exonerated. He prays for the witness to deliver him from guilt and from banishment. Oedipus and Jocasta
enter the palace to wait for him.
Jocasta comes back out of the palace, on her way to the holy temples to pray for Oedipus. A messenger arrives from
Corinth with the news that Oedipus's father Polybus is dead. Overjoyed, Jocasta sends for Oedipus, glad that she has even more
proof in the uselessness of oracles. Oedipus rejoices, but then states that he is still afraid of the rest of the oracle's prophecy:
that he will marry his mother. The messenger assures him that he need not fear approaching Corinth - since Merope, his mother,
is not really his mother, and moreover, Polybus wasn't his father either. Stunned, Oedipus asks him how he came to know this.
The messenger replies that years ago a man gave a baby to him and he delivered this baby to the king and queen of Corinth - a
baby that would grow up to be Oedipus the King. The injury to Oedipus's ankles is a testament to the truth of his tale, because
the baby's feet had been pierced through the ankles. Oedipus asks the messenger who gave the baby to him, and he replies that
it was one of Laius's servants. Oedipus sends his men out to find this servant. The messenger suggests that Jocasta should be
able to help identify the servant and help unveil the true story of Oedipus's birth. Suddenly understanding the terrible truth,
Jocasta begs Oedipus not to carry through with his investigation. Oedipus replies that he swore to unravel this mystery, and he
will follow through on his word. Jocasta exits into the palace.
Oedipus again swears that he will figure out this secret, no matter how vile the answer is. The Chorus senses that
something bad is about to happen and join Jocasta's cry in begging the mystery to be left unresolved. Oedipus's men lead in an
old shepherd, who is afraid to answer Oedipus's questions. But finally he tells Oedipus the truth. He did in fact give the

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messenger a baby boy, and that baby boy was Laius's son - the same son that Jocasta and Laius left on a hillside to die because
of the oracle's prophecy.
Finally, the truth is clear - devastated, Oedipus exits into the palace. A messenger reveals that he grabbed a sword
and searched for Jocasta with the intent to kill her. Upon entering her chamber, however, he finds that she has hanged herself.
He takes the gold brooches from her dress and gouges his eyes out. He appears onstage again, blood streaming from his now
blind eyes. He cries out that he, who has seen and done such vile things, shall never see again. He begs the Chorus to kill him.
Creon enters, having heard the entire story, and begs Oedipus to come inside, where he will not be seen. Oedipus begs him to
let him leave the city, and Creon tells him that he must consult Apollo first. Oedipus tells him that banishment was the
punishment he declared for Laius's killer, and Creon agrees with him. Before he leaves forever, however, Oedipus asks to see
his daughters and begs Creon to take care of them. Oedipus is then led away, while Creon and the girls go back in the palace.
The Chorus, alone, laments Oedipus' tragic fate and his doomed lineage.

TASK 5: STUDY AND REMEMBER (SCENE IV)

 Who is CHORAGOS?

ANSWER: The Choragos is the leader of the chorus, and he is also the member of the chorus who participates in the drama of
the play as a member of the cast. In his role, he interacts with people in the play.

 What are STROPHE and ANTISTROPHE in Literature?

ANSWER: The strophe -- meaning "turn" -- is the first stanza of an ode and is essentially the first half of a debate or argument
presented by the chorus. The antistrophe is the other half of the debate or further exploration of the argument initially presented
in the strophe.
The story of Oedipus teaches us that we have to live to the fullest and it is necessary to examine one’s life constantly
so that even in death, memories are happy. It also teaches us that a person is responsible and accountable. Just like Oedipus,
he became responsible and accountable by accepting the punishment – for killing his own father. Oedipus blind himself because
he could not face the truth that he committed crimes of parricide and incest without knowing it. It was parricide because he killed
his own father and it was incest because he married his own mother. It was also the fulfillment of his words to punish the
murderer of King Laios – his biological father.

For the second week of third quarter, another tragic story will be told.
TASK 1: GET STARTED
Before we start, let us ponder on these questions:
1. What are life paradoxes?
2. Has the world become indifferent?

TASK 2: GET INFORMED

 Read Get Informed and Get It from the Expert on p. 133 of English 10 textbook to be familiarized with the theme and author of
the selection.

TASK 3: GET HOOKED (YOUR TEXT) LANDSCAPE WITH THE FALL OF ICARUS BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
 Read the ekphrastic poem
 Read the poem with correct pitch, stress, and intonation and expressions.
 Emphasize good oral fluency in reading the poem

TASK 4: THINGS TO KNOW

 What is an ekphrastic poem?

ANSWER: An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of
narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.
 Remember that Paradoxes are self-contradictory statements or propositions that when investigated or explained may prove to
be well founded or true.

"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" is a poem by one of the foremost figures of 20th-century American poetry, William Carlos
Williams, first published in Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems in 1962. The poem is a work of ekphrasis—writing about a

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piece of visual art—and is part of a cycle of 10 poems inspired by the paintings of 16th-century artist Pieter Bruegel (or Brueghel)
the Elder. Both Bruegel's painting and this poem depict the death of Icarus, the mythological figure who died after flying too close
to the sun, in a rather unusual way: in both works, Icarus's death—caused by a fall from the sky after the wax holding his artificial
wings together melted—is hardly a blip on the radar of the nearby townspeople, whose attention is turned instead toward the
rhythms of daily life. Tragedy is thus presented as a question of perspective, something that depends on how close one is
(literally and emotionally) to the event in question.

I hope you learned a lot from our lessons. To measure your understanding of the topics discussed in this study guide,
be ready to answer the following activities.

IV. Evaluation
Direction: For offline learners, write your answers on a 1 whole sheet of paper. For the online learners, encode your answer and
upload the file on CLE.

Activity 1: From the given topics below, choose one topic and write minimum of 500 words argumentative essay about
it. Make sure to apply your understanding about argumentative essay.

Topics:
 Has the internet positively or negatively impacted human society?
 Should minors be able to purchase birth control without parental consent?
 Should the DepEd/CHED implement the face-to-face classes amidst the pandemic?
 Is online learning helpful or harmful?
 Should everyone be entitled to free health care?
 Among the learning delivery modalities for school year 2021-2022, what do you think is the best one and why?
 Should online games be banned in the Philippines?
 Is arranged marriage better than romantic marriage?
 Is martial law good in the Philippines?
 Should the schools teach Sex Education to students?

Activity 2: In Understanding text through close reading, answer question numbers 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 21 only
on page 127.
Teacher-made Quiz on CLE: Schedule is to be announced.

V. References
Books:
Castro, Honorina Rowena M.; Carpeso Shirley L.; Obillo Maria Cristina A. (2018). Everyday English in World Literature. Phoenix
Publishing House.
Online: https://znnhs.zdnorte.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SLM-E10Q3M6.pdf

STUDENT’S ACTIVITY TRACKER

Activities to be Submitted on or before: November 29 – December 16, 2021
Week No: 1-3
Subject Activity Title/No. Mark Check (√) if Done (for
students use)
English 10 Activity 1 and 2
Teacher-made Quiz on CLE

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