Essay Reminders

Umbrella Metaphor

Many writers think of a thesis statement as an umbrella: everything that you carry along in your essay has to fit under this umbrella, and if you try to take on packages that don't fit, you will either have to get a bigger umbrella or something's going to get wet.

Thesis Statements

The thesis statement should remain flexible until the paper is actually finished.

The thesis statement usually appears near the beginning of a paper and should be placed as the last or second to last sentence of your first paragraph.

Avoid announcing the thesis statement as if it were a thesis statement. In other words, avoid using phrases such as "The purpose of this paper is . . . . " or "In this paper, I will attempt to . . .”

Never use the pronoun “I” or “you” in a thesis statement.

Crucible Essay

Dangerous ideas can leak their way into anything, which is revealed through Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Steinbeck's protest article, and through the inner turmoil of our own government.

The playwright Arthur Miller, “The Demons of Salem,” and John Steinbeck all prove that radical concepts are threatening to the daily American freedoms.

Through history radical ideologies are proven to be dangerous to human beings; Arthur Miller, John Steinbeck, and Senator McCarthy all reveal this truth.

Quote Integration

The Triple I: IIII: introduce the quote

I: insert the quote

I: interpret the quote

AXES

A = AssertionX = EXampleE = ExplanationS = Significance

Assertion

The assertion (AKA topic sentence) states the specific point that you will be making in the paragraph; connects the paragraph to your thesis/claim by linking the specific point of the paragraph back to a central concern of the claim. Generally, assertions should go at or near the beginnings of paragraphs (for example, after a transitional sentence); “buried” assertions create an essay that is difficult to follow, and an essay without any assertions will seem like a list of unrelated facts or opinions. (A good way to test the effectiveness of your assertions is to read just your claim and the assertions in order: this is the backbone of your essay.)

EXamples

Examples are the evidence that supports your assertions. When analyzing a text, an example must be a direct quote from the text. Other kinds of arguments might rely on examples, data, quotes, experience, etc. as evidence. Quotes should be introduced and briefly contextualized.

Explanations

Explanations clarify how and why the evidence relates to your assertion and subsequently to your central claim. In textual analysis, for example, an explanation of a quote pulls out particular words, images, references, etc. from the example and shows how these support the assertion. Explanations of examples and data outline the reasoning that logically links the evidence to the assertion.

Significance

Statements of significance answer “So what?” about your point by explaining why the point made in the paragraph is important in light of your thesis. Providing significance is crucial to making an argument that says something, has a purpose, or is interesting.

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In-text citations