starting an essay

8/2/2019 Starting an Essay

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Starting an Essay

It could be the very best thing you

do today!


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What is the purpose of writing about

literature?

The purpose ofwriting about

literature is tomake your readerconsider the text in

a new way orappreciate it morebecause of your

interpretation.


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Step One: Choose your topic

When deciding which topic to write about, you

should consider three things:

1. Which topic grabs you?The topic should be exciting

to you (or at the very least it

should be the least awful

among your choices.)


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2. Which topic do you have something

to say about? Pick a topic that you

think you can give a fresh spin to.


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3. Wheres the evidence?

Make sure there is a lot

for you to talk aboutwhen considering a

topic.

My rule of thumbis that you want to be

able to think of at least

three quotes or threeexamples that could

support your claim.


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Beware of the easy option

A little teacher secret from me to you:

We usually give the kid who takes on

the more difficult topic a better grade.


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I want to see you wrestle with tough

ideas not write another formulaessay.

YouTough

ideas


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So youve got your topic what is next?

Start with your

claim what are you

trying to prove?


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Some rules for thesis

statements

1. Thethesis statement controls theessay. This is the authors main

purpose - the position the author

wishes to defend in the essay.


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2. The sentence must be an opinion

not simply a true statement.

Although Curley and his wife are the

villains in Of Mice and Men, they arealso perhaps the victims of a society

with rigid gender roles.


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3. The sentence must be a complex

and intriguing opinion.

A weak claim statement might look like this:

In Of Mice and Men, Curleys wife isconniving, revengeful, and cruel.

Its an opinion, but it doesnt have any context.So what if she is conniving, revengeful and

cruel? Whats your point?


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How do you follow the rules?

These sentence structures can help to set up acontrast for the thesis statement:

Begin with the word Although

Contrast your opening statement with anclarifying point by inserting a however

Curleys wife instigated the men at theranch and created the conflict that lead to herdeath, however, as a woman in 1930s America,she was forced to play that role.


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Focus on three elements of analysis

Curley and George are well matched antagonists

because they are emotional, rebellious, and

stubborn.


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So youve got your claim statement.

What else goes in the introduction?

Typically, the claim statement is the second to

last sentence in your introduction.

Leading up to that, your goalshould be to hook your readers

and not sound cheesy.

You will also need to

mention the title of the novella

and the authors name in your introduction.


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You might try using a life connection

A life connection gives your essay contextthe reader can relate to. If you can put the

context of your essay into real life to help

the reader connect to your topic thenyoure off to a great start because you

arent just summarizing, you are analyzing.


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Religion typically offers something of

greater power, purpose, and authority than

we are capable of. When things go wrongand we cant control our lives, we pray.We cant see God, but we believe

somewhere, someone must be in control ofthis thing called life and we trust that its

listening. In Arthur Millers The Crucible,the faith that a God was listening wasdestroyed by the fear that the Devil waslistening too.


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Try something unexpected

Open your Introduction with A question

A metaphor

A surprising or shocking statement

A statement that perfectly captures the thematic

essence of the book

NO DEFINITION OPENINGS!!!


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Now you try

In your notebook, please write

your topic choice, and three

different claim sentences for

that topic.


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Keep in mind

Yes, you hate writing.

Yes, you hate essays.

But the only way to get better and

get to a place where you have

written something youre proudof is to practice!


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Lets play

Why do I hate

it?


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Example One

Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is abook that can be analyzed and broken down intoa vast majority of themes. One of the

predominant themes found in this book isloneliness. Many characters in this book areaffected by loneliness and they all demonstrate itin one way or another throughout the book.

Examples of these characters are Curleys Wife,Crooks, and Candy.


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Example Two

Steinbeck has brought forward this story of broken dreams in a waythat leaves the era of the American depression translucent. TheAmerican depression is concurrent to this story of people strugglingin their ways to achieve their targeted goals but is a hardlyrecognisable background theme to this novel. As the world at this timewas going through an inexperienced phase, Steinbeck portrays this in amore focused way through George and Lennie. Steinbeck showsGeorge and Lennie taking the same path as their foundations fromwhich they hope to go their own way whilst both paths are connected.George and Lennie both hope to have their own land, Lennie howeverfocuses on tending the rabbits whilst George dreams a broader dreamof owning his own land.


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Example Three

Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintainingit because no humans think the exact same or have theexact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you musthave things in common, you must be able to disagree

with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally youmust care legitimately about that person. These threerequirements to preserve a companionship are at timesarduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time,

concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendshipwith a companion or companions.


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Example Four

Of Mice and Men, is a tale about a friendship

between to travelling workers in the harshdepression years of the 1930s in America. It was

written by a man called John Steinbeck in1930s. There are several themes runningthrough this novel e.g. Friendship, lonelinessetc. I will be focusing on the theme of nature.

Steinbeck shows the world of nature to be abeautiful and peaceful one, but threatened bythe actions of men


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What does good look like?

Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest

and most hardened can avoid. It is not as obvious as one thinks;

on the surface a person may look happy and content, but on the

inside they may be in a deep state of depression and loneliness.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck proves thatalthough loneliness comes in different forms and causes people

to react in different ways, it is a universally felt emotion. One will

eventually experience loneliness in one form or another, but

reactions will differ. Although they seem at ease and friendly onthe surface, a deep sense of loneliness lingers in the hearts of

George, Crook's and Curley's Wife, to which they desperately try

and find an escape from to cope with their seclusion from the

rest of the world.

starting an essay

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