The Jane Schaffer Writing Strategy

Basics for

Response-to-Literature

Essays

The 11 Sentence Paragraph

The Prompt

Before writing anything, know your assignment— READ THE PROMPT! What are you being asked to do?

Response-to-Literature Writing= writing that discusses what is of value in a work of literature.

Literary Response requires a careful, critical look at the reading.

Step 1: Topic SENTENCE

• A Topic Sentence (TS) is the top bun of a hamburger.

• TS = first sentence of the paragraph.

It shows the main idea.• Usually a mildly controversial statement--something that you have to prove. It can be as brief as 3 words!

1) In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise.

Example Topic Sentence (TS)

Step 2: CONCRETE DETAILS• Concrete Details

(CD) are the meat of the hamburger.

• CDs = Support for your TS. (facts, quotes, examples, etc. from text)

• CDs can’t be argued with—a CD is evidence that supports your point!

Example Concrete Detail (CD)

2) For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick.

Step 3: COMMENTARY• Commentary Sentences

(CM) are the “extras” on the hamburger—the tomato, cheese, lettuce, mayo—they make it delicious!

• CMs = your analysis, interpretation, explanation, or insight into how the text proves your claim in your topic sentence.

Example Commentary Sentences (2 CMs)

3) The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house. 4) This shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf.

Step 4: CONCLUDING (Circle) SENTENCE

• A concluding sentence (CS) is the bottom bun of the hamburger.

• A CS wraps up the paragraph. It rephrases the main idea so we come back full “circle” to the beginning.

Example Concluding Sentence (CS)

5) In conclusion, the thirdpig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big, bad”wolf as well.

TS, CD, CM, CS—Now What?CHUNKING !!!

For a literary response writing, we use a combination (or “ratio”) of 1:2. That means… for every 1 CD… you will have 2 CMs.

A combination of aCD and the CMs that explain it is called a CHUNK.

One Chunk: 1 CD + 2 CMFor example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house. This shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf.

Ratio = 1:2

One-Chunk Body Paragraph• Sentence #1 - TS – States your claim/opinion• Sentence #2 – CD - starts with “For example”• Sentence #3 – CM - (“This shows that...”)• Sentence #4 – CM - (“This also show that..”

“This is because...” “This is important

because...”)• Sentence#5 – CS – Concluding, or “Circle”

Sentence – Sums it up and ties back to the thesis

(“As a result...”)

Step 6: A Whole Paragraph

In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house. This shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. In conclusion, the third pig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big, bad” wolf as well.

Does It Flow?

Now you know how to write a one- chunk paragraph…

LET’S ADD MORE CHUNKS!

Two Chunk Paragraph• Has the Thesis/Topic

Sentence (TS) at the beginning and a Concluding/ Circle Sentence at the end.

• Includes two CD, CM, CM, structures (chunks) with a transition between.

THREE Chunk Paragraph(The 11 Sentence Paragraph)

• Has the Thesis/Topic Sentence (TS) at the beginning and a Concluding/ Circle Sentence at the end.

• Includes two CD, CM, CM, structures (chunks) with a transition between.

Transitions• A good paragraph will also use transition

words in between the chunks. • These are words or phrases that help

readers connect your ideas.

Example Transitions:For example,

For instance,

Consequently, Thus,As a result,Because of this,

In summary, Hence,Therefore,

NOW

YOU DO IT!!

Consider one of the following pieces: “The Plot Against People” OR “And of Clay We Are Created”

“How does the author’s PURPOSE and the author’s PERSPECTIVE affect the TONE of the selection?

.

Russell Baker’s tragic past and his desire to entertain create a tone of mocking sarcasm in “The Plot Against People.

PROMPT

Your TOPIC SENTENCE is the answer to the prompt and what your paragraph must PROVE:

PURPOSE: inform * entertain * express * persuade PERSPECTIVE: author’s experiences * values * beliefsTONE: author’s attitude toward his subject

Your TOPIC SENTENCE answers ALL parts of the prompt and it’s what your

entire paragraph must PROVE.So my answer to the question in the prompt might

be…

Russell Baker’s tragic past, and his desire to entertain create a tone of mocking sarcasm in “The Plot Against People.

perspective

purpose

tone

…And now my CONCRETE DETAILS must be examples from the text where Baker is mocking man’s tendency to stress out over the little things:

1.) because he is trying to be funny/entertaining (purpose) (AND)2.) because his tragic life experiences made him realize the true unimportance of life’s little annoyances. (perspective)

CONCRETE DETAILS to PROVE my TOPIC SENTENCE:#1 The one “goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately

defeat him.” (purpose)#2 Things that get lost have a “secret method of locomotion” that they can

hide whenever a “human eye falls upon them.” (purpose)#3 That things that don’t work have “given man the only peace he receives

from inanimate objects” and have therefore “attained the highest state possible for an inanimate object.” (perspective)

his subject

…Then add 2 sentences of COMMENTARY for each detail that explains how that detail proves a part of your topic sentence:

CONCRETE DETAILS to PROVE my TOPIC SENTENCE:#1 For example, Baker states that the one “goal of all inanimate objects is

to resist man and ultimately defeat him.” (purpose)

TWO SENTENCES OF COMMENTARY: He is speaking as if inanimate objects can think and reason and actually

have joined together to plot mankind’s destruction. The absurdity of this statement makes it funny and causes the reader to perhaps laugh at his or her own experiences with such objects.

CONCRETE DETAILS to PROVE my TOPIC SENTENCE:

#2 In addition, Baker speculates that perhaps things that get lost have a “secret method of locomotion” that they can conceal whenever a “human eye falls upon them.” (purpose)

TWO SENTENCES OF COMMENTARY: The mental image of a pair of pliers suddenly sprouting arms and

legs when we can’t see them is hilarious. This is, of course, just plain silly and quite obviously meant to get a laugh from the reader.

CONCRETE DETAILS to PROVE my TOPIC SENTENCE:

#3 Finally, Baker feels those things that don’t work have “given man the only peace he receives from inanimate objects” and have therefore “attained the highest state possible for an inanimate object.” (perspective)

TWO SENTENCES OF COMMENTARY: Baker experiencing the tragedy of losing his father, and having to

leave behind his sister cause him to see the unimportance of the need to control these objects. He understands that peace can only come from placing no expectations on the areas of ones life that one cannot control.

Russell Baker’s tragic past, and his desire to entertain create a tone of mocking sarcasm in “The Plot Against People. For example, Baker states that the one “goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately defeat him.” He is speaking as if inanimate objects can think and reason and actually have joined together to plot mankind’s destruction. The absurdity of this statement makes it funny and causes the reader to perhaps laugh at his or her own experiences with such objects. In addition, Baker speculates that perhaps things that get lost have a “secret method of locomotion” that they can conceal whenever a “human eye falls upon them.” The mental image of a pair of pliers suddenly sprouting arms and legs when we can’t see them is hilarious. This is, of course, just plain silly and quite obviously meant to get a laugh from the reader. Finally, Baker feels those things that don’t work have “given man the only peace he receives from inanimate objects” and have therefore “attained the highest state possible for an inanimate object.” Baker experiencing the tragedy of losing his father, and having to leave behind his sister cause him to see the unimportance of the need to control these objects. He understands that peace can only come from placing no expectations on the areas of ones life that one cannot control. In conclusion, Baker’s past and his sense of humor go hand in hand to put a sarcastic spin on the importance of lifes little nuisences.

TS

CD

CD

CD

CM

CM

CM

CM

CMCM

CS

EXAMPLE 11 SENTENCE PARAGRAPH