TDEC: COMMENTARY

TDEC

T – thesis or topic sentence

D – details (evidence)

E – elaboration (context of detail)

C – commentary (explanation of how detail proves thesis)

What is “Commentary?”

Commentary is insightful interpretation of the detail; it explains why the detail supports the thesis or topic sentence

Commentary largely answers “why” the author wrote

Commentary gets into deeper meaning.

More About Commentary

Commentary does not simply summarize the detail

Commentary does not simply restate the thesis or topic sentence

When analyzing literary devices, commentary explains how the device supports the thesis or topic sentence

NON-EXAMPLE: summarizing the detail What NOT to do:

In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway’s diction addresses the fear of being inferior to others. At the beginning of Book II, Jake meets up with his friend, Bill Gorton. Bill is already inebriated and urges Jake to not be “daunt[ed]” and join him in drinking (79). The word, “daunt” gains significance as Bill continues to use it, insisting he has “never been daunted in public” and speaking of a friend who reached success by never being “daunt[ed]” (79). Bill repeatedly talks about how he does not like being daunted in public, and that Jake shouldn’t be daunted either.

NON-EXAMPLE: restating the thesis

What NOT to do:

In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway’s diction addresses the fear of being inferior to others. At the beginning of Book II, Jake meets up with his friend, Bill Gorton. Bill is already inebriated and urges Jake to not be “daunt[ed]” and join him in drinking (79). The word, “daunt” gains significance as Bill continues to use it, insisting he has “never been daunted in public” and speaking of a friend who reached success by never being “daunt[ed]” (79). This shows that Bill is afraid of being inferior to others.

GOOD Example:

In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway’s diction addresses the fear of being inferior to others. At the beginning of Book II, Jake meets up with his friend, Bill Gorton. Bill is already inebriated and urges Jake to not be “daunt[ed]” and join him in drinking (79). The word, “daunt” gains significance as Bill continues to use it, insisting he has “never been daunted in public” and speaking of a friend who reached success by never being “daunt[ed]” (79). This word connotes weakness, and as Bill is only concerned about appearing this way in public, the reader can sense that he only fears others perceiving him as weak and therefore inferior. The repetition of “daunt” emphasizes Bill’s insecurity at the mere idea of seeming less-than, which is an emotion that continues to reappear in the book’s “lost” characters.

Seeing All of the Pieces Together

In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway’s diction addresses the fear of being inferior to others. At the beginning of Book II, Jake meets up with his friend, Bill Gorton. Bill is already inebriated and urges Jake to not be “daunt[ed]” and join him in drinking (79). The word, “daunt” gains significance as Bill continues to use it, insisting he has “never been daunted in public” and speaking of a friend who reached success by never being “daunt[ed]” (79). Bill is word connotes weakness, and as Bill is only concerned about appearing this way in public, the reader can sense that he only fears others perceiving him as weak and therefore inferior. The repetition of “daunt” emphasizes Bill’s insecurity at the mere idea of seeming less-than, which is an emotion that continues to reappear in the book’s “lost” characters.