How to write an essay

Writing an Introduction Mrs. Harapko

LA 7 Accelerated

Intro. Paragraph with thesis statement*

Body Par. #1

Body Par. #2

Body Par. #3

Concluding Paragraph

Start with a “hook.” Mention the title, author and genre (TAG) and add a couple focus sentences that lead to the thesis statement.

The thesis statement is a debatable claim or point you wish to prove.

Introductory Paragraph -- Like a funnel, start with a broad connection to the topic and then hone in on your point (thesis).

Diagram

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: the first paragraph in your essay.

Hook/Attention-grabber -- a creative beginning, meant to catch your reader’s interest TAG -- an acronym for title, author, and genre of the workBackground/Set-up/Brief summary -- provides essential background about the literary work and prepares the reader for your major thesisThesis Statement -- a sentence in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader, usually at the end of the paragraph

HOOK/ATTENTION GRABBER: a creative beginning, meant to catch your reader’s interest. Ways of beginning creatively include the following:

1) A startling fact or bit of information 2) A segment of dialogue between two characters 3) A meaningful quotation (from the work or another

source) 4) A universal idea5) A rich, vivid description of the setting 6) An analogy or metaphor 7) A question8) An anecdote or example

Hook examples for compare/contrast essay: “A Day’s Wait”/ “Stolen Day”

Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” by Tom Krause

Ignorance. Reaction. Family. These three words describe . . .

The power of knowledge is a powerful thing.

TAG -- acronym for title, author, genre

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” In Ernest Hemingway’s “A Day’s Wait” and Sherwood Anderson’s “Stolen Day,” the two main characters battle with this quote in these interesting short stories. (ATG)

Note: You can put TAG in ANY order you want, as long as all three are represented!!

Background/Set-up/Brief summary -- provides essential background about the literary work and prepares the reader for your major thesis

* Keep in mind that your audience (your teacher or classmate) has read the literature; however, they have not analyzed it in the same way you have.

* Keep your summary BRIEF! (no more than three sentences)

Background/Set-up/Brief summary

Example of a set-up:

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” In Ernest Hemingway’s “A Day’s Wait” and Sherwood Anderson’s “Stolen Day,” the two main characters battle with this quote in these interesting short stories. The two boys, Schatz and a narrator, are each confronted with a challenge that takes place over the course of a day. Once the day is over, each one learns a valuable lesson about courage.

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THESIS STATEMENT: a sentence in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader, usually at the end of the paragraph

* Note -- Some thesis statements are explicit, hinting at what the two or three body paragraphs will be about.

THESIS STATEMENT

Thesis statement: not good!

Schatz and the narrator have similarities and differences.

Thesis statement (explicit):

The characters, Schatz and the narrator, share similarities and differences in their actions, reactions, and lessons learned.


Body Par. #1

Body Par. #2

Body Par. #3 (optional)


Thesis with 3 major reasons

Reason #1 discussed in this paragraph



Final thoughts

BODY: the support paragraphs of your essay. These paragraphs contain supporting examples (concrete detail) and analysis/explanation (commentary) for your topic sentences.

Each paragraph in the body includes (1) a topic sentence/support thesis, (2) integrated concrete details/examples, (3) commentary/explanation for details/examples, and (4) a concluding sentence.

Body Paragraphs - three minimum

Begin with a topic sentence which supports the major thesis statement from the introductory paragraph.

Be sure to include:

2 Concrete details (quoted passages or paraphrased facts

from the story)

2 Commentary -- interpretation/elaboration

Concluding sentence -- to sum up or transition to the next paragraph

TOPIC SENTENCE: the first sentence of a body paragraph. It identifies one aspect of the major thesis and states a primary reason why the major thesis is true.

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities.

Topic sentence for body #1:

Opening transition + first point in thesis.

TRANSITIONAL/LEAD-IN: phrase or sentence that prepares the reader for a concrete detail by introducing the speaker, setting, and/or situation.

CONCRETE DETAIL: a specific example from the work of literature used to provide evidence for your topic sentence/support thesis.

Concrete detail can be a combination of paraphrase and direct quotation from the work.

Transition: For example,

Lead-in: in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales,

Concrete Detail:“Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302).

***QuoParPunc!!!

No Naked Quotes!!

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities. Schatz and the narrator both prove that they are very naïve. For example, in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales, “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302).

1. Topic sentence

2. Introduce first similarity

3. TLC

COMMENTARY: your explanation and interpretation of the concrete detail. Commentary tells the reader what the author of the text means or how the concrete detail proves the topic sentence and supports the thesis. Commentary may include interpretation, analysis, argument, insight, and/or reflection.

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities. Schatz and the narrator both prove that they are very naïve. For example, in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales, “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302). This demonstrates how Schatz confused Celsius and Fahrenheit, and, therefore, believed he was going to die as a result of this misunderstanding.

TIPS FOR WRITING COMMENTARY

These sentence starters put the writer into commentary-mode:

This shows . . .

This is because . . .

This means . . .

This reveals . . .

This illustrates . . .

This highlights the difference between . . .

Paraphrasing! Another form of TLC!!!!

As part of your body paragraph, you will not only use a quotes, but you will also paraphrase.

Paraphrasing = putting information into your own words.

For example:

In similar fashion, the narrator in “Stolen Day” convinces himself that he has a debilitating disease; inflammatory rheumatism. As you can see, both boys demonstrate that they are gullible in making such juvenile assumptions.

I paraphrased how the narrator was gullible in my own words and did NOT use any EXACT sentences from the story.

Here is our paragraph so far:

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities. Schatz and the narrator both prove that they are very naïve. For example, in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales, “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302). This demonstrates how Schatz confused Celsius and Fahrenheit, and, therefore, believed he was going to die as a result of this misunderstanding. In similar fashion, the narrator in “Stolen Day” convinces himself that he has a debilitating disease; inflammatory rheumatism. Due to overhearing the symptoms, such as an enlarged heart, the narrator’s racing heart after a race leads him to believe that he may have the disease. Of course, this is not the case because everyone’s heart races after running. As you can see, both boys demonstrate that they are gullible in making such juvenile assumptions. 1. Topic sentence2. Introduce similarity3. TLC - quote4. Commentary5. TLC - Paraphrase6. Commentary

Suggested Outline for Body Paragraph #1:

1.Topic sentence2.Introduce similarity3.TLC - quote4.Commentary5.TLC - Paraphrase6.Commentary7.Concluding sentence

CONCLUDING SENTENCE: last sentence of the body paragraph. It concludes the paragraph by tying the concrete details and commentary back to the topic sentence and/or thesis statement.

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities. Schatz and the narrator both prove that they are very naïve. For example, in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales, “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302). This demonstrates how Schatz confused Celsius and Fahrenheit, and, therefore, believed he was going to die as a result of this misunderstanding. In similar fashion, the narrator in “Stolen Day” convinces himself that he has a debilitating disease; inflammatory rheumatism. Due to overhearing the symptoms, such as an enlarged heart, the narrator’s racing heart after a race leads him to believe that he may have the disease. Of course, this is not the case because everyone’s heart races after running. As you can see, both boys demonstrate that they are gullible in making such juvenile assumptions. Therefore, it is evident that both Schatz and the narrator share several similarities.

LATER in your writing career, you will be creating more lengthy paragraphs that contain more than ONE example!!!! Look at next slide……

To begin, the boys from “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” share several similarities. Schatz and the narrator both prove that they are very naïve. For example, in “A Day’s Wait,” Schatz displays a naïve disposition when it is discovered he confused the thermometer scales, “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die” (302). This demonstrates how Schatz confused Celsius and Fahrenheit, and, therefore, believed he was going to die as a result of this misunderstanding. In similar fashion, the narrator in “Stolen Day” convinces himself that he has a debilitating disease; inflammatory rheumatism. As you can see, both boys demonstrate that they are gullible in making such juvenile assumptions. Indeed, the similarities between Schatz and the narrator go beyond their naivety, they also believe that they are going to die. As a result of confusing the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales, Schatz spends the entire time believing his 102 degree fever will cause him to die. He heard that someone could not live with a temperature of 44 degrees, but he did not realize that this was in Celsius. In comparison, the narrator believes that he will die of inflammatory rheumatism, “It’s a wonder, with my inflammatory rheumatism and all, I didn’t just drop down dead” (306). This illustrates how the narrator believed he was going to die because he ran a race with his brother and his heart beat rapidly afterwards. He clearly does not have inflammatory rheumatism, but he is making himself believe that he does. Therefore, it is evident that both Schatz and the narrator share several similarities. THIS IS AN ADVANCED/ADVANCED VERSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LINK TRANSITION SENTENCE: the first sentence of a body paragraph. It identifies one aspect of the major thesis and states a primary reason why the major thesis is true.

Link transition sentence formula:

Transitional phrase + main idea of body #1 + main idea of body #2

Although Schatz and the narrator share similarities, they also have many differences.

Transitional phrase + main idea of body #2 + main idea of body #3

You will always have TWO link transition sentences in a five-paragraph essay.


Concluding transition,

Echo your major thesis without repeating words verbatim.

Answer the “so what?” question for your reader. What was he/she supposed to learn?

What were the main ideas of your essay?

Connect back to your HOOK!!!!!

Example Conclusion: In summation, Schatz and the narrator’s actions

and reactions both caused them to learn very valuable lessons. Furthermore, the two boys in “A Day’s Wait” and “Stolen Day” demonstrate that there can be similarities and differences in seemingly incomparable characters in two pieces of writing. Schatz and the narrator showed how being naïve can be both serious and comical. Despite their naivety, Schatz is a much more courageous boy than the narrator. Overall, each boy learned a very valuable lesson about jumping to conclusions. “Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” It is evident that courage, or lack thereof, plays a significant role in both stories. One must understand that trying is half the battle and courage comes in all shapes and … ages!


Body Par. #1

Body Par. #2

Body Par. #3 (optional)


Thesis with 3 major reasons




Final thoughts

Education

How to write an essay