Essay Structure

1. Essay Structure English II GS and GT

2. Essays • Essays come in many shapes and sizes, but for this unit, we are going to use a basic five paragraph essay • Introduction • Thesis • 3 Body Paragraphs • Textual Support • Conclusion • Rewording of claim • Reasons in separate sentences

3. Introduction • Starts with a hook that needs to be attention catching and draw in the reader. (See Essay Writing 101.) • Gives general statements (1-2) that move the essay from general to specific. • Sets up the argument made in your thesis. • Explain the main parts of your theme or motif. • Gives any background information needed, including the author’s name and title of work in the more specific sentence. • No supporting information (details or quotes from text) belong in the introduction. • Includes thesis statement: claim that you are proving (including motif) and three reasons (can be vignette titles or reasons) in chronological order or order from least to most important.

4. Thesis Statement • Tells the reader how the writer will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. • Is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. • Directly answers the question asked. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. • Makes a claim that others might dispute. • Is usually a single sentence at the end of the first paragraph.

5. Thesis Statement, cont. • Four parts (in logical order) • Uniting theme • Reason 1 • Reason 2 • Reason 3 Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn.

6. Examples: • Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel. • Weak, you should analyze—not give opinions. • In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore. • In progress, determine what your analysis will reveal • Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society and go back to nature.

7. Body Paragraphs • Paragraphs 2-4 • Develops the argument by elaborating on the parts of the thesis statement. • Provides details, explanations, and examples. • Follows the order created by the thesis statement. • They should build on each other. • Each paragraph needs an introduction sentence, which begins with a sophisticated transtion and contains the “reason” or vignette title and the claim. • Then, include context, textual support w/ your explanation of how it supports your claim, & a conclusion sentence (remind reader of topic & claim.)

8. Conclusion • The wrap-up of the entire argument. • Begin with a transition word & ONLY the claim. • No need to re-prove details, just restate them in different words (eg. three reasons in same order) but in a different sentence from intro-duction sentence. • Make sure the unifying theme for the details is made clear. • Restate the thesis and end with a bang! • See Essay Writing 101 for wrap up sentence ideas! Should be five sentences minimum!

9. Questions?

10. MLA Format English II GS

11. MLA • Modern Language Association • Provide guidelines for writing and documenting research. • Purdue OWL • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ • Easybib.com • Choose MLA and input the ISBN number for books!

12. General Guidelines: • Times New Roman • 12 point font • 1 inch margins on all sides of the paper, left alignment • Double spaced= 2.0 spacing (no extra spaces in between paragraphs) • Black ink

13. First Page Drew Brees 21 Oct. 2012 English II GT (or GS) Mrs. Burrows or Ms. Samuel Practice Makes Champions Every once in a while, a group of passionate people come together to accomplish feats. After Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans needed some inspiration. In order to help New Orleanians overcome this catastophe, the people of the city had to come together in a unified effort. One example of this camaraderie is the New Orleans Saints football team, the 2010 Superbowl champions. However, becoming a champion requires hard work, determination, and focus.

14. Second Page • Header on top right of the page • Last name page number

15. Works Cited • Brees 3 • Works Cited (or Bibliography) • Brooks, Jonathan. “Sean Payton: Why I Think He Should be Coach of the Year.” Sports Illustrated. 29 Feb. 2010: 35-39. Print. • Shockey, Jeremy. A Magical Season. 1st ed. New Orleans, LA: Red Stick Publishing, 2010. Print. • Header: sequential after essay using only last name and page number. Change to Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Be sure to check the box for “Different first page. • Use hanging indent. 1.0 spacing within entries and 2.0 spacing between entries. • Sources are alphabetized WITHOUT bullets or other headings. Follows MLA format.

16. In-text Citations • Every time a direct quote is used, an in-text citation must follow the sentence (aka a parenthetical citation w/ the punctuation after the closing parenthesis. • Every time information is paraphrased and an indirect quote is used, an in-text citation must also follow. • Does not include common knowledge

17. How to use in-text citations • Sentence introducing direct quote “quoted words” (Author’s last name page#). • For prose, use author’s last name page number (if there is more than one source in the essay). • For poetry, use author’s last name and line numbers (Angelou lines 202-203). (Again if more than one author, include the last name). • For plays, use (Act.Scene.Line) as in (3.2.101-103). • Although nobody is certain what happened that day, one reporter believes that “the coach made all the difference” (Brooks 32).

18. How to use in-text citations, cont. • Brief introduction “quoted material,” explanation of the quote (Author’s last name #). *Use author’s last name in parentheses if MORE THAN ONE source is included in paper. • In Brees’ opinion, “Jeremy was superstitious” and later explains that Shockey always follows the same pre-game routine (Brees 73).

19. Examples • The colors of the New Orleans Saints are black and gold. *Why is no citation needed? • He wanted to “beat up the opponents” and “finish the season by winning the Super bowl” (Brees 12 and 16). • Brees and the team went on a cross-country celebration tour, including the state of Indiana (Brooks 34-36).

20. Changes to Direct Quotes • Direct quotes must fit into the flow of the paper and make sense. • In other words, the quote combined with your own words must still be a complete sentence. • In order to adjust verb tenses, pronouns, and other small grammar issues, use brackets [ ]. • Use brackets to adjust grammar or to clarify vague pronouns! • Never before had Jeremy “see such determination from him” (Shockey 12). • Never before had Jeremy “see[n] such determination from [Brees]” (Shockey 12).

21. Changes to Direct Quotes, cont. • In order to omit parts of long quotes or unnecessary information, use brackets [ ] and an ellipsis … • According to the head coach, his players had to “attend practice, unless one of them was hurt because then I would let them sit out, and eat with the team after the game” (Payton 28-29). • According to the head coach, his players had to “attend practice […] and eat with the team after the game” (Payton 28-29).

22. The House on Mango Street • For this paper, you will not be using any outside resources. Therefore, your Works Cited page will only have one entry, the book. • Because there will only be one entry, there is no need to use the author’s name in the in-text citation. • Esperanza felt like a “red balloon, a red balloon tied to an anchor” (9).