Incorporating details

1. Incorporating details I’ve got great stuff, but what the heck do I do with it now?

2. Helpful tips: QUotes • Cite any direct quotes that you use (More on this to come) • Direct quotes should NEVER exist on their own. • Not-so-good: By the end of the novel, Ralph has gone completely savage, as he’s forced to fight for his life. Jack and his clan of boys have trapped Ralph in a thicket near their encampment, and he’s backed into a corner. “He bared his teeth and raged about, waving a spear about” (176). Ralph decides to fight back, stabs a boy with a spear, and runs away. “He thrust a spear out of the thicket, striking a boy, whom he could hear cry out in pain” (177). • Better: By the end of the novel, Ralph has gone completely savage, as he’s forced to fight for his life. Jack and his clan of boys have trapped Ralph in a thicket near their encampment, and he’s backed into a corner. In response, Ralph “bared his teeth and raged about, waving a spear about” (176). We see that he’s become savage, almost like a dog or other frightened animal. with his bared teeth and snarling. He then resorts to violence, fighting back as he “thrust a spear out of the thicket, striking a boy, who he could hear cry out in pain” (177).

3. Helpful tips: quotes • Partial quotes are good (See model) • Respond to the quote (It’s not just about the quote. It’s your analysis of the quote in relation to your thesis.) • Jack and his clan of boys have trapped Ralph in a thicket near their encampment, and he’s backed into a corner. In response, Ralph “bared his teeth and raged about, waving a spear about” (176). We see that he’s become savage, almost like a dog or other frightened animal. with his bared teeth and snarling. • Do NOT respond by saying, “This quote shows…”

4. Helpful tips: Details • Remember that details don’t make sense without a little context • Remember that your detail is only important as it relates to your thesis. You need to connect it back. • Context: Caesar gets three different warning signs of his death. In the beginning of the book and the day right before his death, the soothsayer yells, “Beware the Ides of March.” The day before he gets killed, his wife dreams of fire and death. A servant gives him a letter that he doesn’t even read but that includes the plans of the conspirators. • Explain: Caesar disregards all the signs and ends up dying because he thinks he can not be harmed. • Connect: This shows that being too cocky was Caesar’s own demise. He was too cocky to be aware of the signs, and since he didn’t listen to the signs, he went to the Senate and was killed.