Coming of Age Week 4

Coming of Age
Week 4
The Essay
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EngelsMiddelbare schoolhavo, vwoLeerjaar 4

This lesson contains 15 slides, with text slides and 1 video.

Items in this lesson

Coming of Age
Week 4
The Essay

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In Class Today
the thesis statement
checking and rewriting the thesis statement
finish your reading 
or
supporting arguments
topic sentences


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What is a thesis statement?
A thesis is a claim about a work of literature that needs to be supported by evidence and arguments. The thesis statement is the heart of the literary essay and most of your essay will be spent trying to prove this claim. 

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Thesis 1:

• Must be an arguable statement about which readers of the play could disagree.



• Should NOT contain evidence, quotations, or specific examples. This is a statement of argument—that is it. Evidence and specific examples should be saved for the body of the paper

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Thesis 2:

• Must be a clear statement of your entire argument, not just a part of it.



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Thesis 3:

• Should be 1-2 sentences long, and should appear at the end or near the end of the introduction.


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Thesis 4:
• Should NOT include the first or second person (I, we, us, you, etc.)

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Thesis 5:

• Should NOT contain evidence, quotations, or specific examples. This is a statement of argument—that is it. Evidence and specific examples should be saved for the body of the paper

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A good thesis will be: 

  • Arguable. Othello is a tragic play about the downfall of a Moor”  isn’t a thesis—it’s a fact.
  • Provable through  evidence from the book:  “Othello is a confusing but ultimately very well-written play” is a weak thesis because it offers the writer’s personal opinion about the play. Yes, it’s arguable, but it’s not a claim that can be proven or supported with examples taken from the play itself. 


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Essay layout

  • Title: clear and interesting; no ambiguity/question
  • Introduction: Your introduction should let the reader know what to expect. What topic will you be addressing? 
Present your thesis at or very near the end of your introduction. 

  • Body paragraphs: Begin with a strong topic sentence. A good topic sentence alerts readers to what issue will be discussed in the following paragraph; add examples to back up your arguments.
  • Conclusion: use the conclusion to quickly summarise the specifics of your essay; no new information! 

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Topic Sentences
Each paragraphs needs a single topic sentence
Each paragraph starts with it's topic sentence
It is a statement

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Organizing your essay
Organize your topics sentences in a logical order
Find evidence/details/qoutes to support your topic sentences

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First Draft
Connect your topic sentences with the evidence
Connect the paragraphs with each other.

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