Literary Essay writing TV2 Wonder

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

lesson 11-6

Essay writing Wonder

First inventory what pages Insight?

This week's lessons:

1. Literary essay - Introduction
2. Literary essay - Body paragraph(s)
3. Literary essay - Conclusion

Aim of this lesson

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain what the introduction of a literary essay looks like.

What do you already know about essays?

What is an essay?

An essay is a written collection of prose, organized and divided neatly into paragraphs.

Remember that an essay is a written form of communication and therefore must be clear and easily understandable to most readers.

Purpose?

State or support an opinion with proof and explanation.

Essays can be used to persuade others to agree with your opinion.

Literary essay

A short text that tells about the big idea or theme of a book you've read.

It is NOT a summary (samenvatting) of the book or a description of the characters .

Layout/Structure

1. Introduction (1  paragraph)
   
2. Body paragraphs (+- 3 paragraphs)
3. Conclusion (1 paragraph)
   
   

Introduction

Your introduction (single paragraph) explains briefly about the story (don’t write a full summary, you can assume that I’ve read the book), names the author and leads into your thesis statement. (if you want to you can also start with a hook/attention grabber)

Thesis statement:

What it is that you’re going to argue/prove/analyze etc.

Should ALWAYS come at the end of your introduction!!

Thesis statement

You’ll be given an essay question and from that one you’ll develop your thesis statement.

In other words, your thesis statement is your response to the question.

Example:

Essay Question:

What qualities does Auggie's family have that help support him as he struggles to fit in at school?

Introduction + Thesis Statement

In R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder, August Pullman has a disease that has left his face deformed and therefore he needs a lot of medical care and attention. After having been homeschooled for the first part of his life, his parents have now decided to send him to middle school. Throughout the novel Palacio illustrates how the unconditional love and humour of Auggie’s family help him to accept himself and to start making his own steps onto the road to adulthood.

If you would like to start with a hook...

R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder starts with “You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out”. This refers directly to her main character August Pullman who is severely deformed and who will start middle school for the first time in his life. Throughout the novel Palacio illustrates how the unconditional love and humour of Auggie’s family help him to accept himself and to start making his own steps onto the road to adulthood.

Thesis statement:

(1) To announce the topic to the reader.

(2) To reflect a judgment about the topic.

(3) To provide the reader with a blueprint for what is to come in the essay. 

NB: Your thesis STATEMENT should always be a STATEMENT.

Let’s try again:

Essay Question:

Auggie’s parents bring Auggie around to the idea of attending school by joking with him about Mr Tushman’s name, and telling him about their old college professor, Bobbie Butt. To what extent is humour used as a tool throughout Wonder to diffuse difficult or tense situations, or to convey a part of the story that would otherwise be depressing or sad? 

Try to develop your own thesis statement based on this question. Strong thesis statements normally mimic parts of the original question.

Body

You need to write separate paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a different point.

So-> Starting a new point? Start a new paragraph!

Please use clear topic sentences and linking words in/between your paragraphs.

Topic sentence:

Main sentence that describes what your paragraph will be about. Should be a strong statement.

Linking words:

Firstly, however, secondly, thirdly, therefore, furthermore, nevertheless (etc etc)