Coming of Age Week 4

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Coming of Age

Week 4

The Essay

In Class Today

the thesis statement

checking and rewriting the thesis statement

finish your reading 

or

supporting arguments

topic sentences

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. 

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

Thesis 2:

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

Thesis 3:

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

Thesis 4:

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

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

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! 

Topic Sentences

Each paragraphs needs a single topic sentence

Each paragraph starts with it's topic sentence

It is a statement

Organizing your essay

Organize your topics sentences in a logical order

Find evidence/details/qoutes to support your topic sentences

First Draft

Connect your topic sentences with the evidence

Connect the paragraphs with each other.