ESSAY TIME!!!!

1. Get ready for the most exciting 45 minutes of your life! ESSAY TIME!!!!

2. Thesis Statement • The overall focus of your essay • Should be focused on the theme from your theme note cards. • It should address the name of the book and a specific aspect of the book that relates to the theme. • Ex: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo has many examples of sadness.

3. Topic Sentences • Should prove your thesis is correct • Should use key words from your thesis statement • The should be specific to the theme but semi broad to the book. • Ex: Fantine is the saddest character in the book Les Miserables. • Ex: Jean Valjean experiences numerable amounts of sadness throughout the book, Les Miserables. • Ex: Eponine demonstrates the sadness found in children in the book, Les Miserables.

4. Body Paragraph • Each body paragraph should be formatted in the following format: • Topic Sentence • Argument #1 • Support #1 • Explanation #1 • Argument #2 • Support #2 • Explanation #2

5. Body ParagraphArguments • Should support your topic sentence • Should be arguable statements • Can both sides be argued? • Good Example: Cosette was the saddest character because she lived with a convict. • Good because one could contest that living with Jean Valjean was not so sad. • Bad Example: Cosette lived with Jean Valjean • Bad because it is a fact that Cosette lived with Jean Valjean

6. Body ParagraphSupports • Your supports should be in the form of a quote. • Your quote should be cited (Hugo ____). • Do not make up your own citation • Your quote should specifically support your argument. • Do not make up quotes.

7. Body Paragraph-Explanations • Explanations come in the form of text connections. • Answer the following when completing your explanations: • Clearly explanation the connection • Clearly connect the topic sentence to the connection. • Clearly connect the argument to the connection • Ex: Cosette’s sadness over the loss of her mother could be compared to the world’s loss of Mother Theresa. • Mother Theresa was one of the most central figures in the world. Mother Theresa helped the world by working with the poor in Calcutta and was respected all over the world. • Cosette’s sadness is the same as the sadness that the world felt after the death of Mother Theresa. • After Fantine died Cosette was left in the hands of the evil Thenardiers, just as the world was left without a moral figure like Mother Theresa after she died. Both Cosette and the world as a whole had to deal with the loss of someone who worked hard for them and asked for nothing in return.

8. Body Paragraph-Conclusions • Each paragraph should end with a brief conclusion. • This only needs to be 1-2 sentences. • It should summarize the main points of your paragraph • Should be placed at the very end of the paragraph. • Ex: As shown above, Cosette experiences sadness through the loss of her mother and through the slow loss of Jean Valjean as a father figure.

9. Introduction • Grabber/Hook • Connect to your theme • Introduction to Book • Book Title and Author • Important Characters • Important Events pretaining to your theme • Introduction to Essay • Topic sentences • Thesis Statement

10. Conclusion • Thesis Statement • Restate Topic Sentences • Conclude the book through your theme • State the end results of the book through your theme and issues discussed with your theme in the essay • End with statement relating to your theme