In
Instructi
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Class ID Numbers:
2nd: 3471076
3rd: 3471080
5th: 3471083
7th: 3471090
Password: atascocita
Academic
Format
First and Last Name
Miss Williams
English I Pre-AP - 3 (3 is the period)
8 September 2010 (notice no punctuation / abbreviations)
o Double Spaced (even your heading)
o One Inch Margins (have to go in and change manually;
FILE – PAGE SETUP)
o Last name and page number on top right (1/2 inch from the
top. DON”T ADD HEADER – It’s wrong!!)
o No extra space between paragraphs (just begin a new line)
o Left Justified – Don’t center your lines or stretch them out!
o Times New Roman 12 pt font (including title!)
Long Works/Short Works
• Italics if the work is long (novels, plays,
epic poems, albums, movie titles)
• “Quotes” if the work is short (poems,
short stories, essays, song titles)
–
–
–
–
“A Separate Peace” 
A Separate Peace 
The Scarlet Ibis 
“The Scarlet Ibis” 
Academic Language
• No “You” EVER!!!!!! (Unless it’s in a quote)
• No first person – (“I think…” “We learn…”
“The story teaches us…”)
• No contractions, slang, casual conversational
language
• Always refer to the action of the story in present
tense (When Finny falls out of the tree, When
Gene abandons Leper in the snow…)
The Prompt
Before writing anything, know your
assignment— READ THE PROMPT!
What are you being asked to do?
Response-to-Literature Writing=
writing that discusses what is of
value in a work of literature.
Literary Response requires a careful,
critical look at the reading.
What is
my
Students
will
create
a
500
word
5
paragraph
Prompt?
essay over a theme from A Separate Peace
by John Knowles.
Themes cannot be one word and must be
provable with evidence from the text.
What scenes do you plan on using?
Intro Paragraph
•
•
•
•
At least three mature sentences
Introduces the text and the author
Creates interest (the hook)
Ends with a thesis statement (controlling idea
of the paper)
Your
paper’s
ideas 
The
reader

Introductory Hooks
• Draws in the reader
• Tone should match the essay (serious, humorous,
etc.)
• Introduces the text you will be talking about
• Possibility: Start with a quote from the book or
an outside source that relates to the chosen theme
• Another example: A Separate Peace by John
Knowles is not a novel about World War II as
much as it is a novel about the internal war of
Gene Forrester, the book’s narrator and central
character.
Thesis Statements
(yay!)
Definition:
A single declarative sentence that
expresses what you want your readers to
understand; the controlling idea of your
essay and road map for your paper
Directly answers the prompt
Makes a claim that others could refute
Last sentence of your introduction (for
now…)
Thesis
Statement
Examples
– A theme from “A Separate Peace” is revenge.
– I think the book is about the side effects of war.
– One of the themes of A Separate Peace is jealousy’s
capability to destroy friendships.
– John Knowles stresses the importance of identity in
his novel and encourages the reader to be his or her
own person.
Whats
Your
Thesis?
Finding Evidence
Quotes should be only one sentence. We will be trimming
them down even further later. Don’t forget to write down
the page #!
What scenes
prove your
theme? What
is a powerful
sentence from
that scene?
Blending Quotes
• Choose only a portion of the quote and blend it
in with your own analysis.
• Don’t include tons of summary or set-up. Your
audience (me!) knows the plot already.
• When Gene states that “[he] was to become part
of Phineas,” the lines between the two boys, at
least from Gene’s perspective are becoming
more and more blurred (Knowles 120).
Internal
Documentation
 Changing a word in the quote to fit the context of
your sentence requires brackets. The sentence’s
meaning should not change.
 Documenting internally – Always at the end of the
sentence, not right after the actual quote.
Commentary “quote quote” (Author last name page #).
Commentary “quote” commentary (author’s last name
page number).
Step 1: TOPIC SENTENCE
• A Topic Sentence
(TS) is the top bun
of a hamburger.
• TS = first sentence of the paragraph.
It shows the main idea.
• Usually a mildly controversial
statement--something that you have to
prove.
Example Topic Sentence (TS)
1) In the fairy tale “The Three
Little Pigs,” the third pig is
very wise.
Step 2: CONCRETE DETAILS
• Concrete Details
(CD) are the meat of
the hamburger.
• CDs = Support for
your TS. (facts, quotes,
examples, etc. from text)
• CDs can’t be argued with—a CD is
evidence that supports your point!
Example Concrete Detail (CD)
2) For example, remembering
his mother’s warning about a
wolf, he builds his house out
of sturdy brick. (Summary)
Step 3: COMMENTARY
• Commentary
Sentences (CM) are
the “extras” on the
hamburger—the
tomato, cheese,
lettuce, mayo—they
make it delicious!
• CMs = your analysis, interpretation,
explanation, or insight into the text.
Example Commentary Sentences
(2 CMs)
3) Because the wolf is unable to
blow down the house, the reader
is able to see that the third pig
made the right choice. The
third pig is smarter than his
brothers, who were both eaten
by the wolf.
Step 4: CONCLUDING
SENTENCE
• A concluding
sentence (CS) is
the bottom bun of
the hamburger.
• A CS wraps up the paragraph.
It rephrases the main idea.
Example Concluding Sentence
(CS)
5) In conclusion, the third
pig outsmarts not only his
brothers but the “big, bad”
wolf as well.
TS, CD, CM, CS—Now What?
• CHUNKING
A combination of CDs and CMs is
called a chunk.
For a literary response, we will use a
combination (or “ratio”) of 1:2.
That is, for every 1 CD, you will
have 2 CMs.
One Chunk: 1 CD + 2 CM
For example, remembering his
mother’s warning about a wolf, he
builds his house out of sturdy
brick. Because the wolf is unable to
blow down the house, the reader is
able to see that the third pig made
the right choice. The third pig is
smarter than his brothers, who were
both eaten by the wolf.
Ratio = 1:2
Transitions
• A good paragraph will also use transition
words. These are words or phrases that
help readers connect your ideas.
• Example transitions:
For example,
For instance,
Consequently,
Thus,
In summary,
Because of this,
As a result,
Hence,
Therefore,
Does It Flow?
Reread the paragraph to
yourself (out loud is best!)
Does it make sense? Does it
sound right?
Step 6: A Whole Paragraph
In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,”
the third pig is very wise. For example,
remembering his mother’s warning about a
wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick.
Because the wolf is unable to blow down the
house, the reader is able to see that the third pig
made the right choice. The third pig is smarter
than his brothers, who were both eaten by the
wolf. In conclusion, the third pig outsmarts not
only his brothers but the “big, bad” wolf as
well.