How to Write an Essay
Without driving yourself crazy
Essay Subjects leading to topics for
a compare and contrast essay on
Lord of the Flies and The
Housekeeper and the Professor:
power, masculinity, cultures and their
rules, order and disorder, negative
behaviors and influences, leadership,
peer pressure, bullying, coming of
age, friendship, love, style, and selfdiscovery. You may find another you
want to pursue.
Brainstorming

Good websites:
bubbl.us for
brainstorming
template or
Wordle.net for
word
organization
The Thesis
Must be debatable
Must be one sentence
Must be at the end of the opening paragraph
Must connect to the meaning of the work as a
whole
Example: Children require adult care and nurturing
to evolve into self-confident, empathic adults as
shown character analysis of Ralph and Root;
Ralph will be scarred from his experiences and
Root will grow into a strong, secure man.
The Opening Paragraph
Title
Hook
Broad Discussion
Introduction of
author, work,
time period
Thesis
statement
Elements of the Opening Paragraph:
•Title: Create a title that intrigues, but does not
describe The whole paper.
•The Hook: statistic, anecdote, quotation, or (not in this
class) question (sentence one) Example:
“What we desire our children to become, we
must endeavor to be before them.”-combe
Broad discussion

Recently, in a small town in Oklahoma, an
Austrailian baseball player died from a
gunshort to the back while jogging. The
three teenagers arrested attested that
they committed the crime “for the fun of
it.” Horrified Americans questioned how
anyone could act with such cold
indifference and malice. Why did these
young men find a human life so valueless?
Broad Discussion Continued

On the other hand, 15 million young
people volunteer for community service or
55% of all students aged 12 to 18
(nationalservice.gov). This statistic argues
for a positive evaluation of teenagers and
refutes the brutality listed above as an
aberration. So too in the summer novels,
these dichotomy appears with different
viewpoints regarding the central values
and behavior of humans.
•Introduction to text, characters, brief summary,
historical background. (2-3 sentences)

In Lord of the Flies, Golding illustrates children who
resort to savage behavior when stranded on an island
during World War II. In contrast, the young man in the
novel The Housekeeper and the Professor, receives care
and nurturing from all he encounters, which results in a
young man with values and empathy. The later Japanese
novel written in 2003 by Ogawa shows the world in a
positive light with humans interacting most of the time
with kindness. The British Golding’s novel, written in
1954 after the carnage of World War II, describes a
world where the veneer of civilization can be easily
erased when humans feel fear and pressure.
•The Thesis:
 While
Ogawa’s appealing vision
entices, Golding’s depiction appears
more realistic showing humans
capacity to behave with savagery and
cruelty when the cover of civilization
dissolves.
Body Paragraphs



Topic Sentence/what is the focus of the paragraph/assertion
Quote-embedded
Explication/commentary
– Identify any literary devices
– Extend and expand your discussion connecting to the meaning of the
work as a whole
– Provide context
This woman is frustrated
because she did not follow
directions, and as a consequence,
has nothing to say.
Review of Body Paragraphs:
Topic sentence/assertion
Quote
commentary-includes context, literary devices
and how they connect to meaning of the work
as a whole, transitions
 Transition to next quote (depending on the
richness of your quotes, you need 2 or 3)
 Last sentence of Paragraph should be a
transition to next paragraph
 Total length of paragraph should be 12 sentence
or 18 if only two body paragraphs



Topic sentence
 The
overwhelming majority of the
boys in Lord of the Flies gleefully
joined in bestial behavior and
even murder.
Embedded Quotation
The boys grab Robert and shout
“Kill him! Kill him!” ; Robert is
…screaming and struggling with
the strength of frenzy”(114).
Analysis
This event happens while the boys
hunt for meat, and quickly devolves
into a demonstration of group think
and group behavior. The
exclamation points support their
frantic emotions and repetitive
shouts demanding murder of one of
their fellow students. There exists
no personal animosity, rather their
behavior resembles a feeding
Analysis cont’d
behavior resembles a feeding frenzy,
often found in the wild with animals.
The parallel structure and multiple use
consonant S as in“struggling,
screaming, and strength” add to the
mood of violence and danger. Much
like the boys in Oklahoma, these
youngsters want to kill for sport. Later,
they join in violence on another peer…
Example:
Some characters in Lord of the Flies,
notably Piggy and Ralph, tried to resist
joining the uncivilized behavior. Ralph
states he will not wear war paint “because
we aren’t savages”(172). Symbolic of the
brutality espoused by Jack, the children
paint their faces, to disguise their
culpability. Golding uses the battle of good
and evil to show how easily humans
succumb to brutality and barbarism.
Additionally, later on in the text,
The Big Finish or Closing:
Reverse the funnel:
 Restate thesis for no more than 2 sentences
 Broad Discussion-Extend and expand your argument.
What would the reader be curious about now?
 Zinger-leave the reader energized
Example of closing
Reluctantly, Golding’s vision of civilization’s
weak control over the inherent savagery
found in humans proves compelling. The
violent eruptions between factions, the
authoritarian suppression of citizens, and
amount of weaponry found in the world
attest to man’s inability to live in peace. If
governments attention focused more
completely on maintaining peace than
planning for war perhaps our world could be
Closing continued
changed. What if countries received
monetary, humanitarian, and institutional
help by renouncing war and violence, as
Japan received after the second world war?
By demilitarizing, the country could raise
their standard of living, find protection, and
live peacefully. But until then, sadly war is
the answer.