English III Jagger 1
The Crucible Final Essay Prompt

Prompt: “In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Miller offers a great perspective on how
detrimental unbridled fear can be to a community. In his story about the witch hunts that
occurred in Salem, Miller shows us how debilitating fear can be in preventing us from
acting in ways we know are right. Fear of the unknown, fear of evil, and fear of those in
power are just a few examples of the types of fear that lead to the destruction of our
communities. The tragedy that took place in Salem is not a singular event; these
tragedies have been repeated, like during the McCarthy period of the 1950s. Unless we
can learn to control the power fear has over us, we will never be able to feel truly safe in
our communities.”---Adapted from Marshall Longfellow’s “What We Can Learn From
Arthur Miller”

Explain Longfellow’s argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree
with his analysis. Support your position, providing specific reasons and examples from
The Crucible, your own experience, observations, and/or past reading.
Outline
Introduction: Using your outline from The Crucible worksheet, explain one or more of
the main ideas Longfellow presents in the passage from “What We Can Learn from
Arthur Miller.” (The title and author belong in the first sentence, just as you do for a
rhetorical précis.) Immediately following your explanation (no new paragraph), state
whether you agree or disagree with Longfellow, with a thesis statement explaining your
reasoning.
Thesis statement = Topic (one or more of Longfellow’s ideas) + Opinion (what is your
paper going to prove?)
Sentence frames to agree: I agree/concur with ____________’s idea/assertion that …
(one or more of Longfellow’s ideas) … because … (thesis statement) …
Or
Sentence frames to disagree: I disagree with/object to ____________’s idea/belief that
… (one or more of Longfellow’s ideas) … because … (thesis statement) …
Body Paragraphs: Must have a topic sentence, quotes from the texts supporting your
ideas, and analyses of the quotes proving your thesis statement.
Every quote must be:
1. Introduced with context (what text is the quote from, who is speaking, and about what)
2. Stated in quotation marks and cited: “…” (author’s last name page number)
3. Explained in your own words: What does the quote mean, and why does it matter?
How does it prove your thesis statement?
English III Jagger 2
Conclusion Paragraph: So what? Why are these ideas important for society? What do
you want your reader to do with what you have written? What do you want to leave your
reader with – a new idea, a proposal for action, an idea to practice or rethink and change?
English III Jagger 3
Sentence Frames for Paragraphs
Introduction
According to ___(full name of prompt’s author)__ in a passage from “ (full title
of prompt’s source material),” the author argues…. I agree/concur with __(author’s last
name)’s___ idea/assertion that …(one or two of author’s ideas)… because…(opinion of
idea that you will prove in the essay)…
Body Paragraph
Frames for topic sentence (choose one):
1a) An example demonstrating that …(shortened thesis statement)… occurs
when…(context of supporting quote, including author’s full name and title [The Crucible
underlined; article titles in quotes])…
Example sentence: An example demonstrating that the inability to control fear
prevents society from feeling safe occurs when the character of ____ in Arthur
Miller’s The Crucible …
1b) An instance showing that …(shortened thesis statement)…appears in…
Example sentence: An instance showing that the inability to control fear prevents
society from feeling safe appears in (article author’s full name)’s “(full title of
article)”
1c) One reading presenting the idea that…(shortened thesis statement)…is from…
Frames to introduce quote (choose one):
2a) _(character’s name)_ declares that, “…” (Miller page number). Use this for Crucible
quotes
2b) According to _(author’s last name)_, “…” (author’s last name page number).
2c) _(author’s last name)_ asserts that “…” (author’s last name page number).
Use 2b-c for article quotes
Frames to analyze quotes (choose one):
3a) Basically, ___ is saying that…(meaning of quote in your own words)… This is
important because…(why quote matters in relation to your thesis statement)…
3b) ___ is insisting that …(meaning of quote in your own words)… The significance of
this is…(why quote matters in relation to your thesis statement)…
3c) ____’s point is that…(meaning of quote in your own words)… What ___ really
means is …(why quote matters in relation to your thesis statement)…



Introducing topic sentence in 2nd and 3rd body paragraphs
Another example of…(shortened thesis statement)… happens…
A further demonstration of…(shortened thesis statement)…is shown…
Furthermore, ________ demonstrates …(shortened thesis statement)…when…
English III Jagger 4



Conclusion
Sentence frames to begin the paragraph:
The idea that…(shortened thesis statement)… is important because…
I believe that if…(shortened thesis statement)…, then…
When … learns to …(shortened thesis statement)…, … will be able to…