Warm-up
Get out your original folktales so you
can turn them in.
The Fox and the Stork
At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting terms and seemed
very good friends. So the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a
joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish.
This the Fox could easily lap up, but the Stork could only wet the end
of her long bill in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she began. "I
am sorry," said the Fox, "the soup is not to your liking." "Pray do not
apologise," said the Stork. "I hope you will return this visit, and come
and dine with me soon." So a day was appointed when the Fox should
visit the Stork; but when they were seated at table all that was for
their dinner was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow
mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his snout, so all he could
manage to do was to lick the outside of the jar. "I will not apologise
for the dinner," said the Stork: "One bad turn deserves another."
Turn ItIn
Instructions
www.turnitin.com – Create student account
Class ID Numbers:
1st: 4187904
2nd: 4187906
3rd: 4187907
4th: 4187909
Password: atascocita
Academic Format
First and Last Name
Mrs. Ryan
English I Pre-AP - 1 (1 is the period)
14 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.
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 Long Way Gone” 
– A Long Way Gone (or underline if you are
handwriting, A Long Way Gone) 
– The Lady or the Tiger 
– “The Lady or the Tiger” 
Academic Language
• No “You” EVER!!!!!! (Unless it’s in a quote)
• No first person EVER (Unless it’s in a quote)
“I think…” “We learn…” “The story teaches us…”
Remove these phrases from your writing!
• No contractions, slang, casual conversational language
• Always refer to the action of the story in present tense
(When Ishmael kills a man for the first time, he
completes his transition from childhood to manhood.)
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
Prompt?
In a well developed, 5 paragraph essay, identify
the character, describe how he or she is
affected by a single act or mistake, and explain
how the character’s experience relates to the
work as a whole.
So, what should you focus on in your essay?
Brainstorm: What single act do you plan to focus
on?
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 Long Way Gone is a memoir
written by Ishmael Beah, relating his experiences
as a child soldier in Sierra Leone.
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
– In A Long Way Gone, the single event that truly
impacts Ishmael is the first time he kills a man
because it reveals important change in his
personality, causes him to mature, and impacts the
meaning of the entire novel. 
– There are many events that impact Ishmael’s life. 
– In the end, opening up to Esther was the single most
important act in Ishmael’s life because it allowed
him to heal, it opened the door to many
opportunities, and it impacted the meaning of the
entire novel. 
– I think going to rehab was a good idea for Ishmael
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.
• Ishmael character is clearly impacted by killing
his first rebel as he describes how he “angrily
pointed [his] gun into the swamp and killed more
people” (Beah 119).
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.