How to Write an Essay
(and win the House Cup)
6 May 2013
R. Wheadon
Today’s Plan
1) How to Structure an Essay
1) Thesis
2) Organization
3) Conclusion
4) Integrating Evidence
2) Works Cited
Thesis Statement
 A thesis statement is “a single sentence that formulates
both your topic and your point of view” (42)
 A strong thesis is crucial to a strong paper. A weak thesis
and poor organization can take a good idea and make is
unreadable.
 A thesis statement helps you as well. Once you know what
you want to say, you have a way to organize your essay
and you can eliminate any points that don’t support your
main argument.
An Essay Question
 The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling features
many allusions to classic mythology and culture.
How do these elements -- whether referential
names, Latin (or mock Latin) spells, or archetypal
journeys -- function throughout the series?
Weak Theses
 J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books are very
popular, just as Greek myths used to be widely
known and appreciated. In the series, Rowling
uses allusions to Greek literature, like characters’
names and supernatural creatures.
 The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, is
immensely popular. Many children who would
not spend time reading have learned to love
reading. In the series, Rowling references classical
literature, particularly Greek and Roman texts.
Because children like to read Rowling’s books,
more kids might read myths.
Stronger Theses
 J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels are filled with
references classical sources and stories. By
alluding to Greek and Roman literature, the series
encourages young readers to develop an
interest in classical works.
 By tapping into classical source material, J.K.
Rowling is able to take a familiar framework -that of fate versus choice -- and use it to come to
a different, modern conclusion. While in Greek
myths and stories, fate always prevails, Harry’s
choices dictate the shape of the series.
Introductory Paragraph
 An introductory paragraph is like a roadmap for
your reader. It should contain:
 Your thesis, stated clearly and preferably at the
beginning of the paragraph
 A summary of the points that support your
argument
 A transition into the paragraph that follows
Sample Introductory Paragraph
By tapping into classical source material, J.K. Rowling is able to
take a familiar framework -- that of fate versus choice -- and use it to
come to a different, modern conclusion. While in Greek myths and
stories, fate always prevails, Harry’s choices dictate the shape of the
series. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry decides to
be in Gryffindor, setting the stage for the unfolding drama between
Harry and Tom Riddle. Harry also becomes friends with characters
who are socially shunned for their intrinsic or ‘fated’ characteristics,
namely Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Finally, Harry’s links to the
prophesy -- and the ways in which he undermines it -- show that it is
his free will that dictates the series’ end. By setting the series up as an
epic journey that relies heavily on Greek and Roman myth, Rowling
works to subvert the idea that fate always triumphs over choice. For
Harry, every choice he makes asserts his freedom.
Thesis
Point One
Point Two
Point Three
Body Paragraphs
 Body paragraphs are the meat of your argument. Each should
should add substance to your thesis and work to prove your
argument. They can be structured like this:
 Topic Sentence (the point the paragraph makes)
 Evidence (quotations from the text or paraphrasing)
 Explanation of Evidence
 NOTE: Do not simply re-state the topic sentence as an
explanation. You must explain why your evidence proves your
point.
 Be sure every paragraph works with your thesis. Having a strong
introductory paragraph will help with this process.
Concluding Paragraph
 Conclusions should wrap-up your paper in a
convincing and interesting way.
 Conclusions should re-state your thesis and
summarize your paper, but they shouldn’t be
repetitive. As conclusions are your last words to
your reader, try to be memorable and
persuasive.
Sample Concluding Paragraph
While the Harry Potter series relies heavily on an archetypal
journey and draws upon classical source material, the novels
differ in one crucial way: Harry is able to determine the end of his
journey, even when his ending is said to be fated for him. By
choosing his house, making allies regardless of social prejudice,
and deciding how to end his war with Voldemort, Harry shows
that choice is more important than prophesy, free will more
powerful than fate. As Dumbledore says in Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we
truly are” (245). That Harry so often chooses, against the
backdrop of fate, makes Rowling’s series a powerful challenge to
the myths upon which it draws.
Thesis
Point One
Point Two
Point Three
Incorporating Evidence
 An excellent paper integrates evidence in a way
that is both easy to read and convincing
 Evidence that is included in an awkward way will
weaken your argument
 There are two primary ways to incorporate
evidence: through paraphrasing and through
quoting
Paraphrasing
 A paraphrase must be in your own words and it must be true to
the source content
 When to paraphrase:
 When you want to reference a certain point in a text
 When you need to discuss factual information
 When you want to use someone’s ideas (with credit), but
wording is not important
 When you want to present a counter-argument, and then
refute it in your own words
 To save space when discussing a text (if wording is not crucial
to your argument)
Sample Paraphrasing:
Original 1
“They died in a car crash, you nasty little liar, and left you to
be a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives!” screamed
Aunt Marge, swelling with fury. “You are an insolent, ungrateful
little --”
But Aunt Marge suddenly stopped speaking. For a moment, it
looked as though words had failed her. She seemed to be
swelling with inexpressible anger -- but the swelling didn’t stop.
Her great red face started to expand, her tiny eyes bulged and
her mouth stretched too tightly for speech. Next second,
several buttons burst from her tweed jacket and pinged off the
walls -- she was inflating like a monstrous balloon, her stomach
bursting free of her tweed waistband, each of her fingers
blowing up like a salami … (Prisoner of Azkaban 27)
Sample Paraphrasing: 1
Plot Summary: Shortly after Prisoner of Azkaban
opens, Harry’s summer takes a turn for the worse:
his Aunt Marge comes to visit and she insults him
so thoroughly that he causes her to inflate like a
giant balloon in a fit of rage (27).
Paraphrase: Harry’s growing anger problems first
appear in Prisoner of Azkaban, when he causes
Aunt Marge to inflate like a balloon because she
insulted his parents (27).
Sample Paraphrasing: 2
Original: “Paraphrasing is a handy tool for any writer. If you
know how to paraphrase, you can take long paragraphs that
contain pertinent information and condense them. This is
particularly helpful if you’re writing papers with a set length,
such as 750 words. It’s important to remember, however, that
paraphrasing ought to be in your own words, so that it isn’t
plagiarism!” (Wheadon 6).
Paraphrase: Good paraphrasing, Rebekah Wheadon notes, is
an important skill to develop as it helps save space in short
essays; conversely, poor paraphrasing can lead to accidental
plagiarism (6).
Types of Quotations
 There are three methods of integrating quotations: the standard
method, block quotations, and weaving
 It is important to remember that a paper shouldn’t be
completely comprised of quotations -- a paper that has too
many quotations doesn’t allow space for your own ideas, which
should be the focus of your essay
 Quotations bolster your argument, and thus you should only
include relevant quotations
Sample Quotation:
What Not To Do
 Standard Method 1 (Poor): Grimmauld Place is, indeed,
a grim old place. “He could smell damp, dust and a
sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a
derelict building” (Order of the Phoenix 59).
 Standard Method 2 (Poor): Harry’s anger at his Aunt
Marge made her inflate. “She seemed to be swelling
with inexpressible anger -- but the swelling didn’t stop”
(Prisoner of Azkaban 27).
 Standard Method 1: Grimmauld Place is, indeed, a grim old
place, as Harry notes that he “could smell damp, dust and
a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a
derelict building” (Order of the Phoenix 59).
 Standard Method 2: The adjectives that are linked to Harry’s
initial impression of Grimmauld Place work together to
create a sense of illness that points to Sirius’s mental
condition and foreshadows his death. He describes the
place as “damp,” “rotting,” “derelict,” “gloomy,” “ageblackened,” “threadbare,” “peeling,” “crooked,” and,
most importantly, “foreboding” (59). It is, Harry feels, “like
the house of a dying person” (Order of the Phoenix 59).
Sample Quotation: Block
In Order of the Phoenix, Harry’s observations about Grimmauld
Place are crucial, as they link the house to Sirius’s later mental
condition. Harry enters the house and notes:
The others’ hushed voices were giving Harry an odd feeling of
foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house
of a dying person. He heard a soft hissing noise and then oldfashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls,
casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling
wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway,
where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and
age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. (59)
The house is dark, secretive, and, as Mrs. Black’s portrait
indicates, angry. It is, in short, the perfect mirror to Sirius, who has
become “hard and bitter” since his return to his family home
(77).
Sample Quotation:
Weaving
 starting commentary → supporting quotation → ending
commentary
 The Hunger Games showcases a heroine who, like Wonder
suggests, “combines physical prowess and revolutionary
politics” while maintaining “her immense compassion and
familial commitment” (27, 34). Katniss’s devotion to her
sister, Rue, and Peeta play on the “trope of the selfsacrificing heroine” (Wonder 14), anchoring her softer and
more feminine nature in the readers’ minds while she fights,
kills, rebels, and manipulates with what Kay calls
“masculine aplomb” throughout most of the novel (87).
Works Cited — Samples
Wheadon 7
Works Cited
Fowles, Jib. “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals.” Reading
Popular Culture. Eds. Michael Petracca and Madeleine Sorapure.
Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. 111-130. Print.
Mikei Red Reishi Mushroom. Advertisement. Alive Nov. 2011:
82-83. Print.
Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. New York: Laurel-Leaf,
2007. Print.
Questions
Contact: rkwheadon@gmail.com