Frankenstein Take Home Essay
Helpful Reminders from Mr. Smith…
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1” Margins (I’m picky about this—get it right.)
Double Spaced, but NO extra space between
paragraphs. (be aware of this if you have
Word ‘07)
4 line header. Top left. Single spaced
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Your Name
Teacher/Professor Name
Course Name
Date (14 Oct. 2013)
Title should be centered and in the same font
size of the essay.
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Yes, you should title your essay!
If you title your essay “Frankenstein” or
“Frankenstein Essay,” I reserve the right to be
angry.
Use the title as an opportunity to introduce
your line of thinking—your argument—to
your readers!
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Your most important goal at the beginning of the
essay is to respond DIRECTLY the prompt by
making an argument (or stating your thesis).
Express this as A FACT! (This means that you cut
opinion statements such as “I think,” “I believe”)
If someone asks you…”what is your argument in
the essay” and you don’t know how to respond,
red flags should fly!!!
Once you make your argument, your job is to
defend it. Your evidence is EXAMPLES FROM THE
TEXT.
The next 5 slides are review from the Macbeth
essay…
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Whenever you make a claim, it should be
supported by either implicit or explicit textual
evidence.
If you say…”It is clear that Lady Macbeth
pushes her husband into the murder of
Duncan” you have made a claim that must be
supported by evidence.
SO—ask yourself the question, “what in the
play makes me think that?”
The answers to this question will lead you to
textual evidence that you can use to defend
your arguments.
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When introducing a quote in your paper, first
give it context, so that we know where in the play
this is happening. Your summary skills will be at
work here.
◦ “After meeting the witches on the heath, Macbeth
immediately writes his wife a letter to tell her his
news.”
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By doing this, you’ve set your readers up for the
evidence you’re about to present.
The point is that the quote itself makes sense
within a certain context—not all on its own. You
want to make this context clear to your readers.
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After you’ve given your evidence context,
you can present the quote…
◦ After Macbeth has written about the witches’
prophecy, he comments that “this I thought good
to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness,
that thou might’st not lose the dues of rejoicing,
by being ignorant of what greatness is promised
thee” (I, v, 10-12).
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Many students make the mistake of ending
their discussion of text here. But, you must
take it a step further…
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Your goal here is to make the connection
between the quote and the argument to
help convince your audience that your
argument is valid. This is the most
important step, because this is where you
explain your interpretation of the text.
◦ “The fact that it is so important to Macbeth to
immediately share this news with his wife, whom
he calls his “partner in greatness” demonstrates
that the two of them have clearly discussed his,
or possibly their, ambition to sit on the throne of
Scotland.”
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You’re making an argument that you present
as fact.
You’re proving that argument by using
examples from the play.
Set the examples from the play in context.
Present the quote.
Make the connection between your argument
and the evidence.