English 10
Mrs. Sharp
name:
period:
“The Monkey’s Paw” – Who is to blame?
Writing an Argument
PROMPT: Write an essay arguing who is most responsible for the sorrows that resulted from wishing on the monkey’s
paw. Choose ONE character that is the most to blame. Support your claim with valid reasoning and sufficient evidence
(at least THREE relevant quotations and detailed analysis/elaboration).
Choose a Character
Go back to your graphic organizer and highlight or circle the box containing the character you’ve selected. (Choose the
character with the strongest evidence.)
Finding Evidence
Go back to the story and find at least TWO more pieces of evidence to support your claim that your chosen character is
to blame for all the sorrows brought on by the monkey’s paw.
Character’s Name:
2nd Reason (s)he IS responsible:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quotation(s) to demonstrate (s)he IS responsible:
Explain how the quotation shows (s)he IS responsible:
3rd Reason (s)he IS responsible:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quotation(s) to demonstrate (s)he IS responsible:
Explain how the quotation shows (s)he IS responsible:
Writing Your Argument
Your argument must begin with a clear CLAIM which answers the prompt and provides a SHORT summary of your
reasoning. Your claim sentence should also include the author’s name and the title of the short story. Write your
CLAIM/TOPIC Sentence below:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Does your CLAIM include:
____ Author’s name?
_____ Title of short story?
_____ ONE character’s name? _____ Summary of reasons?
Evidence/Elaboration: You must provide at least THREE QUOTATIONS from the short story (character’s words and/or
actions, plot events) that explain/prove your character is most responsible. Additionally, you must explain/elaborate
upon each quotation, explicitly detailing how the evidence proves your claim.
o
Include the author’s name in parenthesis with each quotation you use.
o
Place evidence in chronological order (the order the situations/events happen in the story).
o
Provide detailed reasoning to support each quotation.
o
Be sure to connect all quotations to your own words with introductory phrases.
o
Remember to include transition words and phrases between each of your examples.
Conclusion Sentence(s): Summarize your claim. Include the name of the character you feel is most responsible and the
reasons you’ve provided. You conclusion should also tie your paragraph (and the details about who is most responsible
and why) to life in the real world. It should be thought-provoking and reflective (show that you have thought about how
this topic is relevant to real life).