How to Write an Essay
Without driving yourself crazy
Essay Subjects leading to topics for
a compare and contrast essay on
Lord of the Flies and Our Twisted
Hero: power, masculinity, cultures and
their rules, order and disorder,
negative behaviors and influences,
leadership, peer pressure, bullying,
coming of age, and self-discovery. You
may find another you want to pursue.
Brainstorming

Good website
What happens to those who resist
bubbl.us for blank
brainstorming
template
Emotional/psychological pain
Human’s biggest motivator is
Power naturally gravitates to oppression
Om Sokdae
Jack
The Thesis
Must be debatable
Must be one sentence
Must be at the end of the opening paragraph
Must connect to the meaning of the work as a
whole
Example: Humans naturally gravitate to powerful
leaders due to fear or indifference; additionally,
those who challenge the powerful often suffer
physically or emotionally.
The Opening Paragraph
Title
Hook
Broad Discussion
Introduction of
author, work,
time period
Thesis
statement
Elements of the Opening Paragraph:
•Title: Create a title that intrigues, but does not
describe The whole paper.
•The Hook: statistic, anecdote, quotation, or (not in this
class) question (sentence one) Example:
“A good leader inspires people to have
confidence in the leader, a great leader
inspires people to have confidence in
themselves-Anon.”
•Transition word or phrase to Broad Discussion, which is
defined as a general discussion grounded with specific
examples that lead into the text. See example:
(sentences 2-5)
As the quotation illustrates, there is often a tension that
exists between leaders and their followers. Throughout
history negative leaders like Mao, Stalin, and Kim Jong ll
created cults of personality, repressed criticism, and
demanding slavish devotion from their countrymen. In
contrast, positive leaders often lead by moral suasion,
example, or inspiration. Additionally, many negative
leaders find followers because of fear and indifference,
and often those who challenge leadership suffer
physically, emotionally, and psychologically. They
become warnings that questioning power often fails or
results in great pain.
•Introduction to text, characters, brief summary,
historical background. (2-3 sentences)

This dynamic appears in the novels Lord of the Flies and
Our Twisted Hero, where two powerful children control
the rest with violence and mental repression. From two
different cultures, and written 100 years apart, both
novels show this dynamic starting during early
childhood. In the former, children adrift on an isle create
a culture reflecting all the evils the adults are fighting
during World War II, and in the later, a young boy
attends a rural school where he finds a bully dominating
everyone. The bully also reflects the dictatorship found
in South Korea during this time.
•The Thesis:

Both novels demonstrate that ruthless
leaders often control the majority with
physical intimidation and emotional and
mental pain; those who resist fail and
serve as a warning to others.
Body Paragraphs



Topic Sentence/what is the focus of the paragraph/assertion
Quote-embedded
Explication/commentary
– Identify any literary devices
– Extend and expand your discussion connecting to the meaning of the
work as a whole
– Provide context
This woman is frustrated
because she did not follow
directions, and as a consequence,
has nothing to say.
Review of Body Paragraphs:
Topic sentence/assertion
Quote
commentary-includes context, literary devices
and how they connect to meaning of the work
as a whole, transitions
 Transition to next quote (depending on the
richness of your quotes, you need 2 or 3)
 Last sentence of Paragraph should be a
transition to next paragraph
 Total length of paragraph should be 12 sentence
or 18 if only two body paragraphs



Topic sentence
characters in Lord of the
Flies, notably Piggy and Ralph,
tried to resist joining the
uncivilized behavior.
 Some
Embedded Quotation
Ralph states he will not wear war
paint “because we aren’t
savages”(172).
Analysis
Symbolic of the brutality espoused
by Jack, the children paint their
faces, to disguise their culpability.
Golding uses the battle of good and
evil to show how easily humans
succumb to brutality and barbarism.
Additionally, later on in the text,. . .
Example:
Some characters in Lord of the Flies,
notably Piggy and Ralph, tried to resist
joining the uncivilized behavior. Ralph
states he will not wear war paint “because
we aren’t savages”(172). Symbolic of the
brutality espoused by Jack, the children
paint their faces, to disguise their
culpability. Golding uses the battle of good
and evil to show how easily humans
succumb to brutality and barbarism.
Additionally, later on in the text,
The Big Finish or Closing:
Reverse the funnel:
 Restate thesis for no more than 2 sentences
 Broad Discussion-Extend and expand your argument.
What would the reader be curious about now?
 Zinger-leave the reader energized