Name:__________________________ Night Essay Outline: Struggle to Maintain Faith in God
Introduction Paragraph
Hook: Start with a question, fact, story, example, or quote to get your reader thinking
about your specific topic.
Background: Provide title and author of the book and name and define your theme:
Background (continued): Explain why many people who went through the Holocaust
would suffer an emotional death.
Thesis: State the characters on whom you will focus (in the order you will discuss them)
Three characters in Night who struggle to keep faith in God are
…
Body Paragraph 1
Topic sentence (transition word/phrase first, in the beginning, +theme+ character’s
Remember—Everything you write in this outline should flow together as one paragraph
when you remove the questions/prompts that are typed in. You can write more than one
sentence per box.
name)
Who is the character?
Describe the specific incident or moment when the person started to struggle with his
faith in God (multiple sentences):
Describe what this person says or does to show that he/she has lost faith in God:
What happens to this person as a result or losing faith in God—does he or she give up and
die, does he or she someone become stronger, does he or she suffer an emotional death
when faith is lost…?
Body Paragraph 2
Topic sentence (transition word/phrase first, in the beginning, +theme+ character’s
**Remember, you must have at least one embedded and cited quote within the paragraph. Example: Mr.
Wiesel begs Elie, “Take this spoon and this knife. Quickly, Don’t sell them” (77). Avoid “says” or “tells” or
“states”—try to use stronger vocabulary.
name)
Who is the character?
Describe the specific incident or moment when the person started to struggle with his
faith in God (multiple sentences):
Describe what this person says or does to show that he/she has lost faith in God:
What happens to this person as a result or losing faith in God—does he or she give up and
die, does he or she someone become stronger, does he or she suffer an emotional death
when faith is lost…?
Body Paragraph 3
Topic sentence (transition word/phrase first, in the beginning, +theme+ character’s
**Remember, you must have at least one embedded and cited quote within the paragraph. Example: Mr.
Wiesel begs Elie, “Take this spoon and this knife. Quickly, Don’t sell them” (77). Avoid “says” or “tells” or
“states”—try to use stronger vocabulary.
name)
Who is the character?
Describe the specific incident or moment when the person started to struggle with his
faith in God (multiple sentences):
Describe what this person says or does to show that he/she has lost faith in God:
What happens to this person as a result or losing faith in God—does he or she give up and
die, does he or she someone become stronger, does he or she suffer an emotional death
when faith is lost…?
Conclusion Paragraph
**Remember, you must have at least one embedded and cited quote within the paragraph. Example: Mr.
Wiesel begs Elie, “Take this spoon and this knife. Quickly, Don’t sell them” (77). Avoid “says” or “tells” or
“states”—try to use stronger vocabulary.
Reemphasize your thesis:
Describe how these characters are alike and how they are different:
Give your opinion about those who lost their faith in God during the Holocaust:
NEXT STEP: DRAFTING—HOW?
In order to transform your outline into a draft, simply rewrite each one of your sentences,
deleting the questions and prompts that were typed on the outline. Your sentences should
flow together well and make cohesive paragraphs. Make sure you indent and start a new
paragraph as you move through the five separate sections.
You can write neatly in ink, skipping lines, if you don’t want to type.
Remember:
 Italicize and capitalize the book title; capitalize and correctly spell names of
characters and camps.
 Each body paragraph must be at least six sentences long AND include an embedded
and cited quote somewhere within it.
 You should have five separate paragraphs: intro, body 1, 2, 3, and conclusion.
Name:____________________ Night Essay Grading Rubric
Essay part
Criteria
Points
**Remember, you must have at least one embedded and cited quote within the paragraph. Example: Mr.
Wiesel begs Elie, “Take this spoon and this knife. Quickly, Don’t sell them” (77). Avoid “says” or “tells” or
“states”—try to use stronger vocabulary.
Introduction
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Body 1
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Body 2
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Body 3
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Conclusion
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Quote usage
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Mechanics
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strong hook captures attention and connects
to theme
describes book background and explanation
of theme
ends with a clear thesis
all ideas flow together
_______
15
begins with a clear topic sentence stating
theme and character
provides strong textual support
fully explains the ideas
paragraph is organized well
_______
15
begins with a clear topic sentence that
includes a transition and clear statement of
theme and character
provides strong textual support
fully explains the ideas paragraph is
organized well
begins with a clear topic sentence that
includes a transition and clear statement of
theme and character
provides strong textual support
fully explains the ideas paragraph is
organized well
reemphasizes thesis and compare/contrasts
characters
ends with statement of theme’s importance
and opinion about it and the Holocaust
includes three properly cited and embedded
quotes, one per body paragraph
quotes are well chosen and flow with
paragraph
Capitalization of proper nouns and start of
sentences
Correct spelling and homonym usage (their, its)
Sentences are complete
Apostrophes used appropriately
_______
15
_______
15
_______
15
_______
15
_______
10
TOTAL
_____
100
**Remember, you must have at least one embedded and cited quote within the paragraph. Example: Mr.
Wiesel begs Elie, “Take this spoon and this knife. Quickly, Don’t sell them” (77). Avoid “says” or “tells” or
“states”—try to use stronger vocabulary.