In ___(author)________________’s ____(genre)_________________ _____(title)__________________,
(date), he or she _____(verb)________________, that _____(main
idea)_____________________________. The author first ______(verb
phrase)___________________by/with _______(methods)____________________. He or She then
_____________________________ by/with/ through ______(methods)______________________. His
or her purpose is to ___________________________ in order to/ in an effort to
_____________________. She/He seems to have an _______________________audience in mind
because _____________________________. It is clear that he/she ___(author’s point or methods to
help prove point)_____________________________
How it would look using the template:
In Barbara Kingsolver’s narrative essay Stone Soup(1995) she highlights the grave distaste she has for
America’s perception of divorce. The author first utilizes emotional anecdotes in order to tug at her
reader’s heart strings, calling on them to reevaluate how they view marriage and divorce. She then uses
logic and rationale in order to bolster her stance. Her ultimate purpose is to challenge the reader to
consider both sides of divorce, not exclusively the negative side. Kingsolver seems to have adults,
couples and families in mind, as she attempts to breakdown the stereotypes of divorce. Although more
suited as a rant against marriage, it is clear that her use of emotional appeals, credible statistics and
figurative language further enhance her thesis.