How to Write a “Response to Informational Text” Paragraph for US History Basic Outline: I. Topic Sentence – aka thesis statement – Your argument, as a rephrasing of the question asked or the problem posed II. Transition – provides background of author & historical context of source – APPA from APPARTS Chart III. Provide evidence – Quote or paraphrase the source – Parenthetical citation (author) IV. Analysis of evidence/quote – RTS from APPARTS Chart – Repeat steps II, III & IV when providing more than one quote V. Closure – summary statement that signifies the piece of writing is concluded VI. Work(s) Cited - separate page Example Prompt • “The first steps of the slaveholder to justify by argument the peculiar institutions is to deny the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence. He denies that all men are created equal. He denies that he has inalienable rights.” – John Quincy Adams, “Letter to the Citizens of the Twelfth Congressional District (29 June 1839),” The Hingham Patriot, MA, in Thomas Hughes Rare and Early Newspaper catalog, No. 141. • Prompt: According to John Quincy Adams’ letter, did he agree with the arguments slaveholders used to justify keeping slaves? Topic Sentence • The Topic Sentence is the thesis; the first sentence of the response to the info text paragraph • The Topic Sentence must respond to the essay prompt (the question you are answering) – Include language or a ideas from the prompt Tips to Remember about Topic Sentences / Thesis Statements: – At it’s most basic, the topic sentence can simply flip the question into a statement that answers the prompt • Prompt: Why is XY a Z? • Topic sentence: XY is a Z because… Topic Sentences • They need to be direct and focused. • They need to serve as an umbrella which can be used for the entire essay. • They must address a specific topic and put forth a clear main idea. Example Topic Sentence • “The first steps of the slaveholder to justify by argument the peculiar institutions is to deny the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence. He denies that all men are created equal. He denies that he has inalienable rights.” – Excerpt from John Quincy Adams, “Letter to the Citizens of the Twelfth Congressional District (29 June 1839),” The Hingham Patriot, MA, in Thomas Hughes Rare and Early Newspaper catalog, No. 141. • Prompt: According to John Quincy Adams’ letter, did he agree with the arguments slaveholders used to justify keeping slaves? Example Topic Sentence: • In his “Letter to the Citizens of the Twelfth Congressional District (29 June 1839),” John Quincy Adams made it clear he disagreed with the arguments slaveholders used to justify keeping slaves. APPARTS CHART • Take a look at the APPARTS CHART analyzing the quote and laying the ground work for writing the info text paragraph The transition follows after the topic sentence and comes before the source quote and/or paraphrase • Provide Historical Context – – – – What was going on at this point in time? The transition is usually a couple of sentences long, at most 3-4 Incorporate info from your APPARTS Chart from the following categories: Author, Place and Time (and Prior Knowledge, if appropriate) and Audience. Five Ws: make sure the transition answers • • • WHO? WHERE? WHEN? The transition • Who is the Author? – – – • Write a brief biography (1-2 sentences). Especially reference facts that connect to the main idea of the quote/thesis of the paper. DO NOT REFER TO AUTHOR BY FIRST NAME! Where and When: Place and Time – – – if a speech, an image, a chart, book or magazine article: when and where was it spoken, written or published? Who was the intended audience for the speech, article, image, etc.? What significant events/controversies were taking place at the time -- an election? a debate? A war? - A, P, P, A from your APPARTS Chart - Choosing the source you are going to quote and/or paraphrase in the paragraph. • Don’t be lazy! Make sure the quote(s) are long enough to be “analyzable” - include main point(s)! • Use…ellipses…to connect two or more passages from a quote • Don’t quote something you can easily say yourself • Use [brackets] to add words to make a quote grammatically correct • Cite quote in parenthesis (author’s last name or if that is not given, the first word in the title of the document) How to paraphrase a source • General advice – When reading a passage, try first to understand it as a whole, rather than pausing to write down specific ideas or phrases. – Be selective. Unless your assignment is to do a formal or "literal" paraphrase, you usually don?t need to paraphrase an entire passage; instead, choose and summarize the material that helps you make a point in your paper. – Think of what "your own words" would be if you were telling someone who's unfamiliar with your subject (your mother, your brother, a friend) what the original source said. – Click here to see an in-depth example. Writing the quote analysis • First, define and explain any key terms found in quotes. • Explain the main idea in your own words. • Explain the significance of the main idea in connection with your thesis statement. • Avoid starting your analysis with “What this quote means…” or “What _____ is saying here is…” • Do NOT provide analysis of information that is not included in the quotations or paraphrase • Use the following info from your APPARTS Chart: Reason, The Main Idea, Significance • Review and make sure the quote analysis explains – WHAT – WHY R,T, S from APPARTS Chart Closure • the last sentence of the paragraph. • Make a clear connection to the thesis by using language from the topic sentence and summarizing the evidence used to support the main points of the argument • Avoid starting the concluding sentence with clichés such as “All in all,” or “So as you can see” or “In conclusion…” Works Cited • At top of next page after the conclusion provide a Works Cited page (as in this example above, with the words Works Cited centered in plain text at the top of the first empty page after your paper ends) • Use the citations provided • If none are provided generate one using EasyBib • Format citation(s) with hanging indentation(s) • No spaces/extra empty lines between citations Example Works Cited Page Works Cited John Quincy Adams, “Letter to the Citizens of the Twelfth Congressional District (29 June 1839),” The Hingham Patriot, MA, in Thomas Hughes Rare and Early Newspaper catalog, No. 141.