Approaching an essay topic
This powerpoint will help you to approach an essay topic and structure
introductions and body paragraphs.
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
- Using the above question, I will show you how to approach an essay
topic, break it down into parts and structure a response.
- The first steps….
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
• Underline the key words of the topic and come up with synonyms for the
key ideas. Define any key words that need to be defined.
challenge: questions, undermines, interrogates, problematises
justice: fairness, integrity, honesty, even-handedness, equality, revenge
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
• Next we need a contention. How might we begin to answer this question in one
sentence? A good contention will clearly answer the question, but will add a little more
complexity, at least acknowledging both sides of the argument.
• Try finishing one of the following sentence to formulate a clear contention that is complex
enough to sustain a clear argument:
- Euripides challenges traditional ideas of justice by/because/however/although …
- While Euripides questions our sense of justice, Medea demonstrates that …
- Medea shows that justice is …
My contention:
Euripides challenges traditional ideas of justice by presenting a protagonist who is both a
victim and a villain.
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
• Now we need paragraph ideas. The best way to do this is to ask questions of the
question. Interrogate as much as you can.
• For this topic, think:
- How is justice challenged?
- What does justice mean? Is it different from revenge?
- Who achieves justice?
- Who decides what is just?
- What injustices cause the action of the play?
Try to come up with three clear arguments to approach the question that support
your contention.
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
• Here are the paragraph ideas that I came up with.
- injustice faced by women in ancient Greek society
- Jason’s unjust actions against Medea
- Medea’s response – revenge?
- The response of the gods
Euripides challenges our sense of justice.
Discuss.
• Linking these paragraph ideas with my contention turns them into clear topic
sentences. They link back to the question and show an argument that will need to
be supported with evidence.
- Euripides presents the injustice faced by women in ancient Greek society
which questions if Medea’s actions are justified.
- The chorus clearly shows that Jason’s actions against Medea are unjust
and embody the injustices faced by women everyday in ancient Greek society.
- Medea’s response, however, arguably goes far beyond justice and into
revenge.
- The response of the gods problematises our ideas of justice further, as it is
unclear who is to blame for Medea’s horrific actions.
Now we can write an intro.
There are three basic parts:
1. Introduce the text and the author, giving context. (One sentence)
2. Use the language of the prompt to answer the question very early. (One sentence)
3. Signpost your main ideas – broadly. (This will probably be a couple of sentences.)
I also like to end my introductions with a final sentence that restates the contention of the essay (in
different words) - this gives the essay flow and focus.
Some things to remember when writing an introduction:
- Don’t tell the story. (Ever)
- Don’t use quotes (Usually). Only refer to a quote that is provided in the question itself.
- Don’t be more complicated than you need to be.
Have a go!
In Euripides’ tragedy, Medea, the audience is presented ___________________________________
_________________________________________. Euripides challenges traditional ideas of justice in the play
___________________________________________________________. Medea faces many injustices both
__________________________ and as a _______________________________________________. Her
horrific response to this injustice, however, ________________________________________________
________. The response of the gods challenges ideas of justice further by ___________________________
__________________________ . Ultimately, Euripides’ Medea shows that justice is
___________________________________.
Context
Contention
Paragraph ideas
My version.
In Euripides’ tragedy, Medea, the audience is presented with a shocking story of
revenge that questions many ideals held by the original ancient Greek audience.
Euripides challenges traditional ideas of justice in the play by presenting a
complex protagonist who is both a victim and a villain. Medea faces many
injustices both as a woman in a patriarchal ancient Greek society and as the
spurned wife of a heroic prince. Her horrific response to this injustice, however,
blurs the line between justice and revenge. The response of the gods challenges
ideas of justice further by refusing to punish Medea for her crimes. Ultimately,
Euripides’ Medea shows that justice is perhaps impossible to achieve for all.
Context
Contention
Paragraph ideas
Writing paragraphs.
• Your body paragraphs should have clear topic sentences and links.
- Your first sentence should be clear on what the paragraph is about. You don't have
to prove your point, you just have to state it.
- Use the language of the question to guide you. Ensure you answer the question.
- Again, in the final sentence of a paragraph, bring it back to the question.
- Try to find different ways of restating your argument.
DO NOT TELL THE STORY. THE PERSON READING YOUR ESSAY KNOWS WHAT
HAPPENED. REFER TO EVENTS ONLY AS EXAMPLES.
Using evidence
• Keep quotes short and integrate them into your own sentences.
• Instead of simply "explaining" your evidence, try to develop your own
arguments in relation to the quotes or examples you've given. This is
how you go beyond simply writing a formulaic TEEL essay. Some
questions to help you do this include:
- What does this quote or example imply?
- What comment is Euripides trying to make?
- How does this reflect or contrast the overall themes of the text?
- What does it teach us about the character?
Sample body paragraph
Euripides presents the injustice faced by women in ancient Greek society which
forces an audience to question if Medea’s actions themselves are justified. While
appealing to the Corinthian women, Medea describes women as “the worst
treated things alive” and the “most miserable of specimens”. This gives some
sense of the prejudice faced by women in Euripides’ patriarchal Greece and
suggests that Medea deserved sympathy for her situation. Not only must Medea
give birth to Jason’s children and allow him to “play tyrant” with her body”, it is
she as the woman who will bear the “disgrace” of divorce caused by his
unfaithfulness. The chorus, presenting an ideal audience reaction, proclaims that
women deserve justice when it states that “recompense is coming for the female
sex”. This complicates the very idea of justice given Medea’s actions in
murdering her children in a horrific act of bloody revenge.
Topic sentence/link
Evidence
Development of ideas
Now – pick a topic sentence from below, find
some relevant quotes and try writing your own
body paragraph.
- The chorus clearly shows that Jason’s actions against Medea are
unjust and embody the injustices faced by women everyday in ancient
Greek society.
- Medea’s response, however, arguably goes far beyond justice and into
revenge.
- The response of the gods problematises our ideas of justice further, as
it is unclear who is to blame for Medea’s horrific actions.