How To Do It.
H. Reece
What to include:
Introduction: Make sure that you have a thesis statement in the first
paragraph. Your thesis should take a clear position. The thesis is
usually not the first sentence in the paragraph, but the last. Everything
before the thesis serves as background or contextual information.
Your thesis statement should be similar to or a close variation of this
formula: author’s name + author’s attitude/purpose + subjects +
devices.
Example: In “The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, the ninth
(Title of work)
(author)
President uses the setting of the battlefield and the jargon of
(device)
democratic ideals ironically to promote a new idea of rebirth of
government in the United States
(thesis).
First Body Paragraph
What to Include:
You first body paragraph, should include a topic sentence (preferably
one that is a transition from the last sentence in the first paragraph).
Mention one or more of the appeals at least once in your first body
paragraph to get the ball rolling. Example: Mayfield makes an
ethical appeal by alluding to JFK’s passionate statement, “Ask not
what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country. “ By quoting such a well-beloved American President,
Mayfield is attempting to stir up feelings of patriotism in his audience.
Discuss FIDDS t(Figurative language, Imagery, Details, Diction, and
Syntax). Mention each component of the acronym at least once.
Examples:
Figurative Language refers to any language that is not literal.
Figurative language includes metaphors, similes, personification,
hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration. Sample analysis of
Topic Sentence
figurative language. Sample Analysis: Figurative language
(specifically metaphor) is sprinkled throughout Dr. King’s speech to
emphasize important points, intensify the engagement of his audience
and/or clarify his position. The Emancipation Proclamation is
compared to a "great beacon light of hope,” and the injustice of
slavery is compared to searing flames. King also compares the
Emancipation Proclamation to a joyous daybreak after a long night.
Original Quote: "This momentous decree came as a great beacon light
of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames
of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long
night of their captivity."
Imagery: The total sensory effect of related sensory images in
poetry or prose. Sample Analysis: Through clear, although violent
and disturbing imagery, Mitford describes the macabre innerworkings of the funeral industry, an industry whose primary
business is to make the dead look “natural.”
The embalmment procedure is particularly graphic. The author
informs us that about three to six gallons of a dyed and perfumed
solution of formaldehyde, glycerin, borax, phenol, alcohol, and
water is soon circulating through Mr. Jones, “ whose mouth has
been sewn together with a “needle directed upward between the
upper lip and gum and brought out through the left nostril.” Her
imagery is designed to shock and educate the reader; to make us
think twice about Americans strange and expensive rituals
surrounding the end of life.
2nd Body Paragraph (must include a topic sentence)
3. Details: Without details, what we are left with is summary, a sketch,
or an outline. Analysis is not possible without details. Whether it is art,
film, literature, clothing, automobiles or architecture; we are all
impressed by details; it separates average from excellent; mediocre from
superb quality. Details help to evoke a sense of place and to capture the
essence of an event. Events can be anything from washing the car to
college graduation. Here are just a few ideas to help you spot those
telling details:
Topic
Sentence
Sample Analysis: Nabokov’s mastery of details transports the reader
to a train station in Berlin as passengers aboard the train. The author’s
sentences are exquisitely constructed, rich with personification and
moves in fluid metaphoric cadences to render space and time with
crystal clarity. The opening sentence is a prelude to a paragraph rich
in imagery and layered in elegant prose. The first sentence begins
“The huge black clock hand is still at rest but is on the point of
making its once-a-minute gesture, that resilient jolt will set a whole
world in motion.” Nabokov extends the metaphor in the next
sentence by further personification of the clock and parallel
adjectives: “The clock face will slowly turn away, full of despair,
contempt, and boredom, as one by one the iron pillars will start
walking past…” (mention the author’s attention to details at least
1x)
4th Body Paragraph (must include topic sentence)
4. Diction is of course word choice. Diction choices (why one word
is used as opposed to another) are the essential building blocks of
composition.
Topic
Sentence
Sample Analysis: Jonathan Edwards’s moralistic language conveys
the sentiments of the puritans, whose entire lives were essentially
governed by edicts of the church. Edwards establishes an ominous
tone through words such as judgment, torment, sinful, hell,
destruction and the devil. The sermonic warning “There will be no
end to this exquisite, horrible misery” is designed to frighten
believers into moral submission. (using a strong adjective,
mention the author’s diction at least 2x)
5. Syntax: Discuss at least two syntax devices [parallel structure,
chiasmus, epistrophe, antithesis, asyndeton, polysyndeton and connect
them to meaning or purpose.
Example: In the opening paragraph of Tale of Two Cities, Dickens
employs a series of antithetical clauses and phrases to depict the
highs and lows of the 18th Century; an era marked by war, upheaval
and revolution, as well as, a time of enlightenment and hope. The
see-saw like contrast between the ups and downs is drawn even
sharper in Dickens’ prose, because he omits conjunctions or
transitional words, which make the differences, appear even starker.
Many people who have never read A Tale of Two Cities are familiar
with the lines, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it
was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” and the list
goes on for a full paragraph. We remember these lines, because it is
such a powerful and effective rhetorical strategy
Concluding Paragraph: Reference your thesis and provide a summary
of strategies used by the author. Do not start you concluding paragraph
with “In conclusion.” This will cause my head to explode and the
universe will spin out of control. Your conclusion should include the
following:
1. an allusion to the pattern used in the introductory paragraph,
2. a restatement of the thesis statement, using some of the original
language or language that "echoes" the original language. (The
restatement, however, must not be a duplicate thesis statement.)
3. a summary of the three main points from the body of the paper.
4.
5. a final statement that gives the reader signals that the discussion
has come to an end. (This final statement may be a "call to action"
in a persuasive paper.)
Example: Concluding Paragraph - 1"Thick darkness," "thread of the
spider," and "vulture eye" are three images that Poe used in "The
Tell-Tale Heart" to stimulate a reader's senses. 2Poe wanted the
reader to see and feel real life. 3He used concrete imagery rather
than vague abstract words to describe settings and people. 4If
Edgar Allan Poe was one of Stephen King's teachers, then readers
of King owe a debt of gratitude to that nineteenth-century creator
of horror stories. (see how the numbers correlate with what you
should include. Source:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm
Other Stylistic Requirements
•Mention the author’s name at least three times in a five paragraph essay,
making sure that it is always connected with an active verb. Example:
Hawthorne emphasizes, amplifies, accentuates, asserts, demonstrates,
indicates, etc. These are all verbs which provide an alternative to the
word “show.” Avoid using the word show, or my head will explode and
the universe will spin out of control. Use the author’s full name in the
first paragraph and last name only in subsequent references. When you
are not using the author’s last name – just say the author.
•Keep analysis is present tense. Instead of saying “the author asserted,”
say, “the author asserts.”
•Avoid starting sentences with This or That.
•Capitalize all proper nouns.
•If you do not understand how to use a word in context – do not use it!
•Write your analysis in 3rd Person, avoiding the personal pronouns I, me, or
my.
•Find another phrase to use in place of “the author says,” and use the
author states sparingly.
•Try to make relevant connections with the author’s assertions through
textual evidence, or written works, current event or other real world
examples. Avoid using movie comparisons or sports analogies in your
analysis.
•
Link to quiz:
http://www.wiziq.com/online-tests/31623-tutorial-quiz
Have a great Fair Day!