The Crucible
Act I Response to Literature
Prompt
After reading Act I of The Crucible, you have been
introduced to many of the play’s major characters as
well as the major themes of the play. With the
information you now have, construct a complete
SUTW paragraph introducing one of the major
themes of the play based on the interactions you have
seen between the characters, information given
between scenes, and the actual thoughts, words, and
actions of individual characters. You must follow the
correct SUTW format for you paragraph, use proper
mechanics, and have a quote from the text to support
each concrete detail.
Topic Sentence (TS)
Your topic sentence should mention (not list) the
name of the play, the author, the act, and the theme
that will be the focus of your paragraph.
NO: I read The Crucible. It was written by Arthur
Miller and I am writing about Act I. One of the
themes of Act I was greed.
YES: In Act One of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,”
greed is seen through the character of Mr. Putnam.
Your topic sentence should be brief and to the point,
but should give your reader the information needed in
order to know what it is that you are writing about.
Concrete Detail 1
(CD)
The second sentence in your paragraph is the first
CD, which introduces the first example of your
theme. You may use a quote from the text as your CD
(if you choose) and move directly into commentary
being that the example has already been given with
actual evidence from the text.
You may also give an example in your own words to
provide the Concrete Detail and add a quotation to
your commentary to add further support to your
detail.
Commentary (CM)
Your commentary needs to be at least
two sentences supporting the detail that
was introduced by your CD. You may
add quotations from the text to support
the example or simply elaborate on the
detail to show how your given example
supports the theme.
Concrete Detail 2
(CD)
Just as you did with CD1, find a second
example of how the theme is present
within Act One and introduce this
example. Again, you may do this by
using a quotation from the text or by
simply using your own words to
introduce the character, event, or
example that you will use to show the
theme’s presence in the act.
Commentary
After introducing your second detail,
write at least two sentences of
commentary supporting the fact that
your detail shows the theme presenting
itself in the play.
Closing Statement
(CS)
Your closing statement should mention
the theme you have introduced and give
a brief recap of how the theme has been
seen in the play to this point.