Night Essay
GET A PENCIL OUT,
PLEASE 
Your objective is to write an essay that
responds to this prompt:
 Was it inevitable that a prisoner, in terms of his
personality, would morph into someone
completely unrecognizable (become totally
different, for the worse, as a result of camp life)?
Or was it possible that camp life could somehow
bring out the best in people?
It’s decision time!—What is your point, or your thesis?
 TURN TO THE 2ND PAGE OF YOUR
ESSAY PACKET
 We will now read about the thesis
statement and see some examples.
Great words to
consider using in
your thesis:
•
Demonstrates
•
Illustrates
•
Proves
•
Highlights
•
Solves
•
Reveals
•
Explains
•
Supports
•
Displays
•
Expresses
•
Defies
•
Disputes
Examples
Not Good
 In my opinion, Night makes it clear
that although the Holocaust was a
horrific event, some people
overcame their circumstances to
help others.
WHAT’S WRONG? HOW CAN THIS BE
BETTER?
 Prison life turns men into monsters.
WHAT’S WRONG? HOW CAN THIS BE
BETTER?
Good
 Elie Wiesel’s memoir
demonstrates that men are
capable of overcoming horrific
circumstances to perform
courageous acts.
 Night proves that extreme
circumstances cause even the
best of people to commit
immoral, and sometimes evil,
acts.
Brainstorm Time!
Each group will come up with a good thesis statement and
share it on the Google Doc.
Links to Google Docs are on the first page of my wiki:
www.mrssnydersclassroom.wikispaces.com
1st hour
3rd hour
4th hour
5th hour
Time to write your own thesis!
 Look at your blue chart to figure out where you stand
on the prompt- Based on the evidence you have
recorded, do you think you could make a stronger
case that:


Men were bound to change for the worse
Men were able to remain good people
When you figure this out, circle 2 examples on your chart that
demonstrate your stance. These 2 examples will be used to form
your topic sentences and body paragraphs.
Now, write your thesis.
Restating your thesis
 Essentially, you take the main point of your thesis
and word it a little differently, that’s all!
 Example:

Original thesis:


Elie Wiesel’s memoir clearly illustrates that imprisonment and the
threat of death turn men into savages.
Restatement:

Many characters in Night prove that ordinary people can be
turned into savages when put into situations in which they have to
fight to survive.
A VISUAL OF TOPIC
SENTENCES
Topic Sentences
 These sentences provide the main idea for each body
paragraph. Think of them like this:
THESIS (your main point)
See flowchart
Broken into two subpoints
Subpoint #1 becomes
material to use for
topic sentence and
body paragraph #1
Subpoint #2 becomes
material to use for
topic sentence and
body paragraph #2.
Topic sentence #2
NEEDS A
TRANSITIONAL
WORD OR
PHRASE!
Look at the examples you
circled on your blue chart.
USE THESE EXAMPLES TO GUIDE YOUR
FORMULATION OF YOUR TOPIC SENTENCES.
REFER TO THE LIST OF TRANSITIONAL
WORDS TO HELP YOU!
Let’s brainstorm some topic
sentences together:
1 ST
3 RD
4 TH
5 TH
HOUR
HOUR
HOUR
HOUR
Step 3: Examples/Quotes
Start searching!
 By now, you have
figured out your topic
sentences and the 2
examples you will use
to prove your point.
 It is now time to find
quotes from the book
that are related to your
examples.
Why am I
doing this?
The purpose of the
outline is to help you stay
focused, and to help you
structure the paragraphs
of your essay. This is not
meant to be ‘busy work.’
When you can see the
major parts of your essay
in one place, you can
more easily figure out if
there is something
missing, awkward, or
simply incorrect in your
writing, and you can fix it
before you have gone too
far into writing the actual
essay.
Nice work! Now it is time to
complete your polished outline,
which is Step 4. Basically, you just
string together all of the writing we
have worked on so far!
And now, the real work begins!
Warm up:
Respond to the 2
questions At the bottom
of the “step 5” page.
Step 5:Body Paragraph Format= TIQA
 Topic Sentence
 Introduce example
 Quote to support
example
 Analysis- (How does my
example prove my point,
which is mentioned in the
topic sentence?)
Which highlighted section
is biggest?
The analysis!
Another instance in which men act cruelly as a
result of their unusual living conditions occurs
when Elie’s father was sick with dysentary and
“was unable to drag himself outside [of the
barracks] to relieve himself” (Wiesel 114). The
sleeping arrangements in the barracks were awful:
Men were crammed together in very small bunks
made of wood, which meant little personal space
or comfort. Toward the end of the memoir, these
tight spaces led to incredible cruelty: As Chlomo
explains to his son,
“ ‘Eliezer...Eliezer...tell them
not to hit me...I haven’t done anything...Why do
they keep hitting me?’” (Wiesel 114). When Chlomo
was too sick to get out of bed, his illness caused a
mess and a smell that was too much for his
bunkmates to bear. Unable to control the situation
in any other way, the men reacted with the only
tool they had—violence. As a result of the unusual,
inhumane living conditions of the barracks, the
men became savage to Chlomo; something that
would not have occurred under normal
circumstances.
Let’s look more closely at this paragraph.
Congrats on finishing your body paragraphs! Time to make
them even better!
Write down these due dates:
Intro/Conclusion- Wed 4/25
Typed final draft- 4/27
Writing Workshop
By now, you should have your body paragraphs
complete. Today you will write your
introduction and your conclusion.
Step 6: Write your Introduction
Textual Representation:
 Attention-getter- get your reader
Visual Representation:
Pull your reader in
to buy in to what you are going to
write about. There are several ways
to do this (see blue packet)
 Necessary Information- Title,
author’s name, and some info
about the book that is related to
your point.
 Thesis- LAST sentence of intro
paragraph
Give the reader
details about the
book that are
related to your
point. Include the
book’s title and the
author’s name.
End the paragraph
with your point- your
thesis.
Now, on your own, read step 6 in your
packet.
After you have read step 6, complete the task at
the bottom of the page, which reads: “Jot down
some ways you could start your essay and get
your reader’s attention.”
In other words, jot down some ideas for pulling
your reader into your essay.
Step 7: Write Your Concluding Paragraph
Textual Representation:
Visual Representation:
Restate thesis
 Restate- restate your thesis,
using different words
 Connect- connect back to
your attention grabber in the
intro, or connect to the world
somehow
 Close- Leave your reader
thinking about something
related to your thesis
Make a connection
Leave your reader
thinking
Now, on your own, read step 7 in your
packet.
After you have read step 7, and the example
concluding paragraph, begin writing EITHER
your intro or concluding paragraph.
BOTH are due tomorrow.