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BOOK TITLES SHOULD BE UNDERLINED OR
ITALICIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Lord of the Flies
OR
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Lord of the Flies
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Do not to use contractions
› Don’t
› Didn’t
› Doesn’t
› Can’t
 cannot is one word
› Won’t
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Pulino will not enjoy these in your research
paper either!
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Try using the reverse-pyramid style…
Introduce the novel/general topic
 Focus in on the topic of your thesis
 Thesis statement is strong, effective and
interesting
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› sets up your paper
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
exemplifies the inner leader in each
character. Ralph, one of the main characters and
first leaders in the novel, represented a figure of
hope to be rescued and a strong leader to help
the group survive; however, as the novel
progresses, Ralph becomes less of a figure of
hope and more a figure of sanity that has so
quickly escaped the boys’ society.
All humans, including children, have the
natural instincts to do whatever it takes to
survive. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William
Golding, Ralph, who is an average juvenile, must
take on the position as leader of a plethora of
boys forced to become self-sufficient. By
accepting this position of authority he also takes
on the responsibility of trying to keep all of these
children alive; however, throughout the novel,
Ralph’s power and all order on the island slowly
diminishes as power-hungry Jack Merridew,
Ralph’s juxtapose, turns the society against him.
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Thesis statement
› Featured in introduction
› Guides the main focus of your paper
› Makes a strong claim (in our case, a claim about one of
the character’s leadership)
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Topic sentences
› The first sentence of each supporting paragraph
› Focuses the paragraph on a specific detail to prove your
thesis statement
› In our case, you may have a topic sentence for the
beginning, middle and end of the book
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
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At the start of the novel Piggy is not respected as a leader
and is othered by the rest of the bigguns because of his
physical characteristics.
When Ralph becomes a leader who is “a specialist in
thought” (78), this situation changes dramatically as Ralph
relies more and more upon Piggy’s advice.
Piggy becomes a true leader and a champion of the ideals of
sanity and civilization when he takes up the conch, the
symbol of leadership on the island, and goes to Jack to get his
glasses back.
Conclusion topic sentence:
Although Piggy ultimately fails, he has made a remarkable transition in regards to leadership.
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At the beginning of the novel when Ralph is first
appointed chief among the group, he attempted to
make sure that the society had order and conformity.
So far, Ralph’s organization system and era of leading
has proven to be successful; however, Ralph’s consistent
preaching of maintaining a signal fire begins to take
away from his leadership that had been so good in the
beginning.
By the end of the novel, Ralph has lost all control over
the people of the island, and now he represents what
the group used to be.
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At the beginning of the novel, Ralph, a character seeking
leadership, radiates a feeling of confidence and purpose.
Although the boys adhere to Ralph and his rules for a short
while, gradually the island’s unity crumbles. As Jack and his
hunters lose touch with morality and sensibility, Ralph realizes
that he must compete with savagery to keep his power
legitimate.
Although he is never fully brainwashed by Jack’s bloodthirsty
mindset, Ralph feels ashamed as he discovers the dark side of
man.
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Avoid using slang terms, clichés and
over/understatements
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His leadership starts to go downhill.
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It was because of Ralph’s sensibility that got
them rescued, and by him sticking to being the
figure of sanity and hope, the boys are now safe.

Has his back/backed him up