The Critical/Analytical
Response to Text
The Craft of Writing an Essay – Part 1
PLANNING THE ESSAY
WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT
A Think Aloud Process
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Deciding on your thesis statement:
The first step to planning your essay
 The assumption is that you know your text inside out and
have developed your own ideas in relation to the text
 For a literary essay, you are asked to make a debatable
claim that demonstrates your insight on a specific topic
(essential question). Your claim should strike the reader as
an “aha” rather than a “duh” observation
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Diploma exam
 For your Diploma exam, you will be given an
essential question that can be related to a wide
variety of texts. For example:
 Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator in
your chosen text about the ways in which
individuals struggle to restore honour and
certainty.
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STEP ONE
Interpret the question (work the prompt)
 Underline the key thematic words (honour/certainty) and
the key words (struggle to restore)
 develop your own interpretation:
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–
–
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How will you describe honour
How will you describe certainty
How will you address the concept of restoration
How will you massage your interpretations with your chosen text
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STEP TWO
Decide on a text and create the question
 Change the statement into a question (that you
can answer) related to a specific text of your
choice
How/Why/When (under what circumstances) do /
does (name character/s) struggle to restore
honour and certainty in author’s (name text)?
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STEP THREE
Brainstorm a subset of questions
 As you do so, think of possible answers. Let your
imagination roam over all possible questions:







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How is honour and certainty compromised in the play?
Which character’s (or characters’) responses to this struggle intrigue me?
How does / do the character/s display / interpret honour and does this interpretation change
throughout the course of the text?
How does / do the character/s display / interpret honour?
How does / do the character/s display / respond to certainty?
Which character’s (or characters’) responses best demonstrate the struggle with compromised
honour and / or certainty?
What is the nature of the character’s (or characters’) struggle (internal/external)?
How does the character (do the characters) of your choice attempt to restore honour and
certainty?
Is honour and certainty restored in the end by the actions of your character(s) and if so how?
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STEP FOUR
Create your claim & blueprint your supporting arguments
 Look for a pattern (group your ideas) in your brainstorming that
leads to a potential claim
 Think of an argument/claim (that contains potential for debate)
 Create at least three supporting arguments that support your main
argument/claim
 Be specific – have specific incidents from the play to back up your
point
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STEP FIVE
Write your thesis
 A good thesis is not only a debatable claim, but also
suggests the structure of the paper. The thesis allows the
reader to imagine and anticipate the flow of the paper
 Your statement should:
– State the topic
– State your insight/interpretation/claim
– Refer the text if you have not already done so in your introductory
paragraph
– State specific character(s) involved
– Suggest a sequence of points that logically prove the essay's main
assertion
– Be expressed in the present tense
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STEP SIX
Test your thesis against the 5-part MTS
(magic thesis statement) formula:
1.
Identify what you are looking at (aspect of honour and certainty
in character/s)
2.
identify the situation you can see / are describing
3.
State where that leads
4.
Point out the significance
5.
Be able to restate your thesis in other words – literally write a
sentence following your thesis that begins with “in other words”
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FORMULA SENTENCE
(When in doubt, try this)
Think about it this way:
 By looking at ___, we see that ___ (unique insight) which is significant
because …
Write it this way:
 In (name of text), the author (name) develops the idea that …
Consider:
 whether your statement implies cause and effect (a ‘leads to’
statement), makes connections or comparisons (an ‘is’ statement) or
comments on a theme related to the prompt
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LAST STEP
Test your thesis (CSSMI)
Clarity:
 Use straightforward language – avoid reference to philosophers/philosophies or anything esoteric
Specificity:
 Is your thesis it too vague? For example, the statement "Shakespeare's characterization demonstrates
his incredible insight as a playwright" is too vague because your reader can't be sure what you
mean by "insight" or how it relates to "characterization"
Strength:
 Make sure you have at least three arguments (in mind) that support your thesis
 Make sure you have evidence for each argument
 Each argument should be the material for future body paragraphs
Manageability:
 Can you handle the topic within the time frame/space provided?
Interest:
 Does it state the obvious (“duh”)? If it's so obvious that nobody could fail to see it, it's probably
not worth writing about
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EXAMPLE 1 (LEVEL 2-3)
The struggle to restore honour and certainty
 Decisions can change a life. We do not know if anything
graceful or miserable will come of our decisions. The
choices that we make may cause death or fatal disasters.
However, honour and certainty will also be established
during the process of our decisions making. Inner conflict
is one of the most important ways to develop our ideas
about making choices. It provides the right direction to
take actions and helps us achieve certain goals. In
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s decision to avenge his
father’s death helps him restore honour and certainty.
 Level 2-3 –thesis needs clarification – “in other words…”
and paragraph needs blueprinting
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EXAMPLE 2 (LEVEL 4)
The struggle to restore honour and certainty

The definition of honour is laden with irony. In one sense, to be honourable is to find
“personal integrity” or allegiance to moral principles”; in another sense, it is society
that judges one’s possession of the virtue. In fact religious and societal beliefs
determine what makes an action honourable or not. In contrast, certainty is
characterized the degree of security felt by an individual. The play Hamlet focuses on
an individual plagued by uncertainty who finds himself forced to make several
significant decisions despite the ambiguity around him, and realizes in the process that
the faith in Christianity he held so strongly merely complicates his decisions, rather
than showing him which direction to take. Throughout the course of the play
Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet find that in order to restore certainty they must
compromise their honour which, considering the time period in which was out of the
question. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characters demonstrate that honour and
certainty often conflict. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to show that in order to achieve
certainty, it is necessary for honour to be compromised. In other words, an individual
must be able to reject societal beliefs in order to find truth.

Level 4 – a good claim but is this possible to demonstrate in the play? Does not
address “the struggle to restore.” This paragraph would also be stronger if it contained
a transition: “This can be most clearly seen in Hamlet when…”.
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EXAMPLE 3 (LEVEL 4-5)
The significance of idealism and truth in an individual’s life

Materialism: the philosophical belief that a conclusive connection between material
wealth and happiness not only exists, but is in fact the pathway to spiritual
enlightenment. This belief was highly embraced by the Roman Catholic Church during
the 15th and 16th century, much to the dismay of Protestants trying to establish their
religious rights. Queen Elizabeth was responsible for nationally recognizing the rights of
Protestants in England, and peace was found between Protestants and Catholics.
William Shakespeare, a playwright adored by both Queen Elizabeth and James I, was a
Protestant, and he portrayed these contrasting beliefs into his plays in subtle ways.
Protestants believe in idealistic thought; idealism being defined as the opposite of
materialism: the path to enlightenment is though the mind. Another related belief of
theirs is that if one can find truth in life, they will discover salvation. Truth’s definition is
personal and different for everyone—one is expected to define it for themselves.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet juxtaposes these two beliefs between characters; both
idealistic thought and the search for truth in life prove to be significant to the lives of
King Claudius, Hamlet, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern. King Claudius’ belief in an
idealistic nation of Denmark leads him to killing his brother; Hamlet’s search for truth
in life allows him to come to conclusions about life, death and murder; and
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern’s idealistic and naive truthful outlook on life land them in
mortal danger.
Level 4 that is on its way to a 5 – the thesis needs to make a claim not be an observation
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EXAMPLE 4 (LEVEL 5-almost)
The significance of idealism and truth in an individual’s life
 Hamlet could be seen as an unorthodox medieval detective. He is
preoccupied, almost obsessed with uncovering the truth: the truth
behind his father’s murder, and the truth of the ghost’s identity and
words. He is also struggling with ideals – notions about how he
should behave in the presence of his God, his peers and family, and
how he should act to restore good to his kingdom in the wake of his
father’s murder. It is also important to note Hamlet’s struggles with
the contradictions between certain ideals. Hamlet could be accused
of being indecisive, but this is a very superficial view. To ask: “Why is
Hamlet indecisive?” is the more effective approach. By looking at
Hamlet’s character and his internal struggles, it becomes clear that his
questioning of the truth, his own idealism, and his struggles with
contradicting ideals result in his tragic hesitancy.
 Level 5 – almost; thesis needs clarification
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The Five Paragraph Essay
 See
“The Craft of Essay Writing Part 2”
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