Freshman Literature
How to Write a Paper
How to Write an Essay
Introductions:

General Statements/Hook:
o
o
Example: The definition of morality differs from person to person.

Definitions:
o
Example: A moral character is someone who always does what is right
even when it is difficult.
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
Transition Statement:
o
o
Example: In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch meets the
definition of a moral character.

Thesis:
o This is the crux (heart) of your paper. Everything you write in the
body of your paper should connect to your thesis.
o
o
o You want your reader to say “hmmmmm, I’ve never thought of that
before! I should read more!”
o Example: By always doing what is right, even when it is difficult or to
his own detriment, Atticus Finch exemplifies what it means to be a
moral character.

This is an opinion (not a fact) because someone could say to
me: “No! That doesn’t make him a moral character! That just
makes him a moron!”
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
Then I would argue why I am correct and use examples to
prove my point!
•
What it sounds like all together:
•
The definition of morality differs from person to person. A moral
character is someone who always does what is right even when it is
difficult. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch meets
the definition of a moral character. By always doing what is right, even
when it is difficult or to his own detriment, Atticus Finch exemplifies
what it means to be a moral character.
Body Paragraphs:
•
The meat and bones of your paper
•
•
Each paragraph should have it’s own topic or focus
•
A good rule of thumb is that a full-length essay has at least three body
paragraphs. Sometimes this will vary.
•
Each paragraph that starts with a______________________________________ that tells
the reader what the paragraph is about.
•
A topic sentence is NOT a______________________________________
•
Example: A moral person will do the right thing even if their reputation is at
stake.

Context
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Freshman Literature
o Example:

Topic Sentence: A moral person will do the right thing even if
their reputation is at stake.

Context: Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a
young white woman in the town of Maycomb. Because Tom is
black and the case is impossible to win, no lawyer is willing to
take the case—except Atticus Finch.

Evidence
o You can’t prove your thesis with your own ideas alone. You MUST use
the author’s own words to support your point.
o You have to revisit the text and find specific examples that prove your
point and then quote these examples in your paper.
Formatting Quotes:
Examples:
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Quotes Continued

What About. . .?
o If I don’t want a whole quote?

If you delete part of a quote to make it flow logically in your
paper, use ellipses to indicate your missing text.

Example: “The best class. . . is freshman literature” (Johnson 3).
o When your sentence ends with a question mark but your quote does
not, it looks like this:

Example: How can students follow Ms. Johnson’s advice to
“split homework into manageable chunks of time after school”
(15)?
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Freshman Literature

Block Quotes
o If a quote is longer than 4 lines IN THE ORIGINAL WORK:
o Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one
inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing.
o DO NOT use quotation marks
o Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter
inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation
should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Author’s Last Name
o Once you have mentioned the author once, you DO NOT need to
mention him/her again.

If you mention the author in the intro DO NOT mention
him/her in the citation
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Freshman Literature

If you mention the author in the paragraph DO NOT mention
him/her in the citation

If you have not yet mentioned the author, DO mention him/her
in the FIRST citation only

Embedding
o

Example:

Explaining this to his children, Atticus states, “‘Simply
because we were licked a hundred years before we
started is no reason for us not to try to win’” (87).
GOOD!!

. . .blah blah blah. “‘Simply because we were licked a
hundred years before we started is no reason for us not
to try to win’” (87). BAD!!!
Practice:
o You Try: Author= Kanye West
Pg. #= 1
Quote: “Why can’t
everyone in the world be more like me?”
o Try It Out: Author= Ms. Johnson
Pg. #= 15
Quote= “If you try your
hardest, you will be successful in Literature”

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o And One More: Author= Miley Cyrus Pg. #=78 Quote= “I’m not a role
model. I never asked to be”

Analysis:
o Analysis comes _____________________________________ your quote.
o Analysis is composed of __________________________________. It is
_____________________________________________ not fact.
o Analysis is where you explain ____________________________________________
the quote proves your thesis statement.
o Analysis is the _________________________________________________________ of
your paper next to your thesis.
•
Our paragraph so far: A moral person will do the right thing even if their
reputation is at stake. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a
young white woman in the town of Maycomb. Because Tom is black and the
case is impossible to win, no lawyer is willing to take the case—except
Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is willing to fight an unwinnable fight because it
is right. Explaining this to his children, Atticus states, “‘Simply because we
were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try
to win’” (87).

Analysis: As a lawyer, Finch’s reputation in town depends on the number
of cases he wins. However, Finch believes that there are things more
important the professional reputation and one of those things is doing
what is right. He is willing to take the case, even if it means sacrificing
his reputation in town, to show his children the importance of acting in
a moral manner. He knows that Tom Robinson is entitled to a defense
attorney and Atticus Finch is willing to give Robinson that, regardless of
what it means for himself.
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Conclusions:
•
Review Main Ideas
– _______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
– Write 1-2 sentences that remind your reader of those ideas
•
Restate and Expand Thesis
– Go back to your thesis statement. Find another way to say the same
thing. Elaborate if you can.
•
Final Thoughts
– ________________________________________________________________________________
•
Big Picture Comment
– Don’t bring in a new argument but try to find someway to connect
your ideas to the real world
– What do you want your reader to walk away knowing?
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