ANALYTICAL ESSAY WRITING
The Introduction
Your introduction should have at least four sentences.
1. General Statement – Indirectly refers to the question; a philosophical statement that relates to
the issue at hand. This sentence can be manufactured or a recognised quote.
2. Nutshell Sentence – This sentence provides the ‘essential information’ which includes:
a. The name of the playwright
b. The title of the play
c. The main characters
3. Thesis Statement – This is the most important sentence in the essay as you will revisit it
throughout the entire essay. This is the part of the introduction that answers the question in one
sentence by stating your position.
4. Paragraph Preview – The name says it all; this sentence outlines the three arguments which will
be covered in your body paragraphs and will support your thesis statement.
5. Clincher Sentence – your thesis statement in a different way.
Essay Question:
What does Williams’ depiction of the Pollitt family say about truth and its role in the wider
society?
Sample Introduction:
General
Statement
There are many forms of lies: there are small, insignificant white lies that
we tell other people to keep out of trouble, there are cowardly half-truths
which reveal ones inability to align with either reality or fiction, and then
there is the worst lie of all – deceiving oneself. Tennessee Williams’ Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof studies the Pollitt family to explore the role of truth in
society and foregrounds the invited reading of the play: that mendacity,
Nutshell Sentence
– including the
invited reading
although it disgusts us, is a system we must live with in order to survive.
Thesis Statement
in relation to the
essay question
Williams focuses on the journeys of each character to show that the truth is
a strived for ideal that in reality is harder to accept and more debilitating
than dishonesty. Throughout the play, the central male characters are
terrorised by the truth: Brick drowns his life in alcohol as he tries to forget
his homosexual desire for his best friend and Bid Daddy’s control is
stripped from him when he uncovers his imminent death; it is only Maggie
Clincher –
Restates the
thesis
the Cat who has progressed enough by the end of the play to learn that lies
will enable her to stay on the “hot tin roof”. Truth is represented in all its
horror in the text and lying is presented as the only alternative in order to
stay alive.
Paragraph
Preview –
outlining 3 points
OVER TO YOU!
Use the above format to construct your own introduction in response to the following essay question:
In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, how is wealth represented in relation to self-preservation?
General Statement:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
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Nutshell Sentence (including the invited
reading):……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Thesis Statement:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Paragraph Preview (at least 3 points): ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Clincher:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Body
Your body should have at least 3 paragraphs – here is how to write one of those paragraphs. Repeat this
formula a minimum of 3 times–PECL
1.
P
oint Sentence –
a. Preview the main argument of the paragraph.
b. Link back to the thesis statement (via key words of the question
and/or thesis statement.
2.
E
E
vidence/
xample –
a. Before including the quote or example, it is necessary to specify
who is speaking and outline the situation (setting, who the
character is addressing). Don’t fall into the trap of retelling the
story – remember, it’s an essay, not a recount.
b. Once you have lead into your quote, include the actual quote
itself. You need to follow the appropriate punctuation rules to
increase the fluency of your writing.
3.
C
omment –
The most important thing to remember when writing your analytical
essay is that the evidence does not speak for itself. As the writer, you
understand what comment the evidence is making in relation to the
thesis statement, but you need to spell it out for your reader. There
are two aspects regarding explanation which contribute to a
convincing argument:
a. Explain how the evidence reinforces your topic sentence.
b. Link the point you are making to the thesis statement.
4.
L
ink –
This sentence has two functions:
a. Consolidate the paragraph’s argument and link it to the
thesis statement
b. Link this paragraph to the next by including a key word from
the subsequent topic sentence – this will increase the
cohesion of your writing.
The E & C parts of the
paragraph should be
repeated to
crystallise and
reinforce your
argument.
In simpler terms:
You should include at
least 2
quotes/examples per
paragraph and you
need to comment on
each. So, a more
accurate body
paragraph structure
would be:
P – Point
E - Evidence
C - Comment
E - Evidence
C - Comment
L - Link