LITERARY EXPLORATION: ENGLISH 20-2 & 30-2
The format described in this handout will be the standard for any essays assigned and
written during the English 30-2 course, as well as for the Literary Exploration assignment
on the English 30-2 diploma exam.
 Topic questions will always be worded as follows:
What is your opinion of the idea that…
… hope is an important quality?
… we must be prepared to respond to changing circumstances?
To answer the topic question you MUST:
 Discuss a character you have studied in English 20-2 or 30-2. You may discuss
more than one character.
 Use specific details and examples to support your opinion about the topic.
 Organize your ideas in prose form – complete sentences and paragraphs.
To answer this topic questions you SHOULD:
 Refer to your own personal knowledge and experience. This is most effective if
you write about a personal experience or example that is detailed, relevant, and
supports your opinion on the topic.
 On the diploma exam, you will be given a short reading selection that is meant
to help give you ideas on the topic. You can also write about this reading
selection to help support your opinion on the topic.
To organize your essay effectively, you MUST:
 have a clear thesis statement that states your opinion on the topic.
 use clear and effective paragraph structures that develop a coherent response to the
topic.
A clear thesis will do the following:
1. Agree/disagree with the topic (or sometimes both)
2. Because
3. Give a reason why
EG. Hope is an important quality because it gives us the will to persevere
though challenges.
EG. Hope is not an important quality because when we rely on hope rather than
taking action in our lives we may miss out on valuable opportunities.
Once you have a clear thesis, you must organize your ideas so they prove your thesis
effectively. Use the following paragraph format:
I. Introduction
- effective opener: rhetorical question, interesting statement, or definition
that introduces the topic
- introduce the character(s)/texts, personal example you will be writing
about.
- state your thesis.
II. Character example
-
write about a specific character from a 20-2 or 30-2 text. Use specific
details and examples to describe how this character and his/her
experiences prove your thesis. You may choose to focus on a single
incident/experience the character faced rather than the text as a whole.
III. Character or personal experience example
-
-
write about another specific character from the same 20-2 or 30-2 text
as paragraph two, a character from a different 20-2 or 30-2 text, or a
character from the reading selection on the diploma exam and describe
with details and examples how this character and his/her experience
proves your thesis.
OR
write about a specific example from your own knowledge and/or
experience that supports and proves your thesis. This option can be
very effective if you select a meaningful example from your life to write
about and use specific and convincing details from this experience to
prove your thesis.
IV. Conclusion
-
summarize your main points from paragraphs II and III.
Re-state your thesis. It is best if you don’t repeat your thesis word for
word from the introduction but re-state the same idea using different
wording.
Conclude with a strong and memorable statement about the topic itself.
One sentence will do.
GENERAL TIPS:
 vary your vocabulary – avoid repeating the topic word (eg. HOPE) over and over
again. Use creative and confident words to prove your point.
 Use clear sentence structures. Vary the length of your sentences.
 DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE PLOT OF YOUR LITERARY EXAMPLE. Assume the person
reading your essay know the text and characters well. Use specific and relevant
details to prove your point – this will make your essay more effective than re-telling
the story.