Topic Sentence controls the paragraph!
You must relate your explanation and conclusion back to your original topic sentence
In the _____________________ “____________________” ____________________
(poem, short story, novel) (title of work) (author’s name) uses _______________________________ to ______________________________.
(literary devices, simile, metaphor, symbolism..) (create horror, create imagery, tell the story of her life…)
RDF1: first literary device
E: quote from poem
E: 2 sentences to tell how this relates back to the topic sentence
E:
RDF2: second literary device
E: quote from poem
E;
E: 2 sentences to tell how this relates back to topic sentence.
C: Conclusion relates back to the topic sentence……………………
Examples:
Note: the underlined part of the sentence is the important part!!!! This is the point you have to prove with your quotes and explanation.
In the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe uses irony and imagery to create horror.
In the novel “Hatchet”, Paulsen uses the setting to create a powerful conflict.
In the poem “My Mother Pieced Quilts”, Acosta uses personification and metaphors to symbolize her life.
In the short story “Raymond’s Run”, Bambara uses allusion and dialect to create a well-rounded and believable character.
Note: Don’t freak out! This is the same stuff we’ve been doing, we’re just tweaking it a little to fit a different kind of writing!!!

In the poem “My Mother Pieced Quilts”, Acosta uses symbolism and personification to recreate memories of past experiences. The author uses personification to give the quilt life and meaning.
“…I passed my hand across their cloth faces.” Acosta uses personification to give the quilt lifelike features such as a face. Her life and the lives of others are sewn into the quilts, so to her, the quilt has human features. The author also uses symbolism in this poem: “Oh mother, you plunged me sobbing and laughing into the past.” She talks about how her mother sews memories, both good and bad, into the quilts. She loves the feelings and memories the quilts bring to her life. In conclusion, Acosto uses personification and symbolism to share how important the quilts---and the memories they represent—are to her life.
In the poem “My Mother Pieced Quilts”, Acosta uses metaphor and imagery to symbolize her life.
Acosta uses metaphor to describe what these quilts do: “they were just meant as covers in winters—as weapons against pounding January winds.” Acosta says they were weapons. They simply covered her and kept her warm. This symbolizes her life because you can tell she is poor, for her mother needed to make these quilts to keep her daughter warm in the winter. Acosta also uses imagery to show her past: “Oh mother you plunged me sobbing and laughing into the past, into the river crossing at five, into the spinach fields…” This quote is used to show her past and her heritage. You can tell that they worked in spinach and cotton fields, that they got sick with tuberculosis and that their life was hard. Acosta uses imagery and metaphor to make the poem meaningful.
In the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe uses literary devices to create horror. Poe uses irony right from the beginning of the story. Although the narrator says, “how can you say that I am mad?” we know right away that he is crazy. Irony also shows up when the old man is afraid “of burglars” but the real danger comes from inside his home. The irony used builds the suspense in the story and makes it creepy. Poe also uses repetition to create horror. The narrator constantly repeats words and phrases that create a tense mood: “stealthily, stealthily” and “louder, louder, louder!” His repetition makes him seem even crazier and builds the suspense in the story. Poe creates horror in this short story by the use of these two literary devices.
In the short story “Raymond’s Run”, Bambara has created a realistic and well-rounded character by using allusion and dialect. The author has used allusion with Squeaky when she says: “the big kids call me Mercury”. This tells us that Squeaky is smart and has some knowledge of Roman mythology. Another example is when Squeaky speaks of “Dodge City scenes” which reveals that she likes old TV shows. The author also uses dialect in the story to show Squeaky’s personality and background: “You got anything to say to my brother, you say it to me…” This statement shows that Squeaky takes no nonsense from people and that she has a tough attitude. It also shows that she lives in Harlem and is probably African American. Bambara makes the character of
Squeaky come alive by using allusion and dialect in her story.