Example Body Paragraph for The Catcher in the Rye Final Paper
This represents one paragraph:
Topic Sentence (mini-thesis for paragraph, includes literary device and reference to theme or part of theme noted in paper’s
thesis) [1-2 sentences]
Video Sentence (this is where you allude to your group’s music video to introduce the way the literary device functions in the
novel, which has been alluded to in the music video) [1-2 sentences]
Evidence (a.k.a. Concrete Detail) (from the novel - this is where you either provide a direct quote from the novel, or paraphrase
an event that occurred, and cite the page number with an in-text citation) [1-2 sentences]
Analysis (a.k.a. Commentary) (this is the two-step process where you 1) interpret the evidence you have provided (“The ducks
represent…”) and then 2) explain how that literary device supports your thesis, focusing on how it reveals the novel’s theme)
[2-4 sentences]
Evidence (a.k.a. Concrete Detail) (this is where you either provide a direct quote from the novel, or paraphrase an event that
occurred, and cite the page number with an in-text citation) [1-2 sentences]
Analysis (a.k.a. Commentary) (this is the two-step process where you 1) interpret the evidence you have provided (“The ducks
represent…”) and then 2) explain how that literary device supports your thesis, focusing on how it reveals the novel’s theme)
[2-4 sentences]
Evidence (a.k.a. Concrete Detail) (this is where you either provide a direct quote from the novel, or
paraphrase an event that occurred, and cite the page number with an in-text citation) [1-2 sentences]
Optional
Analysis (a.k.a. Commentary) (this is the two-step process where you 1) interpret the evidence you have
provided (“The ducks represent…”) and then 2) explain how that literary device supports your thesis, focusing
on how it reveals the novel’s theme) [2-4 sentences]
Transition (a.k.a. Conclusion Sentence) (this is where you briefly sum up what this paragraph has proven, and provide a
transition which links the relevance of the ideas in this paragraph to the ideas contained in the next paragraph) [1-2 sentences]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Each set of Evidence and Analysis is called a “chunk.” If you write a three-chunk paragraph and find that it is too long (a
full page or more,) try one of two things:
 Make your writing more concise. Does each sentence add something new, or are you repeating yourself in your
analysis? Does the quote need to be that long? Remember, what you quote should all be analyzed and relevant.
 Break up the paragraph by chunk into three mini paragraphs. Transition briefly between them, but each does not
need its own topic sentence and conclusion sentence.
Example Topic Sentence, Video Sentence, and Chunk:
[Topic Sentence – 1 sentence] Salinger’s use of symbolism illustrates Holden’s resistance to growing older, and the way
in which this requires Holden to ignore reality and the laws of nature. [Video Sentence – 2 sentences] In the second scene
of the video, “Holden” is walking alongside a lake looking at the ducks (Newman et al. 1:32). [Evidence – 1 sentence]
This alludes to the moments in the novel when Holden fixates on the ducks – he looks for them at night in Central Park
(Salinger 153), and he repeatedly asks taxi drivers whether they “happen to know where [the ducks] go in the wintertime”
(60, 81), wondering whether somebody comes and takes “them away, or [whether] they fly away by themselves” (82).
[Analysis – 3 sentences] The ducks symbolize maturity, and Holden’s uncertainty about them reflects his discomfort with
change and growing up – at his age he should well know the seasonal flight patterns of ducks. Instead, he seems to
willfully ignore reality: the laws of nature about which most are aware without even explicitly learning them. Holden’s
concern centers around whether or not the ducks will succeed on their own when the time comes for change, which
reflects his lack of confidence in his ability to successfully reach adulthood, which is, to him, the ultimate form of
independence. Salinger uses the ducks to illustrate the way in which Holden’s resistance to maturity is unnatural, and
merely postponing what is inevitable.