“The Lottery” Intros
• Let’s review the requirements. Here is what we discussed in class:
• Titles: In addition to your clever phrase, give an indication of your topic:
• The Danger of Tradition
• The Danger of Tradition in “The Lottery.”
• Punctuation: Pay attention to it. It matters. The best laid arguments of mice and men and women can go awry with improper punctuation. I am tough on the things that we cover numerous times, such as periods and commas. They go inside quotation marks.
• Same with style: Short stories (and poems) are placed in quotation marks; papers are double-spaced throughout; proper MLA page formatting.

“The Lottery” Intros
• From the instruction handout:
• Stay in third person: take out those first-person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, our, us, we), and don’t use “you.”
• Write in present tense.
• Double-space, 12-point type.
• Indent the first line of the paragraph.
• Use correct formatting for a title page, according to MLA style:
– In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date (the date first, then the month, then the year: 18 April 2012). Be sure to double-space the text.
– Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
– Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text: Evil Cloaked In Goodness in "The Lottery"
– Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
– Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with the page number (1).
• On first reference, write the author’s full name: “Shirley Jackson.” Any time you mention her after that, simply write “Jackson.”

“The Lottery” Intros
• Quick review: The controlling purpose (thesis statement) is the sentence (or sentences, sometimes) that indicates what your paper will address.
• It should come early in your essay (no later than the second paragraph; in the first paragraph in most cases).
• In this assignment, let’s concentrate on the first suggestion from the instructional handout: Summarizing the subject by forming a
“what and how” statement:
• In her short story “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uncovers evil masked by normalcy by exposing a small village’s refusal to end a meaningless tradition.

“The Lottery” Intros
• Now, I can go right to my thesis or controlling purpose, which is to show how the lottery is considered “normal” in this town:
• The annual stoning of one of the villagers – initially conceived as an apparent sacrifice for a bountiful corn harvest – is now seen as nothing more than another civic activity, placed alongside Halloween celebrations, dances and teen clubs.
• Finally, I can preview my three points that will show how this is illustrated.
• Yet, the everyday aspects of the small-town setting, the jovial demeanor of the lottery administrator, and the mundane activities preceding the lottery disguise the barbaric ritual behind the banal facade.
• Now, some of you are thinking, “Yeah, that’s great, but we can’t write like that.”
• But I argue, “Yes, you can! And in this assignment, many of you did!”

“The Lottery” Intros
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• Here are some really solid intros and thesis statements/controlling purposes:
“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, reveals the natural desire of people to blindly cling to traditions, even if their true meaning has been lost. The villagers in Jackson’s story have lost sight of why they continue the barbaric tradition known as the lottery. Though the tradition is slowly crumbling before them, members of the village, such as Old Man Warner, keep it alive. They blindly lead each other to kill one of their own each year for no other reason than a dying tradition.
In the short story “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson introduces the idea that evil can lurk in seemingly good places by creating a story about people from a normal town who stone the person that wins the lottery. At a glance, this town appears to be a standard and uniform town, but by looking past the sunny day, happy townspeople, and misleading name, that statement proves false. Without the pretenses, the true colors of the town and its people are on display and reveal that evil is at the core of everything.

“The Lottery” Intros
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• Here’s one that’s really close:
Blindly following tradition can often lead to terrible consequences. In Shirley Jackson’s
“The Lottery,” the village society practices a tradition that no longer physically helps them.
For example, the black box that represents the ritual of the lottery is falling apart. Also, the only man that really believes in the lottery is very old. Finally, other towns have already given up the lottery.
•
• So now, we just need to add that final, clinching thought:
Blindly following tradition can often lead to terrible consequences. In Shirley Jackson’s
“The Lottery,” the village society practices a tradition that no longer physically helps them.
For example, the black box that represents the ritual of the lottery is falling apart. Also, the only man that really believes in the lottery is very old. Finally, other towns have already given up the lottery. Despite these signs that the lottery has outlived its meaning, the village continues the horrific annual stoning of one of its citizens – and clings to its dark past.

“The Lottery” Intros
• In revision:
• Identify that one or two sentences that indicate what your paper will address: If you can’t find it/them, that’s where you start.
• Now, think ahead, as if you are writing a full paper. Consider the points that you would make. Would your controlling purpose/thesis statement reflect those points?
• If you didn’t in your first attempt, consider previewing three points in your introduction. This could then help you strengthen your controlling purpose.
• Most of all, don’t get discouraged. Writing is hard and takes practice. You will get better at this.