English 9 – Mastery Work #5
Political Connections Essay
NAME _________________
We are going to be writing an essay connecting the politics of Antigone to the events of today’s world. The
Ancient Greeks, as we’ve discovered, used theater for many purposes, and one of them was to provide an outlet
for political criticism or social commentary. While Antigone is a tragedy that explores human interactions, it is also
set in the world of politics -- think about all the comments on political policies, leadership, laws, public opinion,
civil disobedience, etc!
 Your task in this essay is to explore some of those comments, and employ them to support a position
on a modern political incident or figure.
Step 1: Choose an incident. Think about the message(s) of the play, and how the characters are portrayed. What
connections can you draw between Creon’s announcement and a recent event? Between Antigone’s resistance
and modern resisters? Between Haemon or Tiresias’s attempts to persuade Creon to change his mind and a
recent public disagreement over policy or law? You can make any connection you can support with reasonable
evidence from the paly and good critical thinking. (REGENTS WEEK)
Step 2: Gather your evidence. Take note of passages in the play that you could use to support your argument.
You’ll need at least three quotes in your final essay! Be sure to also identify 1 – 3 news articles about the modern
event or person that you are making a connection with. Jot down citation information to be sure you can find
these articles to use as further evidence. (REGENTS WEEK)
Step 3: Compose a thesis statement. Your thesis is the one-sentence statement that drives your essay. It should
tell the reader what you will work to prove in your paper. Your thesis should include the comparison you are
making and any position you intend to take on it. (IN CLASS)
Step 4: Plan and draft. Your introduction should provide a hook and some context leading into the thesis
statement, and your conclusion should wrap up your big ideas, revisit your position in light of all the evidence
presented, AND make a persuasive statement – what do you want your reader to take away from this essay?
ROUGH DRAFT IS DUE MONDAY 2/9.
Step 5: Revise and Edit. You will receive feedback and have the chance to conference with Ms. Rush the week
after February break. FINAL DRAFT IS DUE MONDAY 3/2.
___ Is the title and author of the play in your introduction?
___ Is there a brief summary/overview of your issue/person/news story in your introduction?
___ Is there a thesis in your introduction?
DOES EACH OF YOUR THREE BODY PARAGRAPHS INCLUDE…
___ a topic sentence that makes a claim to be proven in that paragraph?
___ a quote from Antigone?
___ a quote or paraphrase from a news article/source?
___ line number citations in MLA style for Antigone quotes? “quote quote” (876-880).
___ a sentence or two of analysis that is tying the body paragraph back to the thesis?
___ Does the conclusion revisit the thesis in light of the evidence provided in body paragraphs?
___ Does the conclusion make a persuasive final comment about what the reader should take away from this
essay? Why is this important? Why do these connections matter for our understanding of the world, or for making
changes or improving our future?