Personal Code
Informational Essay
DEMONSTRATE HOW
LITERATURE HAS
HELPED YOU TO
DEVELOP YOUR OWN
PERSONAL CODE
You are writing about literature
 World State
 Sacred Texts
 Hamlet
 Rama
 Oedipus Rex
 Beowulf
 Amir and Hassan  King Arthur
 Anansi
 Sir Gawain
Do the personal codes depicted in
literature relate to your own life?
Thesis Writing: Step One
What's your main
opinion on this topic?
Literature influences the expectations for
behavior and conduct within society.
Thesis Writing: Step Two
What's the first argument
supporting your opinion?
Connect one of your codes to a character:
Rama perseveres to the end of his quest, no
matter what the obstacle is.
Thesis Writing: Step Three
What's a second argument
that supports your opinion?
Connect one of your codes to a character:
Anansi shows us that despite our flaws we can
learn from our mistakes.
Thesis Writing: Step Four
What's a third argument that
supports your opinion?
Connect one of your codes to a character:
“Rig Veda” reminds us to be humble, we have
much to learn about ourselves and the
world around us.
Thesis Writing: Step Five
What's the main argument
against your opinion?
Connect one of your codes to a character who
does not follow your code:
Characters in Brave New World are not true to
themselves, and fulfill an identity that has
been mass produced to conform to society.
Thesis Writing: Step Six
Put it all together to make
a thesis statement…
 3-Argument
 2-Argument
 1-Argument
 Example/Non-Example
The 3-Argument Thesis Statement
Literature promotes sophisticated
social behavior because it 1teaches us
to attain our goals2 ,learn from our
mistakes, and 3 remain humble in our
pursuits.
2-Argument Thesis
Literature promotes sophisticated social
behavior because it 1teaches us to attain
our goals and 2 remain humble in our
pursuits.
 Two
body paragraphs will illustrate first two arguments.
 The third paragraph could possibly show how a character failed
adhere to a social code, since he failed at one or both of the
arguments posted.
1-Argument Thesis
Literature warns us against the
dangers of hubris, showing the
dangers of not remaining humble in
our pursuits.
 All body paragraphs will illustrate the argument.
Example and Non-Example Thesis Statement
Literature reminds us of the improtance of
1keeping
one’s word and 2 illustrates the
consequences of failing to do so.

Body paragraphs will address how the character keeps his word or
faced the consequences of not keeping his word.
How NOT to Write a Thesis
× Readers learn a lot from “Beowulf,” Sir “Gawain and the Green
Knight,” and “Le Morte D’Arthur.”
× Literature promotes better behavior which is demonstrated by
the characters Amir, Hamlet, and Rama.
× Sometimes behavior is improved, and sometimes it’s not.
Story titles and character names are not arguments!
Introductions: The Inverted Pyramid Style
The base represents the attention grabbing opening
sentence. This sentence should be a general or broad idea
that is related to your essay topic.
The center contains more specific information:
Oral tradition, the purpose of storytelling , the
importance of social codes, overview of the novel,
genre, era, or subject.
As the pyramid narrows, lead into the
thesis statement with a solid
transitional sentence.
The point of the
pyramid represents
the last sentence in
your intro. the thesis
statement.
Works Cited Help!
[Author’s last name, first name]. [“Title of Story”]. Glenco Literature the Reader’s
Choice. Edited by Beverly Ann Chin, et all. [Translated by]. New York:
Glenco McGraw Hill, 2002. [Pages]. Reprinted in World Literature. Print.
[Author’s last name, first name]. [“Title of Story”]. The Language of Literature.
Edited by Arthur N. Applebee, et all. [Translated by]. Evanston: McDougal
Littell, 2002. [Pages]. Reprinted in British Literature. Print.
Biography - King Arthur: His Life and Legends. 1998. A&E Home Video, 2005.
DVD.