Research Paper – Part II
Drafting the Thesis Statement,
Introduction, Conclusion
What have you done so far?
• You’ve read your short story, hopefully.
• You have written down the basic plot
elements and mapped the story.
• You have pulled out quotes that help support
your thematic statement.
(THESE ARE BOTH FROM YOUR STORY & FROM
YOUR RESEARCH)
• Now, we just need to figure out how to get
started writing!
Part II – Drafting a Thesis Statement
• Make sure you include literary elements in
your thesis statement. If you don’t use
elements, you are headed for a PLOT
SUMMARY, not an ANALYSIS!
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
• Good – Through the use of foreshadowing,
characterization and symbolism, Agatha Christie
ultimately shows the untrustworthiness of most
people in the novel, And Then There Were None.
• Bad –Alan Paton describes the setting very well
in order to make his story exciting.
• Ugly – I am going to write an analysis of Agatha
Christie’s really awesome novel, And Then There
Were None.
Perhaps this Skeleton will help…
In the short story, “____________________” (title),
__________________(author) ______________________
(strong verb: satirizes, mocks, revolutionizes, disapproves
of, asserts, predicts, warns against, embraces, etc.)
__________________________(theme, does not include
specifics from the work) through
___________________________________( specific
literary element or elements, setting, characterization,
etc).
Try WRITING YOUR OWN THESIS STATEMENT NOW!
Remember, this is only a
skeleton, so feel free to SPICE it UP!
Congratulations! Now for the
Introduction!
• Begin by identifying the work and the author
• You may do this by introducing the time period,
the genre, or specific conflicts that drive the
work
• Then give a little insight into the plot of the
story.
• Then lead into your thesis statement
(NOTICE – The introduction always begins vague or
general and gradually becomes more specific)
Conclusion
• Look at your thesis statement
• Reword the thesis to close out your essay.
• Offer a statement of the effectiveness of the
story as it relates to the theme.
Topic Sentences
• Topic Sentences are the first sentence of every
paragraph (after the introduction)
• They let the reader know what the paragraph will be
about!
• Using your thesis, write one sentence for each
paragraph
EXAMPLE: Through the use of characterization, one is
able to see Chopin’s link between her female lead
character and the theme that women of Chopin’s
time face oppression and crave freedom. (The next
paragraph will have a different literary device).
What you should now have…
• Thesis statement
• Three topic statements – (You should be able
to write three very different paragraphs,
even if you have chosen the same literary
element each time)
• Introduction & Conclusion
• Keep all of this. We will use it to draft our
outlines.
• COMPUTER LAB TOMORROW! PLEASE FIND
YOUR NAME ON THE SEATING CHART!