Establishing Evidence - AJSmith

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The Crucible Thematic Essay
What do we know?
We’ve been practicing with these ideas all
year, now we’ve got to put them to practice!
 In your notes, write the definition for each
of these:

 What is a motif?
 What is a theme?
 What is a thesis?
How’d you do?

Motif: word or term that represents a universal
idea that the author addresses multiple times in
the piece
 Examples from The Crucible?

Theme: what the text implies about that motif
 Pick one motif from that list and write a theme

Thematic Thesis Statement: a sentence that
includes a judgment about the motif
 the driving force of the essay
 defines what you will prove in your paper
 last sentence of the introductory paragraph
Now for the new stuff
What do good papers have?
EVIDENCE (examples)
It is time to develop the evidence for your
paper so you can prove your thesis is true.
 Evidence: quotes, character and plot
references (very specific—no summary)
that support your topic sentence (which
supports your thesis)
 Once you have compiled all the evidence
and examples you can find, you must
organize it so you can write your
paragraphs.
Topic sentences/Claims

The paragraphs are organized by idea
 The idea is stated in the topic sentence (claim)
Begins each body paragraph
 Answers HOW or WHY the thesis is true
(each paragraph always answers the same
question)
 NOT plot-related
 NOT character-related

Example
Thesis: We must be honest.
Claim 1: We must be honest in order to help
others.
 Claim 2: We must be honest in order to help
ourselves.
 Claim 3: We must be honest in order to
maintain our sense of integrity.




All answer same question (why)
All stay on the same topic (remember there
will be whole paragraphs between them, so
don’t worry about repetition
Analysis (explanation)
This is where you connect it all together
 The “heart” of the paragraph

 Topic sentence (claim) tells the audience what it
will be about
 Evidence proves you were right
 Analysis links everything and shows evidence of
thought
The Process









Step 1: brainstorm motifs
Step 2: pick one
Step 3: determine what the text implies about that
idea
Step 4: write your thesis
Step 5: compile evidence (pick lots of quotes and
examples from the piece). Think about probing the
thesis, not the plot
Step 6: organize those ideas by topic
Step 7: write your claims based on step 6
Step 8: be sure they all answer the same question
(how or why)
Write the essay!
Tips
Keep the thesis as simple as possible
 Keep the thesis to 1 sentence
 Don’t change topics/directions in your
paper

Day 3
Now turn that into a
paragraph
Claim
2. Transition into quote/Intro quote
3. Quote
4. Citation
5. Analysis
6. Repeat 2-5 for each quote
7. Clincher sentence
1.
To begin, when we are not honest, it effects our relationships.
The negative impact John’s dishonest has on his relationships
is most clearly seen in his relationship with his wife. It is when
Proctor is alone with Elizabeth that we see the impact his
dishonesty has had on their relationship. After asking her
husband to talk to Abby, John lashes out at his wife, saying this
in response to her suspicions, “Oh, Elizabeth, your justice
would freeze beer!” (Miller 53). He seems angry at her though
she has said little to deserve this comment. What we see is
not a fight between husband and wife—it is the lasting impact
his dishonesty about Abby has had on their relationship. He
was dishonest, he had an affair, and now he is lying again about
spending time with her. He lashes out at Elizabeth because his
dishonesty has so tainted their relationship that they cannot
find solutions to their problems. Another example of the
impact dishonesty has on a relationship is that between John
and himself. (REPEAT THE PROCESS)
Citing line quotes

If you are citing one line of dialogue (not one
line of text), start after the character’s name
and go on until the end of what you need
“Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze
beer!” (Miller 53).
Be sure to introduce it so your audience
knows who is speaking!
 Add citation with author’s name and page
number

Citing Conversations

If you are citing parts of a conversation between two or more
characters, use a block quote (look at the info from independent
study).
 No quotation marks
 Citation at end
 Indent all of it .5
The tension between husband and wife is obvious, as can be seen
in their conversation about Abby:
ELIZABETH: John, you are not open with me. You saw her with a crowd,
you said. Now you—
JOHN: I’ll plead my honesty no more, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH: …John, I am only—
JOHN: No more! (Miller 52)
John and Elizabeth both accuse the other person of not being
honest and forgiving, when in reality, it is themselves they cannot
forgive—John for cheating, and Elizabeth for not being able to
forgive her husband.
Other things to remember

Use an ellipsis (…) instead of using stage
directions unless the stage directions are
part of the importance
 If you do use stage directions, make sure to keep
it in italics

Characters’ names in all capitals when citing
conversations
Things to do
Find the word “you” and replace it
 Make sure you have varied evidence (not the
same characters, not the same place in the book)
 Think about the order of your claims
 Add transitions between claims
 Write the intro

 Hook
 Transition into thesis (should mention author’s name,
book title, and a little about the motif you will focus
on)
 Thesis
Reminders

MLA
 heading, header, page numbers, citations
Title
 5 paragraph essay
 Add transitions between your paragraphs
 Add transitions between your examples
 Double spaced
 Printed for class Monday

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