There are two things you must do in order to write an effective paper for this class.
1) You must come up with a clear, simple thesis statement in your introductory paragraph. A thesis statement can also be referred to as a “claim” or an “argument.” You are free to construct your own thesis as long as it is specific. Also, it is generally better to confine yourself to one text rather than try to write about two or more. If you would like to address more than one text, check with me first so we can discuss your approach.
2) You must support your thesis, or claim, with evidence from the text/chosen passage. The presentation of this evidence (a.k.a. the main points of your argument) will form the body of your paper.
Let’s start with the Thesis .
If you don’t want to spend half the night fussing with your paper, and you want to receive a decent grade, keep your thesis statement and your introductory paragraph brief and specific. For a paper of 5 pages, your thesis or claim should be no longer than one or two sentences, and it should appear almost immediately. Below are examples of some possible opening paragraphs: some are GOOD, some are NOT GOOD.
“Since the beginning of time, humans have told stories about their lives. There are many goals or purposes associated with this process, and autobiographical writing often gives some evidence of what those purposes might be. Sometimes the purposes are clear, sometimes they are not." NOT GOOD!!!! Too vague, too general, too wishy-washy.
“Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which draws upon the author’s experience as an American Indian, was written in part to unsettle or challenge the dominant culture’s conception of what it means to be an Indian in the 20th Century. It was also written to provide American Indians a critical view of their own complacency with their modern condition. This paper will closely examine a passage from the text and show how Alexie’s work achieves these two goals.” GOOD!!! Clear, specific, and substantial!!!
“Human beings throughout time have tried to break from the norm and find their own way to live their life. They have done this in many different ways, and their written accounts give insight into their motivations and quarrels with Society.” NOT GOOD!!! Too vague, too general, too wishy-washy.
“Henry David Thoreau’s Walden meditates on the importance of developing one’s independence from the pressures of Society. Thoreau establishes in his text what the bare necessities of life are, and argues that these are easily obtained with little money and work. He suggests that if one can transcend the pressure to live a luxurious life, eliminating such unnecessary things as extravagant clothing, excessive food, and enormous dwellings, then a person would be capable of living a more complete life and gain an independence from the demands of Society. This paper will closely examine a passage from the text to illustrate how Thoreau supports his claim.” GOOD!!! Clear, specific, and substantial!!!
Now for Your Supporting Paragraphs:
You must support your thesis, or claim, with evidence from the text.
Supporting your claim is a three-step process: 1) Make a point with each paragraph or set of paragraphs 2) Quote passages from the text (put them in quotation marks) and include in parentheses after the quote the page numbers from your edition of the text. 3) Analyze or explain your quoted evidence: describe why it’s important. In other words, don’t just quote something and leave it. Evidence does not explain itself. A good rule of thumb to follow is to write at least two lines of interpretation for each line of quoted material.
You may want to spend the entire paper analyzing/interpreting/breaking down your chosen passage. This is fine. There is also the option to look at another (brief) passage or two that would help support your thesis. However, your main focus should be your analysis of your chosen passage.
You will break your discussion down into smaller paragraphs, and each of those paragraphs should have a topic sentence/mini-thesis (i.e. there is a lot going on in these passages you have to choose from, thus, a lot you can say about them, so…break your discussion down into smaller parts). Your supporting paragraphs should all work toward supporting your thesis.
One final note: the conclusion of your paper should be brief. You may choose to review some of the main points of your paper, but you should not summarize them in depth or detail. Finish by providing a final answer/response to the question/task you posed for yourself in your thesis. Do not start a new topic in the conclusion.