Assignment Details
T01 Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-TSAM 20/SP (Bo…
many students. But at this stage there’s good news: You’ve already written those two sentences.
The first sentence of the thesis paragraph, the hook, poses a question, a puzzle to interest the reader. You can write this sentence by summing
up, in one sentence, the difference between what “they say” and what “you say.” Whatever disagreement was between you and that other
writer, that’s the question with which you introduce your essay.
The thesis statement is simply a one-sentence summation of paragraphs six and seven where you explained “so what?” That’s the big idea of your paper, the essay’s point, the main reason you wrote what you did. Write out these two paragraphs in one sentence — that’s your essay’s thesis statement.
For your conclusion, you have two options — an easy one and a hard one. Either write a paragraph about anything you’d like that leaves your reader
wanting more or, alternatively, attempt a “return” in which you return to the praise you gave the other writer in paragraph two, the aspects of the
other argument you seemed to love, and you take all that praise back. You reveal that those 12:04
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Assignment Details
T01 Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-TSAM 20/SP (Bo... 6) Paragraphs seven and eight explain so what? Here you'll want to describe why the difference between your view and the other writer's view matters. If you think differently than the other writer -- why is it important? These two paragraphs explain why it's meaningful that the
other writer thinks one way and you think another.
Alternatively, you might use these paragraphs not to explain why the difference matters but instead to form a bridge between them. Perhaps there's a
bigger picture, an overall take that is more important than the difference you just illustrated.
Maybe there's a third possible viewpoint, one that can reconcile this seemingly intractable disagreement.
7) Once your main paragraphs are written, it's time to go back to the start and compose your introductory paragraph. The introduction is required in the college essay, and of course it goes at the very start of the essay. This paragraph begins with a "hook" or question, a sentence crafted to grab the reader's interest; the paragraph closes with a thesis statement that presents your big idea, your main claim. So the introductory paragraph includes two key sentences: a "hook" and a thesis claim, which
makes this paragraph the hardest to write for
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Assignment Details
T01 Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-TSAM 20/SP (Bo...
Write a ten-paragraph essay that responds to a close, critical reading of someone else's idea.
Using Cormac McCarthy's "The Wolf-Trapper" from the novel The Crossing as your primary source, research secondary sources about one of
the following elements of fiction (Character, Setting, Theme, and Symbol) and respond to another writer's argument by following the ten- paragraph template below.
1) Although counter-intuitive, skip the introduction (including the thesis!) and the conclusion until last. Start writing your essay as though the thesis paragraph does not exist. Start with a paragraph that introduces someone else's idea -- this paragraph's job is to explain what the other writer is trying to say. You should not
express an overt opinion about that argument: your task is to only summarize. For those of you
more daring, you may attempt here to hint that you do not actually agree with the idea, but you should nevertheless present that idea fairly and accurately.
2) The second paragraph praises something
about the other writer's idea you summarized in
the previous paragraph. Find
something noteworthy about the idea and spend
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Assignment Details
T01 Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-TSAM 20/SP (Bo...
a paragraph saying good things about it.
3) The third paragraph critiques the other essay.
Describe something limited, or wrong, or
questionable, or out-dated about the other
writer's view. You might begin the paragraph with
"However, on a deeper level ..." This paragraph is
not meant to be an exhaustive destruction of the
other view: it's merely pointing out a crack in the
foundations.
4) Now, in the fourth paragraph, you
should argue your own viewpoint. You should
transition from talking about the other essay to
describing your own take. You have three options
here as Graff/Birkenstein instruct us ("They Say/
Say," Ch. Four): to "ally" with the other writer and
argue something similar, to "oppose" the other
writer and present a disagreement, or, the most
difficult option (but the one with the highest
rewards), to "pivot" to a seemingly unexpected
position or situation. Present your own idea.
5) Paragraphs five and six develop your view.
This is where you'll want to quote from the short
story and present your evidence to support your
view.
6) Paragraphs seven and eight explain so
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T01 Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-TSAM 20/SP (Bo...
introduce your essay.
The thesis statement is simply a one-sentence
summation of paragraphs six and seven where
you explained "so what?" That's the big idea of
your paper, the essay's point, the main reason
you wrote what you did. Write out these two
paragraphs in one sentence -- that's your essay's
thesis statement.
For your conclusion, you have two options -- an
easy one and a hard one. Either write a paragraph
about anything you'd like that leaves your reader
wanting more or, alternatively, attempt a "return"
in which you return to the praise you gave the
other writer in paragraph two, the aspects of the
other argument you seemed to love, and you take
all that praise back. You reveal that those
apparently good aspects of the other argument
are in fact faulty and reveal that writer's deep
misunderstanding of the topic. Those seeming
virtues were, in reality, merely signs of the other
writer's complete failure.
8) Be sure to give your essay a title that reflects
your main idea, your big claim, and entices your
reader to want to read your essay.
