Essay Construction and "The Story of an hour"

Essay Construction and "The Story of an hour"

Free Write:

Identify the issues with the following thesis statements and rewrite them. Remember, a thesis should be clear, specific, and arguable. 1. In this essay, I will argue Chopin uses characterization. 2. "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin emphasizes that women don't feel free. 3. The Story of an Hour uses windows as symbolism. 4. I think Chopin's story critiques how unfair women were treated in older times.

Essay Construction

1. Introduction
2. Body paragraphs
1. Topic sentences
2. Supporting sentences
3. Conclusions

Line of Reasoning

Body paragraphs are not seperate ideas!! They are interconnected ideas that support your thesis. This is called a line of reasoning. Don't think of body paragraphs as individuals broken up by a "first", "second", and "third" idea. Instead, think of them as as a further development of the idea that came before it. Your claims have a relationship to one another-- explore it! This means you have to be mindful of your transitions!

If you can rearrange your body paragraphs and it still makes sense, you do not have a strong line of reasoning!!

Transitions

Transition words like "first... second... third...," and "in conclusion" should be used sparingly. Very sparingly. Despite what you might have learned in high school, these aren't actually helpful transitions. Transition words and phrases tell your audience HOW your ideas are connected-- so they hint at how your ideas are developing. Ex. "Further" = an elaboration on the point you made before. "However" = there is something that complicates the point made before. "As a result" = because of the last point, something new happens. "For instance" = an example of the previous point. "Likewise" = here is a similar point to the one previously made.

Free Write #2:

Using the discussions we've had in class, come up with a thesis statement about either "The Yellow Wallpaper" or "The Story of an Hour" or both! You can write a thesis where you compare the two stories.

Conclusions

Conclusions should do three things: 1. Restate your thesis in a new way. 2. "Summarize" your body paragraphs-- I like to think of this more as strengthening the connections between your most important points. 3. Leave your audience with a "so what?" or some kind of statemet that addresses the significance of your argument. What thoughts or ideas do you want your audience walking away with?

Introductions

Your introductions should introduc the audience to the text you'll be analyzing and summarize it. It should also begin broad and narrow to your thesis-- however, this does not mean you should start as broad as you can go. If you're writing an essay about "The Yellow Wallpaper" and you want to discuss how it critiques medical treatment's given to women, it would be way too broad to start with something like "The ancient greeks were the first to write about hysteria." How could you resonably narrow this idea? Instead, address the needed context for your essay. "In the early 19th century, women were often perscribed the rest cure." The short story discusses the effects of the rest cure, so it is easier to narrow your thoughts from here.

Supporting sentences

Your supporting sentences do exactly as the title suggests-- they support the claims you make in your body paragraphs. Supporting sentences are where you provide evidence, explanations, and logical reasoning. HOW your ideas and claims are valid.Again, think back to the sandwiching method. The introduction of a quote or piece of evidence, and the explanation for how that piece of evidence or quote relates to your claim are supporting sentences.

Body Paragraphs

Your body paragraphs are the "meat" of your essay and are where you "prove" or defend the argument you made in your thesis statement. Body paragraphs should be: 1. Coherent: It is clear how your thesis statement is being supported through the information and logic you provide in the paragraph. 2.Unified: Each sentence has a purpose and helps support your thesis statement. No sentence sticks out for being off topic. 3. Logical: Your body paragraphs should have a logical flow of ideas-- meaning your ideas are building so the reader is never confused about how one point relates to another.

Topic sentences

Topic sentences come at the beginning of your body paragraph and introduce the audience to the ideas you'll be discussing within that paragraph. Topic sentences are sorta like mini thesis statements (though they still support the thesis statement at the end of your intro). They guide the reader by presenting a main and controlling idea that elaborates on the argument preseted in your thesis. Think of the claims you make when doing the sandwiching method-- those are your topic sentences!