Starting an Essay

It could be the very best thing you do today!

What is the purpose of writing about literature?

The purpose of writing about literature is to make your reader consider the text in a new way or appreciate it more because of your interpretation.

Step One: Choose your topic

When deciding which topic to write about, you should consider three things: 1. Which topic grabs you? The topic should be exciting to you (or at the very least it should be the least awful among your choices.)

2. Which topic do you have something to say about? Pick a topic that you think you can give a fresh spin to.

3. Wheres the evidence? Make sure there is a lot for you to talk about when considering a topic. My rule of thumb is that you want to be able to think of at least three quotes or three examples that could support your claim.

Beware of the easy option

A little teacher secret from me to you: We usually give the kid who takes on the more difficult topic a better grade.

I want to see you wrestle with tough ideas not write another formula essay.

You

Tough ideas

So youve got your topic what is next?

Start with your claim what are you trying to prove?

Some rules for thesis statements

1. The thesis statement controls the essay. This is the authors main purpose - the position the author wishes to defend in the essay.

2. The sentence must be an opinion not simply a true statement. Although Curley and his wife are the villains in Of Mice and Men, they are also perhaps the victims of a society with rigid gender roles.

3.

The sentence must be a complex and intriguing opinion.

A weak claim statement might look like this:

In Of Mice and Men, Curleys wife is conniving, revengeful, and cruel.

Its an opinion, but it doesnt have any context. So what if she is conniving, revengeful and cruel? Whats your point?

How do you follow the rules?

These sentence structures can help to set up a contrast for the thesis statement: Begin with the word Although Contrast your opening statement with an clarifying point by inserting a however Curleys wife instigated the men at the ranch and created the conflict that lead to her death, however, as a woman in 1930s America, she was forced to play that role.

 Focus on three elements of analysis

Curley and George are well matched antagonists because they are emotional, rebellious, and stubborn.

So youve got your claim statement. What else goes in the introduction?
Typically, the claim statement is the second to last sentence in your introduction. Leading up to that, your goal should be to hook your readers and not sound cheesy. You will also need to mention the title of the novella and the authors name in your introduction.

You might try using a life connection

A life connection gives your essay context the reader can relate to. If you can put the context of your essay into real life to help the reader connect to your topic then youre off to a great start because you arent just summarizing, you are analyzing.

Religion typically offers something of greater power, purpose, and authority than we are capable of. When things go wrong and we cant control our lives, we pray. We cant see God, but we believe somewhere, someone must be in control of this thing called life and we trust that its listening. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, the faith that a God was listening was destroyed by the fear that the Devil was listening too.

Try something unexpected

Open your Introduction with A question A metaphor A surprising or shocking statement A statement that perfectly captures the thematic essence of the book NO DEFINITION OPENINGS!!!

Now you try

In your notebook, please write your topic choice, and three different claim sentences for that topic.

Keep in mind Yes, you hate writing. Yes, you hate essays. But the only way to get better and get to a place where you have written something youre proud of is to practice!

Lets play

Why do I hate it?

Example One
Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a book that can be analyzed and broken down into a vast majority of themes. One of the predominant themes found in this book is loneliness. Many characters in this book are affected by loneliness and they all demonstrate it in one way or another throughout the book. Examples of these characters are Curleys Wife, Crooks, and Candy.

Example Two
Steinbeck has brought forward this story of broken dreams in a way that leaves the era of the American depression translucent. The American depression is concurrent to this story of people struggling in their ways to achieve their targeted goals but is a hardly recognisable background theme to this novel. As the world at this time was going through an inexperienced phase, Steinbeck portrays this in a more focused way through George and Lennie. Steinbeck shows George and Lennie taking the same path as their foundations from which they hope to go their own way whilst both paths are connected. George and Lennie both hope to have their own land, Lennie however focuses on tending the rabbits whilst George dreams a broader dream of owning his own land.

Example Three
Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintaining it because no humans think the exact same or have the exact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. These three requirements to preserve a companionship are at times arduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time, concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendship with a companion or companions.

Example Four
Of Mice and Men, is a tale about a friendship between to travelling workers in the harsh depression years of the 1930s in America. It was written by a man called John Steinbeck in 1930s. There are several themes running through this novel e.g. Friendship, loneliness etc. I will be focusing on the theme of nature. Steinbeck shows the world of nature to be a beautiful and peaceful one, but threatened by the actions of men

What does good look like?

Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest and most hardened can avoid. It is not as obvious as one thinks; on the surface a person may look happy and content, but on the inside they may be in a deep state of depression and loneliness. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck proves that although loneliness comes in different forms and causes people to react in different ways, it is a universally felt emotion. One will eventually experience loneliness in one form or another, but reactions will differ. Although they seem at ease and friendly on the surface, a deep sense of loneliness lingers in the hearts of George, Crook's and Curley's Wife, to which they desperately try and find an escape from to cope with their seclusion from the rest of the world.