Essay Writing Workshop McKee

Workshop Groups D-Block 6) Brandon C, Aaron, Brandon D, Bryan 7) Garet, Andrew H, Brittany 8) Laura, Megan , Nathan 9)Lann,Quinn, Mack, Chris 10) Andrew J, Christian, Julian, Rylie 1) Ryan A, Molly, Ocean, Taylor 2) Will, Ashley, Ryan O 3) Kyle, Mikalya, Jenika 4) Mariana, Goksin, Kiet 5) Mike, Josh, Samantha

Workshop Groups B-Block 1) Ryan L, Melissa, Connor 2) Jaten, Katey, Emma C 3) Sakie, Ryan H, Rawand 4) Chris, Rebecca, Erin, Quinton 5) Matt S, Lyndsay, Samantha 6) Kody, Scott W, Claire 7) Blake, Shawn, Nada 8) Liam, Mayadah, Ahmed 9) Ben, Sean, Jenna 10) Emma L, Yasmin, Matt B, Mitchell 11) Hannah, Coral

Keep in your notes.... Name: _______ Short story= Theme= Thesis at the beginning of workshop: Thesis at the end of the workshop: Goal for Wednesday:

Thesis Day!!! Essay question: How do literary terms help to enforce the theme of a short story? A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved: "can you support your thesis?".

Step One: Sharing Thesis Statements What is the thesis trying to prove? _________________________. Is the thesis statement clear? __________________________. How could you strengthen the thesis statement? (could, should, would, think, believe) ___________________________.

Step Two: Specifics and Basics Which stage are you? If you do not have a thesis then fill in the blanks: The use of ___(literary term) ___ in ___(short story) ___ enforces the theme of __(theme of short story) ____. Checks: Is the literary term complex enough? 2) If you have a working thesis (like the one above) then: Which words in the thesis could be more specific?

Specific: Example 1= The use of satire in The Lottery Ticket enforces the theme of material gain costing personal relationships. Example 2= The use of satire in The Lottery Ticket enforces the theme of material gain costing personal relationships BY balancing irony and humor. Example 3= The use of satire in The Lottery Ticket enforces the theme of material gain costing personal relationships as seen THROUGH Ivan’s tormented downfall.

Step One Again: Sharing Thesis Statements What is the thesis trying to prove? _________________________. Is the thesis statement clear? __________________________. How could you strengthen the thesis statement? (could, should, would, think, believe) ___________________________.

Step Three: Prove it! Once you have your thesis you can move onto to proving it with examples from the story. 3 Reasons: Beginning Middle End

Step Four: Outline Once you have your thesis and your quotations then you can determine the different topics that you are going to deal with in your essay. Beginning, Middle and End Topic Sentences. Ask: Do all these quotations relate back to the thesis?

Ingredients for a Good Introduction 1 part Lead/ Hook: Proposing a question Story Quote Fact You want your first few lines to grab the reader, but also ensure that they know which story you are talking about. Don’t get to flashy with it.

A Bad Lead/ Hook The Persian Carpet is the most fascinating story on the face of the earth….. In the course of human events…. One time…. Really long quote to start the essay off…not great.

Ingredients for a Good Intro 1 part Good Lead/Hook 1 part THESIS 1 part Road Map to your essay… You have to lead the reader into your ideas and let them know what the stops are going to be along the way. Ex: Beginning, Middle, End

Step Five: Introduction Broad Statement Introduction Introduce topic (short story and author) Reason 1 Reason 2 Reason 3 Thesis

Hook/ Lead Story/ Author Thesis Road Map

Introduction The capacity for a single lottery ticket to dictate human happiness is devastating. It is difficult to turn a blind eye from such temptation and society slips from rationality and can’t help but try their luck. Ivan and Masha are perfect examples of the danger such a simple ticket can introduce to a simple life. Through the balanced use of humour and irony in The Lottery Ticket the fragility of human relationships in the face of material gain is highlighted. The story begins with a humorously simple moment in a person’s life: checking the newspaper, but quickly escalates into a fiendish imagining of what the lottery could offer. Finally the irony of the situation blooms and the foolish nature of Ivan and his wife is revealed. MAX: 150 words