Writing Lessons Week 31

Rubric Review What changed? What is the same? Virtually all changes were clarifications in meaning and phrasing, not a change in expectations. The word count rules reinstate a traditional departmental policy that has been officially adopted.

What is the next due date? An outline! Due when? Collecting Evidence What is the next due date? An outline! Due when? Friday 8am on Turnitin.com! Must be MLA document format, with correct outline format.

Evidence must support and prove your thesis. Collecting Evidence Evidence must support and prove your thesis. That means evidence must reflect the ‘how’ of your thesis. Ask yourself: Does this prove the argument of my thesis? Then, your analysis explains how it proves the thesis.

You must cite all evidence. This includes Collecting Evidence You must cite all evidence. This includes Direct quotes from the test (duh) Paraphrased context and plot (within the body paragraphs Definitions of lit devices, etc (if used) Biographical information on Rushdie Failure to do so will result in an Academic Integrity referral.

Collecting Evidence Collect more evidence than you think you will need. Most essays include 2-4 pieces of evidence per BTS, but don’t limit yourself early on. Students frequently go with the first evidence they encounter, missing valuable evidence elsewhere. Review the entire book + your notes, asking yourself, what proves my thesis?

Writing Mini-Lesson: BTS Body Thesis Statement Should resemble your thesis statement, but more specific. Remember, the argument/So What is the same throughout! Your BTSs are sub-sections of your thesis. Example: Hands and sleep in Shakespeare's Macbeth symbolize Lady Macbeth's corruption illustrating that power obtained through corrupt means ultimately leads to destruction.

Writing Mini-Lesson: BTS TRUE or FALSE: You must have one paragraph per body thesis statement. FALSE! You might have one paragraph per body thesis statement (and that’s fine) but… As you continue through high school, you will be encouraged more and more to break up your evidence/analysis for each BTS.

Writing Mini-Lesson: BTS If you break a BTS into multiple paragraphs… Use transition phrases clearly. (This is true regardless) Make it incredibly obvious where your BTSs are by formatting them like thesis statements. Leave no ambiguity about the organization of your ideas. If you break apart paragraphs carelessly, it could actually hurt your Organization grade. If you’re not sure, keep it all in one paragraph and rely transition phrases to organize your ideas.

WRITING AN OUTLINE: Thesis: Body Thesis Statement 1 Textual evidence to support main idea 1 Analysis – focus on technique Analysis – connect it back/prove your So What Textual evidence to support main idea Analysis Body Thesis Statement 2 Analysis of textual evidence BTS 3 etc… Analysis should explain the link between the evidence and your claim in your thesis!

WRITING AN OUTLINE: Thesis: Hands and sleep in Shakespeare's Macbeth symbolize Lady Macbeth's corruption illustrating that power obtained through corrupt means ultimately leads to destruction. Lady Macbeth’s corruption is symbolized through imagery focused on hands, showing the destruction caused by her corrupt power. “Out, damned spot!” (143) Analysis – focus on technique (hand imagery) Analysis – connect it back/prove your So What (how that shows corrupt power etc) Etc etc NOTE! Even though this is one section of your outline, it could be broken up into two paragraphs in your rough draft.

Ms. Gilpin’s Feedback Flowchart Look at Thesis. Is it arguable? Does it have all parts? Look at BTSs. Are they aligned with thesis? Does their organization make sense? Look at quotes. Do they support their BTSs? Are they technique-focused? Look at analysis. Does it explain to the reader how these quotes prove the thesis? If I get to one of the steps and it needs significant changes, I will probably stop and focus my attention there.

Analysis After you have verified that your quotes support your BTSs and your BTSs support your thesis, you need to explain WHY. That’s the analysis part! You cannot assume that the teacher knows why you have included these quotes. Explaining/ANALYZING the quotes proves your knowledge and proves your argument.

Analysis Imagine you are explaining this to someone who has a general understanding of technique, but only a very basic understanding of the text. You don’t need to explain what a simile is. You do need to (at some point) explain what’s going on in the text. More on this during our Context lesson next week. Most importantly, you must SPELL OUT how and why your quote proves your thesis.

Avoid: “This quote shows that” Analysis Avoid: “This quote shows that” You can almost always eliminate this. Instead: Restate the most important parts of the evidence to focus in. “The simile draws attention to the horse-like qualities of the young boy…”