Writing a paragraph about the theme. Jane Schaffer Method

Thesis vs. topic sentence both have A Subject and an opinion Thesis states what the entire essay is about. Usually it is the last sentence of your introduction. ex. Dogs make great pets. Topic sentence tells what the paragraph will be about. Ex. Dogs make great pets because they are playful.

“Valentine for Ernest Mann” You can't order a poem like you order a taco. Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two" and expect it to be handed back to you on a shiny plate. Still, I like your spirit. Anyone who says, "Here's my address, write me a poem," deserves something in reply. So I'll tell you a secret instead: poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes, they are sleeping. They are the shadows drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up. What we have to do is live in a way that lets us find them. Cont. next slide.

Continued… Once I knew a man who gave his wife two skunks for a valentine. He couldn't understand why she was crying. "I thought they had such beautiful eyes." And he was serious. He was a serious man who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly just because the world said so. He really liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them as valentines and they became beautiful. At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet. Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite. And let me know.

Topic Sentence for a paragraph about the theme of “Valentine for Ernest Mann” page 406. State the title, author, genre, and state your opinion. Ex. In the lyric poem “Valentine for Ernest Mann” the author Naomi Shihab Nye develops the theme that poetry may be discovered everywhere if one takes the time to truly see the details in life.

Concrete detail- an example from the story Concrete detail- an example from the story. Commentary is your analysis of that concrete detail. Blend a quote (concrete detail) from the poem to prove your topic sentence. Ex. For example, the speaker shares a secret with Ernest Mann, “Poems hide”(9) suggesting that a person must actually search to find true beauty in the form of a poem. To find poems takes time.

More Concrete details and Commentary/analysis The speaker tells the earnest, hurried young man named Ernest Mann that poems do not just arrive like tacos at a fast food joint; poems are abstract like shadows and one must pay attention to find poetry. Through an observant, unbiased eye, one may discover poems.

2nd concrete detail blended In addition, the speaker furthers her argument that one must search for poems by using a vignette about a man who gave his wife two skunks as valentines by explaining, “And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet”(23-25).

Commentary- your analysis of the example from the poem For years, the average person only sees the skunk as a perpetrator, not a poem. This man sees beyond the awful smell; he sees beauty in their eyes.

Transitions to help blend concrete details. For example, Furthermore, in addition, Lastly,

Conclusion sentence Restate your theme but do not mention the actual work of literature. Go universal! Relate the theme to all of us. Example: If one searches for poetry, poetry will emerge.

In lyric poem “Valentine for Ernest Mann” the author Naomi Shihab Nye develops the theme that poetry may be discovered everywhere if one takes the time to truly see the details in life. For example, the speaker shares a secret with Ernest Mann, “Poems hide”(9) suggesting that a person must actually search to find true beauty in the form of a poem. To find poems takes time. In addition, the speaker tells the earnest, hurried young man named Ernest Mann that poems do not just arrive like tacos at a fast food joint; poems are abstract like shadows and one must pay attention to find poetry. Through an observant, unbiased eye, one may discover poems. Lastly, the speaker furthers her argument that one must search for poems by using a vignette about a man who gave his wife two skunks as valentines by explaining, “And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet”(23-25). If one searches for poetry, poetry will emerge.

Jane Schaffer format of an 8 sentence paragraph, but the pattern may continue. Topic sentence (title, author, genre, theme) Concrete detail (C.D.) example from the story. Commentary (Analysis of the concrete detail.) Commentary (Further analysis of the c.d.) Concrete detail (another example) Commentary Conclusion

How to find theme Look at the title See the book moments See how the character(s) change See the resolution

Warnings/suggestions Do not use I, I think, I feel Do not use the second person “you” Use the 3rd person point of view Do not just put a quote. You need to give enough background for the reader to understand the context of the literature. Use the present tense.