Warm-up Skim the handout on thesis statements (found on front table) and then use it to answer the questions below: What is a thesis statement? (List the main points.) What is a “working thesis”? How can you tell if your thesis is any good?

Literary Analysis Macbeth Essay

Two Body Paragraphs TS (Topic Sentence) LCD 1 (Lead-in TO Concrete Detail) CM (Commentary) LCD 2 (Lead-in TO Concrete Detail) CS (Concluding Sentence)

Topic Sentence State your first point of analysis. Be sure it is CLEAR and relates back to your thesis. Ex: Malcom’s ascension to the throne instead of Banquo’s sons prove the prophecies false and that Macbeth was exercising free will all along.

Lead-in TO Concrete Detail Must set the stage for your quote. Explain the context. Concrete Detail Your evidence. Quote or paraphrase cited with page numbers. Must be properly formatted. Example: Upon their first meeting, the witches promise that Banquo “shalt get kings” (1.3.67) and later give the same impression through an apparition of bloody Banquo pointing to an endless line of heirs (4.1.117).

Commentary Analyze the meaning. How does this support your thesis? Do not summarize AT ALL. Your lead-in has already told us what’s going on in the quote. Example: These prophecies are dangerous in making Macbeth question whether fate is controlling both his and Banquo’s destiny. The prophecies lead Macbeth to assert violently what he believes he is “meant” to obtain.

Concluding Sentence Clear and insightful. So what? Why is this important? How does everything you just said tie back to your thesis? Example: The failure of Banquo’s prophecy proves that Macbeth was not, in fact, “destined” for anything; the prophecies were mere bait to lead him to his ruin.

Whole Paragraph Malcom’s ascension to the throne instead of Banquo’s sons prove that the prophecies were false and that Macbeth was exercising free will all along. Upon their first meeting, the witches promise that Banquo “shalt get kings” (1.3.67) and later give the same impression through an apparition of bloody Banquo pointing to an endless line of heirs (4.1.117). These prophecies are dangerous in making Macbeth question whether fate is controlling both his and Banquo’s destiny. The prophecies lead Macbeth to assert violently what he believes he is “meant” to obtain. However, at the play’s end, Macduff pronounces Malcom “King of Scotland!” (5.8.58). After Malcom is crowned king, the audience is made to wonder whether these prophecies carried any legitimacy at all. Macbeth was the only one who’s “prophecy” was fulfilled because he forced it into being; however, Banquo’s prophecy, which was truly left to chance, does not come true. The failure of Banquo’s prophecy proves that Macbeth was not, in fact, “destined” for anything; the prophecies were mere bait to lead him to his ruin.

"Black Bart" Bartholomew Roberts was one of the most successful pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 1700's. Roberts created what is now known as the Pirate's Code, "a list of articles, or rules, that promoted fairness and equality on board his ship“ (34). It could be said that the ideas of democracy could be traced back to the Pirate's Code. Without the Pirate's Code, America might not have become the democracy we know it as today. A diary by one of Black Bart's crew members also states, "he was chosen to be captain by monthly vote“ (65). Just like the President of the United States is elected, so was Black Bart. Indeed, the crewmembers were like happy citizens who got along well; their happiness is inferred because no talk of mutiny exists in the diary. Although it might be a surprise given that these pirates were blood thirsty killers, they did bring about the start of democracy and equality for all for America.

Introductions & Conclusions Save them for last. Then it will truly introduce what’s written instead of what writer intended. Write the into and conclusion at the same time. This ties the introduction more effectively to the conclusion by writing them both at the same time. You don’t have to write in the order things are read.

Part 1 of Intro: “Hooks” A startling fact or bit of information A meaningful quotation A universal idea related to your thesis A fresh analogy or metaphor A thought-provoking question

Part 1 of Intro: “Hooks” AVOID… Dictionary definitions. “Webster’s Dictionary defines fate as…” Rhetorical questions. “Did you know?” or “Have you ever wondered?” Unnecessary explanations. “This paper will be about …” “In this paper I will prove” Your thesis will tell us what your paper will be about, and the entire paper is what you think. A “book report” list of irrelevant facts. “William Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan era in England. He wrote many plays. One of these plays was Hamlet.”

Part 2 of Intro: “Hooks” AVOID… A “book report” list of irrelevant facts. “William Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan era in England. He wrote many plays. One of these plays was Hamlet.”

Part 2 of Intro. A: Address the Prompt Do not plagiarize but paraphrase. Address the issue at hand. Here is where you state the author’s full name and title of work. After this point, you may refer to the author by his/her last name. B: Provide a Roadmap Preview the main ideas, questions to be addressed.

Part 3 of Introduction Your thesis. a.) Your point. b.) How you will prove/explore it.

Sample Introduction Charles Dickens once wrote, “I wear the chain I forged in life...I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” William Shakespeare’s Macbeth calls such a view of individual autonomy into question. A tempting yet dangerous prophecy leads the play’s protagonist along a blood-stained path that forces his “destiny” into being. Though a witch-given vision prompts this journey, Macbeth does deliberate and exercise choice in obtaining his “rightful” station. Throughout Macbeth, the role of the witches and a faulty prophecy ultimately prove that fate is merely an illusion luring Macbeth to his destruction.

Conclusion Part 1 I. Thesis Echo the major thesis without repeating words verbatim. II. Reflect on the ideas addressed in your paper. Indicate why these ideas are important. Add some new insight. III. General Insight Connect back to idea presented in “hook.” Show how topic relates to life. Leave the reader thinking.

Conclusion Beginning with “In conclusion …” AVOID… Beginning with “In conclusion …” Restating thesis and main points without adding anything new. Adding irrelevant details (esp. just to make a paper longer)

Intro and Conclusion Outline Introduction I. Hook IIa. Address the prompt IIb. Preview main ideas III. Thesis Conclusion Thesis Reflect on main ideas. General insight.

Peer Feedback Switch with a partner, read over their introduction and conclusion and, on a separate sheet of paper, respond to the following questions for them: 1.) Is their hook engaging? Why/why not? 2.) Does their hook relate to the thesis in a GENERAL way? How? 3.) Is there a smooth transition into paraphrasing the prompt? 4.) Do they paraphrase the prompt effectively? Why/why not? 5.) Do they state the author’s full name and title of the work in underlining or italics? 6.) Do they give you a sufficient preview into the main issues/ideas they will be discussing? What are they? 7.) Is their thesis statement clear? Does it state 1. the main topic and 2. they two ways they will discuss that topic in his/her paper? What is their main topic? What are the two ways they will discuss it?

Peer Feedback (cont.) 1.) Is their thesis restated but not word for word? 2.) Do they reflect on the main ideas and not just restate what they already said in the introduction? What new things do they say about the main ideas of their paper? 3.) Do they leave the reader with a general insight that does NOT reference the book itself but only the TOPIC they were writing about (i.e. “free will”)?