Midterm Essay Review: Tips and Tricks American Literature Midterm Essay Review: Tips and Tricks

In your intro: *Begin with a general statement *Define / explain which aspect or aspects of transcendentalism you will be discussing For example: “Transcendentalists believed in civil disobedience. This means that they argued that people should stand up for what they believed in. “

Transcendentalism was a philosophical and literary movement in America during the late years of the last century. One belief of their philosophy was that all people had a duty to stand up for what they believed in by participating in Civil Disobedience. They called for citizens to disobey laws or rules which they found wrong. One writer of this time, Walt Whitman, conveys this idea in his poetry. In “Song of Myself” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed,” he coveys both how slavery and the oppression of women are wrong and should be stopped by citizens; thus, he calls upon Americans to display Civil Disobedience in order to end these practices.

Assertions Must have sentence variety! Do NOT make them all the same.

Transitions Use them in your assertions and within your paragraphs.

Analysis Prove your assertion and layer your evidence!

Set up your evidence The more context you can set, the more sophisticated your writing becomes Do not say: “The following quote illustrates . . .: “The poet says, . . “