Welcome 10/16/09  Today’s Pre-Class  Open the book to pages 48—49  How was Olaudah Equiano’s journey through the African Slave Trade difficult?  List 3-5 examples.  Today’s Agenda 1. Pre-Class & Roll 2. Thesis 3. Essay Outlines 4. What’s in an essay? 5. Final Thoughts & HW Today’s Objective: 1.To learn how to create a thesis and essay outline 2.To learn how to write a well supported argumentative essay

Breaking down the prompt: NOTES! Prompt: How was Olaudah Equiano’s journey through the African Slave Trade difficult? What’s the overall topic of this prompt?  (The main idea of the prompt). What examples did we come up with? What is the definition of a thesis?

What’s a Thesis?  Rough Definition: A statement that is made at the beginning of a paper that sets out the author’s argument and opinions.  It’s your purpose in your paper –  The statement/argument that you make is what you will write to support and prove to your reader.  What’s our thesis about Equiano?  (Think back to pre-class prompt)

Write a thesis based around the prompt  Prompt: How was Olaudah Equiano’s journey through the African Slave Trade difficult? *Remember our main ideas!

Essay Outline  Intro (introduce topic and thesis)  1 st Example (supporting details for thesis)  2 nd Example (supporting details for thesis)  Conclusion (wrap up topic, restate thesis)  Remember each paragraph is about 4—5 sentences (or more).

What’s in an Intro?  Intro Paragraph (4-5 sentences minimum) 1. Introductory topic sentence  Introduce the topic of your essay with some brief introductory remarks (1-2 sentences) 2. State your thesis (1 sentence)  States your argument/opinion – what you are going to try and prove to your reader. 1. State what ideas/examples you are going to discuss  These sentences explain what your examples are, and how they support your thesis (1-2 sentences).

Write the Intro (4-5 sentences minimum)  Opening sentence(s):  Attention grabbing!  Question?  Simple statement about the topic (African Slave trade)  2 nd Sentence: State the thesis.  3 rd and 4 th sentences:  Present examples that you will use in body paragraphs  Describe how these examples relate to thesis.

What’s in a Body Paragraph?  Idea/Example Paragraph (2 of these)  1-2 sentences to describe the idea/example.  1-2 sentences that explain how this example supports your thesis.  1 st Body Paragraph – 1 st example of Equiano’s difficulty  2 nd Body Paragraph – 2 nd example of Equiano’s difficulty.

Write the First Body Paragraph  Just one example in this paragraph!  1 st and 2 nd sentences – introduce and describe your example  3 rd and 4 th sentences – describe/explain how your example relates to and supports the thesis.

What’s in a Conclusion?  Rough Definition:  A recap of your topic that successfully closes your paper. 1. “Recap your topic” – (1-2 sentences) a) Describe the topic similar to how you introduced it. 2. “Recap your examples” a) Describe what your examples were, and how they supported your thesis (1-2 sentences) 3. Restate Your Thesis (1 sentence) a) Restate your argument/opinion and conclude the paper.

Final Thoughts  Exit Slip:  On a separate sheet, Please turn this in.  How did you feel about your writing before today?  What did you learn about writing today?  Tonight’s HW: DUE MONDAY!  Complete your essay according to the format covered in class today.  Requirements:  Follows format  4 paragraphs  1 Thesis  2 Supporting Examples