Schaffer Review

What is Schaffer? A Schaffer Paragraph is composed of a topic sentence and two chunks. Both chunks are related to the topic sentence.

Topic Sentence (TS) The topic sentence is a thorough answer to the question. Make sure to include the names of authors and titles of any works you are referring to. Naturally, make sure it answers the question.

Chunk? A chunk supports your topic sentence. It’s made of 3 sentences: one concrete detail (CD) followed by 2 sentences of commentary (CM)

Concrete Detail (CM) This is evidence that directly supports your answer (your topic sentence). Usually, this is a quote from a book; however, it can also be a description or example. If you use a quote, it’s best to embed it! Since it’s an example, you can start it by saying, ‘for example’.

Commentary (CM) Commentary means ‘explanation’. In your commentary, you will explain how your concrete detail supports your topic sentence. This is the same as explaining “this shows” in BATS. You can even start it by saying “this shows”.

Summary One Schaffer Paragraph = TS + (CD + CM + CM) + (CD + CM + CM) ChunkChunk Example: Question – What book, song, or film shares a thematic connection to your novel? My novel = The Odyssey Related Piece = Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Example TS – The Odyssey by Homer and Eye of the Tiger share the common theme that one should always fight for what is right, despite the obstacles he/she faces. CD – For example, in The Odyssey, Odysseus “wept” when he feared “he would never see his homeland”(83) after being cursed by the Cyclops. CM – This is just one of the many difficult moments that Odysseus has during his journey. CM - Despite all of these setbacks, however, Odysseus pushes on and eventually reaches his homeland.

Example Chunk 2 CD – In the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, the same theme is shown as the singer urges the listener to “fight for the will to survive”. CM - Even though life is hard, this song clearly has the message that you must cope with difficult times if you want to “survive”. CM – Although there are many moments when you may want to give in, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and ‘The Odyssey’ challenge their audiences to carry on.

The Final Product The Odyssey by Homer and Eye of the Tiger share the common theme that one should always fight for what is right, despite the obstacles he/she faces. For example, in The Odyssey, Odysseus “wept” when he feared “he would never see his homeland”(83) after being cursed by the Cyclops. This is just one of the many difficult moments that Odysseus has during his journey. Despite all of these setbacks, however, Odysseus pushes on and eventually reaches his homeland. In the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, the same theme is shown as the singer urges the listener to “fight for the will to survive”. Even though life is hard, this song clearly has the message that you must cope with difficult times if you want to “survive". Although there are many moments when you may want to give in, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and ‘The Odyssey’ challenge their audiences to carry on.