1. To Kill a Mockingbird Paper Reflections

2. The first sentence is the most general, and it introduces the overall idea of your paper. If you are discussing literature, introduce the book you will talk about, or the issue you have chosen to discuss. Ex: To Kill a Mockingbird or your chosen theme idea The middle sentences (2-3) should introduce the general focus of your paper. Build your context. Ex: The children in To Kill a Mockingbird were shown to be highly influenced by those around them. However, they still built their beliefs based off of what their father had taught them. Thesis statement: must be argumentative and specific Introduction Paragraphs

3. Common issues: – Too vague: use the intro sentences efficiently. Don’t waste them. Make sure you hit on every issue you will discuss. – Ex: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, portrays American life in the 1930’s. A large part of this time was the presence of extreme racism against blacks in the south. Racism created a great deal of problems throughout society, which were difficult for children to understand. One of Harper Lee’s main themes in To Kill a Mockingbird was that racism is a learned behavior, not something someone is born with.

4. Assertions Main issue: varying assertions to maintain flow What not to do: – One of the main themes is that racism is bad. – The main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is that racism is bad. – Racism is still bad in the end of the book.

5. Assertions continued What to do: – Thesis: One of Harper Lee’s main themes in To Kill a Mockingbird was that racism is a learned behavior, not something someone is born with. Assertion 1: In the beginning of the novel, Lee shows that Scout and Jem have never been raised around racism, therefore she doesn’t understand it. Assertion 2: Towards the middle of the novel, Scout is being exposed to racism more and more, and therefore she becomes more familiar with it. Assertion 3: Furthermore, in the end of the novel, it is shown that even though Scout is surrounded by racism, she refuses to accept it because she is taught differently by Atticus.

6. Your turn: On your sheet; – Write your thesis on the line marked Thesis – On each of the subsequent lines, write your assertions. Look at your assertions. – Do they match your thesis? – Are they all pretty much the same? – Rewrite them so that they are more varied, and show progression of your theme

7. Evidence Main issue: introductions to quotes Requirements: – Speaker – Context – Punctuation – Example: When Scout and Jem are playing in the tire, Scout yells, “Jem, stop!” (143). Atticus corrects Scout’s behavior by saying, “Don’t say that Scout,” (175).

8. Your turn: Move to either the second or third BODY PARAGRAPH. Write each of your evidence sentences to make sure they include all of the requirements from the following slide: – Context – Speaker – Punctuation

9. Commentary Major issues: not taking it far enough, not having enough How many sentences of commentary should you have? You need to make sure: – First sentence explains why the quote is important. – Second and third sentences should explain how the evidence proves your assertion and thesis

10. In this quote Scout and Jem are at the Radley house and Scout seems to have touched one of the trees among the house, which is practically forbidden in Maycomb. This represents fear because the audience knows everyone in Maycomb is afraid of the Radley house because of what they think Boo has done, so touching anything in that place would be deadly. Fear has caused the whole town of Maycomb to act differently than normal when they’re around the Radley house. What do you think the thesis is?

11. … fear brings out characteristics in people that they never knew they had. In this quote Scout and Jem are at the Radley house and Scout seems to have touched one of the trees among the house, which is practically forbidden in Maycomb. This represents fear because the audience knows everyone in Maycomb is afraid of the Radley house because of what they think Boo has done, so touching anything in that place would be deadly. Fear has caused the whole town of Maycomb to act differently than normal when they’re around the Radley house.

12. Your turn Pick one evidence-commentary section from either BP 2 or 3 Re-write it to match the criteria we JUST discussed Your commentary must consist of 3 sentences. – What is the significance of the quote?(1 sentence) – How does it prove your thesis? (2 sentences)

13. ConclusionParagraph The last sentence is the most general, and it wraps up your ideas as a whole. Overall, what is the central message of your essay? Overall, what do you want the reader to take away? The middle sentences (2-3) should recall the general points of your paper. Take a look at your assertions, and restate them here. Restate thesis: use different words

14. Example Throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she highlight that friends and family influence one’s stance on ethical issues. The numerous issues shown in regards to ethics in the novel were treated in various ways. Scout, Jem and Dill were shown to deal with things differently based on how they were raised and who they spent time with. Overall, ethics are highly influenced by the people with which one surrounds themselves.