1. Writing Essays

2. Jane Schaffer Writing Method (“Chunk” writing)
Chunk Writing Basics:
TS=Topic Sentence—assertion, a point to prove
CD=Concrete Detail—Lead-in (your words) + quote (no dialogue)+ citation (author pg or line #)
CM=Commentary—(This shows that…) analysis about the lead- in…what it “says”
CS=Closing Sentence—concludes your point

3. Hourglass Format- go from general to specific
         Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
Concrete Details
Commentaries
Concluding Sentences
Conclusion
Introduction
Introductory sentence—OPEN BROADLY: weave a quote about your universal theme into the first sentence. Narrow down to the thesis.
Use the title and author only once in your essay.
Body of the essay
Develop the essay keeping in mind the universal theme
Conclusion
1st sentence of the conclusion: restate the main idea (idea of the THESIS)
Broaden out to your universal theme (nothing about your text should appear in the last sentence of your essay)

4. Essay About Character Macbeth Banquo Lady Macbeth Duncan Malcolm
The witches

5. Brave Murderous Spineless Emotional Ethical Logical Strong
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Brave
Murderous
Spineless
Emotional
Ethical
Logical
Strong
Impressionable
Easily Manipulated
Conflicted
Impatient
Ambitious
Greed
Strong
Vindictive
Manipulative
Hypocritical
Rude
Sinister
Strategic

6. Thesis
In Macbeth, Shakespeare presents _[character]_ as _[2-3 descriptors]_.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as brave, honorable, but ultimately weak.

7. Thesis: In Macbeth, Shakespeare presents _[character]_ as _[2-3 descriptors]_.
Each descriptor is a paragraph.
Each paragraph needs a TOPIC SENTENCE to tell the reader what the paragraph is about.
This is a POINT TO PROVE.

8. Topic Sentences
Macbeth’s courage leads to his promotion to Thane of Cawdor, and therefore his eventual downfall.
Though many characters refer to Macbeth’s honor, in the start of Act II, he ignores the voice of honor and kills Duncan anyway.
Though set up as a great man, Macbeth falls prey to his wife machinations and his own internal weakness, causing his fall.

9. Concrete Details
You prove your TOPIC SENTENCE with CONCRETE DETAILS and COMMENTARY.
CONCRETE DETAILS are blocks of information that contain:
A lead in (set up the quote– who, what, why): 75% of the sentence
Quote or paraphrase: 25% of the sentence
Parenthetical Citation

10. Quotes
“For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” (Shakespeare I ii 18).
“Till that Bellona’s bridegroom…curbing his rebellious spirit” (Shakespeare I ii 62-65).
“Noble Macbeth has won” (Shakespeare I ii 77).
“We will proceed no further in this business” (Shakespeare I vii 34).
“If we should fail” (Shakespeare I vii 67).
“This is a sorry sight” (Shakespeare II ii 28).

11. Integrating Quotes YOU CANNOT JUST ORPHAN A QUOTE.
It must be integrated into the sentence.
Your sentence should only be 25% quote.
Orphan quote: “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, / Without my stir.”
Integrated quote: Macbeth elects to wait and see, deciding that if “chance will have me king,” then chance will make it happen without Macbeth having to do anything (Shakespeare I iii 159).

12. Concrete Details
The captain describes Macbeth as “Bellona’s bridegroom,” suggesting the goddess of war herself thinks him great (Shakespeare I ii 62-65).
Duncan makes it clear that Macbeth “well he deserves” the name of bravery (Shakespeare I ii 18).
Duncan calls Macbeth “Noble,” indicating everyone’s knowledge of Macbeth’s honor (Shakespeare I ii 77).
After considering his ties to Duncan, Macbeth insists he will “proceed no further” in the plot to kill the king, because Macbeth’s honor prevents him from regicide (I v 43).
As his wife berates him, Macbeth’s fortitude to resist wavers, and instead of rejecting murder outright, he begins to wonder what happens “if we should fail” (Shakespeare I vii 67).
Lady Macbeth must clean up after the murder, because Macbeth cannot bear to consider his deed, nor “look on ‘t again” (Shakespeare II ii 67).

13. Commentary
For every ONE concrete detail, you should have TWO sentences of commentary.
Commentary is stuff from your head - the “why is this important?”
These are your opinions that further elaborate on the importance and meaning of your CDs.
Synonyms: analysis, interpretation, opinion, inference, insight, reasons

14. “This shows that…”
If you actually write this I will scribble it out and pretend it doesn’t exist and then take points off for your terrible grammar.
But this idea is the point of commentary.

15. Commentary
He has seen Macbeth move into battle with no trace of fear, and Macbeth’s courage and skill in battle impress him. By this point in the play, Macbeth has shown that he fears no danger.
When speaking of Macbeth, Duncan highlights the aspects of the Thane of Glamis that he likes the most: that Macbeth defends Duncan and Scotland and does it without fear. Duncan gives Macbeth the title and lands of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor, unknowingly fulfilling the first of the witches’ prophecies.
Duncan respects Macbeth as an honorable nobleman, and this respect, coupled with the admiration for Macbeth’s bravery, leads Duncan to promote Macbeth. Macbeth’s respect for the throne and service to the country—the hallmarks of a good and honorable knight—surprises no one, because they all know what kind of man Macbeth is.
Macbeth’s honor does not allow him to betray his liege, his kin, or his guest. At first, he chooses his honor over his ambition, though this will soon change.
He does not have the will to resist his wife, and though he cannot admit it to himself, he will give in to her eventually. The slide from rejection to planning for failure illustrates his inability to hold back against pressures that come from both within and without.
In the first rush of purpose, Macbeth takes the first step, but he does not have the fortitude to even finish what he began. His inner weakness begins to crush him with fear before he can even gain the throne for which he strives.

16. Concluding Sentences
Sums paragraph up and ties back to the thesis

17. Concluding Sentences
So, Macbeth’s bravery, one of the things that makes him a great man in Scotland, sets up his fall by giving him the first taste of power. The public face of Macbeth’s honor cannot match the private force of his ambition, and so though he knows it is wrong, Macbeth takes the first step on his downward spiral. Macbeth gives in over and over– to his wife, to his doubts, to fear—and each submission leads him further away from the moral, upright man who existed before the events of the play.

18. Transitions Words, phrases, sometimes even sentences
Connect your ideas together.

19. Conclusion At least four – five sentences
All are CM sentences. This paragraph wraps up your essay with a nice neat bow.
Concluding paragraphs should be shaped like the bottom portion of an hourglass.
starts off narrow since you have just discussed your topic
broadens back out to a more universal statement

20. Conclusions Reflects on what you said in the essay
All commentary; no concrete details
Does NOT repeat thesis statement or introductory paragraph
Should relate your knowledge of the subject matter to the world at large – outside the book

21. Conclusion
Though a good man initially, Macbeth yields to the pressures around him and becomes a murderer. He has courage on the battlefield, but he does not have the strength to resist his own ambition when coupled with his wife’s. When trusted voices outside of them tell people what they want to hear, resisting evil becomes very difficult indeed. Then, it becomes all the more important that people exercise their moral fortitude so that they can resist when that moment comes.

22. Introduction At least four or five sentences
Thesis is stated at the end.
Looks like the top half of an hourglass:
                            Starts off broad….
                            Narrows to thesis.

23. Hook Use a quote to highlight your universal theme.
Decide your universal theme.
Look up a quote about it.
INTEGRATE the quote into your hook.

24. Hook
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. – Napoleon Hill
Internal strength, like any muscle, comes only through “continuous effort and struggle,” according to self-help author Napoleon Hill, and conversely, the lack of effort and struggle leads to an internal weakness.

25. Introduction
Internal strength, like any muscle, comes only through “continuous effort and struggle,” according to self-help author Napoleon Hill, and conversely, the lack of effort and struggle leads to an internal weakness.
People only rarely find themselves in situations in which they can exercise their moral fortitude, so they read books in order to strengthen their morality. They make connections to characters who struggle, and so participate in that struggle, or they see the negative effects of failing to struggle.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as brave, honorable, but ultimately weak.