1. WRITING ESSAYS
Grade 9

2. Types of Writing and Their Purposes
There are three different types of writing:
Arguments (also known as persuasive)
Informative (also known as explanatory)
Narrative
The most common are argumentative essays and informative essays

3. Informative vs Persuasive Essays
Persuasive/Argumentative
Used to explain, describe, give information, or inform
Can’t assume that the reader has prior knowledge-must include facts and reasons
Organized around one topic
Used to persuade the reader to move toward agreeing with your position
Needs to include supporting evidence
Includes a counterargument

4. Literary Analysis
Literary analysis is different from both informative essays and argumentative essays.
It is most similar to argumentative essays.
In a literary analysis, you also need a strong argument, but this is based on your observations of the text (book, play, or poem).

5. Literary Analysis
Your argument in a literary analysis is organized like this:
What did the author say? How did the author say it? And why did the author say it that way?
Thesis: Author’s Purpose + Literary Devices (3)
Example: In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams criticizes the government through the use of hyperbole, incongruity, and satire.

6. Before You Begin Writing
Brainstorm!
The more prepared you are before you begin writing, the better your essay will go.
What are some pre-writing activities you can do to help you prepare?

7. Pre-Writing Activities
Outline
Graphic Organizer
Listing

8. Pre-Writing Activities
Outline
Graphic Organizer
Listing

9. Pre-Writing Activities
Write
Everything
That
Comes To
Mind
Outline
Graphic Organizer
Listing

10. Writing 101
What does it mean if I say you will be writing a 5 paragraph essay?
Lots of crying (obviously).
Introductory paragraph
3 body paragraphs
Concluding paragraphs
1+3+1=5 paragraphs. Yay, math.

11. The Intro Paragraph
“Hook” or attention getter
an intriguing example
a provocative quotation
a puzzling scenario
a vivid and perhaps unexpected anecdote
a thought-provoking question
The author and title of the play, story, or article
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare…
Brief background information on the story
Thesis: This is what you are trying to prove in your essay.
Outline: Outline your main ideas for the reader.

12. Thesis Statements?
The narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” is very weird.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote a very spooky story about a man who goes crazy and kills an old man because of his eye.
Poe develops a singular effect in his story “The Tell-Tale Heart” through the use of imagery, repetition, and first person point of view.

13. Beginning Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentence
Introduce the first point you set up in your thesis statement.
Include the subject of your essay
Remember: You cannot begin with pronouns (he/she/it). If you were just discussing Juliet, great. But the first line of your next paragraph needs to use Juliet again before using she.
Using a topic sentence helps your reader understand what you’ll be discussing and helps you stay organized.
Reminder: If you begin with evidence from the play, then you have not started your paragraph correctly.

14. Edgar Allan Poe
Poe can be considered the father of the modern horror story, influencing writers such as Stephen King and Anne Rice

15. Poe explored the dark and often irrational side of the human mind (Hawthorne explored the dark side of the human heart)
His stories often are filled with a sense of anxiety & have a dreamlike quality

16. Master of the Short Story
Along with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe perfected the modern short story
Poe stressed a single dominant effect in his short stories
The Premature Burial

17. Single Dominant Effect
Poe's concept of a "single effect" applies to short stories, and basically states that every element of a story should contribute to a single emotional effect of the story. 
This rule was important, because Poe was the founder of the short story, and this consequently became a foundational rule of the genre

18. Ending Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs need to end with concluding sentences.
It is weird reading a paragraph that just sort of stops, so make sure you include a concluding sentence that wraps up your main ideas.
Specifically, the concluding sentence reiterates the thesis AND answers the “So what?” question.

19. Connecting Body Paragraphs
Transitions!
Why? To help you show how you are connecting your ideas together. Presumably they are all related in some way. Make sure you show that through your transitions.
Good transitions will show how you plan to continue your essay and how your ideas connect. Poor transitions are: First, Second, Third or First, Next, Finally.