1. Assessment Reminders/Suggestions

2. Theme sentence format:
“In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the author introduces ______________ as a theme.” OR “In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one theme is _______________.”

3. How to phrase a theme
Remember: A theme needs to touch on both TOPIC and the authors TONE about it. “Childhood adventure” is a topic. “The value and importance of adventure for children to explore and make sense of the world” is a theme.

4. Do it yourself!
Topic: Children have overactive imaginations. Turn this into a theme! “Overactive imaginations in children can be both exciting and dangerous.”

5. TWO Pieces of Evidence Follow this format:
Introduce the quote—where it comes in the book, and in a VERY brief summary what the situation is
Integrate the quote smoothly into a sentence of yours
Explain exactly why this quote proves your theme to be present in the story. Make the link clear between what your chosen theme is, and why your quote demonstrates it.

6. Try for some insight!
Example: “Dill did not know what Boo Radley looked like so it was unknown, and he was curious about him.” “Boo Radley was utterly unknown to Dill, and thus his curiosity overwhelmed his manners and even his kindness, as he began to think of ways to lure Boo out of his house.”

7. Mastery Section
Offer some insight! Don’t just tell me about the theme, or describe it using a different example. Talk about WHY it is significant or important. Figure out the “so what?”

8. Cite page numbers correctly
Atticus described Mrs. Dubose by saying, “She was the bravest person I ever knew” (p. 112).

9. Names! Towns! First word of each sentence! Harumph, people. Harumph!
Capitalize properly!
Names! Towns! First word of each sentence! Harumph, people. Harumph!

10. No first person!
No reference to “I,” “me,” “mine,” “you,” “your,” “we,” “our,” etc.
This is academic writing, and there is NO PLACE for references like this!