1. Helping students write successfully since 2015 (hopefully)
Tips for theme writing
Helping students write successfully since 2015 (hopefully)

2. General Choose a theme that:
You KNOW you understand and can write about
You can find clear and specific examples from the book for support
3 quotes are needed
Will allow you to choose a variety of different examples (at least 3)
On the following slides I will give you tips on how to write for and clearly explain each theme.
This information is on my website if needed.

3. Materialism Corrupts and Destroys
For each paragraph:
Show the materialism, greed, or want of something
Be specific
Who wants what and why
Show how this materialism has corrupted or destroyed this person
So what are they (the one that wants) doing that is bad or wrong

4. Love can give someone great courage and strength
For each paragraph
Show/explain the love
Who loves what (or whom)?
Then show/explain how the LOVE has brought this person courage and strengthen
Be sure to clearly explain why the event/action is courageous or needs strength
DON’T JUST PICK AND EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE BEING COURAGEOUS OR STRONG. YOU NEED THE LOVE PART.

5. Creatures naturally prey on those who are weaker than them.
For each paragraph
Be clear on who/what is “preying” on something else
Be direct
Explain how one is weaker and one is stronger
What makes them weak?
What makes the other strong

6. Knowledge is a power but a power that can be abused
For each paragraph
Show who has the knowledge
What knowledge do they have?
Then show how they are abusing this knowledge
How is it being used in the wrong way? (usually a very negative way)

7. A dream is good until it begins to destroy other things of value in a person’s life
This one is a little different.
Usually the person with the dream is the one that gets things destroyed in their life.
Also, usually people choose one dream for the entire paper and then give 3 examples of how that dream ruined things
See next slide for paragraph tips

8. A dream is good until it begins to destroy other things of value in a person’s life (cont’)
1st body paragraph
Describe the dream
Then go into one way that dream destroyed something
2nd body paragraph
Possibly BRIEFLY mention the dream again
Give another way that dream destroyed something
3rd body paragraph

9. There are more illusions than reality in life.
For each paragraph
Be clear about what the illusion is
Feel free to use the word “illusion”
Be specific
Then explain what the reality is
Feel free to use the word “reality”
“However” can be a good word to use at times
This theme is usually one of the hardest ones to write about

10. QUOTES You will need 3 quotes (1 per body paragraph)
Choose quotes that PROVE don’t just summarize
You should be able to explain HOW your quote proves the theme you have chosen
If you can’t explain this, then choose a different quote
Think about your dialectical journal
Quote analysis is basically answering “why is this quote important?”
Now we are just focusing our analysis on the theme
Now we are asking “why/how does this quote prove your theme?”