1. Topic Sentence & Paragraph Structure Recap

2. A TOPIC IS NOT A THEME The novel Grendel evidences that John Gardner’s purpose for including philosophy in his novel leads to the development of the theme, individuality.

3. REMEMBER TO BREAK THE TOPIC INTO A THEME- TRY a “LEADS TO” FORMAT John Gardner includes philosophy in his novel Grendel in order to evidence the theme that conforming to society’s standards leads to the destruction of the self.

4. Revision Time! If you used a single word as a topic, revise it now by breaking it into a theme statement in a “leads to” format. 1 minute

5. Theme should be UNIVERSAL! John Gardner’s purpose for including philosophy in his novel Grendel is to evidence how Grendel’s actions lead to his development as a character. This statement is too specific to the literature, and while the novel certainly does show character development, that character development is used to showcase a theme…. So we are back to theme. We are back to the universal… again.

6. Make it UNIVERSAL! John Gardner’s purpose for including philosophy in his novel Grendel is to evidence the controlling idea that maturation leads to disillusionment as shown through the character development of Grendel.

7. Revision Time! If you used a “theme/ controlling idea” that was too specific to the literature, please revise your theme now. The theme should not say ANYTHING about the specific piece of literature but should be universal and apply to life in general. 1 minute

8. AVOID VAGUE LANGUAGE John Gardner’s decision to place philosophy in his novel Grendel is to show how a belief in one thing leads to many outcomes. What are the vague terms in this theme statement? And how might this cause a problem for the writer and for the reader?

9. USE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE! John Gardner’s decision to explore the consequences of existentialism in his novel Grendel reveals the controlling idea that a disbelief in universal standards of good and evil leads to chaos and confusion.

10. Revision Time! If you have any vague language in your topic sentence, please revise it now by making it more specific! 1 minute

11. Other Necessary Items for the Topic Sentence Conforming to society leads to the destruction of the individual and loss of purpose in life. What piece of literature? What author? What about the words “controlling idea”? What about the box?

12. Clarify In John Gardner’s novel Grendel, he depicts the controlling idea that conforming to society leads to the destruction of the individual and loss of purpose in life.

13. Revision Time! Be sure you have specified the author and title in the topic sentence & that you have used the phrase “controlling idea” and drawn a box around it. 1 minute (remember this prompt was modeled after Regents Question #26)

14. A REVIEW OF PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE Many of you are still confused, so today is THE DAY that I help you to understand paragraph format by using an analogy to a court of law.

15. THE ARGUMENT Your honor, my client is NOT GUILTY. = OPINION = THE ARGUMENT/ CONTROLLING IDEA John Gardner’s novel Grendel reveals the theme that conforming to society leads to loss of innocence. = OPINION = THE ARGUMENT/ CONTROLLING IDEA

16. PROVE IT IN COURT! You honor, my client is NOT GUILTY! But, I don’t want to show you the evidence. You should JUST BELIEVE ME! Does this work in reality? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17. PROVE IT IN LITERATURE! John Gardner’s novel Grendel reveals the theme that conforming to society leads to loss of innocence. I don’t want to show you the evidence. You should just believe me. Does this work? Are you going to convince anyone that your interpretation of the literature is valid if you don’t use evidence? Are you going to get your client off on the charges if you do NOT show the jury the evidence?

18. PROVE IT THEN! SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE!!!!!! Your honor, my client is NOT guilty. – Here is the fingerprint evidence, the DNA evidence, and a photograph to show that my client did NOT COMMIT THIS CRIME! John Gardner’s novel Grendel reveals the theme that conforming to society leads to loss of innocence. – Here are two quotations that SHOW THIS THEME IN ACTION IN THE TEXT and prove that conforming to society leads to loss of innocence.

19. AN ARGUMENT IS AN ARGUMENT! COURT DNA Fingerprints Photograph LITERATURE Quotation

20. BUT YOU CAN’T JUST DROP IN EVIDENCE WITHOUT EXPLAINING IT! Your honor, my client is NOT GUILTY! Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, here is a DNA report to prove it.

21. MORE EVIDENCE Also, here is a fingerprint that proves my client is INNOCENT!

22. SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE IN LITERATURE! John Gardner’s novel Grendel reveals the theme that conforming to society leads to loss of innocence. In the novel, the narrator makes a statement that shows this to be true.

23. THE POINT? EVIDENCE MUST BE EXPLAINED!! You must explain HOW the quote shows the theme! You must explain WHY the quote shows the theme! You cannot just simply drop it in and expect your reader to make all the connections! This gets at paragraph format because you need AT LEAST TWO SENTENCES TO EXPLAIN EACH QUOTE! Is one sentence enough to explain that DNA report to a group of people in the jury? NO! Is one sentence enough to explain that fingerprint analysis? NO! Well, one sentence is not enough to explain the quote to the reader. The reader needs MORE! Two is even too little, but it’s WAY better than one! Three is even better- the more depth, the better! Just like the more depth you go into explaining that DNA report, the better the jury will understand it and see that your client is NOT guilty!

24. PARAGRAPH FORMAT REVISITED! Topic Sentence w/ theme Evidence #1 = quote Explain it! = at least 2 sentences! Evidence #2 = quote Explain it! = at least 2 sentences! Sum it up = concluding sentence/ rephrase the topic sentence