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HONORS ENGLISH 9

December 13, 2019

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BELL WORK

Sit in your regular seat.

Open your essay.

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Learning Target

I can improve my argument about my interpretation of a book.

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I will do this by revising my second draft of a literary argument essay.

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Literary Argument Essay Pro Tips

  • For each tip, check your own essay and at least one other person’s essay at your pod
  • Make changes as we go, or leave yourself a comment to make changes later
  • The goal is to have a final draft by the end of the hour (but the end of the day is okay too if you need extra time)

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Pro Tip #1: Answer the Whole Prompt

  • Look at your thesis
  • Highlight in yellow the part of your thesis that says how the character’s outer behavior is affected by an inner belief
  • Highlight in blue the part of your thesis that says what the meaning of the work as a whole (theme) is

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Pro Tip #1: Examples

NO: Steinbeck uses Lennie’s behavior to show that all people need someone to take care of them.

NO: Steinbeck shows that Curley’s Wife’s flirtatious behavior is driven by her inner loneliness.

YES: George’s harshness to Lennie and others comes from a deep fear of being irresponsible; Steinbeck uses this to show that being forced to be a caretaker brings both resentment and love.

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Pro Tip #2: No Evaluation

  • This essay is not a book review
  • It is not appropriate to say that the book is good or bad or that the author is brilliant or that the writing is inspiring, etc.
  • Get rid of all evaluative language--stick to argument only

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Pro Tip #3: No Essay “Labels”

  • You do not need to label or name the parts of your essay
    • NO: “In this paragraph…”
    • NO: “The evidence for this is…”
    • NO: “As stated in the introduction…”

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Pro Tip #4: No Quotes

  • Even though I let you use your book this time, you need to write as though you didn’t have access to it
    • This means there should be no direct quotes from the book

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Pro Tip #5: No Forbidden Words

  • Press Ctrl+F
    • YOU
    • THING
    • I

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Pro Tip #6: Add an Introduction

  • Make sure your introductory paragraph mentions the title of the book and the author
  • Add at least one sentence before your thesis
  • Two options:
    • Introduce the book and character
    • Introduce the topic of the essay (surface behavior & inner beliefs)

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Pro Tip #6: Examples

  • “As humans, our actions are a result of inner beliefs we hold that are hidden beneath our outer personalities. This can be proven by both reality and literature.”
  • “In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George and his best friend Lennie are poor workers, blindly working towards their ‘dream,’ which is to have a place/property of their own.”
  • “In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Curley’s Wife is a young, flirtatious woman who leads to trouble for the men around her.”

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FINAL STEPS

  • Continue to make changes as need
  • Consider having a final peer edit to catch any mistakes in your revisions
  • Don’t be afraid to utilize Grammarly
  • Must be turned in before tomorrow

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