Write a 4 page double spaced essay that answers the question “In The Evasion chapters, does Mark Twain represent Jim as a racist stereotype?” Also, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW PLEASE. Thank you. In the sentences of the intro before the last two, create a FOCUSED discussion that leads up to your question. This is the place for focused plot sum, focused description, and focused observations that you can then ask an interpretive question about (Why is this in the novel?). This is not the place to make interpretive claimstheres no room to prove them here. Save those for the thesis, the topic sentences, or for the subordinate claims made in the body paragraphs, where theres room to argue for them (this, by the way, is a mistake students frequently make). In the second to last sentence, you should state the question that your thesis is trying to answer. This, then, needs to be an interpretive question, one that can be answered only by quoting and interpreting passages. In fact, you should know this question before you know your thesis and you should NOT be able to answer it easily; you should have to do some researchthat is looking at relevant passages and interpreting their detailsin order to start creating your answer. If this is not the case, then your thesis is probably too obvious or ho-hum. Why questions work well because they ask about motivation. Example: Why does Hawthorne have Hester dress Pearl in the same colors and design as the scarlet letter? In the last sentence of your intro paragraph, you need to state your essays main interpretive-argumentative claim, the thesis. It should not be a plot-summary statement. It should not be something that would be obvious to someone who has read the text(s). It should not be a description. It should not be an observation (Instead, youd want an interpretive claim about the significance or meaning of what you are observing). It should be a statement that needs to be argued for by quoting passages and interpreting the details of those passages. It tends to be about motivation (the authors, the narrators, or a characters). If you find that your current thesis is doing any of the things it is not supposed to do, try asking about that statement So what? The answer to that is moving you much closer to an interpretive-argumentative claim. Aim towards creating a thesis that is complex enough that it can be broken down into 2 or more steps (or claims subordinate to the thesis), each of which will become the backbone of a topic sentence. Do NOT create a list; instead, create a complex interpretive claim: Hester dresses Pearl in scarlet-colored velvet and gold embroidery because she sees both her daughter and the letter as blessings because they are curses; only together can they complete the office of the scarlet letter: to make Hester a stronger woman and a more effective because more subtle rebel. Each topic sentence should be a piece of the thesis. So my first topic sentence would be something like Hester sees both her daughter and the letter as blessings because they are curses. My second one might be These curses make Hester a stronger woman. My third one might be These curses that are blessings make her a more effective, because more subtle, rebel. And my fourth one might be The A that Hester wears and her daughter can only complete the office of the scarlet letter together. Note each topic sentence is an argumentative-interpretive claim subordinate to the thesis, which is the main claim. No plot sum, no description, no observationbut rather interpretive claims about these. The topic sentence should be the first sentence of the body paragraph. After the topic sentence of each body paragraph, you need to focus tightly on supporting and developing that claim by using quotations of relevant passages and interpretations of the details of those passages. By interpretation, I mean a discussion that explains how the details can be read as supporting the topic sentences claim. When you are discussing a quotation, stay focused on the quotation itself; dont start talking about what happens after it or mentioning other passages like it in the book (unless these things are done in the service of interpreting your quotations details). I would follow a pattern of TS, intro to quote 1, quote 1, interp of quote 1, intro to quote 2, quote 2, interp of quote 2, intro to quote 3, quote 3, interp of quote 3. Remember the introduction to each quotation should give the essential information from the passages context so your reader will be able to comprehend the quotation as s/he reads it. Think: who, what, where, when. Write a conclusion paragraph that reminds us of the main pieces of your argument. Create a Works Cited page (even if there is only one entry) in MLA style. The basic format for a books entry is below. You will need to go to Purdue OWL and search on MLA Works Cited to see the format for other types of texts. You will also need to go to this site to see how to type up a Works Cited page. Basic Book Format: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 1987. Polish for style. Avoid extreme claims (every memory he has of the country he shares with her). One counterexample proves such a claim wrong. Instead, be more subtle ( he shares many memories of the country with her). Avoid such extreme (categorical) words such as all, none, everyone, no one, always, never, etc. Avoid throughout the book and similar phrases. They are unnecessary most of the time. Cut excess words, phrases, sentences. Combine some sentences, using connections that show your logic (which, therefore, nevertheless, and, but, furthermore, however, etc.). Proofread grammar and punctuation. capitalization apostrophes with possessives spelling agreement (between noun and pronoun, subject and verb) avoidance of ambiguous pronouns correct internal citations: quotation (#). Book title goes in italics, NOT QUOTE MARKS! Reminders Remember to go through all the steps of the writing process in a timely fashion: Review your notes and the book in order to make an observation (Hester dresses her daughter like the scarlet letter) that you can then turn into a Why Question (Why does Hester dress ). Brainstorm passages and interpretations of details. Find a passage, interpret its details as much as you can, find another passage, interpret its details. Re-read your brainstorming notes, highlighting your best ideas. Pull these best ideas together into a thesis. Draft your essay, keeping in mind the structure you ultimately want to have but not getting too hung up on it at this point. Rethink your draft. Play devils advocate. Revise your draft Re-read a body paragraph, underlining your best ideas. Rewrite your topic sentence to reflect these best ideas. Revise your body paragraph so that it focuses on supporting your new topic sentence. After doing this for all your body paragraphs, revise your thesis so it reflects the new topic sentences. Remember, the thesis should synthesize the topic sentences into a one-sentence statement. Polish and proofread. Print out copies of your paper along the way so that if something happens to your computer or printer, you will still have something to turn in.
