Analytical Paragraph

Of Mice and Men Example

INSTRUCTIONS• You must write an original analytical paragraph during

this presentation.• I will be showing you example sentences. You will use

the example sentences to guide you in writing your own paragraph.

• Your paragraph MUST be on a different topic than the example paragraph, but it must be on a theme in Of Mice and Men.

You can write about THE AMERICAN DREAM, FRIENDSHIP, LONELINESS, or DETERMINATION. PICK ONLY ONE TOPIC AND WRITE ABOUT IT FOR THE ENTIRE PARAGRAPH!

TOPIC SENTENCE

Hope is a dominant theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

•Make a claim•Include the author’s name and title of the book I’m writing about

ELABORATIONSeveral characters do and say things throughout the story that prove the idea of having hope during tough times is essential for a happy existence.

•Explain WHY you made the claim you did in the first sentence

QUOTE INTRO

»Find the quote first so you know what you’re introducing»In this case I need to find a

quote that shows that HOPE is a theme in the novel

One character who never loses hope is Lennie.

QUOTE

He says, “George, how long’s it gonna be till we get that little place and live on the fatta’ the lan’ – an’ rabbits?” (56). •Quote the book word for word and put the page number in parentheses after the quote!

EXPLAINLennie, George’s traveling companion, frequently asks George to tell him about the ranch they plan to live on in the future. •Explain what is happening in the quote

EXPLAIN

Even though George and Lennie live paycheck to paycheck, Lennie never doubts that things will get better for them and remains hopeful that their dreams will come true.

•Explain how the quote proves the claim you made in the topic sentence

TRANSITION AND QUOTE INTRO• Again, FIND THE QUOTE FIRST! It should be another

character speaking and it must also prove that your theme exists in the novel.

• Use a transition word to introduce the quote.

Furthermore, the old swamper Candy, who George and Lennie meet on a ranch, is extremely hopeful that he will have a happy future.

QUOTE

He asks, “You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we, George? You an’ me can go there and live nice, can’t we, George?” (94).

•Again, put the quote in quotation marks and put the page number in parenthesis after the quote!

EXPLAIN

Even though he and George had just discovered that Lennie killed Curley’s wife, he has hope that the two of them will still achieve their dream of living on the ranch.

EXPLAINCandy, a one-handed old handyman, talks incessantly about the dream ranch after George agrees to let him be a part of it, proving that hope is prevalent in the story.

CONCLUSION

Characters in Steinbeck’s novel demonstrate hope regardless of tough situations and circumstances, making it a dominant theme in the story.

•Wrap it all up! •Do not be too brief.

DO NOT USE OR STATE

• YOU• YOUR• ME• MY• I • WE• US• OUR

• This paragraph will be about…

• This paragraph was about…

• This will prove to you that….

• I am going to talk about…