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Page 1: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Literary Essays:Thesis Development

ENG3U

Page 2: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Note

• There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …)

• Each type of essay has a different thesis structure. The structure we will learn today is for a literary essay

Page 3: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Theme Practice

• Which of the following are not themes of the movie Titanic?– Love– Jack and Rose– The boat– Pride– Classism– Leonardo DiCaprio

Page 4: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Theme Practice

Page 5: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Theme Practice

• Which of the following are not themes of the movie Transformers?– Robots in disguise– The role of technology in war– Optimus Prime– Cool cars– Government conspiracy

Page 6: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Theme Practice

Page 7: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

• The purpose of a literary essay is to analyze the author’s choices and what we can learn from them

• It takes a lot of thought and planning to write a literary essay!

• The following examples are from William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies (last year’s ENG3U novel)

Page 8: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Steps

1. Identify themes2. Identify points of interest3. Make connections4. Ask yourself guiding questions

1. Determine the purpose of the connections

5. Create your thesis

Page 9: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 1: Brainstorm 8 themes

1) Individualism vs. community2) Order vs. chaos3) Friendship4) Responsibility5) Loss of innocence6) The nature of evil7) Dystopia8) Dehumanization

Page 10: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 1: Find Thematic Connections

1) Individualism vs. community

2) Order vs. chaos

3) Friendship4) Responsibility

1) Loss of innocence

1) The nature of evil2) Dystopia3) Dehumanization

Page 11: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 2: Brainstorm 5-8 unique, interesting features of your novel

• Things that can make good points of interest:– Symbolic items– Unique uses of setting– Something unique in society (e.g. fashion, government style,

divisions between groups of people)

• Things that are not unique points of interest:– Characters– “Their experiences” too generic– “The plot”– Feelings

Page 12: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 2: Brainstorm 5-8 unique, interesting features of your novel

• The pig’s head• The different dances around the fire• Sacrifices: pig & human• The dead parachutist• Items of power: the conch and Piggy’s glasses• Jack’s war paint• Castle Rock• The monster & the living jungle

Page 13: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 3: Find Connections

• Make connections between your themes and points of interest

Page 14: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 3: Find ConnectionsChoose your strongest theme: Which points of interest does it connect to?

• Order vs. Chaos could connect to:• The pig’s head• The different dances around the fire• Sacrifices: pig & human• The dead parachutist• Items of power: the conch and Piggy’s glasses• Jack’s war paint• Castle Rock• The monster & the living jungle

Page 15: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 4: Ask Yourself Questions

Write 3-4 questions that you would need to askyourself to fully understand the connections you’vemade.

• What causes characters to abandon order?• Could any characters have stopped the boys’

descent into chaos?• Why don’t the boys recognize that their dances

have dangerous effects?

Page 16: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Choose your best question

Which question will best allow you to analyze the connection between your theme and point of interest?

• Why don’t the boys recognize that their dances have dangerous effects?

Page 17: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Answer your question

• Why don’t the boys recognize that their dances have dangerous effects?– Begins as an innocent game; blurs the line between

what’s real and what isn’t– Motivated by fear; thinking only about survival

instead of reason– Desperate for inclusion in the hunters’ popular clique

• Therefore: if they think only about what’s best for themselves, they can fail to see the evil in their actions

Page 18: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 5: Create your thesis

Basic Structure(Author) uses (point of interest) to show the

theme of (theme).

Better Structure (Analysis!)(Author) uses (point of interest) to show (theme

+ “so what”?).

Page 19: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 5: Write your thesis (basic)

• Theme: order vs. chaos• Point of interest: dances

ThesisIn his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic dances to show the theme of order vs. chaos.

Page 20: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 5: Write your thesis (basic)

• Theme: order vs. chaos• Point of interest: dances• Connection: self-interest leads to dangerous results

ThesisIn his dystopian novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic dances to illustrate the dangerous way that self-interest can lead to chaos within society.

Page 21: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

ExampleWilliam Golding uses the beast to show the theme of fear ofthe unknown. (good)

In his dystopian novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic dances to illustrate the dangerous way that self-interest can lead to chaos within society. (better)

William Golding uses the conflicts about basic survivalneeds at camp to teach that working as a community ispreferable to individualism. (better)

Page 22: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Try it together!

• Groups of 3• Story: “The Shivering Tree”

Page 23: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 1: Themes

• List 4 themes from “The Shivering Tree”– Find connections between the themes

Page 24: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 2: Points of Interest

• Identify 5 unique features of “The Shivering Tree”

Page 25: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Examples

ThemesThe danger of vanityFriendshipSacrificeRevenge…

Points of InterestShape shiftingJugglingMagicOrigin story structureTimeless, human-less settingAnimal characters…

Page 26: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 3: Make Connections

• Choose your best theme– Find connections between your theme and your

points of interest

Page 27: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 4: Ask Yourself Questions

• Create analysis questions to help you find the importance of the connection between your theme and points of interest

• Choose your best question and answer it

Page 28: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Step 5: Write Your Thesis

Basic Structure(Author) uses (point of interest) to show the

theme of (theme).

Better Structure (Analysis)(Author) uses (point of interest) to show (theme

+ “so what”?).

Page 29: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Example: Good

In “The Shivering Tree”, John McLeod uses the origin of natural phenomena to show the theme of vanity.

Page 30: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Example: Better

In “The Shivering Tree”, John McLeod uses the origin of natural phenomena to show the theme of vanity.

So what? Our actions have consequences; bad things happen to the characters who are too vain

In “The Shivering Tree”, John McLeod uses the origin of natural phenomena as a metaphor for the negative consequences of vanity.

Page 31: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

The Hunger Games

• Make a list of 5-8 themes• List 5-8 points of interest: STOP! Get checked!• Make connections between themes & points of

interest• Write 2-3 questions that can help you explain the

connection between themes & points of interest– Answer your best question

• Write your thesis– (Author) uses (P.O.I) to show (theme + “so what”)

Page 32: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Next Steps

Assignment (details tomorrow)• Plan essay for The Hunger Games– Thesis planning (done!)– 3 sources for possible works cited (details

tomorrow)– Introduction paragraph (details tomorrow)

• Due Wednesday, November 27

Page 33: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Homework

• Finish thesis planning– Questions Answer questions Write thesis

• Bring your computer to do research• Bring The Hunger Games tomorrow

Page 34: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Introduction

• 3-4 sentences– Brief plot summary (+ name and author of book)– Thesis statement (from your thesis planning

sheet)– Blueprint (the three topics you would discuss in

your body paragraphs if you were writing the whole essay)

Page 35: Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG3U. Note There are many types of essays (e.g. personal, expository, comparison, persuasive, literary, …) Each type

Works Cited

• Find 3 sources (book, encyclopedia article, website) that have some connection to the ideas in your thesis statement– You DO NOT have to actually read them; just find

something that seems relevant

• Works cited page will include those 3 sources + an entry for The Hunger Games

• Class website has a link to MLA formatting website (Purdue OWL) to review your structure


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