Your introductory paragraph should be composed of three main things: Your attention grabber Any necessary or background information Your thesis statement (this is always the last

sentence of your introductory paragraph) We have already worked on creating your

thesis statement for your essay. Now, we will work on the rest of your introductory paragraph.

Your attention grabber is your first sentence(s) of your introductory paragraph.

It is your first impression to the reader, so make it a good one! You want to grab your reader’s attention and get them interested in your topic.

There are a few techniques you can use to craft your attention grabber: Start with a quotation from the story Start with a startling fact or strong opinion Ask a question Address your reader directly

Now its your turn! Choose one of the techniques for writing good attention grabbers and write one of your own for you essay on “The Necklace”.

When you are finished raise your hand so I can come around and check your attention grabber.

Ok, so now you have your attention grabber and your thesis statement. All you need is the middle part of your introduction, the necessary background information.

For this you want to make sure you include the author and title of the story (remember to put the title of the story in quotation marks!), as well as any relevant background information on the story. You might want to give a short summary of the story and Mme. Loisel’s character.

On the paper where you wrote your attention grabber write down your necessary background information and your thesis statement you came up with last class.

Now you’ve written your introductory paragraph! Now on to the body paragraphs of your essay.

Follow these tips when writing your essay to help keep your paper organized: Start your paragraph off with a topic

sentence to help alert your reader to the topic of that paragraph.

Make sure all of the information in your paragraph relates back to your topic sentence. Anything that does not should be taken out and/or moved.

Transition to your next paragraph or idea so all of your ideas flow into one another.

Mme. Loisel changes a lot in appearance from the beginning of the story to the end. In the beginning she is a “pretty young woman”, but by the end she is “rough, old, and worn”. Her thoughts also show a change to show the theme. In the beginning of the story she thinks about all the things she wants, like a butler and fancy clothes and food. At the end she wishes she had her middle-class life that she lost. This shows the theme “always tell the truth” because if she had told the truth she would not have lost all of her money.

In “The Necklace” we can see the theme “always tell the truth” by the way Mme. Loisel changes in her appearance and her thoughts from the beginning of the story to the end. In the beginning she is a “pretty young woman”, but by the end she is “rough, old, and worn” because of the hard work she must do to pay back her debts. In the beginning of the story she thinks about all the things she wants, like a butler and fancy clothes and food. At the end she wishes she had her middle-class life that she lost. This shows the them “always tell the truth” because if she had told the truth she would not have lost all of her money, and her old life.

What are supporting paragraphs? Supporting paragraphs make up the body

of your essay. They develop your thesis, or main idea, by giving examples, facts and statistics that back up your argument.

Your supporting paragraphs should all start with a topic sentence and transition smoothly between one idea and the next.

List your major points. Each major point should be a paragraph. Make an outline of your major points so the paragraphs flow in a logical manner

Develop AT LEAST TWO supporting details, facts or examples for each major point.

Always include specific examples and/or quotations to back up your points. Never just move on to your next point.

Mme. Loisel changes a lot throughout the story. She changes the way she looks by starting off pretty and ending old. She changes how the thinks by wishing she had her old life back. She also changes a lot in her actions. All of these things show the theme of the story.

Mme. Loisel’s changes in thought, action, and appearance show she is a dynamic character and show the theme “always tell the truth”. Because she lied about the necklace to her friend she went into debt for 10 years. In the beginning of the story Mme. Loisel was “a young, pretty woman”, but by the end poverty has made her “rough, old and worn”. Before the necklace she would wish for rich jewels, clothes, butlers, and other fancy things. At the end of the story she has lost everything she had, and instead of wishing for luxury she “dreams of that long-ago party where she was so pretty and admired”. She goes from vain and selfish, making her husband give her money for a dress and doing nothing to find the missing necklace, so hardworking and determine. She “scrubs the floors, mends clothes” and lives on a budget to pay off her debt. All of these things could have been avoided if she had only told the truth about the necklace. If she had, she would not have bought a new one, but instead would have learned the truth that the necklace was a fake.

When writing your supporting paragraphs Always start with a topic sentence that

clearly relates back to your thesis. Include specific facts, examples, and

quotations to back up your claims. Use a transition sentence to help each of

your paragraphs flow one into the other. So your paragraphs should wind up being

like this…

Your top bun is your topic sentence.

The sentences that come next are your supporting details. They are the heart of the hamburger, just like meat, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

The bottom bun is your concluding, or transition, sentence. It should wrap up your paragraph and clearly transition to your next thought.