Ten Steps to writing your Hamlet essay

      1.       Catchy title: main idea in a few words (write this last)

2.       Introductory paragraph

3.       Working thesis (keep revising)

4.       Outline/Structure

5.       Topic Sentences for each body paragraph (claims, relate to thesis)

a.       TEA = topic, evidence, analysis
b. Closely read key passages to find language that jumps out at you
c. Infer from patterns of language what the char. or Shakespeare is trying to do

6.       Draft body paragraphs

7.       Draft Conclusion (compare to intro)

8.       Reread entire essay: plan for major revisions

9.       Print and proofread

10.   Upload to turnitin.com (by Sun. eve)

After these first essays: What we'll work on

Next, Work on these
1. #1 is ideas! All but a few of us need to refine and dig deeper to say more and understand what we are saying.
2. #2 is sentences. All but a few need to learn to polish sentence level writing to make it cleaner and more concise, to eliminate careless errors, and to learn the minor rules of MLA punctuation, apostrophes for possessives, noun-pronoun agreement (reader vs. their), etc.
3. Always, and forever, students need to keep revising thesis sentences and introductions. This is where you can improve an essay the most.
4. Better titles launch us into essays with more focus and more enthusiasm. Keep working on this all year.
Pickier stuff follows:
6. Remove header from page one.
7. Eliminate passive voice.
8. Cut quotations down. Only include the parts you need.
9. Eliminate awkward phrasing.
10. Avoid floating quotations that don’t quite fit and aren’t analyzed well.
11. Avoid wordiness, which decreases communication and focus.
12. Break long paragraphs into two.
13. Always proofread! And not just to catch errors, but also to find rough writing and revise it.
14. Get the MLA parenthetical punctuation right.
15. So much more!
 
Blog Assignment (due Tue. Sept. 28)
Log on to Turnitin.com and read over the comments (not just the score).
Post a blog outlining specific areas you need to work on next time in grammar and essay writing.
Option: You may revise your first essay for new points. Only substantial revisions.

What We've Learned So Far

What we’ve focused on so far:

• Reading Pride and Prejudice: learning plot, characters, satire vs. sarcasm, long sentences, bad dad, first impressions, how characters are introduced through narrator, gossip, action, dialogue and how each can sway the reader differently. How authors control our perceptions of different characters strategically, for a bigger purpose, of a designed pre-planned reading experience. When a reader has autonomy to decide.
• Summer Reading Their Eyes were Watching God: How Hurston introduces characters through gossip
• Annotation: why it’s important, how to do it effectively.
• Grading Rubrics that describe A vs. B writing: UC Davis, Princeton, Harvard, English IV
• Sample student essays: reading, ranking, evaluating. Determining the most important qualities of stand-out essays. Thesis? Catchy title or opening? Smooth, easy-to-follow writing? Ideas that one can grasp? Sticking to the topic without digression? Well-analyzed quotes that fit the topic?
• Introduction, Title, Thesis Statement, Topic Sentence
• Blogs for everyone
• Turnitin.com: how to use it, what it’s for besides just preventing plagiarism
• The Writing Process, from brainstorming to drafting, to revision
• Narrowing down a topic and having something to say: the first third of a college writing assignment is figuring out what to say, how to narrow the focus, how to logically deduce something based on re-reading the text.
• Writing a college-level essay. Some writing in class, most out of class on a weekend for uploading to Turnitin.com.
• A few reading quizzes.
• Classroom discussion of best essays, how characters get introduced in novels, and college admissions essays.
• Daily in-class writing in journals: less pressure, frequent writing
• Near-daily at-home writing on blogs: less pressure, frequent writing, critical thinking and analysis, sharing your writing with the world and your classmates (through the SmartBoard)
• Inititial drafts and discussions about college admissions essays: small incident, five senses, catchy opening, reveals who you are, clear writing
• Watching the fish swim randomly on the blog on the SmartBoard

What we will work on next:
• Learning from the feedback on your first essay. Blogging on your goals for your writing, including syntax and grammar errors, sentence fluidity, structure, paragraph organization, communication with the reader, development of ideas, sticking with one topic, narrowing your focus, and all the other realizations about how to improve writing.
• Much clearer diction and sentence level writing.
• Much clearer communication of (and then development of) central idea
• Practice with adverbs, semicolons, comma splices, fragments, commas, MLA format, etc.
• Frequent practice and quizzing on basic surface level rules
• Daily practice in forming an interesting claim (using poetry, fiction, college essays, quotes, etc.)
• Annotation of poetry, reading poetry, picking one line or word from a poem, forming a thesis about a poem, selecting quotes to support an argument
• Critical thinking, thinking aloud, thinking on paper, pushing your ideas, sharing your ideas, going out on a limb,
• Finish Jane Austen and discuss the book as a whole
• Test on Jane Austen
• DW Harding on comedy vs. nightmare
• Daily journal writing, daily blogging, structured paragraph writing, and frequent 3-5 page college essays
• Carol Jago’s new textbook: on literature, lit devices, composing essays, close reading, reading poetry, fiction, and drama
• Hamlet and Shakespeare: getting the plot, learning the language, an essay on how different characters are given different rhythms of language, different kinds of words, and why Shakespeare does that
• Acting out a scene of Hamlet for the class, for the camera, for learning
• Five different film versions of one scene of Hamlet

Essays Need an Interesting Main Point!

Get to the Point!

Your essay needs an interesting main point or it will just be a series of examples. Make sure you dig deep and discover your best, most provocative idea. Write and re-write until your thesis sentence (and the sentences before it) clearly communicate your idea.

First English IV blogging assignment: Post your Thesis

1. Open your blog and on the top right of the menu bar, click on ‘New Post.’
2. Type in a title (a working title for your essay that communicates your main idea).
3. Type in a working thesis. This can approximate the actual sentence or sentences you plan to use OR in plain language it can state what the main idea of your essay is.
4. Click “SAVE.” You can EDIT your thesis by clicking on the pencil icon in the lower right.
• Make sure your thesis clearly communicates a claim or point that is debatable or controversial (not just an obvious fact, such as Austen introduces characters with foils).
• Avoid a list (especially a list of three): “Austen uses Showing, Telling, and Foils to introduce characters.”  Some examples follow:
     #1             Conflicting First Impressions
Austen employs town gossip as a method of introducing character, implanting first impressions in the reader’s head.
     #2              Different Character Introductions for Different Authors
Austen adopts the voice of the class-conscious public while Graham Greene gives open-ended impressions to let the reader decide.
      #3              The Dichotomy of Character Introductions
Austen introduces characters in two ways: first, since superficial details are of the utmost importance to her society, she supplies superficial information before the reader meets the character. Second, Austen describes the characters’ actions to set up a contrast that readers must resolve for themselves. add sentence?
  #4                     Austen Teaches Readers
By introducing Darcy and Bingley through gossip and the opinions of others, Austen creates first impressions that she will later break down, teaching readers not to prejudge anyone.
  #5                   Mr. Bennet, the Lovable Bully
Despite Bennet’s imperfections as a prudent father, his witty perceptions make him an ironically likable figure who satirizes his surrounding, lending the reader a detached perspective on Austen’s world.
  #6                  An Examination of Class and Economy through Mr. Hurst
Despite his seemingly weak presence in the novel, Hurst is the epitome of the triviality of Austen’s class-conscious aristocracy, a representative of all she satirizes. (most votes!)
   #7                How Minor Characters Help Develop Major Ones
Darcy’s basic demeanor, general façade and even integrity are continually judged by the biases of others. He is often compared negatively with others, such as Wickham and Bingley, and is rarely characterized directly by the narrator. Darcy’s multidimensional and nuanced nature is depicted by a complex cast of minor characters, who flesh out his complexities over time.
 
 Which is your favorite and why?  #6? #7
What do we expect from a title? Catchy, not interchangable, main idea
What do we expect from a thesis? Clear writing, predicts essay's point, not too wordy, direct but doesn't oversimplify

Writing a College Essay

WRITING PROCESS:
1. Invention      ( Prewriting )   Generate ideas; Don’t edit yet   Brainstorm
2. Drafting Get your ideas down   Write a rough draft     Writing as Discovery
     Don’t edit/proofread yet  Don’t censor  Reread and highlight
3. Revision  Add transitions   Add/rearrange/delete paragraphs  Proofread later  Recursive process

CHOOSING A TOPIC SO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
• Narrow your focus: paradoxically, you’ll have more to say and in more depth (college)
• Read and reread the text for clues (like Sherlock): then draw conclusions
• Start with an original, provocative idea (not just an example)
• Thesis: is a claim, an argument, something debatable that you have to prove
• Main claim is not just stated, but developed throughout every paragraph
• Avoid an example-based essay.
• Choose examples that support your claim
• Balance Bull writing (all assertions) and Cow writing (all examples)
• Learn to move seamlessly between assertion, support, assertion, support
• TEA π: topic (claim, not example)evidenceanalysis (shows how example supports your claim)
 
            THINK ABOUT STRUCTURE (and Trade-offs)
5-π Essay
Introduction
Thesis with 3 loosely-related points (economics, manners, marriage)
Point 1: Economics
Point 2: Manners
Point 3: Marriage
Conclusion: repeats thesis

• Formulaic, easy to plug in ideas, superficial on all topics, which are not well-related, overbroad focus, not a strong college-level essay which requires more depth, thought

Chronological Structure
Introduction; Thesis
Beginning of book
Middle of book
End of book
Conclusion: repeats thesis

• The default way to organize, but is moving chronologically the best way to build your argument? Re-think and re-organize this essay’s structure

Example-Based Essay
Introduction with Thesis
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Conclusion: repeats thesis

• Cow writing with only one undeveloped, unexplored assertion (in intro); says nothing at all, merely completes the assignment.

 Thoughtfully-Structured Essay
Introduction
Thesis with narrow focus, clear claim, and an although clause
Claim 1: with examples that support it
Claim 2: with examples that support it
Claim 3: with examples that support it
Claim 4 (counters, Best Opposing Argument): Refutes BOA
Conclusion: refocuses on the central point and pulls together all the sub-points

• Most difficult to organize, but best chance of having the organization contribute to the thinking and development of your claim; can be 3, 4, 5, or 6 paragraphs, whatever works best for your ideas. Takes time to figure out. Paragraphs may need to be rearranged as you write or in revision. Most effective. Best essays, but takes thought and practice.