Intro. Paragraph Organizer

1. Intro. Paragraph Organizer • Look at the four steps on your green handout. • We’ll start with #1. • We need to get our reader’s attention…how can we best do this? • Cross out “personal experience” and “definition” and never start with a question!

2. Step One: Attention Getter • First: Since you are writing an essay on what lessons Harper Lee develops in her novel, you should think about a word that best describes your chosen lesson. • Would that be lessons about “pride,” “parenting,” “prejudice,” “loyalty” “acceptance,” “freedom,” “hypocrisy,” “family,” “friendship” “education” “protecting the innocent” etc.

3. Step One: Attention Getter • Next, it works well to “Google” a quote using your “word” • For example, if I want my essay to discuss the importance of parenting, I’d “Google” “Quotes + Parenting” • Look what I found: “We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.” This was said by Roy Smith

4. Step One: Attention Getter • So, here’s what I write: • Famous American Clergyman Roy Smith once said, “We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.” Make sure you do offer introduction of your speaker; don’t just plop a quote in paper!

5. Step Two: Explain your Attention Getter • Here I would add a sentence that puts the attention getting quote in other words. • It might look like this: What Smith really means by this is that children respond more by watching adults’ actions than hearing their words. • Does this make sense to you?

6. Step Two: Explain your Attention Getter • I might also add another sentence like: • This is obvious in our world today as well. OR: This is true for most children world-wide.

7. Step Three: Connect/ Bridge • Here is where you start to CONNECT to Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. • You might offer something like: • Harper Lee most likely would agree with Smith on this idea of the importance of an adult’s actions. • Then I’d develop body paragraph about how important it is for adults to ACT WELL because children are watching.

8. Step Three: Connect/ Bridge • Or, I might offer: • Harper Lee would likely only partially agree with Smith. • Then I’d develop how Lee believes that children learn from both adults’ actions and words.

9. Step Four: Thesis! • Now it’s time for your thesis. • I’ve given you the format I want you to follow. • It’s on your pink paper: It looks like this: In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses actions of Bob Ewell and Atticus in order to teach lessons about the importance of parenting.

10. Step Four: Thesis! • Or: • In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Atticus’ actions and words in order to teach the lessons about the importance of fathers.

11. So, the entire intro paragraph might look like this: Famous American Clergyman Roy Smith once said, “We are apt to forget that children watch examples better than they listen to preaching.” What Smith really means by this is that children respond more by watching adults’ actions than hearing their words. Harper Lee would likely only partially agree with Smith. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Atticus’ actions and words in order to teach the lessons about the importance of fathers.

12. On to Body Paragraphs: • If my thesis says: In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Atticus’ actions and words in order to teach the lessons about the importance of fathers. • Then my first body paragraph will be about Atticus’ actions and how they impact the children in his life.

13. On to Body Paragraphs: • My second body paragraph will be about how Atticus’ words have a positive role in the lives of the children. • Now: your goal is to complete your intro. And one body paragraph by Tuesday class time!