Essay Writing Workshop

1. Essay Writing Workshop

2. Contents • 5 paragraph format • Thesis statements • MLA format: • Present tense • 3rd person narration • Word count • Spacing and fonts • Citing and quotations • Plagiarism • Editing and proofreading • Types of essays: Supported opinion, Research using secondary sources, Comparison

3. Types of essays: • There are three major types of essay you might get asked to write: Supported opinion, Research using secondary sources, Comparison • Supported Opinion: In this type of essay you are proving your opinion about a book, issue, film, etc using textual evidence to support your thesis • Research Essays: In this type of essay, you are proving a point, idea or theory using a variety of sources, expert opinions, experiments, etc. • Comparison Essays: In this type of essay you are comparing two books (or poems, short stories, etc.) for similarities or differences.

4. MLA format: Title Page • Your Title Page must be written in proper MLA format and include: • a title • your name, • the teachers name, • the course code • the date

5. Thesis statements • Your Thesis is a statement you make in the introduction paragraph. • It is your opinion or the point you are proving. • It must be clearly stated and everything else you say in your essay must be directly related to, and serving to prove this statement.

6. 5 paragraph format • Your essay will need 5 paragraphs: • 1 . Introduction: this is where you will introduce your topic and state your thesis and overview the points you will be making to prove your thesis • 2. Body Paragraph 1: you will write one paragraph for each point you are making to prove your thesis. For each point you will need to cite evidence from the text in the form of quotations. • 3. Body Paragraph 2: • 4. Body Paragraph 3: • 5. Conclusion: This is where you will sum up all your points, discuss the importance of what you have proven, make recommendations or suggestions, etc.

7. Citing and quotations • To make good, strong points in your essay, you must make direct reference to the text. One of the best ways to prove that the book has evidence to support your thesis is to use a direct quotation from the book to prove what you are trying to say. You must use quotation marks to surround the quotation and at the end use brackets to note the authors name and the page number) • Remember to introduce your quotes so the reader knows they are about to see something from the text • Example: As one critic noted in the magazine The Village Voice, “There is no one quite like Joseph Campbell. He knows the vast sweep of man’s panoramic past as few have ever known it” (French 24).

8. Works Cited • Anytime you use words or ideas that are not your own, you must cite where you got that information from. For this essay you do not need to do any outside research (although you can if you would like), but you must do a proper citation for the book you are writing about. • The works cited page is where you list all the titles you have referenced or quoted from in your essay. Citations are to be written in the following format: Authors Name (last name, then first and in alphabetical order if you are listing more than one source), Book Title (which is written in italics or underlined), The city it was published in (this information can be found usually on either the front or back few pages of the book), the Publisher or name of the press and the date it was published (most recent date if there are more than one publication date) • Example: Gorman, Elizabeth. Prairie Women. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986

9. The Hazards of Movie-going Introductory paragraph (Introduction Paragraph) (Thesis statement) I am a movie fanatic. When friends want to know what picture won the Oscar in 1980 or who played the police chief in Jaws, they ask me. My friends, though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies. I have decided that the idea of going to the movie theater to see a movie is overrated, so I’ve quit going. The problems in getting to the theater, the theater itself, and the behavior of some patrons are all reasons why I often wait for a movie to show up on TV. First supporting paragraph • First of all, just getting to the theater presents difficulties. Leaving a home equipped with a TV and a video recorder isn't an attractive idea on a humid, cold, or rainy night. Even if the weather cooperates, there is still a thirty-minute drive to the theater down a congested highway, followed by the hassle of looking for a parking space. And then there are the lines. After hooking yourself to the end of a human chain, you worry about whether there will be enough tickets, whether you will get seats together, and whether many people will sneak into the line ahead of you. Second supporting paragraph • Once you have made it to the box office and gotten your tickets, you are confronted with the problems of the theater itself. If you are in one of the run-down older theaters, you must adjust to the musty smell of seldom-cleaned carpets. Escaped springs lurk in the faded plush or cracked leather seats, and half the seats you sit in seem loose or tilted so that you sit at a strange angle. The newer twin and quad theaters offer their own problems. Sitting in an area only one-quarter the size of a regular theater, moviegoers often have to put up with the sound of the movie next door. This is especially jarring when the other movie involves racing cars or a karate war and you are trying to enjoy a quiet love story. And whether the theater is old or new, it will have floors that seem to be coated with rubber cement. By the end of a movie, shoes almost have to be pried off the floor because they have become sealed to a deadly compound of spilled soda, hardening bubble gum, and crushed Ju-Jubes.

10. Third supporting paragraph • Some of the patrons are even more of a problem than the theater itself. Little kids race up and down the aisles, usually in giggling packs. Teenagers try to impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling, and making what they consider to be hilarious noises. Adults act as if they were at home in their own living rooms and comment loudly on the ages of the stars or why movies aren't as good anymore. And people of all ages crinkle candy wrappers, stick gum on their seats, and drop popcorn tubs or cups of crushed ice and soda on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm endlessly in their seats, file out for repeated trips to the rest rooms or concession stand, and elbow you out of the armrest on either side of your seat. Concluding paragraph (Reworded Thesis) (Summary) (Clincher) • After arriving home from the movies one night, I decided that I was not going to be a moviegoer anymore. I was tired of the problems involved in getting to the movies and dealing with the theater itself and some of the patrons. The next day I arranged to have cable TV service installed in my home. I may now see movies a bit later than other people, but I'll be more relaxed watching box office hits in the comfort of my own living room.

11. Present tense • Your essay should be written in present tense. This means you write it as though it is happening now. • (The right way) Example of present tense: “Shakespeare writes about how Romeo loves Juliet and would do anything to be with her” • (the wrong way) Example of past tense: “Shakespeare wrote about how Romeo loved Juliet and would have done anything to have been with her”

12. Spacing and fonts • Please make sure that your essay is double spaced. You will be asked to proofread and peer edit on your rough draft so there must be room to write corrections. • It also makes it much easier for me to read, make corrections and suggestions, comments and marks. • Use 12 point font so that it is easy to read. Do not use a bigger font to take up more space – this could cost you marks!

13. Word count • Your essay must be AT LEAST 500 words. This works out to be about 2 typed pages if you use 12point font and double space it. • In order to write 5 proper paragraphs, using examples and quotations from the text, you will need to write at least this much, minimum! • This DOES NOT include your title page or your works cited page (we’ll talk about works cited in a minute)

14. Editing and proofreading • Your rough draft will be due in class on May 18th • We will have class time to peer edit and you will submit your final good copy on May 20thafter you have had time to make changes • You will be asked to submit your rough copy with the peer edit markings on it, to ensure that you made recommended changes and that everyone was involved in proofreading

15. Plagiarism and turnitin.com • If you use words or ideas that are not your own, it can be considered plagiarism. This is a very serious offence, not only within the school, but could also be legally. You MUST cite all work that is not original. Plagiarism cases will all be dealt with through administration. • Your essays will have to be submitted to turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. More information on that will follow.

16. Expectations • Submit a rough draft that shows peer editing • Use quotations from the book to prove your points • Final draft with title page (typed, double spaced using 12 point font) and works cited page • 500 word count minimum

17. Your Essay • You will be writing a comparison essay examining Romeo and Juliet the Graphic novel, in comparison to Romeo and Juliet the film