Making (and taking) the Cake

1. Making (and taking) the Cake Sophomore English Short Story Writing Seminar: Food Network Style Just call me boss because my writing is like the icing on top of Mrs. Sullivan’s wedding cake!

2. The “Write” Recipe The key ingredient to any tasty treat is the glue that holds it all together… • The “T” (the actual cake) is the glue that holds the entire masterpiece together. • The “T”opic and “T”ransition sentence lets your audience know what they will be enjoying without actually saying “this cake used ½ cup of sugar, 3 cups of flour, 2 egg beaters—”…you get the idea. • Instead, it uses its strong flavors to make a claim about it’s flavor and ingredients. • Your topic sentence should state the character, the title of the work, the author, and make an argument on the element that has the biggest impact on that person’s identity.

3. Let’s Look at Some Finalists… Because Jimmy, a character in Thirteen Reasons Why, cared more about popularity than personal character, he allowed his peers to have the biggest impact on his own identity. Through her struggle to make an important internal decision, Jodee Blanco, the author of Please Stop Laughing at Me, shows that she is impacted the most by her own inner voice, not the voice of others.

4. The “Write” Recipe. Yet another key ingredient to any tasty treat is the little extra’s that add flavor and enhance the foundation…. • The “E” (fabulous filling) is the necessary “filling” that makes your cake anything but average, and your claim anything but false. • The “E”xample sentence supports your original cake (or claim) and makes it taste that much better…without it would be too plain! • YOU MUST INTEGRATE YOUR TWO QUOTATUIONS INTO A SENTENCE (even if it’s the author says,…or the book states, …) • YOU MUST USE PROPER MLA CITATION TO AVOID THE LAND OF PLAGARISER PAST…(Last Name 3).

5. Let’s Look at Some Finalists… When Hannah, a female student who was the target of sexual harassment, was in need of help, Jimmy “{took} a sneaky-peek over the back of {her} chair…gave a halfsmile and glanced down at the paper on his desk,” ignoring what she needed and partaking in what his popularity warranted (Asher 38). As Jodee began to feel guilt for sticking to her own conviction and sticking up for a friend, she “realized in that moment that it wasn’t {her} parent’s expectations of {her} that forced {her} to always defend the underdog. It was {her} own doing” (Blanco 104).

6. The “Write” Recipe. The V.I.P. ingredient that puts the icing on the cake is analysis! • The “A” (icing on the cake) is the critical element that transforms a plain cake into a delectable masterpiece, leaving everyone’s palate satisfied. • The “A”nalysis sentences are vital to any recipe because they offer your own personal wisdom, insight, and ideas, further evaluating how your example justifies your original claim…or why your filling compliments the frosting. • HELPFUL HINT: Use “If…then” statements to start your analysis. Then finish it up with an “Instead” or “Since” sentence to make for a delectable dose of delightfully deep analysis!

7. Let’s Look at Finalists… If Jimmy had listened to Hannah’s silent cry and not the voices of others, then he would not have committed an act he would later become ashamed of—a crime of character that would transform him into a “reason why”. Since he did allow his peers to have a strong grip on his crude behavior, he also surrendered his own moral conscience to a larger force—a force of “acceptance” that weighed heaviest on his identity. If Jodee allowed the opinion of others, like her parents, to silence her own voice, then she would have been able to “hold her tongue” and not help out her friend in need (Blanco 104). Instead of being swayed by her parents’ wishes, Jodee considered her own desire and gave into that internal intuition. Ultimately, she demanded that others step away from the underdog, even if it determined her becoming one in his place.

8. Now, young grasshopper, show that cake who is boss. Aw man, Billy always gets the best assignments! I want to bake a writing cake for Mrs. Sullivan’s class! Mmm..meat. Our Billy’s going to be the next William Cakespeare…I just know it!