Assessment Part III – Essay for Warriors Don’t Cry

 

Your assignment is to write a five-paragraph literary essay in which you discuss how, despite terrible abuse and fears, Melba survived the year of at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Specifically, you should explain how Melba relied on others to help her through this ordeal.  Who helped her?  How did they help?  How did these actions change Melba’s experience? 

 

Here is some detailed information to help you write your essay.  A literary essay should develop and discuss an element of a piece of literature with appropriate details including specific citations from the text which support your thesis. Be sure that your essay includes an appropriate introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. Essays often follow a formula explained in the following paragraphs.

 

First you need an introductory paragraph.  

 

You will need to include the title, author and genre of the text you will discuss (T.A.G. statement), as well as a short description of the text to give your reader some context.  Don’t retell the whole story, but you should give a couple of sentences to help give background to your essay. 

 

Most importantly, every essay you will ever write will include a thesis statement.  A thesis statement is the sentence that tells your reader exactly what you will be discussing in your essay.  Sometimes your thesis is part of your T.A.G. statement.  For this essay, your thesis should state that Melba went through a very difficult ordeal helping to integrate Central High School and that others helped her along the way.  Keep in mind, though, that you should avoid using the pronouns “me” and “I” in this kind of formal writing.  So you would NEVER write:  “In this essay I will discuss….”   Perhaps looking at an actual example will  help you understand this.   Let’s say I am writing an essay about the theme of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”  Notice the difference:  

 

In this essay, I will explain that the theme of the memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is that it is important to express yourself. 

or

The theme of the memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Maya Angelou is that it is important to express yourself.

 

Your introduction should also include a short introduction to the three reasons or proof you have for your thesis statement.  These three reasons for your thesis will be developed fully in each of the three body paragraphs that follow.  You will also probably include a transition sentence at the end of your introduction, leading your reader into the body of the essay.   Sometimes the transition sentence occurs at the beginning of the next paragraph.

 

Next, you need three (3) body paragraphs.

 

Each of your three body paragraphs should explain in full one reason or example for your thesis.  In this case, three different people who help Melba, how they helped her, and how that help actually helped her get through the year.  You will need a topic sentence to begin each paragraph introducing this example.  A topic sentence is kind of like a thesis statement for your paragraph.  It explains what you will discuss in that paragraph, (but it does not use the words I or me!)  Also, you will include MANY details from the text (possible even a quotation with page numbers!)  which supports this reason or example.  Also, you need to be sure that you include a complete and clear explanation of how the details or the quotation are relevant to your thesis.  This goes along with the work we have been doing with our post-its and writers notebook entries.  Not only do we need to give supporting information, but we need to show how it deepens our understanding.  In other words, it is not enough to show Grandma India or Link helping Melba, you need to show how that help affected her.  What difference did that help make to her and her experience with the integration?  Be sure that you don’t just dump details into your body paragraph; explain why those details are relevant to your thesis.  Also, you will need some kind of transition to the next paragraph.  Sometimes that transition comes at the beginning of the next paragraph. 

 

Last you need a concluding paragraph.

 

Your concluding paragraph should include a general introductory sentence guiding the reader into the conclusion, which is often a restatement in new words of your thesis statement.  (In my essay about “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” I might write:  Thus, the theme of self-expression is developed in the memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”  You will also include a quick review of all three reasons or examples and why they prove your thesis statement.  At the end, many writers choose to connect their thesis so a “big idea” that they can relate to their thesis.  In this case, can you think of a statement about how many people rely on the help of others?  You might think about the importance of the Little Rock Nine in general and how they in turn helped others through their actions, or something like that. 

Wow!  That’s a lot of information about what to put in an essay.  That’s why writers use outlines or graphic organizers.  All essays require planning. You must use either a graphic organizer to note all the elements of the essay so you can really concentrate on the writing of your essay at home.  You will turn in this outline when you turn in your essay.  

Naturally, your essay should be typed, double-spaced, in a clean clear font (preferably Times New Roman), 12 pt. type.  This is standard academic format.  Please always use it for my class and I believe you will find that most of your teachers will want this for the rest of your academic career.