British Literature

1. British Literature Frankenstein Take Home Essay Helpful Reminders from Mr. Smith…

2. Format • 1” Margins (I’m picky about this—get it right.) • Double Spaced, but NO extra space between paragraphs. (be aware of this if you have Word ‘07) • 4 line header. Top left. Single spaced • Your Name • Teacher/Professor Name • Course Name • Date (14 Oct. 2013) • Title should be centered and in the same font size of the essay.

3. Title? • Yes, you should title your essay! • If you title your essay “Frankenstein” or “Frankenstein Essay,” I reserve the right to be angry. • Use the title as an opportunity to introduce your line of thinking—your argument—to your readers!

4. Argument (Thesis) • Your most important goal at the beginning of the essay is to respond DIRECTLY the prompt by making an argument (or stating your thesis). • Express this as A FACT! (This means that you cut opinion statements such as “I think,” “I believe”) • If someone asks you…”what is your argument in the essay” and you don’t know how to respond, red flags should fly!!! • Once you make your argument, your job is to defend it. Your evidence is EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT. • The next 5 slides are review from the Macbeth essay…

5. Using Text as Evidence • Whenever you make a claim, it should be supported by either implicit or explicit textual evidence. • If you say…”It is clear that Lady Macbeth pushes her husband into the murder of Duncan” you have made a claim that must be supported by evidence. • SO—ask yourself the question, “what in the play makes me think that?” • The answers to this question will lead you to textual evidence that you can use to defend your arguments.

6. Step 1: Context • When introducing a quote in your paper, first give it context, so that we know where in the play this is happening. Your summary skills will be at work here. • “After meeting the witches on the heath, Macbeth immediately writes his wife a letter to tell her his news.” • By doing this, you’ve set your readers up for the evidence you’re about to present. • The point is that the quote itself makes sense within a certain context—not all on its own. You want to make this context clear to your readers.

7. Step 2: The Quote (evidence) • After you’ve given your evidence context, you can present the quote… • After Macbeth has written about the witches’ prophecy, he comments that “this I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou might’st not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee” (I, v, 10-12). • Many students make the mistake of ending their discussion of text here. But, you must take it a step further…

8. Step 3: Demonstrate/explain how the text proves your argument. • Your goal here is to make the connection between the quote and the argument to help convince your audience that your argument is valid. This is the most important step, because this is where you explain your interpretation of the text. • “The fact that it is so important to Macbeth to immediately share this news with his wife, whom he calls his “partner in greatness” demonstrates that the two of them have clearly discussed his, or possibly their, ambition to sit on the throne of Scotland.”

9. Review… • You’re making an argument that you present as fact. • You’re proving that argument by using examples from the play. • Set the examples from the play in context. • Present the quote. • Make the connection between your argument and the evidence.