How to Write Effective Body Paragraphs

Remember to avoid plot summary!

4 Key Steps

1)      Always re-read your thesis before taking on a new body paragraph. This is to make sure that you are continually addressing the argument in your thesis, rather than just providing the reader with a chronological summary of your topic. Example: Through Juliet’s depiction in Romeo and Juliet as a mature and composed young woman even in the face of absolute misery, Shakespeare challenged the 16^th century gender stereotypes of his time and ushered in a new way to consider spousal relationships.

Insert your thesis (with purpose) here:

 

 

 

2)     Write a Topic Sentence that doesn’t just state background information, it must address the argument from your thesis. Example: It is after Romeo is ordered to be banished from Verona that Juliet’s inner strength is especially visible as she is forced into the much darker and complicated conclusion of the play.

Possible first topic sentence:

 

3)     Then you can transition into your quote by providing some background information and inserting a quote from the text.

a.      When quoting lines in this particular essay, make sure that it does not go beyond three lines in your own writing. If you need to shorten it to make it fit to three lines of writing, choose what is essential and use a “[…]” to represent a break in the lines you are quoting.

b.      Please note that your references at the end of your quotations should refer to Act, scene and line numbers, not to page numbers.

Example: After hearing of Romeo’s banishment from the nurse, Juliet certainly has reason to lose control, like her husband does; but instead she finds a way to hold herself together: “‘Shame come to Romeo.’ ‘Blister’d be thy tongue/ […] Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?/ […] But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin?/ That villain cousin would have kill’d my husband’” (III.ii.89-90, 97, 100-101). Write out your background content and quote:

 

 

 

4)     Now analyze the quote you chose. Do this by doing either step a and/or b of the following:

 

a.      Consider what is said in the actual quote through its subtleties of the imagery and ideas expressed. Basically, what is the author saying without saying? (What can you infer from this? Is there symbolism, a deeper meaning, figurative meaning? What is Shakespeare really trying to say? What is being shown without it being stated?)

b.      Assess how the quote is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering or ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage. What specific words is that character using? What is important about that word choice?

Example: Striking back at her nurse for condemning Romeo, Juliet takes a stand and decides that it is her husband who deserves her sympathy. Although Juliet is portrayed as a woman verbally assaulting her most reliable friend by telling the nurse to shut her “blistered” mouth, a phrase that Juliet would never have uttered prior to meeting Romeo, her maturity in the remainder of the quote shows an adult woman rationalizing the fact that Romeo had no other choice than to kill Tybalt.

Then you must perform the most important step of analyzing a quote: Connect it back to your thesis!!!

c.       Connect this analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole. What were you originally trying to say in your thesis statement, and how does this point you are making with the quote help contribute to your original argument?

Example: Juliet even goes as far as to suppress her hurt feelings over the matter when she orders to herself “Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring,” demonstrating her commitment to stay composed and focused as her world begins to fall apart. By portraying the young heroine as a mature woman who refuses to let emotions drag her further into misery, Shakespeare holds Juliet up as the stronger spouse in the play, thus demonstrating the writer’s intention to challenge the accepted notion that men should be considered superior to their wives.

Now add in your own analysis:

Judgement Day- Flannery O'Connor

 

•What to answer while reading:

•How individuals accept old age and finality. How does Tanner face his inevitable death? What does he want to get out of life during his final months? What does this tell us about him?

 

•The relationship between generations. What differences are there between Tanner and his daughter/ son-in-law/ neighbors?

•Race and class in the mid-20th century south. How does Tanner approach issues of race? Why is this problematic?

Those Body Paragraphs: Hamlet Lit Analysis

The number one rule to remember is to stay away from plot summary. Instead of writing a book report, we want to write a literature analysis essay.

One helpful way to accomplish this is to follow the TREAT model:

T- Topic sentence (this still should fit the 3 Ps)

R- (This can be some plot summary- but make it short, include only what is necessary

E- Evidence

A- Analysis

T- Tie it together

The most important part of this model is the “Analysis” step- this is what you will usually be graded on most heavily in lit analysis essays.

When analyzing direct text (in this case Shakespeare’s Hamlet), you want to try and accomplish three steps:

A.    Consider what is said in the actual quote through its subtleties of the imagery and ideas expressed. Basically, what is the author saying without saying? (Is there symbolism, a deeper meaning, figurative meaning? What is Shakespeare really trying to say?)

B.    Assess how the quote is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering or ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage. What specific words is that character using? (You already did this with Claudius’s opening speech when he uses words like “our”).

C.    Connect this analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole. What were you originally trying to say in your thesis statement, and how does this point you are making with the quote help contribute to your original argument?

 

Feel free to change up the formula. Often, writers will include two quotes per paragraph (this is especially true when your prompt has to do with two different characters). If this is the case, instead go repeat the middle three sections (___, Evidence, Analysis) before tying it back together.

Label the following body paragraphs in terms of how it effectively uses the TREAT model and how it includes the three steps of analysis. Are these ultimately effective body paragraphs?

           

            Before Hamlet and Ophelia ever meet onstage, other characters offer their own theories about Hamlet’s true feelings which only continue to keep their true relationship clouded in mystery. Laertes compares Hamlet’s love to a blooming “violet,” calling it “sweet, but not lasting” (I.iii.8). He worries that the prince will give his sister a bad reputation by stealing her “chaste treasure” (I.iii.3) and then refusing to marry her. Polonius initially characterizes Hamlet as a smooth sweet-talker, but later revises his opinion, arguing strenuously that Ophelia’s withdrawal of affection is what causes the Hamlet to go mad. Even the shallow minded queen hopes for Ophelia’s beauty and looks to be what can truly captivate Hamlet’s attention. In the third Act, the reader finally witnesses a conversation between Ophelia and Hamlet which brings more clarity to their complex relationship.

 

During the famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is given a chance to display her impressive maturity which only demonstrates to the audience that she has a bold and balanced reaction to the male-dominated society. Building on the foundation Shakespeare laid out in Juliet’s opening scene with her mother, the young woman continues to speak her mind while simultaneously remaining rational in her thoughts. Even before the audience hears a single word from her, her stunning appearance alone inspires Romeo to praise her presence and compare her to the “sun,” a comparison that only helps reinforce the image of Juliet as a strong and powerful woman. Initially during the balcony scene, before Romeo reveals himself, Juliet is overtaken by love as she attempts to rationalize her way around Romeo’s “Montague” problem: “Tis but thy name that is my enemy:/ Thou art thyself, though not a Montague” (2.2.38-39). During this conversation with herself, Juliet cleverly considers the issue surrounding her lover’s familial standing in Verona.  While it is often assumed that young romantics are unable to unite love and reason together, this passage demonstrates Juliet’s ability to see Romeo as a man separate from his role in society. Although Shakespeare goes on to show how this mentality of the young lovers ultimately leads to tragedy, Juliet exhibits a form of romantic reasoning not seen in many other characters faced with difficult love-based dilemmas- certainly not Romeo. Juliet’s ability to reasonably separate her own feelings from society’s request for her to stay away from her family’s arch-rival contrasts with that of Ophelia, who gives no effort to detach herself from the restrictions of the prevailing social order in Hamlet

Literature Analysis Writing: Hamlet

Intro Paragraphs:

This is your time to set up the context for the essay. Assume your reader has not read the play. Never refer to yourself in a literature analysis essay (no “I” or “me”).

Avoid general statements in your opening (“Many people consider Hamlet to be the greatest play ever written”). What can be improved in the following opening paragraph?

Consider Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? How does this affect the meaning of the play?

There is no doubt in my mind that love is the greatest gift in the world. No writer understood this gift better than William Shakespeare, the creator of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship. But unlike Othello and Desdemona or Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Ophelia rarely interact onstage. Throughout most of the play, we can only analyze their relationship through rumors, gossip, and third-party interpretations, rather than through direct observations of the way they speak to and treat each other. Even when we finally see them together, in Act III, scene I, we can’t be sure what their conversation means, since Ophelia has been instructed by her father to act a certain way and Hamlet may or may not be aware of Polonius and Claudius’s eavesdropping. The mystery surrounding the relationship is intentional.

Thesis Statements:

The foundation of a successful literary essay is argumentation. Without solid arguments, most essays are basically pointless! You need to create an argument that can be disputed or with which someone might disagree.

A good argument (aka thesis statement) will include the following 3 P’s:

Prompt: your argument must relate to the key concept in the prompt. For instance, if the prompt asks about madness, then you need to reference madness in your argument.

Provable: You need to be able to prove your arguments through textual support (examples and quotes). Be sure they are worthy of being proven: for instance, it is not necessary to prove that Hamlet wears black in his opening scene because no one would disagree that he does wear that color (this includes your topic sentences for body paragraphs as well).

Purpose: You should state why the author creates a situation or why he does what he does. This is called thematic purpose and should also reflect a major theme in the work.

Grade the following thesis statements:

I do not believe that Hamlet ever loved Ophelia.

Hamlet probably loved Ophelia at one point but then stopped.

In the play Hamlet, the titular character is a mean and cruel prince who obviously is not capable of loving anyone, especially Ophelia.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet have a love affair prior to the beginning of the play.

By making us unsure of whether Hamlet loves or ever loved Ophelia, Shakespeare puts us in Ophelia’s shoes, forcing us to feel confused and unsure, as she does.

 

A good thesis statement focuses on what the author is trying to do!! Why is Shakespeare depicting a character in this way? How is he doing it?

 

With your partner, write an intro paragraph (including a thesis statement) for the following prompt:

Death, murder, and suicide play a major role in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. How does the character of Hamlet view death in the play? Does this view change? Why is this significant to the character? How does this affect the meaning of the play?