ANNOUNCEMENT: “Students, please follow these instructions and write your essay entirely in your own words. I don't want to read college papers; instead, I want to read papers that are transferable from high school. If you don't, you risk being flagged as plagiarized.”
Choose one of the following topics (Choose One):
* Different Types of Education – What are the different kinds of education in To Kill a Mockingbird? Whom would you consider to be educated and uneducated? How do these different types of education affect characters’ lives?
* Sources of Community Tension – What are the significant sources of tension (i.e. suspicion, mistrust, class prejudice, racial prejudice, snobbery, enmity, animosity, hatred) between various characters in the novel and what price is paid by certain characters for these antagonisms?
After you choose your topic, follow this format to write your essay:
Follow the format outlined below when writing your paper.
Introduction
* Topic Sentence – Begin with a topic sentence that identifies the novel’s title and author and makes some general comment about the overall significance of the novel.
* General Exposition – Next, provide a general overview of the novel’s plot and subject matter and the principal characters.
* Narrow the Focus – Be sure to narrow the focus so as to establish the range and scope of your essay.
* Thesis Statement – At the end of your first paragraph, include a thesis statement that specifically outlines and clarifies the life-lessons or sources of tension or dimensions of inequality that your paper will be analyzing.
Body of Paper
* Be sure to include one to three (1-3) developmental paragraphs, each one of which provides evidence and examples (taken from various scenes in the novel) of the life-lessons or sources of tension or dimensions of inequality you have outlined in your thesis. Each developmental paragraph must include at least one or two relevant quotations followed by commentary and analysis.
* Remember to begin each developmental paragraph with a topic sentence that identifies the example or evidence that is relevant to your thesis.
* Set the scene sufficiently (i.e. explain what is happening in the story and which characters are involved) before introducing a particular quotation.
* Quote in a concise manner any description and/or dialogue that you find especially important or illuminating. For each quotation or paraphrase of a scene, provide relevant commentary and analysis (i.e. explain to your readers why each example or bit of evidence is significant).
Conclusion
* Use your conclusion to make editorial comments (for or against) the novel’s overall merits and its depiction of the problems and issues mentioned in your essay. You may also use the conclusion to comment on how the lessons of the novel relate to your own personal experience of related subjects.
