GET A PENCIL OUT, PLEASE

Night Essay

Your objective is to write an essay that responds to this prompt:

Was it inevitable that a prisoner, in terms of his personality, would morph into someone completely unrecognizable (become totally different, for the worse, as a result of camp life)? Or was it possible that camp life could somehow bring out the best in people?

It’s decision time!—What is your point, or your thesis?

TURN TO THE 2ND PAGE OF YOUR ESSAY PACKET

We will now read about the thesis statement and see some examples.

Great words to consider using in

your thesis:

• Demonstrates

• Illustrates

• Proves

• Highlights

• Solves

• Reveals

• Explains

• Supports

• Displays

• Expresses

• Defies

• Disputes

Not Good Good

Elie Wiesel’s memoir demonstrates that men are capable of overcoming horrific circumstances to perform courageous acts.

Night proves that extreme circumstances cause even the best of people to commit immoral, and sometimes evil, acts.

In my opinion, Night makes it clear that although the Holocaust was a horrific event, some people overcame their circumstances to help others.

WHAT’S WRONG? HOW CAN THIS BE BETTER?

Prison life turns men into monsters.

WHAT’S WRONG? HOW CAN THIS BE BETTER?

Examples

Brainstorm Time!

Each group will come up with a good thesis statement and share it on the Google Doc.

Links to Google Docs are on the first page of my wiki:www.mrssnydersclassroom.wikispaces.com

1st hour3rd hour4th hour5th hour

Time to write your own thesis!

Look at your blue chart to figure out where you stand on the prompt- Based on the evidence you have recorded, do you think you could make a stronger case that: Men were bound to change for the worse Men were able to remain good peopleWhen you figure this out, circle 2 examples on your chart that demonstrate your stance. These 2 examples will be used to form your topic sentences and body paragraphs.

Now, write your thesis.

Restating your thesis

Essentially, you take the main point of your thesis and word it a little differently, that’s all!

Example: Original thesis:

Elie Wiesel’s memoir clearly illustrates that imprisonment and the threat of death turn men into savages.

Restatement: Many characters in Night prove that ordinary people can

be turned into savages when put into situations in which they have to fight to survive.

A VISUAL OF TOPIC SENTENCES

Topic Sentences

These sentences provide the main idea for each body paragraph. Think of them like this:

THESIS (your main point)

Broken into two subpoints

Subpoint #1 becomes material to use for topic sentence and body paragraph #1

Subpoint #2 becomes material to use for topic sentence and body paragraph #2. Topic sentence #2 NEEDS A TRANSITIONAL WORD OR PHRASE!

See flowchart

Look at the examples you circled on your blue chart.

U SE THESE EXAM PLES TO GU I DE YOU R FOR MU LATI ON OF YOU R TOP I C SEN TEN CES.

REFER TO THE LIST OF TRANSITIONAL WORDS TO HELP

YOU!

1S T HOUR3R D HOUR4T H HOUR5T H HOUR

Let’s brainstorm some topic sentences together:

Start searching!

By now, you have figured out your topic sentences and the 2 examples you will use to prove your point.

It is now time to find quotes from the book that are related to your examples.

Step 3: Examples/Quotes

Why am I doing this?

The purpose of the outline is to help you stay focused, and to help you structure the paragraphs of your essay. This is not meant to be ‘busy work.’ When you can see the major parts of your essay in one place, you can more easily figure out if there is something missing, awkward, or simply incorrect in your writing, and you can fix it before you have gone too far into writing the actual essay.

Nice work! Now it is time to complete your polished outline, which is Step 4. Basically, you just string together all of the writing we have worked on so far!

Warm up:

Respond to the 2 questions At the

bottom of the “step 5” page.

And now, the real work begins!

Step 5:Body Paragraph Format= TIQA

Topic SentenceIntroduce exampleQuote to support exampleAnalysis- (How does my example prove my point, which is mentioned in the topic sentence?)

Which highlighted section is biggest?

Another instance in which men act cruelly as a result of their unusual living conditions occurs when Elie’s father was sick with dysentary and “was unable to drag himself outside [of the barracks] to relieve himself” (Wiesel 114). The sleeping arrangements in the barracks were awful: Men were crammed together in very small bunks made of wood, which meant little personal space or comfort. Toward the end of the memoir, these tight spaces led to incredible cruelty: As Chlomo explains to his son, “ ‘Eliezer...Eliezer...tell them not to hit me...I haven’t done anything...Why do they keep hitting me?’” (Wiesel 114). When Chlomo was too sick to get out of bed, his illness caused a mess and a smell that was too much for his bunkmates to bear. Unable to control the situation in any other way, the men reacted with the only tool they had—violence. As a result of the unusual, inhumane living conditions of the barracks, the men became savage to Chlomo; something that would not have occurred under normal circumstances.

Let’s look more closely at this paragraph.

The analysis!

Congrats on finishing your body paragraphs! Time to make them even better!

Write down these due dates:

Intro/Conclusion- Wed 4/25

Typed final draft- 4/27

Writing Workshop

By now, you should have your body paragraphs complete. Today you will write

your introduction and your conclusion.

Textual Representation: Visual Representation:

Attention-getter- get your reader to buy in to what you are going to write about. There are several ways to do this (see blue packet)

Necessary Information- Title, author’s name, and some info about the book that is related to your point.

Thesis- LAST sentence of intro paragraph

Pull your reader in

Give the reader details about the

book that are related to your point. Include the

book’s title and the author’s name.

End the paragraph with your point- your thesis.

Step 6: Write your Introduction

Now, on your own, read step 6 in your packet.

After you have read step 6, complete the task at the bottom of the page, which reads: “Jot down some ways you could start your essay and get your reader’s

attention.”

In other words, jot down some ideas for pulling your reader into your essay.

Textual Representation: Visual Representation:

Restate- restate your thesis, using different words

Connect- connect back to your attention grabber in the intro, or connect to the world somehow

Close- Leave your reader thinking about something related to your thesis

Restate thesis

Make a connection

Leave your reader thinking

Step 7: Write Your Concluding Paragraph

Now, on your own, read step 7 in your packet.

After you have read step 7, and the example concluding paragraph, begin

writing EITHER your intro or concluding paragraph.

BOTH are due tomorrow.