1-Paragraph Literature-Based Essay

TERMS & TYPES OF SENTENCES:

Prewriting = The process of getting our concrete details down on paper before you organize your
essay into a paragraph—(examples = spidermap, bubbles, clusters, outline…)

1st Sentence = Thesis (TS) = has 2 things—1) the title, author, and genre & 2) your answer/opinion
about the topic

Idea Statement/Transition Idea (TI) = introduces one of the reasons or ideas that will support your
Thesis

Concrete Detail (CD) = a factual sentence that should be an embedded quote (remember 50-50 rule
and to intro the scene).

Commentary (CM) = an opinion sentence that explains the whys something is right or wrong, explains
what is so important about the quote, or connects the quote to a literary device (like a theme, or
symbolism, or irony, or foreshadowing)

Concluding Sentence (CS) = must do 2 things—1) restate the opinion of the TS, and 2) end with a kick
(i.e., telling how the main idea of your essay RELATES TO SOCIETY)

THE STRUCTURE: There need to be 14 sentences in the order shown below.

1. Thesis
2. Idea Statement (TI #1) A “CHUNK” is made up of 4 sentences:
3. Concrete Detail
4. Commentary
• 1 TI (Transition Idea)
5. Commentary
6. Idea Statement (TI #2)
• 1 CD (Concrete Detail w/
quote)
7. Concrete Detail
8. Commentary • 2 CMs (Commentary
9. Commentary sentences)
10. Idea Statement (TI #3) = 4 sentences
11. Concrete Detail
12. Commentary
13. Commentary
14. Concluding Sentence (CS)
 Additional Essay Considerations

Transitions add to the smoothness of an essay; without them, writing often feels choppy.
• For TI’s = First, Second, Secondly, Third, Lastly, Finally, …
• For CD’s = For example, …For instance,… or Specifically,…

Punctuating Titles:
o Underline the long stuff = novels (Of Mice and Men), plays (Romeo and Juliet),
books, magazine names (Time, Sports Illustrated)
o Quotes for the short stuff = short stories (“The Most Dangerous Game”), poems,
articles in a magazine
General Format Rules:
 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced
 You need an original title (NOT something like “Of Mice and Men Essay”)
 Margins should be no larger than one inch on all sides (side, top, bottom)
 First & last name, teacher’s name, class & period, and date in top, left corner.
example:
Smarty Pants
Miss Lund
English 1, Period 1
1 October 2008
Helpful Hints:
1. Write out numbers 1-10 using words (i.e., seven); above ten is writer’s choice (choose one
way of writing numbers and be consistent throughout your paper).
2. Underline the titles of complete or long works: plays, books, long poems, CDs, tapes,
periodicals (magazines/newspapers) films, and TV programs, art, etc. (this does not mean
the title of your essay).
3. Use “quotation marks” around titles of short works: articles, short stories, poems,
chapter titles, songs…
4. Exceptions to #2 & #3 include sacred writings (i.e., Bible) and political documents (i.e.,
Bill of Rights, Treat of…)—for these, do not underline or use quotation marks.
5. Avoid writing in the first person—“I” (exception: autobiographical writing)
6. Do not use abbreviations (i.e., w/ & cuz/cause b/c b4 OK…)
7. Do not use contractions (i.e., can’t, won’t, don’t, wouldn’t…)
8. Do not use slang, clichés, etc. (cool stuff well like you know a lot really…)
9. Do not begin sentences with And, Well, So, But
10. Do not use past tense (use present tense) unless writing a biographical/autobiographical
composition.
11. Do not use qualifiers—I think, I feel, I will prove, seems, might…
12. Do not use “YOU” (use one); Do not use should of or could of (use should have, could
have)
13. Quotations: use ellipses (…) to skip unnecessary words in quote; use brackets [] to
change a word in quote to make the sentence smoother—Sharon threw “the ball… to
[herself]” again.