Writing Essentials

Part 2
 MLA Format (Reminder)
12 point Times New Roman Font
Double Spaced
Heading
Student Name
Teacher
Class
Date Assigned
Title
 Writing About Literature
Book titles should ALWAYS be Italicized
Write in an Academic 3rd Person
Ex/ In The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore discusses the struggles of two boys growing up
without a father.
Never use 1st person pronouns (I, We, Me, etc) unless instructed to write a
personal essay
State the authors full name to begin, then reference them by their last name
 Essay Structure
Introduction
Topic sentence that states the Authors name and book title
Give a general overview of the plot, characters, and/or subject matter of the
book
Narrow the focus to what you will be writing about
Thesis Statement
Is not a question(s)!!!
Tells us exactly what the essay is going to be about
 Introduction Sample
Harper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the social injustices that
existed in the deep south in the early 1900s. The story is told by a young girl
named Scout. Through her eyes readers see the economic, gender, and race
related divisions that exist in their hometown of Maycomb. Furthermore,
Harper Lee uses her characters to show the courage and bravery required to
stand up against hate and discrimination in society. Three characters that best
exemplify courage in part one of the novel are Scout, Jem, and Atticus.
 Body Paragraphs

Topic Sentence- Tells the reader exactly what the paragraph is going to be about
Should align with your thesis
Transitions: First Second Third, Finally, Moreover, In addition, NextThenAfter,
etc
Supporting Evidence
Provide examples to support your claim and explain
Should always have at least TWO pieces of evidence to support your claim
Transition between examples: For Instance, Specifically, In particular, To illustrate, In addition,
etc
 Body Paragraph (cont.)
Closing sentence
Should be a brief, 1 sentence summary (essentially restating your topic sentence)
Transition into it: Therefore, Thus, Consequently, As a result, etc
Can also transition into the next paragraph
Another great example of courage is shown by
 Body Example
First, Scout demonstrates a great deal of courage in part one of To Kill a
Mockingbird. Specifically, Scout shows this when she stands up for Walter
Cunningham in the classroom. (PROVIDE TEXT EVIDENCE). In addition,
she is not afraid to stand up for her father Atticus. (PROVIDE TEXT
EVIDENCE). Consequently, Scout is seen as a character that displays a great
deal of courage.
In addition, Jem displays courage throughout part one as well.
 Few Last Notes
Sometimes it is necessary to explain in order to make the connection
between claims and evidence
Follow this format:
Topic Sentence
Example
Evidence
Explain
Repeat and need with a concluding sentence
 Essay Structure
Conclusion
Do not summarize the essay
Make one more final point
What lasting message do you want to leave
 MLA In-Text Citation
When you do not state the authors name in the sentence you must include
the authors last name and page number in parenthesis
I was becoming too rich for the kids from my neighborhood and too poor for the
kids at my school (Moore 53).
When you state the authors name in the sentence you only need to provide
the page number
Wes Moore says, I was becoming too rich for the kids from my neighborhood and
too poor for the kids at my school (53).