Othello—Universal Themes

For an argumentative writing grade + evidence in reading grade, write the introductory paragraph of a 5 essay about Shakespeare’s universality of theme or attendance to the human condition. Ie. Writes of the struggle between parents and children which is as old as time. Intro shall include the standard 4 steps. As a reminder, here are the notes I give my freshmen. Don’t tell me you never learned this stuff! Paragraph should be 7 sentences minimum.

Introduction (introductory paragraph): The first paragraph in an essay. It begins with a hook to get the reader interested—a question, quote, statistic, anecdote, a provocative statement. It introduces the general topic and narrows the readers focus to the thesis (the specific topic) at the end of this paragraph.

1. Hook + explanation

2. General Info (on Shakespeare and themes or things that always matter to people)

3. Summary of Othello (2-3 sentences)

4. Thesis

An intro ¶ acts like a funnel, getting the reader’s attention with the hook, telling them what you’re talking about in general, then getting very specific with your thesis.

Thesis Statement: A sentence with subject and opinion (also called commentary). This comes somewhere in your introductory paragraph, most often at the end. It tells the reader what your essay will be about. It often clarifies what the body paragraphs will be about. It is one to two sentences in length.

List here three distinctly different universal themes you have identified in Othello.

Theme #1 ______

Theme #2 ______

Theme #3 ______

You don’t have to write the rest of the essay. You will be filling out a graphic organizer of what quotes you would use to prove your thesis and translating them from Shakespeare to simplified words of your own. Example: One of the themes Shakespeare uses inOthello is the struggle that parents and children go through in the fight for autonomy. Evidence: Brabantio says “I had rather adopt a child than get it”(Act 1 Scene 3, Line 193). This means he would rather adopt a child than have one born to him; he is frustrated that his daughter is doing something he doesn’t want.

Intro ¶: ______

Universal Theme #1 / Universal Theme #2 / Universal Theme #3
Shakespeare quoted evidence / Shakespeare quoted evidence / Shakespeare quoted evidence
Your translation / Your translation / Your translation
Universal Theme #1 Example 2 / Universal Theme #2 Example 2 / Universal Theme #3 Example 2
Shakespeare quoted evidence / Shakespeare quoted evidence / Shakespeare quoted evidence
Your translation / Your translation / Your translation

Intro paragraph: Total: ______/10

Writing: Produce clear, coherent detailed writing. Supports claims (argument writing)

Evidence boxes: Total: ______/10

Reading: Read and comprehend literature and informational texts

Text evidence (pulls evidence to support claims from text with proper citation)