Literary Argument Essay

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Lit Argument Essay Assignment

In high school English, you will surely encounter the literary argument essay. It is similar to other essays you’ve written, but it is unique in ways you will come to understand. It is my hope that this introduction will be helpful to you in preparation for future coursework. You will also be able to make connections to work we have done in the past with Aristotle’s arguments and Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.

For this assignment, you will be crafting a literary argument from Midsummer Night’s Dream.

You will use assignments in your portfolio (quizzes, poetry) and the text as evidence to support your argument. No other supporting documentation is allowed. Your book and notes will be your evidence.

You will be graded on your final product, but more importantly, on your engagement in the process, completion of outlines and worksheets, and using your checklist to self-evaluate and do peer reviews.

Overview of Literary Argumentative Essay Structure

Introductions

  • An introduction is the way into the paper , where we introduce the argument and our reasons in brief. It should include:
  • something to engage the reader right away. It can be a provocative statement, a quote, an example, or a very short anecdote.
  • the title and author of your book, but make sure it fits in with your argument. An example would be, "In the book, True Grit, by Charles Portis, the protagonist, Mattie Ross, shows us her inner strength by…"etc.
  • The thesis statement, which comes last.

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

  • An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided. The thesis should include the claim and reasons in the order of presentation.

Body Paragraphs

  • Be sure to consider the following:
  • Unity: topic sentence is clear and distinctive and all in the paragraph sticks to the topic sentence
  • Development: use evidence (quotes and paraphrases from the book)
  • Coherence (don't stray from your thesis and topic sentence)
  • Quotes cited and transitioned to and from correctly:
  • Don't forget to contextualize,
  • use and
  • analyze correctly

Conclusions

  • The conclusion is a wrap up of your main ideas in an interesting way.
  • Don't forget to include something to make the message linger in the reader's year: a quote, an anecdote, something relevant and moving.

Writing a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a sentence (or sentences) that expresses the main ideas of your paper and answers the question or questions posed by your paper. It offers your readers a quick and easy to follow summary of what the paper will be discussing and what you as a writer are setting out to tell them. The kind of thesis that your paper will have will depend on the purpose of your writing. This handout will cover general thesis statement tips, explain some of the different types of thesis statements, and provide some links to other resources about writing thesis statements.

General Thesis Statement Tips

• A thesis statement generally consists of two parts: your topic, and then the analysis, explanation(s), or assertion(s) that you're making about the topic. The kind of thesis statement you write will depend on what kind of paper you're writing.

• In some kinds of writing, such as narratives or descriptions, a thesis statement is less important, but you may still want to provide some kind of statement in your first paragraph that helps to guide your reader through your paper.

• A thesis statement is a very specific statement -- it should cover only what you want to discuss in your paper, and be supported with specific evidence. The scope of your paper will be determined by the length of your paper and any other requirements that might be inplace.

• Generally, a thesis statement appears at the end of the first paragraph of an essay, so that readers will have a clear idea of what to expect as they read.

• You can think of your thesis as a map or a guide both for yourself and your audience, so it might be helpful to draw a chart or picture of your ideas and how they're connected to help you get started.

• As you write and revise your paper, it's okay to change your thesis statement – sometimes you don't discover what you really want to say about a topic until you've started (or finished)writing. Just make sure that your "final" thesis statement accurately shows what will happen in your paper.

Argumentative Thesis Statements

In an argumentative paper, you are making a claim about a topic and justifying this claim with reasons and evidence. This claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and effect statement, or an interpretation. However, this claim must be a statement that people could possibly disagree with, because the goal of your paper is to convince your audience that your claim is true based on your presentation of your reasons and evidence. An argumentative thesis statement will tell your audience:

• your claim or assertion

• the reasons/evidence that support this claim

• the order in which you will be presenting your reasons and evidence

Questions to ask yourself when writing an argumentative thesis statement:

• What is my claim or assertion?

• What are the reasons I have to support my claim or assertion?

• In what order should I present my reasons?

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Thesis Statement Worksheet

In order to craft a thesis statement, we need to be sure we have considered:

  • Claim: what is my claim?
  • Reasons: what are the reasons I have to support my claim?
  • Order: in what order should I present my reasons?

Practice writing thesis statements for your essay about a character or theme in the book you chose. Choose the best one to focus your essay.

Thesis Statement:

______.Thesis Statement:______.

Thesis Statement:

______.

Using Quotes Correctly

How to quote in an essay? Quoting passages in essays depends on two things: (1) the appropriateness of the passage you want to quote and (2) the main idea of the paragraph where you want to include a quotation. There are also at least two basic rules that you should follow when you are quoting sentences directly from your source, such as a quote from a book to your essay. One, you should put the proper citation at the end of the direct quote. Two, you should always insert quotation marks at the beginning and at the end of your quote to indicate that the sentence in your paragraph is borrowed from another source.
It is also important that you should carefully select the quotes you want to incorporate into your essay, making sure that each direct quote is highly relevant to your paragraph's main idea. Otherwise, your quoted line will make your argument weak.
As a general rule, note that quoted sentences or phrases that are more than four sentences should be inserted in your paper as a block text rather than as a part of the paragraph you are writing. Also, be sure if your instructor has imposed a limit on the length of direct quotations that you can use.
Here are a few guide questions you can ask yourself before you decide to find and choose a line from an outside source that you want to quote:

  • Is the quote relevant to the paragraph I am writing?
  • Does the quote support or weaken the ideas in my paragraph?
  • Are there better quotes that I can use?

Notes on Quote Transitions:

Before:

Transition to the quote by introducing it with a sentence or phrase. Make sure you include enough background information to explain the context of the quote.

In chapter three, Megan demonstrates her scorn for the conventional by wearing blue jeans to her sister's wedding. '' 'I am my own person,' she said as she sashayed to her seat." (Humphry 65)

After:

Write a sentence that flows from the quote and explains how the actions or thoughts from the quote are evidence of the topic sentence. We call this commentary.

In chapter three, Megan demonstrates her scorn for the conventional by wearing blue jeans to her sister's wedding. '' 'I am my own person,' she said as she sashayed to her seat." (Humphry 65) She does things her own way even if she might be judged severely by others.

Body Paragraph Outline Guide:

  • Topic Sentence:______.
  • Sentence to show relation to quote (Why is t.s. important?): ______.
  • Contextualize: Intro to quote. (Make sure you tell us the context): ______.
  • Use: Quote itself (use it correctly): ______.
  • Analyze: Commentary sentence (How is quote evidence of the t.s.?): ______.
  • Concluding sentence (The wrap up): ______.

Introductions and Conclusions

Helpful Examples for Lit Essays

  • EXAMPLE 1

Introduction:

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” focuses on a mother, Mrs. Johnson, and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee, and how they look at their heritage. The

story’s climax comes when Mrs. Johnson rejects Dee’s request to take a hand-stitched quilt with her so that she can hang it on her wall. Knowing that Maggie will put the quilt to “everyday use,” Dee is horrified, and she tells her mother and Maggie thatthey do not understand their heritage. Although many literary critics see Dee’s desire for the quilt as materialistic and shallow, a closer examination of the social and historical circumstances in which Walker wrote this 1973 story suggests a more generous interpretation of Dee’s actions.

Conclusion:

Although there is much in the story that indicates Dee’s materialism, her desire to hang the quilt should not be dismissed as simply a selfish act. Like Mrs. Johnson and Maggie, Dee is a complicated character. At the time the story was written, displaying the quilt would have been not only a personal act, but also a political act—one with important, positive results. The final message of “Everyday Use” may just be that in order to create an accurate view of the quilt (and by extension African-American culture) you need both views—Maggie’s and Mrs. Johnson’s every-day use and Dee’s elevation of the quilt to art.

  • EXAMPLE 2

Introduction:

"Tell me about the rabbits, George," Lennie, a very large but gentle man, repeats softly in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Although Lennie is among the principal characters in the novel, he is perhaps the least dynamic. He undergoes no significant changes, development, or growth throughout the story and remains exactly as the reader encounters him in the opening pages. Simply put, he loves to pet soft things, is blindly devoted to George and their vision of the farm, and possesses incredible physical strength. Nearly every scene in which Lennie appears confirms that he is the least dynamic character in the novella.

Conclusion:

Steinbeck’s insistent repetition of these characteristics makes Lennie a rather flat character, but Lennie’s simplicity is central to Steinbeck’s conception of the novella.Of Mice and Men is a very short work that manages to build up an extremely powerful impact. Since the tragedy depends upon the outcome seeming to be inevitable, the reader must know from the start that Lennie is doomed, and must be sympathetic to him. He cannot avoid the dangers presented by Curley, Curley’s wife, or the world at large. His innocence raises him to a standard of pure goodness that is more poetic and literary than realistic. He is a character whom Steinbeck sets up for disaster, a character whose innocence only seems to ensure his inevitable destruction.

  • EXAMPLE 3

Introduction:

Manolin is present only in the beginning and at the end of The Old Man and the Sea, so many might characterize him as a minor character. I believe his presence is vitally important because Manolin’s devotion to Santiago highlights Santiago’s value as a person and as a fisherman. Manolin demonstrates his love for Santiago openly. He makes sure that the old man has food, blankets, and can rest without being bothered. Manolin’s purity and singleness of purpose elevate him to the level of a symbolic and important main character.

Conclusion:

As with all characters, Manolin is flawed and almost leaves Santiago, but by the end of the book, the boy abandons his duty to his own father, swearing that he will sail with the old man regardless of the consequences. He stands, in the novella’s final pages, as more than a minor character, but a symbol of uncompromised love and fidelity. As the old man’s apprentice, he also represents the life that will follow from death. His dedication to learning from the old man ensures that Santiago will live on.

Sample Literary Argument Essay

What does it take to achieve greatness? Throughout history many people are well-known, but that doesn’t mean they are deserving of the term. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the plot revolves around Jay Gatsby, narrated by his friend, Nick Carraway. In the end, Gatsby is murdered and very few people attend his funeral. Despite this, the title of the book associates Gatsby with greatness, and there are many example of this in the novel. I believe that Gatsby is great and this is evidenced by many examples of his honesty, interest in self-improvement, and general benevolence.

Gatsby is a much more honest person compared tomany of the aristocrats in the novel, even if he is a bootlegger. There are indicators of Gatsby's true nature, when one of his party guests points to the books in Gatsby's library and says that they were "absolutely read—have pages and everything. I thought they'd be…cardboard." (Fitzgerald 50) At the time, rich folk would flaunt pseudo-intellectualism by purchasing book covers and borders with no real pages. Gatsby was on another level because he actually did read the books in his library. In this sense, Gatsby had more depth to him than the shallow pretenses made by the aristocracy.

Gatsby also is on a quest for self-improvement, which contributes to his greatness. This is earnestly corroborated by a schedule Gatsby set for himself. The author lists various improvement activities, from "dumbbell exercise" to "study electricity" to "read one improving book per week." (81). Gatsby is on a tireless quest toward self-improvement to escape his past. Gatsby's general dedication to making himself a better person is a part of what makes him achieve greatness.

Another astonishing aspect of Gatsby is his kindness and generosity. Although it is a small event of the novel, a girl named Lucille speaks of when she tore her dress. Gatsby got her name and address and she says, "inside of a week, I got a package…with a new evening gown in it." (47) This is one small indicator of his generosity, but where Gatsby's generosity truly starts to show is when his father talks to Nick about him, before Nick knew him. Mr. Gatz told Nick that "He come out to see me two years ago and bought me the house I live in now…he was very generous with me." (181) Despite Gatsby claiming that his parents were "All dead now" (Fitzgerald 69) to most strangers and personally telling Nick that "his parents were…unsuccessful farm people…his imagination never really accepted them as his parents at all." (104) Gatsby still kept in contact and tried to behave better toward them. Even though aristocracy excels at putting up false smiles, Gatsby was truly kind to his parents, no matter what he thought of their class and position in society.

Gatsby was a wealthy man, but it was not his money that made him so great. His true dream was to marry Daisy and become one of the aristocracy. Even though he failed in both endeavors, Gatsby stayed true to himself as an honest, kind, determined and generous person. This could not be said of any of the aristocrats in the novel. That is why the book is called, The Great Gatsby. Gatsby was a great man by any measure.

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Argumentative Essay Checklist

Clear introduction that grabs the reader's attention

Writer’s purpose: thesis is a clear, debatable statement (last sentence in the introduction).

Organization: Topic sentences and paragraphs are clear, orderly, and fit under thesis statement.

Use of evidence (use of quotations, summaries and paraphrases). Good transitions to and from quotes. Includes context, appropriate use, and analysis.

Perspective is valid: good expression of opinion, and relevant to assignment

Clear conclusion that wraps it all up

There is evidence of prewriting (thesis statement, page numbers of quotes, and a detailed outline are included).

Problems with mechanics are minor and do not get in the way of understanding.

Outline for a Lit Argument Paper

1. Introduction

A.Gain Reader Attention and Interest

  1. Title and Author

C.Thesis Statement (last sentence): Lead into the rest of the essay

  1. Body Paragraph I
  2. Topic Sentence
  3. Support (include context, use and analyze)
  4. Concluding Sentence

3. Body Paragraph II

  1. Topic Sentence
  2. Support (include context, use and analyze)
  3. Concluding Sentence
  1. Body Paragraph III
  2. Topic Sentence
  3. Support (include context, use and analyze)
  4. Concluding Sentence
  1. Conclusion
  2. Use one of the Conclusion Techniques
  3. Summarize The Argument (thesis statement)
  4. Emphasize Information That Supports Your Analysis

Name: ______Block:______