1. “There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting
“There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting.” -Oliver Wendell Homes
Revising
And
Editing

2. Check Your Thesis Do you mention the name of the book?
Is the title in italics?
Do you mention the first and last name of the author?
Do you mention the three narrative techniques you discuss in your essay?
Do you mention the theme you discuss in your essay?

3. Check your Topic Sentences
Look at your thesis. What things did you mention? These become your topic sentences.
Through the characterization of Ralph, Golding establishes his idea that even good people can do evil things.

4. Quote Check Do you have 5 quotes within the essay?
Is each quote embedded?
Do you cite each quote?

5. Embedding Your Quotes
Use quotes (with page numbers) from the book. Blend them in with your context, by having quotes and context share sentences. For example:
Not embedded: Piggy values the conch and the order it represents. “He cradles it in his arms” (72).
Embedded: Because Piggy valued the conch and the order it represents, he “cradles it in his arms” (72).

6. Citations (page #). Period comes after citation
Citation comes at end of sentence where quote is used
Example:
Simon discovers that “evil resides” in all human beings (45).

7. 11 sentence paragraph TS CD
CM—this shows that- sentence links cd to theme CM Cm CS

8. Body Paragraphs
If all you do in one body paragraph is give a few examples of the symbol from the text and simply identify them, then you haven't analyzed anything.
The analysis part involves explaining how the symbol contributes to the development of theme (your point).
But to be sophisticated in your analysis, you must have ideas that are "in-depth" - not just the superficial facts of what you see on the page. You must interpret what the author has given you to work with and show that you understand the theme.

9. Strategies for Eliminating To Be Verbs (am, is, are, was, were, be , being, been)
Change the to be verb to a stronger, livelier verb.
She is unwilling to clean her room.
She refuses to clean her room
Combine the sentence with the one before or after it using a phrase or a clause.
When I was six, I went to the circus. I was thrilled at what I saw.
At the age of six, going to the circus thrilled me.

10. Techniques Used to Combine Sentences
Combine sentences using coordinating conjunctions: FANBOYS
Example:The bell rings to dismiss class. The students pour into the halls.
Revised:The bell rings to dismiss class, and the students pour into the halls.
Find 3 sentences where you can use FANBOYS

11. Introduction Start with a quote
Get the reader's attention. Set the tone of the essay. State the controlling idea (thesis) of the essay.
Orient Reader: In 1-5 sentences, identify the title, author, and subject of the novel.

12. Example Introduction
Aristotle once wrote, “Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst.” Aristotle’s idea comes to life in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Golding shares Aristotle’s low opinion of mankind and Golding realizes that the only thing keeping humanity civil, law and justice, can easily be destroyed…………

13. Pattern
Introduce a quote about good and evil that fits your theme statement
Explain what the quote means
Connect it to LOTF
Put thesis

14. Conclusion Why is this novel important to us?
The conclusion should tie together the main ideas of the essay.
It should not simply summarize or repeat the ideas, but should extend them by establishing a relationship between the novel and why we should understand it.
It’s helpful to think of this as the answer to the “so what” question