How to Write as a Freshman
Introductions ( 5 sentences) Clear cut formula, EVERY time! Attention-Getter – 1 sentence (should NEVER be a question) Interesting fact, quote, short story Background information – 3 sentences (where the story originated from, what it is about, should NOT repeat what will be in your paper) Thesis Statement – 1 sentence Formula = TOPIC + OPINION + REASONS Examples: The main character in The Odyssey, Odysseus, shows power and love by how he communicates with his crew members and wants to get home to his wife and child.
Example Introduction – Ms. Slovak’s Example Power and love are themes that can be present together within protagonists of stories, or apart if one is not present. In The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is the King of Ithaca who has been at war for 10 years fighting for Greece. However, when the war is over, he angers the god Poseidon and has to travel an additional 10 years home, running into deathly situations and monsters. All that Odysseus wants is to see his homeland again, but unfortunately, that day sometimes seems like it will never come. Because of this quest for home, love and power are shown in The Odyssey through Odysseus’ interactions with his crew members and his quest for home to see his wife and son.
Body Paragraphs (8 sentences) Topic Sentence Main Point #1 Support #1 Elaboration/Explanation #1 Main Point #2 Support #2 Elaboration/Explanation #2 Transition
Body Paragraphs (8 sentences Topic Sentence Main Point #1 Support #1 Elaboration/Explanation #1 Main Point #2 Support #2 Elaboration/Explanation #2 Transition Theme Cause of the theme Quote proving theme Explanation of quote Effect of the theme Quote proving 2nd point Transition into next point
Body Paragraph #1 Example As a protagonist within the epic poem, Odysseus shows a lot of power through his adventures. Readers are able to see what a powerful person he is when they are first told about how he helped the Greeks to win the Trojan War. Homer gives an invocation, saying, “through me tell the story/of that man skilled in all ways of contenting,/the wanderer, harried for years on end,/ after he plundered the stronghold /on the proud height of Troy.” Being described as a warrior who survived a war lasting 10 years shows Odysseus’ power because of the strength he had as a warrior. This newfound power, however, also has its disadvantages because Odysseus developed a high amount of hubris as an effect of this power. He mentioned to the Phaecians, “Men hold me/formidable for guile in peace and war:/this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim.” Because of being so powerful, Odysseus let that get to his head and brag about his reputation to others he saw. While he sometimes used his power for bad, though, Odysseus also used his power for love to get home to his wife and child.
Body Paragraph #2 Example Love is a large theme of The Odyssey, as Odysseus uses his journey to travel home based on love. Because the protagonist has been away from his home for almost 20 years, he misses his wife and child that were left behind. Even though Odysseus was stuck on Calypso’s island for seven years, “he alone still hungered for home and wife” because he missed Ithaca so much. All Odysseus wanted was to experience the love of his wife and song whom he had not seen for 20 years, and he was willing to do anything to get back home. Due to the fact that Odysseus wanted to see Penelope and Telemachus, he followed all of the directions he was given by the gods and goddesses to get home, including not killing Helios’ cattle when he and his men were starving. He told his men, “the cattle here are not for our provision,/or we pay dearly for it.” Odysseus was the only one to listen to that warning from Circe and Tiresias, which is why he was the sole survivor at the end of his journey. At the end of The Odyssey, Odysseus was finally able to get back to his wife and child because he showed the gods that he was worthy
Your Essay (see attached sheet) The causes and effects of two themes within The Odyssey MLA FORMAT!!! Three paragraphs Introduction Body Paragraph #1 (theme 1) Body Paragraph #2 (theme 2)