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

Rules to Remember When Writing  Use literary present tense throughout the essay.  This is a formal paper, which means no contractions.  Write in the third person and avoid the words “I” and “you”.

Check Your Thesis  You must mention the name of the epic poem  Must connect the idea that culture shapes the hero  Highlight your thesis. Circle the words that you will connect to your topic sentences

Check your Topic Sentences  Look at your thesis. What things did you mention? These become your topic sentences.  Circle the words in each TS that directly connect back to your thesis.  If your TS does not directly connect back to your TS, change it now.  Example: Thesis: In the epic poem Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero reflects the values of his culture, a warrior culture that valued loyalty, courage, and confidence. TS1: Beowulf epitomizes the Anglo-Saxon warrior creed, which valued loyalty to leader and tribe above all else.

Thesis Connected to TS  Example: Thesis: In the epic poem Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero reflects the values of his culture, a warrior culture that valued loyalty, courage, and confidence. TS1: Beowulf epitomizes the Anglo-Saxon warrior creed, which valued loyalty to leader and tribe above all else. TS2: Another essential trait of an Anglo-Saxon hero is courage, a quality required for success on the battlefield. TS3: In addition to loyalty and courage, Beowulf also displays supreme self-confidence throughout the epic poem.

Body Paragraphs  Should have at least 2 concrete details  Topic strings throughout para that connect back to TS and thesis  Highlight the topic strings in your para that connect back to TS

Embedding Quotations  Use quotes (page and line #) from the book. Blend them in with your context, by having quotes and context share sentences. For example:  Not embedded: Janie’s images for romantic happiness come from nature. “Life should be more like a pear tree in bloom, she thinks ” ( ). She thinks this when she is unhappy in her relationships.  Embedded: Because Janie’s image for romantic happiness comes from nature, she thinks, “life should be more like a pear tree in bloom ” ( ) when she is unhappy in her relationship.

Using Quotations  Commentary: Make sure that before or after each quote, you point out how it connects to the thesis. As with blending in quotes, you can do this with variety and finesse. (You don’t have to mention the word “thesis” or say the term, “proves my point”.  For example: This also proves the thesis because a rich man is happier with an expensive toy than he is when in love  VS Once again, O’Neil portrays rich men as happier with expensive toys than in love.

Open with a quote A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. Joseph Campbell A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted. Andrew Bernstein Joseph Campbell once wrote, “ a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” ; Campbell’s definition captures the essence of a hero, an idea that transcends cultures and time.

Background Info  A thousand years ago, an anonymous monk wrote the epic poem Beowulf, a poem that…  The Anglo-Saxons ruled England for….The only text they left behind was Beowulf…..

Definition/Notion of a Hero  Every culture has its own hero….

Conclusion  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  This could be where you put your formal definition