Writing a 5-Paragraph Essay

Step 1 Establish a thesis, or in other words, an argument. A thesis statement should answer a question. Your essay question is: “How does William Golding use symbolism and theme to comment on the nature of human society?” Our sample thesis is: “William Golding uses the themes of the need for civilization, power, and the loss of identity to demonstrate that human beings are innately evil.”

Step 2: Creating a Framework Before you begin writing, decide on what three pieces of evidence you will use to prove your thesis. For example, in the thesis we used as a class your three pieces of evidence were: 1) the need for civilization 2) the loss of identity 3) power

Step 3: Create an Outline Once you have established your thesis, and three pieces of evidence, create an outline in the style of the handout provided to you. Paragraph 1 Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5

Step 3 Continued First Paragraph: will consist of your thesis statement, a list of your evidence (three points), and some background knowledge on the text. Second Paragraph: will discuss your first piece of evidence, and supporting details/textual analysis Third Paragraph: will discuss your second piece of evidence, and supporting details/textual analysis Fourth Paragraph: will discuss your third piece of evidence, and supporting details/textual analysis Fifth Paragraph: this paragraph concludes your argument. Begin be restating your thesis, and then connect the three points you’ve used to prove your thesis in a closing argument. Restate the three points.

Step 4: Filling in the Blanks First Paragraph: William Goldings’ novel The Lord of the Flies, was written to express his views about society. The island represents a microcosm of society, and is an intentional and necessary setting for the themes explored in the text. Golding’s interpretation of society was heavily influenced by his experiences as a teacher at an all boys school, and his experiences fighting in WWII. These influences are evident throughout the novel. This essay will argue that William Golding uses the themes of the need for civilization, power, and the loss of identity to demonstrate that human beings are innately evil.

Title of Text In an English essay, the title of the text should be either bolded and underlined, or written in italics. William Goldings’, The Lord of the Flies

Step 4: Filling in the blanks Continued… For each of the three pieces of evidence you have chosen that prove your argument, find three points from the text, that you can analyze in support of your thesis. Paragraph Two: The destruction of the conch shell symbolizes Jack’s disdain for law and order. This symbolic action demonstrates how the need for civilization is used in the text to declare that law and order keep mans’ inherently evil nature under control, “Which is better- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?, (Golding, 200).” Piggy is suggesting that you have either civility or evil. Without law and order, key features of civilization, the darker side of man takes over. Golding demonstrates the darkness of human nature with characters such as Jack and the other hunters. These boys abandoned civility and have embraced their primitive and natural inclination to be evil. Jack tries to destroy law and order on the island for good with the destruction of the conch shell. This action demonstrates that Golding sees civilization as the force which constrains mans’ dark nature.

Directly Referencing the Text When using a direct quote from the text in an English essay, or when paraphrasing the novel, you should site both the author and the page number in the paragraph body. Example: “And another thing, we can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have “hands up”, like in school, (Golding, 31).”

Step 4, Filling in the Blanks Continued The third and fourth paragraph should closely resemble the second paragraph. The content will be different, but the structure the same. In the third paragraph you make an argument using your second piece of evidence. Support it with examples and evidence from the text. In the fourth paragraph you make an argument using your third piece of evidence. Support it with examples and evidence from the text as well. In your conclusion, you should re-state your thesis. You should also repeat your three pieces of evidence (the main points made in your three body paragraphs).

Step 4, Filling in the Blanks, the Final Stage: Paragraph Five, AKA, Conclusion: William Golding clearly demonstrates that the nature of human beings is to be evil. He uses the theme of the need for civilization to show that society, through laws and rules, is what keeps the dark nature of man at bay. Golding uses the theme of power to prove that the most effective method of control on the island was fear. This is indicative of Golding’s thoughts regarding human nature. The dark nature of humans is also reflected through the outcomes of the various kinds of power used and abused on the island. Furthermore, through the theme of loss of identity, Golding is able to demonstrate that socialized humans act in more positive ways. When the boys are separated from the institutions that defined who they were, they became evil and savage. Only the boys, such as Ralph, Piggy, and Simon, who clung to the idea of society did not become evil. Golding uses The Lord of the Flies to comment on what he believes to be the true nature of humanity: evil.