1. BEGINNING AND ENDING YOUR PAPER (You mean these paragraphs actually matter?!?

2. More Than Filler  Sets up the conversation about topic  Relates to the audience  Introduces the books and their concepts  Presents purpose Put yourself in the position of the reader. What would you need to know to understand the argument? What would make you want to read the paper?

3. Introduction - What to Include  Hook  Makes it relevant, interesting to your audience  Context  Characters in Gatsby  Choices and happiness from Foster and Hicks  Titles and Authors  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  How We Choose to Be Happy: The 9 Choices of Extremely Happy People – Their Secrets, Their Stories by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks  Thesis Statement  Takes a position on happiness  Links two works

4. Hook - IDEAS  Open with a bold, thought-provoking statement  Provide a modern example to set up your argument about happiness  Present data connecting to the topic (but then you have to cite it!)  Use a quotation from an outside source (again, cite!) that presents interesting thinking about the topic  AND talk about it

5. Hooks – DON’TS  The Definition  “In Webster’s Dictionary, happiness is defined as…”  The “Dawn of Man”  “Since the beginning of time, man has been trying to be happy…”  Single sentence with no follow-up Make sure to develop the hook fully—one sentence is not enough!

6. Background Info – Blue or Yellow  Present The Great Gatsby  Title, author  Overall plot summary  Additional focus on your character  Present Foster and Hicks’s book  Title, authors  The purpose of their study  General explanation of the choices  DON’T list all 9 choices You can do these in whatever order seems appropriate to you.

7. Background Info – Green  Present The Great Gatsby  Title, author  Overall plot summary  Present Foster and Hicks’s book  Title, authors  The purpose of their study  General explanation of the nine choices  Clearly explain the Choice you are focusing on for your paper You can do these in whatever order seems appropriate to you.

8. Thesis Statements - PURPOSE Indicate the KEY IDEAS:  Character(s)  Choice(s)  Happiness Overall, address these questions: Why do the choices the character(s) make/don’t make keep them from being happy? Based on their choices (or lack of them), what is wrong with the way the character seems to interpret happiness?

9. Thesis Statements - IDEAS  Option A (Blue)  Why are these two choices essential for the character’s happiness? How would these choices have made him/her happier?  Option B (Green)  Why is this choice essential to the happiness of individuals?  Option C (Yellow)  Why does the choice the character lacks make the difference in his happiness? What is wrong with the way the character interprets happiness, according to the choices? OR Based on these choices, why isn’t the character happy?

10. Introduction DON’TS  The Placeholder  Five or so vague sentences that don’t really say much. Just there to say, “I have an intro!”  The Restated Question/Prompt  Summarizes the assignment  The Book Report  Merely summarizes the texts Adapted from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/introductions/

11. Conclusion  Restate your thesis  NOT in the same words as your introduction  Summarize your main points  What connections are there between these choices? (Blue or Yellow)  What comparisons can be made between characters? (Green)

12. Conclusion – The big ideas  Broaden your topic to apply the ideas of the body paragraphs to happiness in general.  How are these choices important in life?  What can the reader or realize about happiness from understanding the choice(s) in your paper?  Closing sentence should relate back to the reader.

13. Works Cited  MLA citation of BOTH books (use Easybib, etc.)  Gatsby – be sure to cite OUR edition (not autocite!)  Foster and Hicks – Citation is on the Happiness Inventory handouts  Cite any additional quotes/data used in introduction  Proper Works Cited Format  Alphabetical order  Hanging indent  Double spaced Works Cited does not have to be on a separate page. Feel free to skip a line at the end of your paper.