Fiction essay, Only for Quality!

THE FICTION ESSAY WRITING AN ANALYSIS OF A SHORT STORY

FOLLOW THE WRITING PROCESS 1. Choose a story and topic. What story stands out to you the most? What aspect of the story do you mind meaningful? Stories that stir your emotions are good – but try to avoid focusing on things like what you would have done in the same situation, or why you like or dislike a character.

2. Develop a draft thesis. Make a strong claim that is arguable (not a fact), supportable (not overly opinionated), and significant. Consider what question you’ll answer while you write your essay. Some thesis statements are statements of theme (The story illustrates that point…) and others focus on the use of literary devices (This story employs symbolism and imagery to create…).

3. Create a plan for your paragraphs. Avoid summary – always. Decide what purpose each paragraph will have: will it focus on a literary device? A character? Even an informal outline can help you organize your ideas and keep your essay structured.

4. Write a draft. Don’t summarize. Think about your thesis and what point you are working to support. Remember each paragraphs’ purpose, and don’t worry about details and small mistakes. Give yourself time to edit and revise later, and spend the drafting process getting your ideas out, finding and incorporating quotes and summary, and taking notes for citations.

5. Revise your essay. Test your thesis – did you stay dedicated to it throughout? Examine your paragraphs – does each have a clear focus and does each relate to your thesis? Are your quotes and summaries incorporated into your essay? Do you cite everything you used from the story or another source?

6. Edit your sentences. If you aren’t sure about punctuation or word use, check or ask for help. This is the time to think about the small things, and to make sure your writing is clear, sentence by sentence.

7. Proofread and format. Read it over once again, and think about having someone else look at it, too. Make sure your paper is in MLA format – check your heading, your citations, your margins, your font. Make sure there aren’t extra spaces between paragraphs. Ensure that your paper is the correct file type.

THESIS STATEMENTS

 A thesis statement is the paper writer’s central argument.

 It should never be a fact or something obvious, like In “Little Red Riding Hood,” she faces a difficulty journey.

 It should never be a strong opinion, like In “Little Red Riding Hood,” she makes a lot of stupid choices that result in bad consequences.

 It should not be your opinion of the writing itself, like “The author of this story does a good job of showing his ideas and creating great imagery. “

 A thesis should be arguable: It says something that not everyone will see or understand in the story.

 A thesis should be supportable: Your idea must be a fair statement, representing an accurate reading of the story. You should be able to find passages from the story that support and illustrate your point.

 A thesis should be purposeful: Your statement is driving your entire essay. For that reason, it should discuss the meaning or significance of something within the story.

 Samples of effective student thesis statements are on these pages in your book: 46, 173, 117

THESIS STATEMENTS FOR THE FICTION ESSAY

 Read the prompts for this essay assignment.

 Your thesis statement is essentially your answer to the question(s).

 For example, if you choose # 5: Write an essay examining how a story of your choosing makes a statement about a social issue (class, race, gender, ageism, cultural identity). What claim does the story seem to be making? How does it use literary devices to illustrate its point? What characters seem to be speaking on behalf of the theme?

 Your thesis could be something like: The story “Story Name Here” makes a clear and strong statement regarding race and class in American in the 1950s. The characterization, symbols and setting details demonstrate the negative impact that racism and poverty has on people and on relationships.

 This thesis is arguable (It’s not a fact or an obvious statement; it is not merely a summary)

 This thesis is supportable (It’s not overly opinionated and can be supported by evidence from the story)

 This thesis previews the essay (The author of this essay would write about how the characterization shows the negative impact of racism and poverty, how the symbols show the negative impact, and how the setting details help to show the negative impact)

OUTLINE

 The purpose of an outline is to plan and organize an essay, so that drafting will be easier and produce something effective.

 Look at the sample outline on pages 173- 174. This is one way to craft your outline.

 There is also a sample outline in the lesson folder.

DRAFTING THE PARAGRAPHS

 Each paragraph should have a purpose, and be focused on a point that relates to (or “matches”) your thesis.

 Each paragraph should contain information or evidence. In this essay, that evidence will come from the story or stories you’re writing about.

 Each paragraph should end with your explanation – how you connect the evidence to your point.

REVISION

 Revision is attending to the big ideas:

• Is my thesis supported?

• Are my paragraphs organized?

• Do I prove each point?

• Do I cite each piece of evidence?

• Do I make connections to my thesis statement?

• Have I revisited the comments from the last essay to avoid making my common errors?

EDITING

 Editing is attending to the little things:

• Are my sentences clear?

• Are they too wordy?

• Does each sentence make sense?

• Are my commas in the correct place?

• Is every word spelled correctly?

• Is my formatting correct?

• Are my citations listed?