��What is your writing background? What kind of essays have you written before? What do you find most difficult about writing?

Warm-up

All right, you’ve made me find all this evidence… What do I do now?

��NOW, we’re going to work on putting all of this together and making sure that we’ve found the best evidence that we can to make our papers strong.

�YEA!!! ☺

I’m glad you asked!!!

�� Evidence

�Current Outline

�Analysis

Essay Planning Sheet

��Working Thesis: Using dialogue, symbolism and

plot outcomes, Dickens reveals that, while selfishness can entrap and embitter people, acts of selflessness can redeem anyone.

My Fake A Christmas CarolThematic Analysis Essay

��Device by Device

� Paragraph 1: Dialogue

� Paragraph 2: Symbolism

� Paragraph 3: Plot Outcomes

Organizational Patterns

�� Theme by Theme (or Theme Breakdown)

� Paragraph 1: Selfishness causes bitterness and personal entrapment.

� Paragraph 2: Selflessness can redeem anyone.

Organizational Patterns

��Determined by organizational pattern

� “Mini-thesis” statements

�Contain theme (or theme part) and device(s)

�Give more detailed insight than the thesis

Topic Sentences

�� Example: Dickens illustrates the tendency of

selfishness to entrap people through the symbols of Marley’s chains, Tiny Tim’s crutches, and Scrooge’s fiancée.

Topic Sentences

�� Topic Sentence – already written

� Quote regarding Marley’s chains (w/ citation)

� Quote regarding Scrooge’s fiancée (w/ citation)

� Quote regarding Tiny Tim’s crutches (w/ citation)

� Special note on quotes

Skeletal Outline

��Marley, a known miser and Scrooge’s former partner, tells Scrooge that his torturous chain was “forged in life” by his own actions and that he “made it link by link and yard by yard… of [his] own free will” (46).

Planning Analysis