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We l c o me
Academic Writing:Writing Expository
Paragraphs and Essays
Session #260
Michele Regrut
Saint Brigid of Kildare, Columbus, Ohio
Night Essay Prompt
• Throughout Night, Elie Wiesel experiences
great danger, fear, and death at almost
every turn. Discuss a theme from the
novella and use direct quotations to justify
your deductions. What can be learned
from reading this book?
Bellwork: Copy This Chart
Page Event Theme Literary
Element
Personal
Reaction
– Despite the many the horrors that Elie faces, the theme
of hope appears in a rare and meaningful scene. After
Elie receives a savage and unjustified beating during his
time in the concentration camp, he is encouraged by an
Aryan looking Jewish woman. “Bite your lips, little
brother ... Don’t cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for
another day, for later. The day will come but not now…
Wait. Clench your teeth and wait…” (Wiesel 53).
Wiesel uses the previous quotation to establish the
theme of optimism. My personal reaction to this theme
is a feeling of heavy heartedness due to the mere
thought that through all of the pure hell that they went
through the emaciated prisoners never lost their sense
of hope. Elie Wiesel further develops the theme of hope
as he writes more about his Holocaust experience.
Academic Writing
• Academic writing on
the middle school
level needs to be both
systematic and
formulaic so that
students have a
structure within
which to work.
Expository Essay Components
• The components of an Expository Essay
include:
Introduction
Supporting Paragraphs
Conclusion
Introduction Paragraph
• The introductory paragraph should
contain three important elements.
The narrative hook
Imperative background information
Thesis Statement
Narrative Hook
• The narrative hook is a tool the writer uses
to “hook” or draw the reader into the
paper.
Use a quote
Use a rhetorical question
Use a startling statement
The Quote
• Use a creative quote
from a literary text
or research to
intrigue the reader.
“We didn’t care if we killed Jews. It was just what we did.”
The Rhetorical Question
• Use a rhetorical question to provide an opportunity for the reader to focus on the topic of the paper.
Do you know how many Jews died in the Holocaust?
The Startling Statement
• Use a statement to
provoke thought in
order to focus the
reader on the paper
topic.
Execution was an everyday event at the camps.
Background Information
• Background Information
should provide: A link between the narrative
hook and the thesis statement.
Literary analysis should
include book title and author.
Example
• Do you know how many Jews died in the
holocaust? The answer is more than six
million. In the novella Night, by Elie
Wiesel, the author describes his memories
of this deadly period in history. This story
details his experience from deportation to
liberation.
Thesis Statement
• The thesis statement is a road map to the
writer’s paper. It should tell the reader
where the writer will take him.
• In a five paragraph essay, the writer should
list three specific ideas he will cover.
Sample Thesis Statement
• In the book Night, Elie Wiesel witnesses
physical suffering, mental torture, and the
loss of his faith.
Do you know how many Jews died during the Holocaust ? Many have stated
that nearly six million Jews were brutally starved, tortured and executed during
the Nazi occupation of Germany. Elie Wiesel, a current humanitarian lobbyist
in Washington D.C. , is a survivor and witness of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s
personal account of his experiences is detailed in his award winning novella,
Night. This story details the horrors he experiences from March 1944 to the
liberation of Auschwitz in April of 1945. In the book Night, , the
author is witness to physical suffering, mental torture, and the loss of his faith.
Hook , Background Information, Thesis Statement
Paragraph Structure
• Each supporting paragraph should follow a
simple formulaic structure.
• The structure can repeat itself as many
times as necessary.
Sample Paragraph Structure
I. Topic Sentence
A. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
B. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
C. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
D. Conclusion Sentence
Topic Sentence
Just as a thesis statement serves as a road map
for the entire paper, a topic sentence also
serves as a street map for the paragraph.
Sample Topic Sentence
• Throughout his
experience with the
Nazi regime, Wiesel
witnesses a great deal
of physical suffering.
The General Statement
• The general
statement provides
a structure for the
details to follow.
General Statement
• The general statement should provide a
general idea for the details to flow under.
Sample General Statement
• One type of physical
punishment Elie
witnessed was the
daily beatings from
the kapos.
Specific Detail
• The specific detail that follows the general statement should support both the general statement and the topic sentence.
Quote or Textual Support
• The specific detail needs to be supported by either a quote or a specific example from the text.
– “A box!” he ordered.
“Lie down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes” (55).
Sample Paragraph
Throughout his experience with the Nazi Regime,
Wiesel witnesses a great deal of physical suffering.
One type of physical punishment Wiesel witnessed
was the daily beatings from the kapos. One kapos in
Particular, Idek, was known for his quick temper and harsh
whip. Elie was unfortunate enough to have caught
Idek in a compromising position for which Elie
surely paid the consequence. “A box ,” he ordered.
Lie down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing
But the strokes” (55).
Inverted Pyramid
• The inverted pyramid shape allows
students to see how the …
– Topic Sentence flows into the
• General Statement which flows into the
– Specific detail which flows into the
» Quote or textual support
Repeat the Process
• The student will then
need to repeat the
– General Statement
– Specific Example or
Quote
As many times as
necessary.
Sample Paragraph Structure
I. Topic Sentence
A. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
B. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
C. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
D. Conclusion Sentence
Paragraph Conclusion
• Once the student has
cited all general
statements and
specific details
needed to support his
point, he should wrap
up the paragraph with
a conclusion sentence.
• Sample Conclusion
– Obviously, there was a
great deal of physical
suffering at the hands
of the Nazi regime.
Complete Paragraph
Throughout his experience with the Nazi Regime, Wiesel witnesses a great deal of
physical suffering. One type of physical punishment Wiesel witnesses was the daily
beatings from the kapos. One kapo in particular was known for his quick temper and
harsh whip. Elie was unfortunate enough to have caught Idek in a compromising
position in which Elie would surely pay the consequence. “A box ,” he ordered. Lie
down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes” (55). At another
point in the novella, the entire camp is being evacuated during a terrible winter storm.
The prisoners were forced to line up, one behind the other while the snow accumulated
on their scantly covered bodies. The malnourished prisoners forced themselves to eat
the snow off one another’s backs while the Nazi’s jeered at them. The physical torment
came in a variety of forms. Obviously, there was a great deal of suffering at the hands
of the Nazi regime.
Topic Transitional Statement
• As the student moves
from one element of
the thesis to the next,
he will need a topic
transitional statement.
Sample Topic Transitional
Statement
• Not only does Elie Wiesel experience
physical brutality, he also suffered mental
torture at the hands of the German soilders.
Supporting Paragraph II
• The student will follow the same formula
for the second supporting paragraph as he
did the first.
• The recurring structure solidifies the
process in the writer’s frame of reference.
Sample Paragraph Structure
I. Topic Sentence
A. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
B. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
C. General Statement
1. Specific Detail
2. Statement or Quote
D. Conclusion Sentence
Conclusion Paragraph
• The purpose of a conclusion paragraph is
to
– Restate the three main ideas developed within
the paper
– To conclude or summarize the paper itself
Sample Conclusion Paragraph
• Obviously, Ellie Weisel develops the
themes of physical suffering, mental
torture, and the loss of his faith. These
issues were prevalent throughout his many
experiences with the Nazi Regime.
Thank You for Attending
• Expository writing is
as simple as a
formula.
-Introduction
-Formula Paragraph
-Conclusion