ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS
As we finish reading Year of Wonders, you will continue to annotate for the following four
themes: Religion & Faith, Life & Death, Grief & Isolation, and Wonder.
For your essay, you will be choosing ONE of these themes to discuss in a 3 PARAGRAPH essay with a THESIS STATEMENT (aka NOT a full introduction or conclusion…1 thesis statement followed by 3 body paragraphs). As you are reading and finishing the book, you will want to narrow your choices to one or two themes (annotate for those themes appropriately).
For each body paragraph, you will select 1 quote from the book to analyze and explain how it leads the reader to an understanding of the author’s message regarding that particular theme.
Use the following outline to assist your writing:
THESIS STATEMENT: Gwendolyn Brooks’ novel, Year of Wonders, develops the theme of _____________________ to reveal ___________________________________________
(SELECTED THEME) (THEME STATEMENT – What is the author’s overall message about that theme?)
through ______________________, _______________________, and ________________. (ARGUMENT #1) (ARGUMENT #2) (ARGUMENT #3)
BODY PARAGRAPH 1: ARGUMENT #1 (5-6 sentences)
Claim: Include Argument #1 and how it connects to your theme statement
Evidence: Introduce the quote with CONTEXT (What is happening in that moment in the text? Who is speaking and to whom? What just happened or what is about to happen?), properly punctuate the QUOTE and embed it into your sentence, finish with a properly formatted MLA CITATION: “ (Brooks 43).
Reasoning: 3-4 sentences explaining your quote, analyzing its meaning and significance, and linking it back to your argument, claim, and overall thesis.
BODY PARAGRAPH 2: ARGUMENT #2 (5-6 sentences) Repeat CER structure for 2nd argument and quote
BODY PARAGRAPH 3: ARGUMENT #3 (5-6 sentences) Repeat CER structure for 3rd argument and quote
E136
YOUR THESIS STATEMENT IS DUE IN SHOWBIE BY THURSDAY, NOV. 10th (1st Per.) or FRIDAY, NOV. 11th (6th and 8th Periods) – 10 points
FINAL PRINTED TUESDAY, NOV. 15th OR WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16th ESSAY DUE: (40 pts) (1st Per.) (6th & 8th Per.)
Some friendly writing reminders…
● Essay should be typed with PROPER MLA FORMATTING:
○ Correctly formatted MLA Header (refer to your MLA Template assignment!)
■ This includes both the right and left header…all or nothing!! EASY POINTS
■ This includes an interesting and engaging title that relates to your essay and is properly formatted
○ ENTIRE paper (including headers) should be Times New Roman, Size 12, Double Spaced
● WRITE IN 3RD PERSON ONLY!! (Absolutely NO I, me, my, you, your, us, we, our, etc!)
● Write in the literary PRESENT tense
● Avoid “says” or other overused, cliched words and phrases (refer to my list of Writing
Non-Negotiables)
● YOUR FINAL DRAFT MUST BE PRINTED AND HANDED IN DURING CLASS ON TIME!!