Strategies for Planning an Essay Law and Order’s Jack McCoy You may be asking yourself what Jack McCoy from the series Law and Order has to do with essay writing. If you look at academic essay writing and an argument that a prosecutor puts together to present to a jury, you will see that they have a lot in common. When you write an essay, you are stating a claim and then providing support for it, right? Look at the similarities in the table below. Academic Essay Prosecution’s Case What Takes Place Introduction Opening Argument Context is established so that the reader/jury knows what to expect. Thesis Statement Statement of Guilt The main point of the essay/argument is clearly stated. Body Paragraph Presentation of Evidence Evidence is introduced, authenticated (through citations for an essay; through establishing a chain of custody for a trial), and explained. Body Paragraph Presentation of Evidence Same as above. Body Paragraph Presentation of Evidence Same as above. Evidence is presented until the argument is fully developed. Conclusion Closing Argument Evidence is summarized, conclusions are drawn, and the thesis/statement of guilt is paraphrased. Give this idea some thought as you plan your literary analysis for this class. What argument are you making? What evidence will you present to prove that argument? How will you interpret that evidence to guide your reader through your thought process? Strategies for Writing an Outline Outline Example You may be familiar with an outline that looks like the image above, which is the standard five-paragraph essay format. We’ll be using something similar it for this class. You will be given a choice of topics to work with and a blank outline form to complete. For each body paragraph, you should have at least three details and at least one correctly cited quote (direct or paraphrased) to support your claims. Make sure to carefully consider all aspects of the topic you choose and spend enough time on your outline so that you can use it as a guide to write your essay in Week 3. Attached Files File Essay Outline Choice 1.docx Essay Outline Choice 1.docx – Alternative Formats (18.737 KB) File Essay Outline Choice 2.docx Essay Outline Choice 2.docx – Alternative Formats (18.857 KB) First, you’ll need to choose a topic for your final essay, which will be at least 1,000 words in length. This is the topic you will use to create your outline in Week 2 and final essay in Week 3. Choose ONE of the topics below. Option 1 – Watch either The Great Gatsby or The Color Purple and relate it to “The Way to Wealth” The American Dream lecture in Week 1 points out that Poor Richard’s Almanac was an annual publication that included calendar lists, home recipes, weather forecasts, etc. What made Franklin’s almanac unlike other almanacs was the inclusion of Franklin’s witty parables and humorous writings. The maxims below relate to Franklin’s ideas of working hard, avoiding debt, and working toward attaining a virtuous character. Choose three maxims and align them with a character or characters in either The Color Purple or The Great Gatsby. For example, you might choose Celie from The Color Purple and discuss maxims 1, 4, and 6; or, you might choose The Great Gatsby and align Daisy with maxim 4, Tom with maxim 5, and Nick with maxim 6. You will be providing quotes from the film you select to support your observations about each character/maxim in your essay. Choose Three of These Maxims from “The Way to Wealth” 1. “There are no gains without pains” 2. “Do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life made of” 3. “Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them” 4. “He that lives upon hope will die fasting” 5. “The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt” 6. “If you will not hear reason, she’ll surely rap your knuckles” Your thesis statement should follow this template: Three maxims from Franklin’s “The Way to Wealth” that the characters embody in The Color Purple (or The Great Gatsby) are _____, _____, and _____. Option 2 – Compare or Contrast Using the Assigned Readings: Write a comparison or contrast essay about two of the corresponding characters in the table below. You will choose three of the points of comparison from the pool below as your points of comparison or contrast. Keep in mind that the purpose of a comparison or contrast essay is to reveal something meaningful about the characters and their relationships to the text. You will be using a point-by-point style of comparison, and you will have two choices for your thesis statement: While some differences between __________ and __________ (names of characters in the pairing you chose) are evident, they are similar in the aspects of __________, __________, and __________ (you will determine three points of comparison from the pool, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs). While some similarities between __________ and __________ (names of characters in the pairing you chose) are evident, they are different in the aspects of __________, __________, and __________ (you will determine three points of comparison from the pool, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs). Choose one of these pairings: Choose three of these traits: 1. Rip Van Winkle and Hugh Wolfe A. Confidence 2. Deborah and Desiree Aubigny B. Boldness 3. Dame Van Winkle and Mrs. Hale C. Empathy toward others 4. Faith Brown and Minnie Wright D. Perseverance 5. Maia Kobabe and Justin Torres E. Integrity F. Honor Now that you have selected a topic and thought about your thesis statement, the next step is writing an outline to help you plan the final essay. Download and complete the appropriate outline for the topic you have selected. When you are finished with your outline, submit it by clicking on the title of this page and submitting a Microsoft Word document. Do not type your outline into Blackboard using the “Text Submission” button; you must submit a file. Outlines not submitted as Microsoft Word documents may be returned to you ungraded. No Research There is a no-research policy in place for this class. Using any material other than the assigned readings and lectures, even if it is correctly quoted and cited, will result in a failing grade for this assignment. Contact your instructor if you have questions about this policy. Essay Outline Choice 1.docx Essay Outline Choice 2.docx