- Hook/general statement about your prompt/topic -- This could be your definition or idea of what the key prompt word means (like nature or alienation)
- narrow to literature
- tie in your specific text(s) - introduce them and the writers
- narrow into thesis
- THESIS -- argument: include the texts, an idea/opinion about the prompt, how you're going to prove it
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION - same author:
Alienation means being left out or isolated from a group. In literature, characters are often alienated from others and struggle to form relationships with those around them. J.D. Salinger, as a WW2 veteran, felt alienated from his community upon his return from the war. In his fiction, Salinger often depicted this feeling of isolation from those around him. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, Salinger shows the negative effects of alienation through internal conflict, symbolism, and the social interactions of his protagonists.
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION 2 - 2 authors:
Alienation means being left out or isolated from a group. In literature, characters are often alienated from others and struggle to form relationships with those around them. In their writing, both J.D. Salinger and Julie Orringer often depict this feeling of isolation through their protagonists. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Julie Orringer's “The Isabel Fish”, the writers shows the negative effects of alienation through internal conflict, symbolism, and the social interactions of his protagonists.
*then you go into the body, starting with a body paragraph for text 1, and how one of your chosen textual elements shows your argument/theme/prompt link (negative effects of alienation in this case)
BODY paragraph 1 -sample:
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, faces the negative effects of alienation due to his own internal conflict. Holden struggles with himself constantly, as he is unsure about where he is going with his life. For example, when Holden is doing X (context/set up quotation), he (example from the text of Holden's internal struggle).The fact that he does/says/thinks X (link to example) shows how alienated he is, as he is clearly (link to topic sentence/thesis). Furthermore, when Holden.... (transition word to tie in a new example, set up point, explain, link back, and repeat as needed!)
* See sample topic sentences in the blog post below on alienation to see how you would set up the next text