Transcript Writing the perfect paragraph

Writing a paragraph about the
theme.
Jane Schaffer Method
Thesis vs. topic sentence both have
• A Subject and an opinion
• Thesis states what the entire essay is about.
Usually it is the last sentence of your
introduction. ex. Dogs make great pets.
• Topic sentence tells what the paragraph will
be about.
• Ex. Dogs make great pets because they are
playful.
“Valentine for Ernest Mann”
You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.
Cont. next slide.
Continued…
Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been
hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.
Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give
us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd
sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but
not quite.
And let me know.
Topic Sentence for a paragraph about
the theme of “Valentine for Ernest
Mann” page 406.
• State the title, author, genre, and state your
opinion.
• Ex. In the lyric poem “Valentine for Ernest
Mann” the author Naomi Shihab Nye
develops the theme that poetry may be
discovered everywhere if one takes the time
to truly see the details in life.
Concrete detail- an example from the
story. Commentary is your analysis of
that concrete detail.
• Blend a quote (concrete detail) from the poem to
prove your topic sentence.
• Ex. For example, the speaker shares a secret with
Ernest Mann, “Poems hide”(9) suggesting that a
person must actually search to find true beauty
in the form of a poem. To find poems takes time.
More Concrete details and
Commentary/analysis
• The speaker tells the earnest, hurried young
man named Ernest Mann that poems do not
just arrive like tacos at a fast food joint; poems
are abstract like shadows and one must pay
attention to find poetry. Through an
observant, unbiased eye, one may discover
poems.
2nd concrete detail blended
• In addition, the speaker furthers her
argument that one must search for poems by
using a vignette about a man who gave his
wife two skunks as valentines by explaining,
“And the poems that had been hiding in the
eyes of skunks for centuries crawled out and
curled up at his feet”(23-25).
Commentary- your analysis of the
example from the poem
• For years, the average person only sees the
skunk as a perpetrator, not a poem. This man
sees beyond the awful smell; he sees beauty
in their eyes.
Transitions to help blend concrete
details.
• For example, Furthermore, in addition, Lastly,
Conclusion sentence
• Restate your theme but do not mention the
actual work of literature. Go universal!
• Relate the theme to all of us.
• Example: If one searches for poetry, poetry
will emerge.
In lyric poem “Valentine for Ernest
Mann” the author Naomi Shihab Nye develops
the theme that poetry may be discovered
everywhere if one takes the time to truly see
the details in life. For example, the speaker
shares a secret with Ernest Mann, “Poems
hide”(9) suggesting that a person must
actually search to find true beauty in the form
of a poem. To find poems takes time. In
addition, the speaker tells the earnest, hurried
young man named Ernest Mann that poems
do not just arrive like tacos at a fast food joint;
poems are abstract like shadows and one must
pay attention to find poetry. Through an
observant, unbiased eye, one may discover
poems. Lastly, the speaker furthers her
argument that one must search for poems by
using a vignette about a man who gave his wife
two skunks as valentines by explaining, “And
the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of
skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up
at his feet”(23-25). If one searches for poetry,
poetry will emerge.
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Jane Schaffer format of an 8 sentence
paragraph, but the pattern may
continue.
Topic sentence (title, author, genre, theme)
Concrete detail (C.D.) example from the story.
Commentary (Analysis of the concrete detail.)
Commentary (Further analysis of the c.d.)
Concrete detail (another example)
Commentary
Commentary
Conclusion
How to find theme
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Look at the title
See the book moments
See how the character(s) change
See the resolution
Warnings/suggestions
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Do not use I, I think, I feel
Do not use the second person “you”
Use the 3rd person point of view
Do not just put a quote. You need to give
enough background for the reader to
understand the context of the literature.
• Use the present tense.