How to Write an Essay Example to Kill a Mockingbird
Text response
General points
• All questions are essentially asking you HOW MUCH you agree or disagree with a topic. In the introduction, you MUST have a contention that states exactly how much you agree or disagree. Therefore, a text response essay is basically a PERSUASIVE essay, so you have the responsibility to provide evidence for your claims and consider alternative viewpoints to strengthen your own case (like a “rebuttal”).
• There is no predetermined way to attack a question or organise a structure for particular questions, but obviously if a character or concept appears in a topic then it should probably take up most of your response.
• Sometimes you may need to qualify that answer in the introduction.
For example: if the question is: ‘To kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the dangers of following trends’, then you might think: ‘Certainly, Harper Lee shows that if we do not challenge unfair and discriminatory actions, people will suffer’, but you might also add that ‘when people do show courage to resist injustice and unfairness, there is hope for a better future’, so in your introduction, your contention will include both of these points.
Note that when you have a qualified contention, you’ll probably need two or three sentences to tease it out in the introduction – otherwise your contention won’t be clear. This has a double function, of course, of listing the focus points of your paragraphs – which every text response introduction needs to do.
• You MUST return to the ideas of the topic in every paragraph; you may repeat the words of the topic and your contention as often as you like (but try to say it slightly differently so we don’t get bored). When you see a topic, brainstorm some synonyms to ensure you are still working with the topic but don’t repeat yourself too much.
• There should be some indication of the direction that you are going from reading your introduction, so if you have characters
General points
• All questions are essentially asking you HOW MUCH you agree or disagree with a topic. In the introduction, you MUST have a contention that states exactly how much you agree or disagree. Therefore, a text response essay is basically a PERSUASIVE essay, so you have the responsibility to provide evidence for your claims and consider alternative viewpoints to strengthen your own case (like a “rebuttal”).
• There is no predetermined way to attack a question or organise a structure for particular questions, but obviously if a character or concept appears in a topic then it should probably take up most of your response.
• Sometimes you may need to qualify that answer in the introduction.
For example: if the question is: ‘To kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the dangers of following trends’, then you might think: ‘Certainly, Harper Lee shows that if we do not challenge unfair and discriminatory actions, people will suffer’, but you might also add that ‘when people do show courage to resist injustice and unfairness, there is hope for a better future’, so in your introduction, your contention will include both of these points.
Note that when you have a qualified contention, you’ll probably need two or three sentences to tease it out in the introduction – otherwise your contention won’t be clear. This has a double function, of course, of listing the focus points of your paragraphs – which every text response introduction needs to do.
• You MUST return to the ideas of the topic in every paragraph; you may repeat the words of the topic and your contention as often as you like (but try to say it slightly differently so we don’t get bored). When you see a topic, brainstorm some synonyms to ensure you are still working with the topic but don’t repeat yourself too much.
• There should be some indication of the direction that you are going from reading your introduction, so if you have characters