The Beacon School

11^th Grade English: American Literature

Thesis Statements and Introductions

What makes a strong introduction?

1) A strong thesis

2) Development and sequence

Introductions set up expectations for what is to come in your essay. They can be a “roadmap” for your essay if they are constructed carefully and referenced throughout the duration of the writing process.

You have usually learned the “funnel introduction” as a structure for your essays. I want you to break with this model. It’s not that it doesn’t have value but it is that as your ideas and writing get more sophisticated, this structure does not complement the level of literary analysis being asked of you. This is because:

§ It suggests that an introduction should be treated differently than other body paragraphs where a topic sentence leads, and the paragraph develops.

§ The structure often leads to an introduction biting off more than it can chew –tempting you to make it two paragraphs instead of one.

§ Most students have difficulty recovering from vague and general ruminations (i.e. about human nature, American culture etc) in a funnel-structured intro when they have to be more precise.

I know that it is frustrating and scary to throw out the window a device or structure you have learned. I also know that it seems sometimes that systems or processes of writing keep changing. But I also cannot stress that learning how to write this kind of essay and do this kind of analysis is ultimately rewarding and worthwhile. Being this deliberate about your writing will bleed into your writing for other disciplines and subjects.

What this means is: I want you to START with what you think your thesis is. Then really explore it and go deeper. This will:

§ Force you to be precise, no room for “warm ups” or “vague generalizations” (i.e. Great Gatsby is the quintessential novel about the American dream)

§ Push you to rethink the function of the sentences following it, asking the “how” and “why” literary choices were made to convey your ultimate “truth” or understanding of the book.

For each sentence in your introduction ask yourself:

§ Is it an argument or plot observation an informed reader would know? If it’s a plot observation, reconsider why it’s significant and integrate that into your sentence.

§ Is it a wordy sentence? If so, cut it down to 10 words.

§ Which words are particularly charged with meaning and do they need to be defined or explained with specific examples?

§ Is the sentence repeating a phrase or idea that has already been stated or is it further developing or defining the individual components of the sentence preceding it?

For your Gatsby assignment, I am revising what you need to do. You will only be handing in the following:

1) Pre-write

2) Strong, careful introduction

3) Outline for the rest of the paper