Final Macbeth Essay Formatting

I am sorry, this information is coming to you late! Here are the basics for formatting the essay:

• TNR 12 or Calibri 11 Font
• Double spaced
• default margins
• No headings or cover page
• Name, class period, and "Macbeth Essay" are sufficient for identification 

Make-up Work for "Three Writing Responses" on 02/09/16

*Your absence must have been excused for you to receive points for this assignment* 

Write a detailed response, including quotes to support your response, to the three essential questions associated with Macbeth. The questions are:

• Why does power bring out the best in some and the worst in others?
• What are the consequences of breaking one's moral code in the pursuit of power?
• Do certain choices forever put is on one, definitive path?

Your responses should be well written, and your opinion based in evidence and well explained. They are due before we leave for spring break (Friday the 18th).

Homework for 3/15/2016 and Information on EVIDENCE CONTAINING Body Paragraphs

Hello! Here is some further explanation of a EVIDENCE CONTAINING body paragraph (there are body paragraphs that are explanatory, which do not contain evidence). Your homework assignment is located at the end of the post.

Since the evidence based body paragraphs are where the meat of the argument is contained, it must include several elements:

• A Sub-claim (or reasons): The sub-claim relates to your claim statement (main claim) and clues me, the reader, into what I am about to read in the paragraph. The sub-claim is located within the first few sentences of the paragraph.
• Here is an example:
• MAIN CLAIM (which would be located in the intro paragraph): Brownies are the best dessert for aiding student learning.
• SUB-CLAIM (which would be located at the beginning of the evidence based body paragraph): Human beings are built physiologically to need the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is related to "feeling good" and, interestingly enough, learning. Brownies, by the very nature of one of its main ingredients, chocolate, aids in the release of the neurotransmitter that helps us all learn.
• The blue is the transition leading up to the sub-claim, and the green is the actual sub-claim
• Notice how my sub-claim references the main claim by mentioning "brownies" and "learning." The sub-claim of every body paragraph MUST, in someway, relate to and reference the main claim that you presented in the introductory paragraph.

Here is another example of a sub-claim along with its claim statement: I am going to reference, "Slip or Trip?". Let's work under the assumption that Queenie and Arthur are not getting along and have not for a very long time, which discontentment threatens Queenie's financial and social status due to the inevitable divorce that is in the wings.

• Here is the claim statement with transition (from the introductory paragraph, if such existed): 
• Human beings are hard-wired to protect themselves against threats that portend, whether perceived or actualized, hardship or loss of a cherished lifestyle. Self-preservation is an instinct of survival. Accordingly, when someone is backed into a corner and thus must fight to get out, they will do almost anything to justify their actions and behaviors when defending what is self-determined as "rightfully mine."
• Now, here is the sub-claim that will begin the first body paragraph: 
• People are, in many ways, the same when it comes to reacting to certain circumstances. Threaten a person's way of life, their life security blanket, and you will notice that they will react with interestingly negative behaviors, such as lying. Let's begin with examining the first part of Queenie's story concerning Arthur's supposedly "accidental" death...

Again, notice in the above example how the sub-claim references the main claim statement (both in green) by discussing the idea of something threatening lifestyle security. The main claim and sub-claim are relevant to each other.

Next, after the sub-claim has been presented, comes the following elements:

• Evidence: You MUST back up everything you have to say with evidence from the text. Evidence includes direct quotes and indirect quotes, or paraphrasing. Evidence is vital to validating your argument.
• Commentary: Commentary is your analysis--YOUR voice explaining YOUR thoughts and line of reasoning (after all, this is an argumentative essay).  Commentary is needed to explain quotes (why you are pointing something out from the text), and to bring the reader along with your thinking. Your argument is only as good as your ability to explain it and validate it with evidence.  
• MAKE SURE YOU STICK WITH YOUR TOPIC.  Do not go off on a tangent.  Focus on your sub-claim and you will find your commentary will say what it needs to say.
• Warrants: You must explain why your evidence is relevant--why you are telling me, the reader, about it. Warrants are the unspoken laws or general rules that make up the human condition--the logic behind why we do what we do, or how we think.
• Transitions: 1) from one thought to another WITHIN the paragraphs, and 2) AT THE END of the paragraph for moving into the next body paragraph, whether it be evidence containing or explanatory.

Here is the rest of the evidence containing paragraph example: to help explain, I am going to give you a piece of evidence (that supports my claim that people react with "interestingly negative behaviors" when their lifestyle is threatened), with transitions, commentary, and a warrant:

• Blue = transitions, Gold = evidence, Red = commentary, Grey = warrant
• ...When Queenie's friends first come onto the scene, Arthur is peacefully lying face up at the bottom of the stairs, as if asleep; however, he is quite dead. Queenie, when she answers the door, exclaims that Arthur slipped and fell down the stairs while going to refresh his drink and that she is at a loss as to what to do. The fall, as it turns out, seemingly killed him instantly. What is interesting to note is that Arthur is still, even in death, elegantly holding his drinking glass, which fact is quite odd and unexpected. The logical expectation would be that the glass would have be found broken or shattered at the bottom of the stairs, not still held in his hand. Arthur, like any other individual, would have instinctively and reflexively let go of or thrown any object that was not of great importance in order to thwart falling down stairs by trying to grab a hold of something, such as the banister, or by sticking out his hands as an attempt to break his fall. The fact that Arthur is still holding the glass in death does not make sense and points to a set-up and a lying wife. Clearly, Queenie feels she has much to lose if lying is what she resorts to in a time of supposed crisis. There are other indicators that not all is right in the with Queenie's story--that lying is her modus operandi. 
• Notice how I incorporated the warrant as a natural part of my writing and that the warrant is derived from an aspect of how all humans would react when falling down stairs. Think of the examples I gave you in class about when I fell down stairs (3 times!!).

HOMEWORK: 

Your homework, due on Tues., March 15, is to complete the evidence/warrant/conclusion worksheet for "Slip or Trip," and add a warrant to your Macbeth essay body paragraph, as well as making sure your paragraph has all the other required elements. Follow the guidelines of the post and do your best--you all can do this! I totally believe in you :)

We will be going over both in class. PRINT a copy of your paragraph for class. I WILL NOT PRINT IT FOR YOU. If you come to class unprepared, you will lose preparation points for the day that cannot be made up. 

See you Tuesday!

The Introductory Paragraph

The introductory paragraph can be tricky to write. Why? Because you really have to correctly introduce the tone and informational content so the reader will understand what you are writing about, why you are writing about it, and, finally, why (in an indirect way) the reader should care about what you are presenting. That's a lot of pressure!

What adds to the difficulty of writing a great intro paragraph is the claim statement--the backbone or the why of your paper. Without a good claim statement (which is also the main claim) to direct and to uphold the paper, your paper will appear to be nothing more than an attempt to connect seemingly unrelated ideas together. The main claim is a major part of the glue that holds your paper together, as the spine is a major part of the glue that holds the body together.

Accordingly, the introductory paragraph has three components:

1. The hook, or attention grabber. The quote, story, question, etc. that draws the reader into your topic.
2. The transition. The bridge that ties together the hook and the claim statement. In other words, the transition explains HOW the hook is related to the claim statement.
3. The claim statement--your position/argument. The claim statement tells the reader what the paper is going to be about, and why the paper is being written. In other words, the claim statement puts forth your argument which is why you are writing the essay. 

Getting the introductory paragraph right requires diligence, effort, and time. And, of course, solid knowledge about the topic you are presenting. I promise you that if you put in the work, your introductory paragraph will present the information you want to get across to the reader. To help you, I have an example of an introductory paragraph that is dealing with gun control and teachers (last year's current event topic)--click HERE to download it.

Questions? Email me. 

Argumentative Essay Topic for Macbeth

Collection 5 focuses on human ambition and our eternal quest for power. In his speech “Why Read Shakespeare?” Michael Mack argues that if you do not see yourself in Macbeth’s ambition, you are either misreading the play or misreading yourself. 

Review the texts in Collection 5, including the anchor, Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Then synthesize your ideas by writing an argument that explains how one aspect of any character in Macbeth represents a universal human trait.

LAST Reading Assignment for Macbeth!

Hello! Here is your last reading assignment for Macbeth, due Tuesday, February 9th:

• Read the rest of Act V

When you return to school on Tuesday, we will be peer-reviewing ALL your Cornell Notes. Be prepared!

Reading for Friday, Feb. 5th

We are entering into the final act of Macbeth! For Friday, read the rest of Act IV and scenes i- ii of Act V (pages 269-280).

Remember:

• Cornell Notes: as I have told you in class, the ONLY notes you are required to take from this point forward are those that relate to the three essential questions that directly relate to Macbeth. In other words, you are writing down quotes and any other information (situations, circumstances, decisions and actions of the characters, etc.) that helps you answer the essential questions.
• You must ask TWO level 2 or 3 questions for each scene. (If you have forgotten to do this in the past scenes, you'd better go back and add them to you notes.)