Tackling the
Introduction &
Conclusion
"The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow"
The purpose of your
compare and contrast
essay is NOT just to
list details from the
story.
The PURPOSE of your compare
and contrast essay is
to EXPLAIN and EVALUATE
the physical appearance,
personality traits, and actions
of Ichabod Crane and Brom
Bones in relation to each other
and their feud over Katrina.
As we've discussed, writing
the body paragraphs
about the physical
appearance, personality
traits, and actions of Ichabod
Crane and Brom Bones is
the easy part.
Since you are in
8th grade now and
are expected to
write with more
STYLE, writing an
interesting and
informative
introduction
becomes a little
tricky...
You know NOT to even THINK
of starting an essay with
"Hi, my name is _____ and
I'm going to tell you
about..."
In addition, PLEASE
don't start an essay with
"Ichabod Crane and
Brom Bones have many
similarities and
differences."
Why? Because it is BORING.
BORING, BORING, BORING.
You need to capture
the reader's
interest.
It's a good idea to
start your essay with
a really interesting
statement, in order
to get the reader's
interest.
Avoid starting out with a boring line like
"In this essay I will explain why
Rosa Parks was an important
figure."
BORING, BORING, BORING.
Instead, try something like
"A Michigan museum recently paid
$492,000 for an old, dilapidated bus
from Montgomery, Alabama."
The second sentence sounds
much more interesting, doesn't
it? It would encourage most
people to keep on reading.
It makes you wonder what is so
special about a broken down
bus.
In ONE sentence, you have captured the
interest of your audience. They want to read
more. They'll soon find out about the
importance of Rosa Parks to the American civil
rights movement of the 1960's.
THAT is how you write an
introduction!
Avoid starting out with a boring line like
"Our city's river is polluted."
BORING, BORING, BORING.
Instead, try something like
"If your throat was parched with
thirst, would you drink our river
water?"
Avoid starting out with a boring line like
"Cheetahs are very fast animals."
BORING, BORING, BORING.
Instead, try something like
"Imagine a big cat racing down the
highway at 60 miles per hour,
keeping up with Fords and
Ferraris. Impossible? Not if that cat
is a cheetah."
Back to Sleepy
Hollow...
Whether you chose
block or point-by-point,
your introduction needs
to achieve the same
goals.
First, remember that when
you are writing about
LITERATURE (a
short story, a poem, a play,
a novel), you MUST
MUST MUST mention
the FULL TITLE and
AUTHOR of the
work somewhere in the
introduction paragraph.
If you are writing about a short work,
such as a short story or a poem, the title
will be in quotation marks.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
by Washington Irving
If you are writing about a longer work, such as a novel or
play, the title will be underlined or in italics.
Secondly, when writing
about literature, you
must mention the
FULL NAME of a
character the first time
you mention him/her.
Ichabod Crane, Brom
Bones, Katrina Van Tassel,
etc.
After that, you
may just
write 'Ichabod'
or 'Crane.' But
you have to be
CONSISTENT.
If you are using
Ichabod's first
name, you must
stick with
everyone's first
name. Use 'Brom'
and 'Katrina.'
Don't say 'Ichabod'
and then
use 'Bones.'
Don't say 'Crane'
and then
use 'Brom.'
Your body
paragraphs will
put Ichabod
and Brom
under a
microscope and
discuss the
details. You
DON'T do that
in an
introduction.
The introduction takes a step back and
looks at the BIG PICTURE. Who are
these men in the context of their
feud? What are their motives and goals?
The BIG PICTURE here?
Brains vs. Brawn
Nerd vs. Jock
So instead of...
Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones are different
in many ways. They also have a few things in
common. In this essay, I will compare and
contrast Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones. I
will do this by looking at their physical
appearance, their good and bad personality
traits, their motives and goals, and their
actions.
Try this...
Even two hundred years ago, jocks picked on
nerds, and the storyline in "The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving is no
exception. Ichabod Crane might have strolled
into Sleepy Hollow looking forward to a new
life, but he ran for his life and right out of town,
chased not by the Headless Horseman but by
Brom Bones, the bully determined to get the
girl.
Look closely...
What 5 required
items does this
intro have?
Even two hundred years ago,
jocks picked on nerds, and the
storyline in "The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow" by
Washington Irving is no
exception. Ichabod Crane
might have strolled into Sleepy
Hollow looking forward to a
new life, but he ran for his life
and right out of town, chased
not by the Headless Horseman
but by Brom Bones, the bully
determined to get the girl.
Title in quotes
Author's name
Protagonist's
name
Antagonist's
name
Within the context
of the feud
Write an
INTERESTING
introduction with the
5 required elements:
* title in quotes
* author's name
* full name of protagonist
NOW YOU
TRY!
* full name of antagonist
* within context of their feud
Wrapping it
All Up
What must your
CONCLUSION do?
Analyze how Ichabod's appearance,
personality, and actions impacted him
and the outcome of the story.
and...
Analyze how
Brom's
appearance,
personality, and
actions impacted
him and the
outcome of the
story.
THINGS
TO
CONSIDER...
Who won? How?
Was it a creative way to solve a problem?
Does the reader feel sorry for the loser?
Why or why not?
THINGS
TO
CONSIDER...
How did their similarities
and differences impact the
outcome of the story?
Similarity: Wants to marry Katrina
Differences:
Not from the area; doesn't understand the "locals"
Lets his imagination get away from him
Believes in ghosts
Wants to marry Katrina for the wrong reasons
Not athletic or good at riding horses
I
C
H
A
B
O
D
B
R
O
M
Similarity: Wants to marry Katrina
Differences:
From the area; knows every inch of Sleepy Hollow
Likes to play pranks
Knows he has to find other way of getting rid of
Ichabod other than fighting him out in the open
Athletic and highly skilled at riding horses
• Evaluate which
aspects of the
character's
appearance and
personality were
attractive to Katrina
• Evaluate how
certain
personality traits
helped or harmed
the character
• Evaluate
how their
motives/
goals
affected their
actions
• Evaluate to
what extent the
results were
caused by
personality,
weaknesses,
actions, etc.
• Evaluate
whether the
results were
predictable,
fair, etc.
So instead of...
In conclusion, I have compared and
contrasted Ichabod Crane and Brom
Bones. I discussed their physical
appearance, their personalities, their
motives and goals, and their
actions. As you can see, Ichabod and
Brom are different in many ways.
BORING, BORING, BORING.
NOW YOU
TRY!
Write an
INTERESTING
and EFFECTIVE
conclusion
that
analyzes how
the appearance,
personality, and
actions of both
characters
impacted the
outcome of the
story.
The
End