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The Outsiders Final Essay – English 7
A literary analysis essay requires you to present your interpretation of a literary work. Base your analysis on a
close and careful reading of the literature using the notes you have been taking. Then present your ideas in a
carefully planned essay, connecting all of your main points with specific references to the text.
Topic Question
Are Greasers Kids or Criminals?
Instructions for Writing the Essay
You will write a four-paragraph essay that answers the topic question. This will be identical in format and
organization to the “Should Kids Play Football” paper you wrote in November. I have broken down what you need
in each paragraph.
1. Introductory Paragraph (First Paragraph)
Your first paragraph will start with a lead—use the “Leads” PDF on my website. Make your lead interesting. It
should grab my attention and make me want to read more. Your lead can be anywhere from 1-3 sentences.
After your lead you will have a transition. This is a sentence or two that bridges or joins the lead and claim.
After your transition, you will write your claim. A claim is ALWAYS the very last sentence in the first paragraph.
It is what you believe about something. For this paper, your claim is about what type of person you believe
Greasers are—it answers a question—in this case, it answers “Are Greasers Kids or Criminals?”
To make it easier for you, I am giving you your claim. Use one of the following for your claim:
1) In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, the Greasers are just your normal, everyday teenagers who are generally
good.
2) In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, the Greasers are corrupt, immoral criminals who are generally bad.
That’s it—lead, transition, claim, in that order—make sure your claim is the very last sentence in the paragraph.
2./3. Body Paragraphs (Second and Third Paragraphs)
Both paragraphs should follow the “perfect paragraph” format we have practiced. To remind you, your first
sentence is the topic sentence (TS)—this is the main idea of the paragraph. Your second sentence is a concrete
detail (CD)—this is a direct quote from the novel that supports your TS. Please put the page number in
parentheses like I have done in the example below. Your third and fourth sentences are your commentary (CM),
or your own thoughts and ideas. Your last sentence is your concluding sentence (CS)—this sentence wraps it up
in a unique way.
Please make sure that each paragraph is a different topic—you don’t want two paragraphs with the same
topic.
Example of a Body Paragraph:
There really isn’t any difference between the Greasers and Socs—they’re both good groups of kids.
Ponyboy points out that “Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same
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sunset” (p. 41). While the Greasers may appear “rough around the edges,” they are in fact like every other
teenager, including the Socs. Being a teenager means being human, and when it comes right down to it, we all
have more similarities than differences. This idea is a valuable lesson in the novel—that we shouldn’t judge a book
by its cover and that being human means being good.
4. Concluding Paragraph (Fourth Paragraph)
First, restate your claim in a new way (your claim is the last sentence in your first paragraph). Second, summarize
your two topic sentences in a single sentence (the topic sentence in your second paragraph and the topic sentence
in your third paragraph). Third, call on your audience to take some kind of action in 2-4 sentences. Your very last
sentence should be a “zinger,” one that leaves the reader thinking “wow.”
Some Things to Remember
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Please don’t re-tell the story to me. You will receive a failing grade if this is all you do.
In formal essays like this, avoid using “I” and “my” and “you.” That’s just a rule about writing formal
essays, please follow this rule.
Capitalize “Greaser” and “Soc.” When making these plural, all you do is add an “s” (“Greasers,” “Socs”).
Make sure to include the page number, in parentheses, for your quote.
Grading
Your grade for this paper will be based on the six traits of writing: organization, ideas, voice, word choice,
sentence fluency, and conventions. The rubric I will be using to grade your essay will look like this:
Organization (20 points): You have 4 paragraphs in the order I stated above, your introduction contains a lead,
transition and thesis (in that order), your perfect paragraphs have 5 sentences in the right order, and your
conclusion follow my instructions above.
Ideas (10 points): The writing explores a theme of the novel, includes specific details and direct references from
the novel, maintains a clear and consistent view from beginning to end, and displays a unique and fresh way of
looking at things.
Voice (10 points): Sounds believable and informed and reflects the writer’s clear understanding of the text.
Word Choice (10 points): Shows careful choice of words—not boring, overused words.
Sentence Fluency (10 points): Flows smoothly from one idea to the next and uses transitions.
Conventions (10 points): Follows the standards of punctuation, grammar, and spelling, observes English
department standards (typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 font, no extra spaces between paragraphs,
etc.), and your paper is wrinkle-free and fold-free—it has not been through the wash nor has it been folded up in
your back pocket for the last week
Your essay will be due on ___________________________________________. On this day you will give me the
following: Your essay (70 points) and your notes (30 points)—the total possible points for this is 100 points. If you
do not do this assignment, your final grade for 2nd quarter will drop significantly. Please see me if you have any
questions.