The assignment: Choose any ONE of the five essay questions below, and write an essay that answers that
question. In the body of the essay, you will use claims, evidence, and commentary in order to support your
thesis position (the one-sentence answer to the question).
When You turn it in to TURNITIN.COM:
Before Tuesday, 5/17 at 3:00 p.m.
Points Possible
100 points possible
Between 5/17 at 3:01 p.m. and 5/20 at 3:00 p.m. 100 points possible
After 5/20 at 3:01 p.m.
80 points possible
(20% late penalty)
Type of Feedback You Will Receive
You will receive written feedback
AND rubric feedback
You will receive rubric feedback only
Rubric feedback only
Rules and requirements of the essay:
• Your essay should be either four or five paragraphs. You need an introduction, a conclusion, and
either two or three body paragraphs (your choice). If you do three body paragraphs, the best two
will be graded and the weakest one will not be.
• There is no set word length, but the essay should be about 2-2.5 pages double-spaced.
• The essay must be in MLA formatting.
• You should not consult any sources outside the novel (Kindred) with the possible exception that you
might search the internet for a quote or statistic for your hook.
• You must have at least one quotation (and no more than three) from the book in each of your body
paragraphs. These should be relevant, correctly written, and accurately cited.
The essay questions:
1) After returning from the past, Dana says to Kevin: “ I never realized how easily people could be trained to
accept slavery" (201). Based on this novel, what is the MAIN reason that slaves did not try to empower
themselves out of slavery. Be sure to pose ONE MAIN REASON in your thesis, and use your body paragraphs to
support this reason.
2) In describing Tom Weylin (Rufus’ father), Dana says: “Weylin wasn’t the monster he could have been with
the power he held over his slaves. He wasn’t a monster at all. Just an ordinary man who sometimes did the
monstrous things his society said were legal and proper” (170). Is RUFUS WEYLIN a monster for the things he
he does, or is he a decent man who is a product of his circumstances?
3) Throughout the book, Dana is constantly saving Rufus from death. Every time she gets drawn into the past,
Rufus’ life is being threatened in one way or another. In part 3 of “The Fight,” Dana learns that Rufus has just
attempted to rape Alice, which led to a fight between him and Isaac (Alice’s husband). Once she learns this
information and sees what Rufus is capable of, should Dana just let Rufus die?
4) When comparing Tom and Rufus Weylin, is Rufus an improvement over his father in terms of his actions,
integrity, and character?
How to organize your essay:
Paragraph 1: Introduction. You need:
• a hook (a first sentence that will capture your reader’s interest)
• a smooth transition (how you get from your hook to your thesis).
• a clear thesis (a statement of your answer to the essay question you’ve chosen.
• a map of what you plan to do in each of your body paragraphs ( a one-sentence summary of the main
arguments—your CLAIMS—that you plan to use in each paragraph in order to support your thesis).
• Make sure that you have the title of the book in italics and the author’s name somewhere in paragraph.
Sample introduction for analytical essay (on who is to blame in Romeo and
Juliet):
While the average couple waits two years before getting married, the
HOOK to get reader’s
interest. Might be a fact,
statistic, bold
pronouncement…
famous couple from William Shakespeare's 1598 play Romeo and Juliet, knew each other
for less than a day before becoming engaged. Those of us who have read this classic play
know that this impulsive decision making ultimately lead to six deaths and a great deal of
heartbreak, but when considering the question of whom deserves the most blame, it cannot
be tied back to these young kids who simply did not know any better. When we look at
the actions of the key characters in the play, and the consequences of those actions, it is
TRANSITION moves
smoothly from hook
topic to actual essay
topic. Here, you can
contextualize the essay
question and get the
reader invested.
clear that Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother, carries the most responsibility for what happened.
By abandoning her daughter at a most crucial time of emotional need and by basically
forcing her daughter into an undesired marriage, Lady Capulet set the table for this tragedy
to unfold.
THESIS STATEMENT
(main thing you are
proving in essay)
MAP of the two (or
three) main claims that
will be covered in the
body paragraphs.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 (and maybe 4): Body Paragraphs.
1) You should begin each paragraph with a clear CLAIM that both supports the thesis and tells what the
paragraph is going to be about. Think of the claim as a one-sentence summary of the paragraph to come.
2) You should give some background CONTEXT for the scene you plan to quote as evidence.
3) You should provide EVIDENCE in the form of a quote (or two) that is contextualized, accurately copied,
and correctly cited. Since you are only using one source, you will only need to cite the page number:
Right at the beginning of the book Dana tells us, “I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm” (1).
4) You should provide COMMENTARY in which you discuss, analyze, explain, persuade your reader how
the evidence supports the thesis. This should be at least 50% of the paragraph. This CANNOT BE plot
summary. It is your own original, thesis-supporting ideas.
Sample body paragraph for concept essay (you need at least 2):
If Lady Capulet had been there to support her daughter, Juliet would not have
participated in a dangerous plan that led to numerous deaths (including her own). When
CLAIM very clearly
states what the
paragraph will be
about.
Lord Capulet tells already-married Juliet that she will be disowned if she does not marry
Count Paris, she turns to her mother for support. But rather than take Juliet's side in the
matter, or even offer words of sympathy, compassion or support, Lady Capulet says, “Talk
not to me, for I’ll not speak a word” (3.4.204). Further, in her disgust for her daughter’s
decision, she says to Lord Capulet, “I would the fool were married to her grave!" (3.4.142).
What kind of parent says something like this (it literally translates as “I wish she were
EVIDENCE is
properly
contextualized,
relevant to the topic,
and correctly cited.
dead”), even if they strongly disagree with their child? Ironically, Juliet being “married to
her grave” is precisely what ends up happening because of her mother’s complete absence
of support. The reader might understand why Lady Capulet does not agree with Juliet, but
for her to completely abandon Juliet in a time of intense emotional need is something that no
reasonable parent would do to their child, especially when she had so many other options.
She could have heard Juliet’s side of the story, she could have given Juliet more than a day
to think about an important decision, and she could have been compassionate, as we would
expect from a woman who, herself, was forced into an undesired marriage at a young age.
Many readers would blame Friar Lawrence because it was his plan after all that led to
Juliet’s actual demise, but by the time Juliet got to him to ask for his support, she was so
distraught with having been abandoned by her mother that she was in a state of total
desperation. Even though his plan for Juliet did not work out, he was only trying to do what
he could in order to stop the bleeding. Lady Capulet was the one who opened up the wound
in the first place.
COMMENTARY is
> 50 % of the
paragraph. It is
discussion, analysis,
persuasion (not plot
summary). In this
case, there is a
counterclaim in the
commentary as
well.
Paragraph 4 (or 5): Conclusion.
1) You may want to begin your conclusion by returning back to your hook (see below)
2) You might want to discuss what might have happened differently, reflect on larger philosophical issues,
pose questions for further thought, reiterate the main point of the essay.
3) End on a strong note. You want to give the essay closure. It might be a good idea to state a theme or
big-picture idea that you think the author wanted to get across—one that is relevant to your ideas in the
essay.
Sample conclusion for Romeo and Juliet essay:
Had Romeo and Juliet waited more than 24 hours before committing themselves to
marriage, it is entirely possible that’s so much death could have been avoided. But even
RETURNING TO
HOOK is one
possible (and
strong) way to
begin conclusion.
though the results of their love were tragic, the reader believes that they would do it all
over again if this was the only way for them to be together. That said, not every character
would feel this way. Given a chance to go back in time, Lady Capulet very likely would
choose a different course of action for herself, one in which she does not turn her back on
her only daughter in a time of great need. What Lady Capulet understands now, but did
not understand at the time, is that when we fail to help those we love, we can blame
nobody but ourselves.
Writer might
discuss what could
have happened
differently in the
story, might
reflect on larger
philosophical
issues, might pose
questions for
further thought…
Writer might want
to identify a larger
theme that the
author is trying to
get across to the
reader.