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Teacher:
Class:
Date:
Argue for or against the idea of mercy killing, in the novel Of Mice and Men and in real life. Provide reasons
and evidence to support your position. The objective is to construct a well-developed Outline for an essay. A
majority of the essay will be included in this outline, but some pieces will be left out. An essay is only as strong
as the “bones,” so you will be outlining all major aspects of an essay. Please follow the format below.
I. Introduction: Write out a complete introduction for your essay. Use complete sentences and
DO NOT forget any of the following components: Title of the novel, author’s name, plot summary in relation
to the topic (1-2 sentences), necessary background information about the topic of mercy killing, and the
THESIS (the argument of the paper)!!!
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II. Body Paragraph #1: Mercy Killing as found in the novel Of Mice and Men
1. Topic sentence: Write a complete sentence that includes a topic and a focus, or a limiting idea.
Your topic should be the killing of Lennie. Your limiting idea is whether it is right or wrong.
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2. Supporting Evidence #1: Provide a quote from the novel regarding Lennie’s death. Make sure
to introduce your quote by providing some context (Who says the words? Where are they said? When are
they said? Are they in response to someone? Are they describing something?)
Example: After Lennie murders Curley’s wife, George knows that Curley desires nothing more than to exact
revenge on Lennie. In his conversation with Candy he states, “I ain’t gonna let them hurt Lennie” (Steinbeck 95).
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3. Analysis: Offer analysis of how Supporting Evidence #1 supports your argument.
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4. Supporting Evidence #2: Provide a second quote from the novel regarding Lennie’s death. This
quote should also support your thesis statement. Make sure to introduce your quote by providing some context.
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5. Analysis: Offer analysis of how Supporting Evidence #2 supports your argument.
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6. Concluding Sentence: This sentence not only needs to wrap up your paragraph, it also needs to
Transition well into what you will be talking about in your next paragraph.
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II. Body Paragraph #2: Mercy Killing in real life
1. Topic sentence: Write a complete sentence that includes a topic and a focus, or a limiting idea.
Your topic should be mercy killing. Your limiting idea is whether it is right or wrong.
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2. Supporting Evidence #1: Provide a quote from one of the articles about mercy killing. This
quote should support your thesis statement. Make sure to introduce your quote by providing some context
(Who says the words? Where are they said? When are they said? Are they in response to someone? Are
they describing something?)
Example: For instance, in his support of euthanasia, Dr. Maisie M argues that “Legalizing euthanasia would
help alleviate suffering of terminally ill patients. It would be inhuman and unfair to make them endure the
unbearable pain” (M).
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3. Analysis: Offer analysis of how Supporting Evidence #1 supports your argument.
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4. Supporting Evidence #2: Provide a second quote from one of the articles about mercy killing.
This quote should also support your thesis statement. Make sure to introduce your quote by providing context.
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5. Analysis: Offer analysis of how Supporting Evidence #2 supports your argument.
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6. Concluding Sentence: This sentence needs to wrap up your paragraph
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