Module 2: The Novel - The Chrysalids

Lesson 2.3B: Writing Your View

In this lesson, you are going to write an expository, multi-paragraph composition (essay) as part of Section Assignment 2.3A: The Expository Mult-paragraph Composition. Before beginning this lesson, take a few minutes to read the instructions for this assignment. The following lesson will walk you through the steps to complete this assignment.

A key issue in The Chrysalids is rejecting people, things, and ideas because they are different. People like Sophie, Gordon, and all of the others who are different from the "true-image" are rejected from society and made to struggle in the Fringes. They do not have any hope to live a normal life. Unfortunately, rejection of people who are different is not limited only to novels. In the world there are countless examples of this kind of discrimination. Starting with what you have seen in the novel, "The Japanese Internment", other research you may do, and building with your own experience and views, you are going to write a multi-paragraph composition about the topic of differences.

Choose from ONE of the following topics:

People sometimes feel threatened by others who are different, and reject them unfairly.

OR

People who suffer from discrimination do not live full lives.

Journal Entry 2.3C: Free Writing Please respond to this question in the journal section of the assignment template: Free-writing means writing down any ideas that come to your mind while you have your pen to paper. You can write in any form, from a list, to a web, to unpunctuated stream-of-consciousness style of writing. Get as many ideas down about the topic as possible. Choose one of the following topics, set a timer for ten minutes, and simply write. People sometimes feel threatened by others who are different, and reject them unfairly, OR People who suffer from discrimination do not live full lives. When the timer rings, reread what you have written and circle any ideas that interest you, which you may fit into the multi-paragraph composition to come.

The Expository Multi-paragraph Composition (Essay)
An expository multi-paragraph composition is one that offers an explanation. In this type of composition, the writer's goal is to share information with the audience. The information must come from several sources: not from the writer's experience only, but from what the writer has learned when exploring a topic. An expository multi-paragraph composition shares the writer's "expertise" about the topic.

The novel and the media asset "The Japanese Internment" will be the sources for information in the multi-paragraph composition that you will write. You may also want to include other valid sources of your choice.

The expository multi-paragraph composition often has five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs, each with its own topic, and a concluding paragraph.

To review the writing process for developing a multi-paragraph composition before you begin writing, review the chapter on "The Writing Process" in Writing on the Run!

Thesis Statements
Before you begin to gather ideas for your multi-paragraph composition, you need to take a position on the topic. Your position is your attitude toward the topic, or the main idea you want to share with the audience about the topic.

A thesis statement captures the main idea of the multi-paragraph composition.

The topics provided in the lesson overview are thesis statements. Though they are different, they both take a position on the topic of discrimination. One takes a position on the people who do the discriminating; the other takes a position on those who suffer from discrimination. The compositions based on these two thesis statements would be developed with different examples and discussions to suit the position or the opinion of the thesis.

Select one of the two topics provided in the lesson overview as the thesis statement for your composition. Try rewriting it or adapting it to suit your purpose. It may change before you write the paper, but taking the time now while the ideas are fresh will help you to write a confident thesis.

Guided Practice Activity 2.3B1

Multi-Paragraph Structure
Before you begin developing the expository multi-paragraph composition, let's take a moment to review the structure of the multi-paragraph composition. Notice again that your thesis will come at the end of your introductory paragraph. Then, each of the three body paragraphs will support that thesis:

For the purpose of this multi-paragraph composition, you can structure the ideas like this:

Body Paragraph 1: evidence for your position found in the novel
Body Paragraph 2: evidence found in "The Japanese Internment"
Body Paragraph 3: evidence from your own experience

Generating Ideas
You all know how to brainstorm, but have you considered brainstorming with another person? Get together with a friend, a family member, or a colleague and toss ideas around. You will be amazed at the new ideas you get when you work together.

Another method for generating ideas is to simply ask questions. This is called the "5Ws+H" method. The "five Ws + H" (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?) are great questions to ask about a topic. You probably won't be able to answer every question about every topic; however, those that you can answer will help focus your writing. Or, try brainstorming, clustering, or outlining as described in "The Writing Process" in Writing on the Run!

Follow these points for a recording method that works well for gathering supporting details from the novel and article, and for researching additional sources to support your multi-paragraph composition:

• Read and jot down any ideas or details that you think might be interesting or helpful.
• Note the title, author, and page number or web address of your reference so that you can return to it if necessary.
• At key points in your reading - the end of chapters, sections, topics, articles. - jot down the main ideas in point form.
• Take notes on index cards that can be shuffled and rearranged to help with the organization of ideas, or use a "note-taking" program on your computer; or, simply use a blank document and keep track of the website, author, etc. for each note.

For more sources of support for your multi-paragraph composition, go to the English 10 Web site and click on the links for discrimination.

Writing on the Run! has more ideas for interviewing, researching, and using the local library to gather more support for your multi-paragraph composition; check out the information under the heading "Navigating Information."

Try using the Mind Map template provided, or develop your own to help organize all of your research!

Click on the pdf icon to download the template.

Outlining
You have identified a topic, and collected ideas by brainstorming, asking questions, and perhaps interviewing. You have even done a little bit of research. It must be time to write, right? No, not yet.

What's next? Outlining. Take the time to structure your multi-paragraph composition before you write. It will help you to see how the ideas build on each other. You usually want to save the strongest supporting point for last, so that the reader remembers it best at the end of the composition. This placement will have the most impact. There should be a logical flow to the order that you present your ideas, whether it is chronological, spatial, in order of size or impact, or another logical progression of ideas.

You can add details by using:

• definitions
• explanations
• examples
• facts
• statistics
• anecdotes
• details that appeal to the senses
• personal feelings
• figurative language

Complete the Outline Template following the instructions below.

Remember the structure for your composition:

• Introductory Paragraph: includes thesis statement
• Body Paragraph 1: evidence for your position found in the novel
• Body Paragraph 2: evidence found in "The Japanese Internment"
• Body Paragraph 3: evidence from your own experience
• Concluding Paragraph: includes a concluding statement

Open the assignment template for this section assignment and complete the Outline Template.

Drafting
Now that your pre-writing is complete, you are ready to begin writing. You will start by writing a first draft.

This next point is really important: a first draft is not final; you can always change it.

That may sound simplistic, but it is basic to good writing. You might get more ideas as you write. You might change your mind about the position you want to take. You might find a better way to express an idea or an argument. You might even realize that you aren't the world's greatest speller. That is why your first draft is called a first draft. It is meant to be changed. The content that follows will help you design a good introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction
It's time to develop the introduction.

Read this introductory paragraph that explores the opinions of its author about dangers television poses to life in Canada today. The author is intentionally presenting only one side of the argument and is trying to convince you of his position. Notice that the author writes in third-person, and does not refer to himself at all.

The introduction begins with a statement that is strong but vague: the reader doesn't know yet if the effects of TV are good or bad, just that they have been overwhelming. That's a skillful way to begin, because you don't want to alienate the reader with the first sentence of the multi-paragraph composition.

The introduction leads to a thesis statement. TV causes three things: increased violence, breakdown of families, and the health crises of obesity. The second part of the thesis asserts that we must accept these ideas to regain control over TV. From this thesis, we can predict how the multi-paragraph composition will develop, and it must follow the same order as the thesis.

Your introductory paragraph has two main jobs:

• it must capture the interest of the readers
• it must tell the readers what the multi-paragraph composition is about (thesis statement)

Body Paragraphs
After you have written your introductory paragraph, you can now go on to complete your body paragraphs. Remember, you must include three body paragraphs, each one developing the supporting point of your thesis statement. Each paragraph should have its own topic sentence, supporting ideas, and concluding sentence. Try using a quotation from an article or novel as evidence to support your point.

Concluding Paragraph
It's time to write the conclusion. You can use several techniques to write the concluding paragraph.

As you write, try one or more of these techniques:

• Restate your thesis statement - this reinforces the idea in the reader's mind.
• Summarize your main points - this leaves the reader with a clear and concise picture of the ideas you have developed.
• Recommend a course of action - this will challenge the reader to act on what's been read.
• End with a memorable last word or an unforgettable last sentence. This is the mate of the catchy opening.

Readers remember the first and last parts of a multi-paragraph composition. The body is crucial but it is the introduction and conclusion that can make or break the composition.

Just as there are some things you should do to conclude a multi-paragraph composition, there are some things you should not do.

• Don't try to follow all of the above suggestions in one multi-paragraph composition.
• Don't announce your conclusion: avoid "In conclusion…" or "Now I would like to conclude…".
• Don't introduce any new ideas.

Revising
Once you decide what you are going to say (content), you must decide how best to say it (style). Another way to say revising is improving. Follow these steps:

1. Check that you have followed the order in your multi-paragraph composition that you set out in your thesis statement.

2. Use transitions to tie your ideas together. Look at "The Writing Process" in Writing on the Run! to see a comprehensive list of transitions.

3. Vary sentence structure for interest:

• Vary the length of sentences.
• Mix simple sentences with compound and complex sentences.
• Avoid beginning every sentence with the subject. (For example, use a verb: Opening the shop early allows people to buy newspapers on their way to work. This sentence begins with a verbal phrase.)
• Vary the subject-verb sequence by occasionally separating it with words and phrases. (For example, The snow lightly settled on the pavement. Lightly divides the subject and verb.)

4. Lastly, check that you have used third person throughout the multi-paragraph composition. If you have referred to yourself as "I", anywhere in the paper, revise. For example, "I believe people still suffer from prejudice" would be revised to say, "People still suffer from prejudice."

Editing
The best way to edit your paper is to let someone else do it! That's not a joke. It is difficult for the writer to read the paper carefully enough to notice small errors. When you know the content too well, you don't actually read each word, so spelling and punctuation errors can slide right past.

Provide your editor with a copy of the Editing Checklist for guidance.

Click on the pdf, rtf or doc icon to download the Editing Checklist.

Editing Checklist pdf

Editing Checklist rtf

Editing Checklist doc

Isn't it amazing that this is the shortest part of the lesson? That's because you've already done so much hard work!

Review the instructions for Section Assignment 2.3A to ensure you have met all the requirements for this assignment.

Go to Writing on the Run! and complete the tutorial and exercises on the "Active and Passive Voice."

Summary

Completing this lesson has helped you to:

• select a topic for an expository multi-paragraph composition.
• use brainstorming, questioning, and research to generate ideas.
• write a thesis statement using several guiding criteria.
• use a template to outline your multi-paragraph composition.
• experiment with several techniques to develop the body of your multi-paragraph composition.
• use specific criteria to help revise your multi-paragraph composition.
• use a peer-editing checklist to edit your multi-paragraph composition.