This document provides guidance for an English composition class. It discusses using transitional phrases to connect sentences and paragraphs. Examples of transitional phrases are provided. Students are given an in-class exercise to practice using transitional phrases. The document also covers literary analysis and elements of fiction like character, plot, setting, and point of view. It provides examples and discusses how to incorporate these elements into a literary argument paper. Students are assigned to read parts of "Sleepy Hollow" and complete a mini paper and journal entry by the given due dates.

1. COMPOSITION II
WEEK FOUR
TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 13, 2016
REMINDER:
QUIZ OVER FIRST HALF
OF SLEEPY HOLLOW ON
9/15

2. MECHANICS TIP
• Use transitional phrases to connect sentences and paragraphs and organize writing into a unified
whole
• Transitional words and phrases can help your reader understand the logic of your paper
• Always use a comma after a transitional phrase or word regardless of where it appears in the sentence
• Examples of transitional phrases:
• furthermore
• moreover
• too
• also
• in the second place
• again
• in addition
• even more
• next
• while
• immediately
• never
• after
• later, earlier
• always
• when
• soon
• whenever
• meanwhile
• sometimes
• in the meantime
• during
• afterward
• nevertheless
• nonetheless
• after all
• but
• however
• though
• Otherwise
• therefore
• consequently
• accordingly
• thus
• hence
• as a result

3. MECHANICS TIP (CONT.)
• Examples:
• Subsequently, the mayor agreed in 1995 to allow yo-yos in public places once more.
• This kind of person, for instance, would be more susceptible to illness.
• The research, so far, indicates that women tolerate the drug better than men.
• In contrast, the people in the urban areas seemed to thrive under these provisions.
• The scientist, however, doubted the proof.

4. IN-CLASS EXERCISE
• Using your handout, find an appropriate transitional word or phrase to insert in the
blanks.
• _________________, the sales representative concluded her speech with a demonstration.
• _________________, the research proved that men cannot operate the machine as well as
women.
• The media, ____________________, portrayed him as a raving lunatic instead of a visionary.
• The information showed, _______________________, that the fundamentals of the experiment
were lacking. This, ________________, led us to understand our research on a whole new level.
• ____________________, this type of novel is not one to be read just once in a lifetime.

5. LITERATURE AND THE
WRITING PROCESS
WEEK FOUR LECTURE

6. WHY LITERARY ANALYSIS?
• Literary analysis- the practice of looking closely at small parts of a story or poem to
see how they affect the whole
• Focuses on how plot, character, setting, and more create meaning
• Writing about a literary work encourages us to become better readers because it
requires a close examination of the elements and themes of a story
• Paying close attention to the details allows us to understand how a work conveys its intent
and meaning
• Understanding and employing literary analysis is a method crucial to research
• Being able to identify tone, biases, psychological complexities, and themes can help you
dissect many works for validation, inspiration, and further research

7. LITERATURE AS RESEARCH
• Is literature a type of research?
• Yes! Writing poems, novels, biographies, fictional stories, and all that good stuff is an
exploration of our humanity
• A study that has been around since the beginning of civilization
• Literature can:
• validate many social customs and practices specific to a culture
• embody a moment in history
• Inspire further research into a subject
• Create commentaries on political injustices

8. USING ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
• Authors make specific choices for particular reasons
• Writing and responding to literature should be an effort to point out the authors
choices and explain their significance
• Literary analysis varies by perspective
• You do not always have to value the author’s intentions with a work
• As long as you can use the text to defend your answer, you are correct!

9. ALLEGORY
• A narrative form in which the characters are representative of some larger
humanistic trait (greed, vanity, bravery) and attempts to convey some larger lesson
or meaning to life
• Examples of allegories:
• X-Men evils of prejudice
• Harry Potter dangers of seeking racial purity
• The Tortoise and the Hare wasting natural talent/ laziness

10. CHARACTER
• Representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities
in a work of fiction
• Protagonist- the character the story revolves around
• Antagonist- a character that opposes the protagonist
• Minor character- provides support or illumination for the protagonist
• Characterization- The choices and author makes to reveal a character’s personality,
such as appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations

11. IMAGERY
• The author’s attempt to create
a mental picture in the mind of
the reader
• Most immediate forms of
imagery are visual
• Some imagery can evoke
emotional sensations
• How would you recreate this
scene using imagery?

12. PLOT
• The arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story
• Foreshadowing- When the writer clues the reader in to something
that will eventually occur in the story
• Suspense- the tension the author uses to create a feeling of
discomfort about the unknown
• Conflict- struggle between opposing forces
• Exposition- background information regarding the setting, characters,
and plot
• Rising action- the process the story follows as it builds to a conflict
• Crisis- a significant turning point in the story that determines how it
must end
• Resolution- the way the story turns out

13. POINT OF VIEW
• Pertains to who tells the story and how it is told
• Narrator- the person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the story
• First-Person- narrator participates in action but has limited knowledge/vision
• Second person- narrator addresses the reader directly as though they are part of the story
• Third Person (Objective)- narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a dethatched observer)
• Omniscient- All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives)

14. SETTING
• The place or location of the action
• Provides historical and cultural context for the characters
• Can symbolize the emotional state of characters

15. IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
• Children’s literature can be a good place to begin with literary analysis. Generally,
children’s literature is easy to dissect and have broad, allegoric themes that create
commentaries on morality, safety, and social expectation.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k25wlcFOglA
• Listen to this story and answer the following questions:
• How did Dr. Seuss employ imagery? How did this imagery influence the message of the
story?
• Who was the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Who are the minor characters?
• Did any of the characters represent something bigger than their part?
• What was the setting? Did it change?
• Did Seuss employ foreshadowing? What was the crisis? The resolution?
• What was the allegory of this story?
• Is this story significant outside the study of literature?

16. PLANNING A LITERARY ARGUMENT
• Decide what you want to argue about
• An argumentative essay attempts to change the way readers think about something
• Topic must be one on which some people might disagree
• Topic should be narrow enough to debate within your page limit
• If your topic is too broad you cannot hope to discuss it in detail
• Your topic should be interesting
• Your ideas should be well supported

17. DEVELOPING AN ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS
• An argumentative thesis statement makes a claim about a topic and then justifies it
with specific evidence
• lays the foundation for your entire argument
• Your thesis must make it clear to readers what position you are taking
• You must be able to support your thesis with evidence from the text
• What do I mean by claim?
• A claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement,
or an interpretation

18. EXAMPLE: ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS STATEMENT
• It would help our economy and inspire patriotism if everyone in the United States
were required to serve one year in the military or do one year of community service
work.
• The paper that follows should:
• Support the claim that military and community service aid the economy
• Support the claim that military and community service inspire patriotism
• The character the Onceler represented small business owners and how they can be
afflicted by capitalistic greed and lose site of their business’ original goals and
intentions.
• What should the following paper be about?

19. BUILDING MAIN POINTS/ BODY
• Consider the literary evidence that support your claim
• Consider how your beliefs and values support the claim
• Consider how the beliefs and values of society affect your claim
• Build strong main points that relate to the text and the larger argument
• Understand your opinion on the matter
• Understand the opposition

20. USING EVIDENCE
• Use MLA format to cite quotes, paraphrases, and themes from a work
• All main points should be supported by textual evidence
• You can also use textual evidence to disprove the opposing argument

21. DUE:
• Thursday September 15:
• Have read first half of Sleepy Hollow
• QUIZ over first half (REVIEW LITERARY TERMS)
• Be working on Mini Paper
• Tuesday September 20:
• Have finished Sleepy Hollow
• QUIZ over second half
• Have your mini paper for peer review
• If you do not bring your mini paper you will be asked to leave class
• Journal due Sunday 9/18 by midnight!