9/9/08

Today we wrote our spelling words five times each in our journals. Remember, we are having a quiz on Friday.

Next we continued our work on our first draft of the five paragraph character analysis. We used our worksheets to remind us of the details we want to include about our characters. This is the exact structure you should follow:

Structure of a five paragraph character analysis essay

1. Introduction
• Hook—grab the reader’s attention with a quote, scenario, question, vivid description or conflict associated with your character. 1-2 sentences
• Thesis statement—character’s name, the book (or movie) he/she is from and the author. 1 sentence
• Three sub-topics. Choose three character traits to focus on. Briefly state the three traits you will talk about in your essay. 1-3 sentences

2. Paragraph 2
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your first sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

3. Paragraph 3
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your second sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

4. Paragraph 4
• Go back to paragraph one
• Find your third sub-topic
• Write a paragraph about it
• Use examples from the book or movie to support your ideas
• Write 6-8 sentences

5. Conclusion
• Summarize—restate your thesis statement and three sub-topics in different words
• Make a closing statement. Tie your closing statement back to your opening hook.
• 3-5 sentences


We spent the rest of class finishing the first draft of the essay. As you can see, I am requiring a certain number of sentences in each paragraph. Please count your sentences in each paragraph to see if your draft meets the requirements. If you don't have enough sentences, you will need to add more examples or details until you have the right number of sentences. Please write good, 8th grader length sentences (Please no three-word sentences--let's shoot for eight or more words in our sentences.)

I will check drafts tomorrow at the beginning of class.