Step One: Organization
a-Figure out the points for your argument. You will need about three different points. These will form the three paragraphs of your paper.
b-Find quotes to back up your points.
So, if your argument is that The Hunger Games says violence is okay if it’s justified, your points may be:
1-Katniss killed in self-defense when Rue was being killed and when she dropped the tracker jacker nest.
2-Katniss killed in mercy when she put Cato out of his misery.
3-The final act of rebellion against the Capitol, eating the berries, is violent as well since it will lead to their deaths.
Write your points here.
Now, for each point, find two quotes from the research packet that back up your point.
Here’s an example for Point #1 above.
From Article #4: “You might not think it would be possible, or desirable, for a young adult writer to describe, slowly and in full focus, a teenage girl being stung to death by a swarm of mutant hornets.”
From Article #6: “At Rue’s death, Katniss’s inward repentance and transformation begins. She can no longer simply act out of self-preservation. She must act for others and against evil.”
Use the back of this paper to write your quotes. Be sure to note which Article each comes from.
Step Two: Introduction
Now begin to work on your introduction.
Your introduction needs to do several things. First it should tell people what you are writing about. (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins—make sure the title and author appear in your introduction.) It should sum up your main points. Then it should tell what you are saying about The Hunger Games. (Your thesis.)
So, let’s try an example.
The young adult book The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, features graphic violence committed by teenagers. The main character Katniss kills with a spear, a nest of mutant hornets, and her bow and arrow. But the real enemy in The Hunger Games is not the other tributes, it is the Capitol, and Katniss fights them by threatening to kill herself. The Hunger Games may be a violent book, but it does not condone violence. Because its heroes use violence to rebel against the evil Capitol, The Hunger Games sends the message the violence is okay if it is used against evil.
How this breaks down.
1st sentence: Tells the name of book and author. Also introduces the idea of violence.
2nd-4th sentences: use ideas from the main points (from step one).
Final sentence: Thesis statement, including claim and support.
Now, you try. Write your introduction here.