The Five Paragraph Burger, adaptations mine.
From Cal State LA: Going beyond the 5-paragraph essay (which is not a bad thing in itself, but perhaps just time to think differently):
http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/write_cn/fivepara.htm
So, what to do then?
1. Begin with your thesis.
Example: i will use Pr.Lupton's from class today, that the violence in Botticelli's Primavera (she was talking about the rape of Chloris by Zephyr, the wind god) leads to consent.
2. Ask yourself: what is the first thing I need to show in order to start?
Example: that there is violence
3. What is the next step in the argument that i need to show?
Example: that then there is consent
4. What do I need to show next in order to demonstrate my interpretation?
Example: that in some way (and showing how might be several other sub-steps) violence has caused or changed into consent
AND SO ON.....
last you might consider: (What in the text challenges or presents a problem for my interpretation? What other passages/aspects of staging or interpretation do I need to consider in order to develop and complexitize my interpretation? ) ThIS step is somewhat arbitrary--could be conclusion, etc...
Example: that consent also involves "agreeing" or giving into the violence (this might redefine violence, etc....)
2 important notes:
- the STEPS, as I am calling them, are logical steps--certain parts of the argument might take more space, more text, more evidence to demonstrate, and therefore might take more than one paragraphs. so there might be SUB-steps, or something of the like. Steps do not have to equal paragraphs, but they also can.
- Along the way, you will need to consider how you have developed and been able to draw new conclusions about the thesis idea with which you began. These developments will lead to the conclusion.
Please post your thesis statements below as comments with questions, if you have them.
4 comments:
my staging is more focused on Bottom trying to be the show off while Quince is trying to keep him under control and have a good meeting about the play within a play so my thesis is:
"My staging will be focused on Bottom’s attitude of trying to take over the play, while Quince is aiming to control his eagerness and continue directing the production successfully."
Shannan's Thesis:
"Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, reveals a social hierarchy that elevates nobles and sneers at the lower class craftsmen of Athens during the renaissance period. Social class emerges as a theme for Act I, Scene II when the “rude mechanicals” face complications during thier work on a play for the upper class people. A successful restaging of the scene will accentuate the social obstacles of the craftsmen as they work to create their production."
I like my thesis, but I would like some comments about the focus, tieing it to the whole play, and making it more concise.Should I say "my" in my essay? like "my staging..?"
thanks for the thesis postings--this is really helpful to me, in terms of preparing for class Wednesday and for seeing what people feel confused about and what types of things we are all coming up with. Please continue posting thesis statements, commenting on others, or answering the questions raised, and asking question about your own or others.
i think that "my" is or can be fine for this essay. others? has anyone tried experimenting with different types of authorial voice?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream emphasizes on various aspects the function of the professional, social, and economic classes during Shakespearean times – and how certain classes can be viewed in the positive or negative light. The Rude Mechanicals and the Royalty exercises their role in society through their customs and the benefits or difficulties they experience. In Act One, Scene Two, the Rude Mechanicals stage a play which is to be performed in front of the Royal King and Queen, but lack of seriousness prevents them from completing the rehearsal professionally. The modern staging will help contrast the roles of the Rude Mechanicals, the audience, and the Royalty.
Questions:
1. For the last sentence, should I even include "the audience" or should I delete that?
2. Upon writing "lack of seriousness", how will the reader infer what I'm talking about? Seriousness as in professional actors? Or seriousness with respect to their job?
3. How can both classes exemplify their "positive and negative light"?
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