LAVC Frankenstein Legacy Essay

please make sure you’ve turned in to me your thesis statement and

topic sentences and ideas for evidence (i.e. make an outline) for your

Frankenstein’s Legacy essay.

OR

If you are the kind of writer who prefers to just start writing, feel
free to write out your first two pages of your essay instead of doing
an outline.

Here are some notes on considerations to keep in mind when writing an essay that you can look over as you need to:

The Anatomy of a Strong Body Paragraph

1. An interesting and clear topic sentence which reinforces your thesis without directly repeating your thesis

To create an attention grabbing topic sentence, try one of the following strategies adopted from Chris Juzwiak’s book Touchstones.

• Create a contrast
• Identify the major issues you’ll discuss in your paragraph
• Use creative language or ideas

1. While in a perfect world we view school as a place of learning,
   authority questioning, and idea generating, the reality is that teachers
   can be mind-numbingly dull, sarcastic, and cruel. Victor Frankenstein
   experiences both types of teachers in the novel Frankenstein

1. Developing an operational definition of the term “human” is imperative to understanding the novel Frankenstein.

1. Bad things happen in cities in the novel Frankenstein suggesting that Shelley is making an argument about the wholesomeness of the country vs. the sins of the city.

2. Interesting and relevant evidence in the form of
quotations, strings of short quotations, summaries, and summaries with
short quotations. A strong body paragraph should have approximately
three primary pieces of evidence For your essay I recommend having 3 or more strong pieces of evidence for each body paragraph in your essay.

• Vary the types of evidence you use in your essays
• A short quotation with a lead in phrase
• A string of short quotations with a lead in phrase
• A short summary with a lead in phrase (keep it clean; don’t add any commentary to your summaries)
• A short summary with short quotations embedded within it and a lead in phrase
• (keep it clean; don’t add any commentary to your summaries)

• Quote with lead-in phrase:
• Frankenstein makes a snap judgement that the creature he created is a “catastrophe” (45).

• String of short quotes with lead in phrase:
• The creature is described as having a face of “horrid contrasts,” and as “malignant” and a “wretch” by his creator (45, 89, 89).

• Summary with lead-in phrase:
• Frankenstein relies on Clerval to care for him after he creates the
  creature and falls into a feverish sickness. Clerval nurses him back to
  health for several months before Frankenstein is well enough to hear any
  news of his family (49-51).

• Summary with short quotes and lead-in phrase:
• Frankenstein describes the steps he takes to create Frankenstein in a
  dark and sinister way. He uses body parts he buys illegally to create
  what he soon learns is a “catastrophe” (45).

1. Commentary, interpretations, and arguments about the evidence you include in your body paragraph

Strategies for commenting on evidence:

Elaborate on other dimensions of a key issue in the evidence

• Although Frankenstein does not say so directly, he apparently assumes that_______________.

Provide additional specific examples to illustrate a point in the evidence

Give advice related to the evidence

• This evidence makes it clear that Frankenstein must be a villain ____________ because….
• Whatever our disagreements about the details of the situation may be, I’m sure that most readers will agree that ____________.

Agree or disagree with the opinions stated in the evidence

• This evidence is problematic because__________
• Shelley makes a compelling point because__________
• While some critics may disagree with Frankenstein’s

argument because_________, here I find myself agreeing with her because__________

• When it comes to the topic of ___________, most people will readily
  agree that_____________. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is
  on the question of______________.
• As I suggested earlier, defenders of ____________ can’t have it both
  ways. Their assertion that ____________ is contradicted by
  ____________.

Make an ethical judgment about the evidence (is your evidence persuasive or not?)

• This is a clear example of a hasty generalization because…
• The Frankenstein is guilty of the slippery slope fallacy because….
• Although the speaker in this quote is guilty of setting up a straw
  man argument, I still agree with his main point
  that__________because___________

Compare the evidence to a relevant world event

• This instance of ___________ is strikingly similar to _____________….
• As I read this evidence I found myself thinking of _____________
  because ____________. Indeed, both situations are quite similar…

Dos and Don’ts for Thesis Statements

Do not announce what you will talk about in your
essay in your thesis. Don’t do what’s in the following example: In
this essay I will discuss ways to quit smoking.

Do not ask a question in your thesis. Don’t do what
is in the following example: Will we ever know the most clear cause of
prison violence?

Do not settle for your thesis
statement to merely identify the major support points in your essay.
This is something that you might have done in other previous classes.
In my class, I want you to have the courage to try something different
and more interesting. The following example is not a very interesting
thesis statement. Example: A successful party involves good food,
great music, and lots of friends.

Do create a contrast in your thesis (see templates
below). Example, Although turning the vacant lot on California Avenue
would involve a significant amount of time and effort, the park would
yield many benefits to our city for years to come.

Do use creative and vivid language. Don’t settle
for blah vocabulary words. Example: Glendale is plagued with vacant
lots which stymie our city’s reputation as the “jewel city.” To
beautify the city we must convert these derelict eyesores into spaces of
beauty and pleasure: recreational facilities such as parks and picnic
areas.

Do use this class to try something new; I know you
can write a decent thesis statement or you wouldn’t be in this class.
Use our course as a chance to try out some different ideas about how to
write an effective argument.

Ideas for Building Strong Thesis Statements

On the one hand critics of Frankenstein argue
____________________, on the other, some argue _______________.In my
research I analyze____________________in order to
determine______________________.

The conclusion of Frankenstein suggest ____________________. But a close analysis shows__________X______________. Although_______X_______ may seem trivial, it matters because _______________________.

My first impression of the text/character(s) was that
______________________. Now, however, having ________________ I have
come to see _____________________.

The evidence from the text shows that _________________________. This matters/is important because _____________________.

Ultimately we can determine that X and Y (and Z, if you have a Z)
are similar in the following ways ________________. These similarities
are significant because _____________________________.

After analyzing the book Frankenstein, it is clear that X
and Y (and Z if you have a Z) are different in the following
ways________________. These differences are significant because
___________________________________.

Despite the fact that X and Y (and Z, if there’s a Z) are similar,
they are also significantly different. For example, while
X___________,Y________________ (and Z__________). These similarities
and differences are significant because _______________________________.

My argument is that ____________________. This is significant because______________________.

you already know