We l c o me

Academic Writing:Writing Expository

Paragraphs and Essays

Session #260

Michele Regrut

Saint Brigid of Kildare, Columbus, Ohio

Night Essay Prompt

• Throughout Night, Elie Wiesel experiences

great danger, fear, and death at almost

every turn. Discuss a theme from the

novella and use direct quotations to justify

your deductions. What can be learned

from reading this book?

Bellwork: Copy This Chart

Page Event Theme Literary

Element

Personal

Reaction

– Despite the many the horrors that Elie faces, the theme

of hope appears in a rare and meaningful scene. After

Elie receives a savage and unjustified beating during his

time in the concentration camp, he is encouraged by an

Aryan looking Jewish woman. “Bite your lips, little

brother ... Don’t cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for

another day, for later. The day will come but not now…

Wait. Clench your teeth and wait…” (Wiesel 53).

Wiesel uses the previous quotation to establish the

theme of optimism. My personal reaction to this theme

is a feeling of heavy heartedness due to the mere

thought that through all of the pure hell that they went

through the emaciated prisoners never lost their sense

of hope. Elie Wiesel further develops the theme of hope

as he writes more about his Holocaust experience.

Academic Writing

• Academic writing on

the middle school

level needs to be both

systematic and

formulaic so that

students have a

structure within

which to work.

Expository Essay Components

• The components of an Expository Essay

include:

Introduction

Supporting Paragraphs

Conclusion

Introduction Paragraph

• The introductory paragraph should

contain three important elements.

The narrative hook

Imperative background information

Thesis Statement

Narrative Hook

• The narrative hook is a tool the writer uses

to “hook” or draw the reader into the

paper.

Use a quote

Use a rhetorical question

Use a startling statement

The Quote

• Use a creative quote

from a literary text

or research to

intrigue the reader.

“We didn’t care if we killed Jews. It was just what we did.”

The Rhetorical Question

• Use a rhetorical question to provide an opportunity for the reader to focus on the topic of the paper.

Do you know how many Jews died in the Holocaust?

The Startling Statement

• Use a statement to

provoke thought in

order to focus the

reader on the paper

topic.

Execution was an everyday event at the camps.

Background Information

• Background Information

should provide: A link between the narrative

hook and the thesis statement.

Literary analysis should

include book title and author.

Example

• Do you know how many Jews died in the

holocaust? The answer is more than six

million. In the novella Night, by Elie

Wiesel, the author describes his memories

of this deadly period in history. This story

details his experience from deportation to

liberation.

Thesis Statement

• The thesis statement is a road map to the

writer’s paper. It should tell the reader

where the writer will take him.

• In a five paragraph essay, the writer should

list three specific ideas he will cover.

Sample Thesis Statement

• In the book Night, Elie Wiesel witnesses

physical suffering, mental torture, and the

loss of his faith.

Do you know how many Jews died during the Holocaust ? Many have stated

that nearly six million Jews were brutally starved, tortured and executed during

the Nazi occupation of Germany. Elie Wiesel, a current humanitarian lobbyist

in Washington D.C. , is a survivor and witness of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s

personal account of his experiences is detailed in his award winning novella,

Night. This story details the horrors he experiences from March 1944 to the

liberation of Auschwitz in April of 1945. In the book Night, , the

author is witness to physical suffering, mental torture, and the loss of his faith.

Hook , Background Information, Thesis Statement

Paragraph Structure

• Each supporting paragraph should follow a

simple formulaic structure.

• The structure can repeat itself as many

times as necessary.

Sample Paragraph Structure

I. Topic Sentence

A. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

B. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

C. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

D. Conclusion Sentence

Topic Sentence

Just as a thesis statement serves as a road map

for the entire paper, a topic sentence also

serves as a street map for the paragraph.

Sample Topic Sentence

• Throughout his

experience with the

Nazi regime, Wiesel

witnesses a great deal

of physical suffering.

The General Statement

• The general

statement provides

a structure for the

details to follow.

General Statement

• The general statement should provide a

general idea for the details to flow under.

Sample General Statement

• One type of physical

punishment Elie

witnessed was the

daily beatings from

the kapos.

Specific Detail

• The specific detail that follows the general statement should support both the general statement and the topic sentence.

Quote or Textual Support

• The specific detail needs to be supported by either a quote or a specific example from the text.

– “A box!” he ordered.

“Lie down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes” (55).

Sample Paragraph

Throughout his experience with the Nazi Regime,

Wiesel witnesses a great deal of physical suffering.

One type of physical punishment Wiesel witnessed

was the daily beatings from the kapos. One kapos in

Particular, Idek, was known for his quick temper and harsh

whip. Elie was unfortunate enough to have caught

Idek in a compromising position for which Elie

surely paid the consequence. “A box ,” he ordered.

Lie down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing

But the strokes” (55).

Inverted Pyramid

• The inverted pyramid shape allows

students to see how the …

– Topic Sentence flows into the

• General Statement which flows into the

– Specific detail which flows into the

» Quote or textual support

Repeat the Process

• The student will then

need to repeat the

– General Statement

– Specific Example or

Quote

As many times as

necessary.

Sample Paragraph Structure

I. Topic Sentence

A. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

B. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

C. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

D. Conclusion Sentence

Paragraph Conclusion

• Once the student has

cited all general

statements and

specific details

needed to support his

point, he should wrap

up the paragraph with

a conclusion sentence.

• Sample Conclusion

– Obviously, there was a

great deal of physical

suffering at the hands

of the Nazi regime.

Complete Paragraph

Throughout his experience with the Nazi Regime, Wiesel witnesses a great deal of

physical suffering. One type of physical punishment Wiesel witnesses was the daily

beatings from the kapos. One kapo in particular was known for his quick temper and

harsh whip. Elie was unfortunate enough to have caught Idek in a compromising

position in which Elie would surely pay the consequence. “A box ,” he ordered. Lie

down on your stomach! Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes” (55). At another

point in the novella, the entire camp is being evacuated during a terrible winter storm.

The prisoners were forced to line up, one behind the other while the snow accumulated

on their scantly covered bodies. The malnourished prisoners forced themselves to eat

the snow off one another’s backs while the Nazi’s jeered at them. The physical torment

came in a variety of forms. Obviously, there was a great deal of suffering at the hands

of the Nazi regime.

Topic Transitional Statement

• As the student moves

from one element of

the thesis to the next,

he will need a topic

transitional statement.

Sample Topic Transitional

Statement

• Not only does Elie Wiesel experience

physical brutality, he also suffered mental

torture at the hands of the German soilders.

Supporting Paragraph II

• The student will follow the same formula

for the second supporting paragraph as he

did the first.

• The recurring structure solidifies the

process in the writer’s frame of reference.

Sample Paragraph Structure

I. Topic Sentence

A. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

B. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

C. General Statement

1. Specific Detail

2. Statement or Quote

D. Conclusion Sentence

Conclusion Paragraph

• The purpose of a conclusion paragraph is

to

– Restate the three main ideas developed within

the paper

– To conclude or summarize the paper itself

Sample Conclusion Paragraph

• Obviously, Ellie Weisel develops the

themes of physical suffering, mental

torture, and the loss of his faith. These

issues were prevalent throughout his many

experiences with the Nazi Regime.

Thank You for Attending

• Expository writing is

as simple as a

formula.

-Introduction

-Formula Paragraph

-Conclusion