Page 68 - Demo

156Writing Topic SentencesTopic sentences grow out of your thesis statement, and they provide structure for a cohesive argument in support of your thesis. When you consider how to set up body paragraphs in response to this essay prompt, one straightforward option would be to write a paragraph about each of the big-picture elements articulated in the thesis. If you were jotting down notes to structure each paragraph (and its topic sentence), they might look something like this:character: Ivek = teacher and school bus driver who%u2019s personally invested. Agnid = an older student who understands the objective that day. She cares for younger children and even Ivek in ways that emphasize how critical it is for them to make it to the school.setting: on a bus in rural farming community during a dangerous blizzard, and in the school the characters eventually reachsymbolism: the school = an important center of opportunity and safety; the blizzard = any challenge we face in achieving these goalsThese blocks of notes may not neatly transform into clear topic sentences, but they do suggest a logical progression. If we turn them into complete sentences %u2014in some cases, separating ideas; in others, combining them %u2014 we end up with an outline:TOPIC SENTENCE 1Ivek%u2019s roles as a school bus driver and teacher and Agnid%u2019s as a caretaker illustrate how personally invested community members become in the resources schools provide.TOPIC SENTENCE 2The story%u2019s two primary settings of the school bus and the school itself highlight the distances the students must travel between their homes and the safety of the school.TOPIC SENTENCE 3While the school symbolizes safety and opportunity in the future, the blizzard symbolizes challenges beyond the characters%u2019 control.Supporting Your Topic SentencesWhen it comes time to support the claims you%u2019ve made in each topic sentence of your essay, it can again be difficult to differentiate summary from analysis. Of course, you will need to cite examples or include direct quotations, but you will also need to explicitly explain how this evidence supports your interpretation. In other words, anytime you make a statement describing what happens, make sure that you also address why and how it contributes to the meaning of the text.Writing Workshop Analysis of Theme in FictionCopyright %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.