Your Thesis Statement Should Be the Last Sentence of Your Intro

5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY

This is a compare and contrast essay from either a scene or a character pair between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. You will need a well-developed introduction with an EFFECTIVE attention grabber, brief introductory statements that will be further developed in the essay, and a precise, formal thesis statement.

A THESIS STATEMENT IS YOUR MAIN IDEA OR TOPIC SENTENCE OF YOUR ENTIRE PAPER. THIS IS THE FOCUS FOR YOUR ENTIRE PAPER.

YOUR THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD BE THE LAST SENTENCE OF YOUR INTRO.

Example Thesis 1—Steve Harmon from the novel Monster and Rubin Carter, a popular boxer in the sixties, were both wrongly accused of being involved in murder, served jail time, and were finally acquitted of their crimes; however, their experiences in court, their age, and the events surrounding the crime are quite different.

Example Thesis 2—The crimes surrounding the arrests of Steve Harmon in the novel Monster and Rubin Carter, a New Jersey boxer in the 1960s slightly mirrored one another based on severity of the crime and parties involved, yet the circumstances and consequences were significantly dissimilar.

Example Thesis 3: Although there are many differences in Melinda’s character, as portrayed in the film version of Speak, both Anderson and the film director depict Melinda as a withdrawn, desperate, broken- hearted teenager who has to undergo emotional changes to regain her inner strength and develop a new identity.

BODY PARAGRAPHS—You should set up your 3 paragraphs in an organized manner. You can compose 2 similarity paragraphs and 1 differences paragraph or vice versa; however, find specific topics to compare or contrast. No listing. You could also choose 3 specific topics of discussion and compare and contrast each within each paragraph. ---You need to incorporate transitional devices—Make sure each paragraph flows from one to the next. ---You will also need to explain your point when mentioning a specific similarity or difference. ---You need to remain focused on your thesis.

CONCLUSION—This should wrap-up any loose ends. This should be just as important as any other paragraph in the paper and should leave the reader with a clear idea of the essay’s purpose. The reader should not have any remaining questions or be left with any confusion in connection to the essay’s overall message and thesis. Your thesis will need to be restated in completely different words and structure than your original thesis statement. You should end with a “clincher” statement. Keep in mind, your conclusion and intro paragraphs are two separate entities and should be written as such. They do not need to be replicas of one another.

You will write on one of the following based on a random selection: Scene— Character—

1. Act 1, Scene 1 in both (opening scene) 1. Romeo to Tony 2. Act 1, Scene 5 to Act 1, Scene 4 (meeting/ dance scene) 2. Juliet to Maria 3. Act 2, Scene 2 to Act 1, Scene 5 (balcony scene) 3. Nurse to Anita 4. Act 3, Scene 1 to Act 1, Scene 6 (climax/ fight scene) 4. Mercutio to Riff 5. Act 5, Scene 3 to Act 2, Scene 9 (resolution) 5. Tybalt to Bernardo