War Poem Essay Outline

I. Introduction

 Start with an interesting “capture” such as a question, quote, etc.  Include general information such as the title of the poem and the name of the poet.  End with your thesis statement. (Example: “Suicide in the Trenches” by Siegfried Sassoon really conveys the message that war is an experience that can take a normal soldier and drive him to suicide.)

II. Biography of the Poet

 Give a complete but summarized biography of the poet. Include such details as any military experience, where he was born, when he was born and when he died, any other interesting facts about him, etc.  This should be no longer than a half page, but more than just a few sentences.  You might consider including a picture of your poet, but it would go on a title page and would count as part of your required 2-3 pages.

III. Analysis of the Poem

 This is certainly the most important part of your paper.  Explain your poem by breaking it down, either line by line if it’s short enough, or stanza by stanza for longer poems. When citing specific lines from the poem, include quotation marks around them and a / to show line breaks in your poem. (Example: The lines “he put a bullet through his brain / no one spoke of him again” tell us that the soldier could no longer deal with life in the trenches so he killed himself. It also shows that the other soldiers did not really seem to care anymore, probably because they were so used to it by then.)  Make sure you not only explain the poem, but also offer some opinions and reflections of your own ideas about the poet’s message.  If your poem is based on WWI, you might consider finding ways to connect it to All Quiet on the Western Front. If you do, make sure you cite specific page numbers from the novel.  Include good topic sentences to begin your paragraphs and good concluding sentences to end your paragraphs. IV. Conclusion

 Begin by restating your thesis statement, but not in exactly the same words.  Summarize your main points.  End with something to leave your reader thinking, such as another question, quote, etc. Try to tie it back to your opening “capture”, if possible.

Other things . . .

 Poem titles go in quotations and the important words are capitalized. (Example: “Suicide in the Trenches” )  Book titles are either underlined or in italics, but not both. (Example: All Quiet on the Western Front or All Quiet on the Western Front. )  Double space everything.  Size 12 font, Times New Roman or something similar.  MLA format  Include a “Works Cited” page at the end on a separate sheet of paper  Don’t forget to submit your paper to turnitin.com  2-3 pages  Give it a good title instead of War Poem Essay. Your title should not be underlined, in quotes, but capitalize the important words and keep it the same size font as the rest of your paper.