English teachers: To kill a mocking bird 10 page response?

Question

Ok. I have to write a 10 page response for my independent reading book and I'm going to divide it into sections...
This is my first time writting a 10 page response and I don't know how to do this, where to start and where to end? I seriously need help....
What should I write about? The author / style of writting/ characters/ plot/ theme/ andd????




and when i begin, for example, writting about major characters, should I title that section, major characters or should i title it something different?



Oh yeah, if you're going to write "do you HW by yourself" ---- Save yourself the time!!!

I have to write about my book...
and I want to write it into sections like theme/ plot/ characters//// - my teacher said its a good idea!

Answer 1

I've done many of these papers. Sit down with a note pad. Write down any ideas you have. Then decide which ideas you're going to include and which you will leave out. You should be able to incorporate the ideas you will use in one major idea. For example, if you're going to discuss charaters, you could try comparing the different characters' reactions to an event in the novel and how that exposes the difference in their personalities. This would then be your main theme.

A good paper should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. As a general rule, you should try to keep your introduction and conclusion to about 1/6 of the total paper. It's just a rule of thumb, you don't have to strictly apply it. But if they're much longer than that, you know you probably have a problem with structure and should rework them.

The introduction is where you tell your reader what your paper will be about. Avoid platitudes like opening with general lines about the world, philosophy in general, etc... That's good for primary school, but after that, beter to get straight to the point. So in the example above, you would take about a page, maybe a page and a half to explain you're going to explore the differences between the characters through their reaction to a particular event and how it illustrates who these people are and what their role in the novel is.

The body of the text is actually the easiest part to write if you do things right. This is where you argue your point. Keep in mind what you're trying to demonstrate (as set out in your introduction), and give examples, arguments, etc... It's good to have a quote or two that support your argument for each point you raise. To reason logically is also a good idea.
To keep with the example I've given you (I've never read to Kill a Mocking Bird, so I'm just making this up, btw), you could write something like: 'On page 43, the grandmother said nothing when she left the room but "exited with a final cold stare for her son in law" (Your quote). On page 12, the author describes her as vengeful and wrote "she could hold a grudge for years" this explains why by the end of the book, she sees him in danger and simply "smiles and shakes her head as he falls to his death" on page 56. The author had warned us she was vengeful, an we had to know by the way she reacted she had taken offence at her son in law. That is why she did nothing to help him.
So in that paragraph, I use quotes to make my point about how I think the grandmother is, and why I think she acted that way. I then connect the quotations with an argument explaining why I think this demonstrates my point.

Finally, in your conclusion, you try to wrap things up nicely. You will remind your reader of the points you've made. Then you connect them. Explain how these points are related and how your argument forms a coherent whole. If you're not quite sure how to o it and you want to go out with a general sentence on the meaning of life, or something like that, this is the place to do it. It will pass easier in the conclusion as long as it's related. But I would still avoid it.

Also, you don't have to start with writing the introduction. It often helps to just start straight up with the body of the text, make your argument, and then figure out how you're going to introduce it. Also, don't try to do these things at the last minute, plan well in advance. If you want to do this well, you'll want to take the time to review it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Here is an order that might work...

1) A biographical section on the author, Harper Lee. This can include some of the other interesting things she did. I think she and her pal Truman Capote researched his book "In Cold Blood" together, for instance.

2) Biographical influences on the book...like her friend Truman Capote, the model for Dil.

3) Social background of the book - the south, racism, the Depression - and how these things are reflected in the book.

4) A plot summary.

5) The book's theme and how the plot reflects it. The special meaning of the title and its relation to the theme (taking a stand against gratuitous evil)

Techniques that Harper Lee uses - first-person narration and dialogue are very important in TKAM. 6) could be first-person narration and 7) could be dialogue.

8) Characters and character development.

9) The limitations that come from Harper Lee's authorial choices - everything in the book comes filtered through the mind of a child.

10) A section on the excellent film version of the book.

There's plenty of material on this author and her book to fill ten pages, though that is a big, ambitious assignment. If you need inspiration, one thing you might want to do is go to www.amazon.com and read all the various readers' reviews of the book just to see how other thoughtful readers have responded to it (if you use anything from that site or any other, footnote it and give the author full credit). Good luck!

Answer 3

Ok so what you need to do first is pick 1 specific topic and focus on that the entire paper. Make sure it's a topic that you have A LOT to write about.

To see if a topic is suitable and can get you writing 10 pages, do this:
#1 Think of 1 main argument that your paper is going to focus on. For example, something about it's central theme.

#2 Come up with 3 main points that support this argument.

#3 Come up with several points that support each of the 3 main points you came up with in #2. Quotations from the novel itself is what you should also look for here.

Good luck !

Answer 4

When I am analyzing literature I like to rely heavily on the characters to get me through. For this book I might start by nailing down the theme of the book, and then showing how each major character plays a role in revealing that, what they learned, how the actions impacted them, changed them, or didn't change them as the case may be. Also, how they advanced the plot, different things they did and said to bring light to the theme. The setting and time of the book also is meaningful in the stroy.

Answer 5

an introduction where you introduce a few main topics such as character development and plot and how you felt about the book. this can make up your body. in the conclusion paragraph(s) restate these topics. hope this helps.

i also happen to have read to kill a mockingbird, and i think you could use up a lot of space talking about racial unfairness and discrimination, and maybe what you believe to be the authors' veiw point.

Answer 6

Well it depends upon what your teacher wants you to write about. Did your teacher give you a topic(s) or a series of questions to cover in your paper?

If you can't answer these basic questions, go and ask your teacher for some direction so that your not way off topic and get a bad grade for doing the paper incorrectly.

Answer 7

yes. that's a good and very organized idea you have there. you can also write about theme and the authors writing style.

Answer 8

what ido is an organised brainstorm an then make 1 or 2 sentences for each point thouroly going through the brainstorm until i commented on each point.