English II Scholastic. Marley & Me. Common Errors, Part I - Argument.
Introduction – set the context! • Begin with a hook – something that will draw in
your reader.
English II Scholastic Marley & Me
Common Errors, Part I - Argument Introduction – set the context! •
Begin with a hook – something that will draw in your reader o Effective: “Many people wonder if it is possible to learn from a dog.”
o Ineffective: “Marley is a pretty bad dog.”
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Mention title/author of the book o “In the book, Marley & Me by John Grogan, Marley proves to be a good dog.” Include only necessary background information. Do not summarize the plot or give specific examples from the book. Save the examples for the body paragraphs.
Thesis Statement: topic + attitude • •
What are you talking about and what do you have to say about it? Effective: “Marley may have been far from perfect, but he was able to teach his family lessons that nobody else would have been able to.”
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Ineffective: “The only excuse to say that Marley is the world’s worst dog would be that before his training, he would jump on people and be very wild.”
Topic sentence: relate specifically to thesis Thesis: “Even though Marley can be a crazy dog at times, he shows John and Jenny what really matters in life.” • Effective Topic Sentence: “Marley taught his family the true meaning of unconditional love.”
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Ineffective Topic Sentence: “When John and Jenny first bought Marley, he would ruin everything.”
Thesis: “John Grogan and his family loved Marley. He taught them great lessons such as loyalty, courage, and joy.” • Effective Topic Sentence: “John and Jenny believed in Marley and in return, Marley taught them how to remain true to oneself.”
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Ineffective Topic Sentence: “Marley was an ill-behaved dog.”
Never have a thesis that ‘sits on the fence’ and has no opinion. Ineffective: “But if everyone loved Marley so much, especially John, why is the subtitle of Marley & Me, “Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog?” Rewrite (make it effective):
Ineffective: “ In the book, Marley was said to be wild and crazy and probably the world’s worst dog.”
Rewrite (make it effective):
Ineffective: “In any reader’s point of view, Marley is not a bad dog, but that title describes a lot about the dog and tells a lot about the stories that happened in the book.”
Rewrite (make it effective):
Summary: Do not summarize! Only include NECESSARY information Ineffective: “John and Jenny were very happy together. They loved each other and hoped to one day have children, but they both feared the responsibility of becoming parents. Jenny, at one point, owned a plant that she could not keep alive. They were worried that they weren’t responsible, prepared, or patient enough for having children. They needed practice and that is when they bought Marley.”
Underline or italicize titles of books Correct: Marley and Me Correct: Marley and Me Incorrect: “Marley and Me”
