An archetype is defined as a "pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies." Epic heroes are archetypes in that there are many epic heroes, but they all basically follow the same path. It's like they are imitations of each other. The psychologist Carl Jung said that these types of people (epic heroes, the wise man on the mountain top, etc.) are archetypes because they are an "inherited idea or mode of thought."

So, in class we're going to look at the stages of the epic hero's life, and then you are going to write an essay persuading the reader that Joseph from Genesis fits the pattern. For each stage, you must explain exactly what Joseph did or how he shows the trait.

Structuring your Body Paragraphs

You don't want to have nine tiny paragraphs, so you have to decide how to group the traits logically. Two rules--group similar ideas together and built up to more and more difficult arguments (meaning you start with the simpliest). Now, since you are grouping categories, you must have a topic sentence that labels which traits you have in which paragraph. So, if you put "a friend and mentor" together with "a special tool or weapon," you have a couple of choices.

Special note on topic sentences

1. Have a topic sentence general enough to cover both categories such as, "A hero gets help from many sources," and then you can talk about the two specific sources in the paragraph.

2. Label the actual traits in the topic sentence like, "Both a mentor and a special weapon ensure that the hero succeeds."

WARNING: If the first sentence in the paragraph only includes "mentor," then the paragraph can ONLY talk about mentors. The topic sentence determines what goes in the whole paragraph.

Choose which types of arguments you're going to use. Good writers will use a variety of argument types, so make sure that you don't overuse examples/observations.

Prediction / Analogy / Cause & Effect / Examples

Using Quotations as Evidence:

If you're going to use quotes, do not pull out large 'chunks' and plop them in the middle of your writing. If you choose to use quotes, add a few quotes into the body paragraphs as evidence that your ideas are correct. This is a little different from what you've seen in the past.

Sample:

(1) Gilgamesh is described as the "butting bull" and the "furious flood-wave," both of which show his great power.

(2) Jackson shows how the children act like sheep who just follow along when "the other boys soon followed [ Bobby Martin's ] example."

Reasons why the samples are good:

1. Most of the sentence comes from the student.
2. There's no break between the student's words and the quote so that if you read it out loud, it sounds like one sentence.
3. The punctuation is correct. When a sentence blends the quote in like this, there's no comma before the quote.
4. Only the important part of the quote is here, not the whole sentence or passage.
5. When the student had a confusing pronoun in the second sample ("his example"), the student changed the quote only to make the grammar correct and then used brackets [ ] to show the change. Most of the time you don't have to change a quote to make it fit, but if you do, you can use brackets and that tells the reader that you've changed the quote but ONLY to make the grammar fit.

Rebuttal:

Include a rebuttal as your last body paragraph. Use this to deal with your most difficult trait to prove. Remember, a rebuttal includes a concession, a transition, a rebuttal argument, and a closing sentence. You can click HERE to see some extra samples.

Structuring your Introduction

You want a clean, simple introduction that gets right into the topic.

Attention Getter:
......................... Quote and Explanation
......................... Startling Statistics or Statement
......................... Anecdote or short-short story
Bridge: How does this attention getter relate to your specific topic?
Thesis: What are you trying to prove in your whole paper

A word on thesis statements. You've been taught to write linked or detailed thesis statements where you have hooks for each of your body paragraphs in the thesis.

Sample Linked Thesis

Greenway is a superior school because of our sports programs, our award-winning newspaper, and our dedicated teachers

You can see the three topic right in the thesis. Now imagine that instead of having three areas, you're writing a report with seven different areas you need to cover. Your linked thesis will look like this:

Greenway is a superior school because of our sports programs, our vocational classes, our beautiful campus, our award-winning newspaper, our student volunteer programs, our excellent administration and our dedicated teachers.

That looks a little... well... overwhelming. A general thesis that gives only the general topic you'll discuss works better here

Greenway's many programs make it a superior school.

A persuasive thesis goes one step farther and uses a command verb to direct people to do something or believe something, so you need to use a command verb like "has to, must, should, needs to, etc..."

Structuring your Conclusion

Repeat your main point, but be creative with it. Don't just repeat yourself.

Refer back to Attn. getter. If you talked about "John" in the attention getter, I need to see you mention him here. Go back to that opening idea.

Close with a call to action. What do you want the reader to believe, or what do you want them to do?

Do a STYLE ANALYSIS!

Audience: The teacher
Format: Handwritten or typed
Style: Basic Style Requirements
Length: As long as it takes.
Presentation: Iink, handwritten, one side of the paper if handwritten. Double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman/Ariel if typed

Ms. Cannaday's Grammar Page
Style Analysis
Purdue OWL on grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Grammar Slammer