Download The Odyssey Essay Preparation–thesis and topic sentences

The Odyssey Essay Preparation
Thesis:
You need to be specific, detailed, but to the point. You must answer everything the
prompt asks you to in your thesis statement.
Here are some thesis examples. You tell me what I should do to make them better:
Odysseus gets along with his men, but he’s a bad leader.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus does not have a good relationship with his crew
because he’s selfish and he gets all of them killed for eating Helios’ cattle, and then
Zeus sunk his ship with a thunderbolt.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is a good leader because he tries to protect them,
and he always has a good escape plan.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus has a positive relationship with his crew, and he
is a good leader for them because he tries to look out for their best interests, and he
always has a good escape plan.
A good topic sentence tells me exactly what the rest of the paragraph will be about
it. Think of your topic sentences mini thesis statements for each paragraph.
Good Topic Sentences:
Odysseus is a bad leader to his men because he does not care about their opinions.
There are severe consequences when people do not follow hospitality rules.
Odysseus shows he’s an epic hero because he has the Greek value of virtue.
Sometimes the Gods punish Odysseus to teach him a lesson in humility.
Bad Topic Sentences:
“I felt so angry I wanted to chop off Euylochus’ head.”
Odysseus, his son, and two servants kill all of the suitors.
Odysseus wants to be tied to the mast so that he can be the only one who hears the Sirens.
Poseidon heard the Cyclops’ prayer and pushed Odysseus off course.
Outline in Plain English
I’ve written out below what you should fill in for your outline. I’ve stated it as
plainly as I can.
INTRO:
-Attention getter (something to get me interested and introduce me to your topic)
-A couple sentences about The Odyssey as a whole, just give me a little background to
what you’re going to be talking about.
-Lead smoothly into your thesis
-Thesis statement (what your whole essay is going to be about, specifically. It answers
all parts of the prompt)
BODY PARAGRAPHS ONE-THREE:
-Topic sentence (what this whole paragraph will be about. It takes one part of your thesis
and talks about it in detail)
-Example from the text to show proof of your argument in this paragraph
-elaborate on this example. Explain how this piece of the story proves your point. This
is the “so what?” part
-Another example from the text
-more “so what?” explanations of why this part of the story proves your point.
-closing sentence to the paragraph (like a mini conclusion to the essay). You’re wrapping
up your ideas in this paragraph.
CONCLUSION:
-Do not re-state your thesis.
-Discuss something new, but still related to your topic. Maybe one of these will fit your
topic: how did these experiences change the characters? Did the characters learn
anything about themselves? Were the character’s actions fair? Did the reader learn
anything about life?
-End with a powerful, last statement. Go out with a bang.