12 Angry Men - Essay

This post is for all junior classes.

Overview

Psychic determinism is a theory that suggests that a person's psychological makeup (attitudes, behaviors, likes, dislikes, etc.) arise from specific causes or forces (events experienced earlier in life). In other words, people behave the way they do because of what the experienced in the past.

In a thoughtful four-paragraph essay, answer the following quesion:

 

What two characters from 12 Angry Men

clearly behave as they do because

of their experiences in the past?

 

You should plan on visiting the TLC and working with a writing consultant at least once before the essay is due. Check back later for the due date.

 

 

Planning

Before you begin writing, please complete the 12 Angry Men Essay Planning worksheet.

Criteria

Organization

     The title should…

• …be creative
• …be centered
• …be written in regular font
• …have the first letters of all important words capitalized
• …not contain words that are underlined, bold, all caps, word art, etc.

 

     The intro should…

• …have an interesting hook that grabs readers’ attention
• …have a link - a few sentences to connect your hook to your topic (the novel) and lists titles and authors.
• …have a clear, concise thesis.
• …have a clear, concise bridge.

 

     Body paragraphs should…

• …contain transitions between body points.
• …have a topic sentence that presents the central claim the paragraph will prove.
• …have a setup for each quotation explaining the context of the scene.
• ….contain concise, thoughtful, properly cited quotations to present evidence to support your claim (topic sentence).
• …provide an explanation (warrant) for each quotation, detailing just how the quotation proves the claim (topic sentence).

 

     The conclusion should…

• …answer the question, “So what?”
• …expand the ideas of the essay into the real world.

 

Mechanics

• Avoid first person and second person.
• Avoid slang.
• Use correct spelling.
• Avoid contractions.
• Avoid awkward language usage.
• Italicize all book and play titles.
• Use language that is thoughtful, graceful, and concise.

 

Formatting

• 12 pt. font
• Times New Roman
• doubled-spaced
• one inch margins
• no extra spaces between paragraphs.
• correct heading in the right hand corner – Name, period, word count