Notes About How to Write the Conclusion

What do you need in your conclusion?

1. restate your claim

2. explain why what Elie Wiesel believes is important--why his beliefs matter

3. explain what you have realized as a result of studying his speech, his memoir, and his interview

Some Useful Sentence Stems

Wiesel’s ideas are significant because….

As a result of reading his work, this reader now understands that…

Wiesel’s words teach a person that….

Notes About How to Write the Introduction

What do you need in your introduction?

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Describe who Elie Wiesel is.

Holocaust survivor, Jewish, he is a writer, a very traumatized man, a very religious young boy who prayed all the time before he was deported, from Sighet, Hungary, fifteen when he was deported in 1942, sent first to Auschwitz --lucky enough to go to the Buna labor camp---later was “evacuated” to Buchenwald, Wiesel believes that he survived because of his father’s presence--his father’s help; he father died 29 January 1945--Wiesel was liberated on 11 April 1945; for a very long time after his was liberated, Wiesel did not write or speak about his experiences during the Holocaust

2. A CLAIM: What is your paper about? What does your paper focus on? How do all three pieces of evidence from three separate sources connect?

MODEL Introduction

Elie Wiesel is an extremely important Holocaust survivor, because he has been courageous enough to share his experiences. Even though remembering the Holocaust is very painful, Wiesel has been willing to both write about what happened and to grant interviews. He was only a teenager when he was deported from Sighet, Hungary…… (KEEP GOING WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION)……..,........One of the most significant ideas that Wiesel tried to communicate is the fact that ……..

You Should Write Three Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph will have this simple structure--in the following order:

1. context

2. direct textual evidence

3. restatement

4. focus on key word

    

    

Directions for Gathering the Raw Material (the direct textual evidence) for your paper.

1. Find two pieces of direct textual evidence from each of the three sources we read:
   2 pieces from Wiesel’s Nobel Prize Speech
   2 pieces from Wiesel’s Interview with Oprah
   2 pieces from Wiesel’s  Interview with the Paris Match
   

2. Make the three pieces of evidence you chose one special color.

3. Now: go back to each of these chosen pieces of evidence and explain in your own words what Wiesel is trying to communicate to the listener.  
   

4. After you do this work of RESTATEMENT--you were just restating the evidence--describe the context for each    piece.                                  

5. Find the key word. Use the following stem: It is significant that Wiesel uses the word, “_____.” This word suggests that…..

6. We need to start writing the introduction. So ask yourself this question and see if you can write an answer.  How do all your pieces of evidence connect?

Begin your answer by writing: Wiesel cares very much about….