Outline Template
Complete the following outline in sentences. Copy and paste the text into a document, or create a document of your own with the same information.
You need at least two body paragraphs and the specified number of examples and explanations. If you would like to have additional paragraphs or examples and explanations, just add them to your template.
Writing Prompt:
What stylistic elements does King use to influence his readers? After reading and analyzing "Letter from Birmingham Jail," write an essay in which you answer the question and analyze structure and language in his text, providing three or more examples to illustrate and clarify your analysis. What conclusion can you draw about the power of this text?
I. Hook:When Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” he was expressing how important it is to fight injustice instead of staying silent.
A. Bridge:Martin Luther King, Jr. lived this quote by speaking out against racism and inequality. He spoke many speeches and wrote letters against the injustice that was going on. Even when he was sent to the Birmingham jail he wrote one particular letter to the Clergymen at the Birmingham Church.
B. Thesis:Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors and imagery to communicate his message to his readers.
II. Topic Sentence:Martin Luther King, Jr. uses imagery to let his readers know what he sees everyday and what he has to live with.
A. Example, Reason, Detail, or Fact from the text:In the third paragraph of King, Jr.’s letter, he tells the Clergymen why it is impossible for Negroes to wait for something to change by describing what he lives with and sees every day.
B. Explanation:He tells about the mobs that kill Negro mothers, fathers, and siblings at will and the police that torture Negroes because they hate them. He also tells his readers that it is hard to explain why his six-year-old daughter can’t do certain things because they are closed to colored children then see her unknowingly create a certain kind of hatred towards white people.
C. Example, Reason, Detail, or Fact from the text: He describes injustice as an ugly puss-flowing boil that is not changing because it is covered up.
D. Explanation: He attempts to explain to the reader that injustice will only get worse if it stays covered up and not revealed to the open air to be dealt with and cured.
III. Topic Sentence:Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors a lot in his letter to make the reader think or feel a certain way.
A. Example, Reason, Detail, or Fact from the text:Martin Luther King, Jr. compares the Church to a thermometer and to a thermostat.
B. Explanation:He says that back in the days, the Church was like a thermostat, changing society; but now it is just a thermometer, only telling and recording what happens and not doing anything about it. He tries to tell the reader that the church can be very powerful if it speaks up and takes charge.
C. Example, Reason, Detail, or Fact from the text: King explains that injustice is like a boil.
D. Explanation:Nothing will change as long as it is covered up; it must be opened and it must be cured by the natural medicines of air and light. Injustice won’t be fought until it is brought out into the open where everyone can see it.
IV. Conclusion
A. You will write a conclusion in a later lesson and do not need to complete this part now.