Toulmin ESSAY OUTLINE

I.INTRODUCTION - Make sure you include the 5Ws:

Who (Who is the book about? Who are the main character(s)? (Don’t mention more than the main character’s name. Avoid giving away too much information at first!)

what - What is the book about? Look at your WORD BANK or determine what are the main themes in the book. What are the major issues surrounding the story?

where - location – where is the story taking place?

When – is the time period known? If not, don’t bother including it in your essay.

Why – Look at your essential question:

In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, who is the most responsible for Santiago’s death?

The first thing that comes to mind is, why is Santiago dead? Once you explain that, you’ve covered that part of your intro. Otherwise, the claim makes no sense and comes out of nowhere.

Claim – THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: The person most responsible for Santiago’s death is______.

II.CLARIFICATION – Clarify (define) responsible because it has more than one definition.

Remember the D.R.E. method: D. EFINE R.OLE/RELATIONSHIP E.XAMPLE

  1. Define responsible
  1. ___(your character)______is responsible because_(what’s the reason they’re responsible)______.
  1. Explain your character’s role in Santiago’s death. How do they contribute to him getting killed?
  1. Provide a brief example of what leads up to his death: Angela is responsible for Santiago’s death because______. She contributes to his death by______.

The purpose of the clarification is to clarify unclear terms from the claim, but also to set up what the evidence will reveal.

III. EVIDENCE/WARRANT – Provide an excerpt from the book to help prove your claim. The excerpt can be dialogue or any part of the text as long as it relates to the claim.

  1. Evidence must be 1-2 sentences. Don’t cite a WHOLE PARAGRAPH.
  1. Make sure you cite which page your evidence comes from. Here’s how:

(SEE NEXT PAGE)

“The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were reared to be married.” (Marquez, pg. 31)

  1. Set up your evidence. Introduce it first. Just don’t start your evidence without a set up. Here’s how:

In chapter 2, the narrator explains the dynamics of the Vicario family. He says “the brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were reared to be married.”(Marquez, pg. 31)

IV.THE WARRANT – The purpose of the warrant is to explain why your evidence is important/why your evidence proves your claim.

  1. For your warrant to be effective, you must follow basic rules: Explain what your evidence says, explain what your evidence means, and why your evidence is significant.
  1. Your warrant should include the following:
  2. Analyze words that could have a significant meaning.
  3. Explain how the evidence reveals something about the characters.
  4. Explain how the evidence proves the claim.

REMEMBER!!!!!! – Your warrant demonstrates your ability to analyze the evidence and is what you are given the most points for. Make sure your warrant is strong! – Fill out the say, mean, matter chart if necessary…

You must write 2 warrants in your essay. One for each piece of evidence.