Step One: Pick and highlight one of the following for your essay. In Orwell’s novella, Animal Farm, the farm starts off as a farm where all animals are equal, protected, and provided for. Gradually, we see the shift from a utopian society to one where animals are brutally murdered or worked to death. Most of the animals end up living miserable lives, except for the pigs of course. In your opinion, which animal is MOST at fault for the moral decline of Animal Farm?

Boxer/exploited workers of Russia: He’s easily persuaded by propaganda and allows himself to be manipulated and worked to death.
Squealer/Russian propaganda: Willing to purposefully confuse and lie to the masses to make the ruling class look good/get what they want.
Benjamin/ the uninvolved intellectual: Fully understands what’s going on and the propaganda techniques, but will not help the less intelligent understand
Sheep/easily persuaded masses: Do not question anything, but blindly and dutifully repeat everything they’re told by media and propaganda. Stops useful discussion and halts all real conversations about a solution.
Snowball/Trotsky: Does not fight harder to stop Napoleon/Stalin. Does not return to try to help.
Napoleon/Stalin: Allows the feeling of power and desire for more of it to corrupt his initial values for a utopian society. Willing to kill and hurt others to get more power.
Dogs/KGB: Allowed themselves to be used to kill regular citizens and were used to control the crowd with fear.

POSITION/OPINION (Pick a stance on one side or the other for the prompt you chose):

Requirements

I. INTRODUCTION

HOOK- Hooks DO NOT say anything about the novel!

CONTEXT (Author/Title, briefly tell me what’s going on):

INTRODUCE TOPIC (What is the issue that you are writing about?):

CLAIM (Thesis-This is going to be your stance on the issue):
TIP: DO NOT use phrases like- I believe, I feel, I think, In my opinion
TIP: DO NOT use phrases like- I believe, I feel, I think, In my opinion
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II. FIRST BODY PARAGRAPH
TOPIC SENTENCE (what is the first reason why your side of the argument is right):

CONTEXT (Briefly explain what is happening in the book when your supporting quote appears in the book.):
TIP: After you have decided on a topic sentence, find a quote that supports your argument. THEN, go back and fill in the context.

EVIDENCE/SUPPORT (This will be a quote that is imbedded in a sentence):

ANALYSIS (Explain HOW/WHY this quote supports what you said in your topic sentence. This is NOT a retelling/summary of the quotation). TIP: DO NOT use phrases like: This quote shows, This quote proves, This shows, This proves

CONCLUSION (restate the point you made in the topic sentence IN NEW WORDS and why it is right):