Analyze the prompt—circle essential terms Ex: The following paragraphs are from the opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt, write a well-organized essay in which you Characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb, Kansas and analyze how Capote conveys this view. Your analysis may consider such stylistic elements as diction, imagery, syntax, structure, tone, and selection of detail.
Analyzing the prompt
The following paragraphs are from the opening of TrumanCapote’s In Cold Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt, write a well-organized essay in which you characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb, Kansas and analyze how Capote
conveys this view. Your analysis may consider such stylistic elements as diction, imagery, syntax, structure, tone, and
selection of detail.
Analyzing the prompt
If the question reads such as you may use your own selection of techniques, strategies, and devices.
Elements you will refer to in essay in the order in which you will address them
Example A
In the opening of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote presents a picture of the town of Holcomb, Kansas. Through structure, selection of detail, and a detached tone, Capote’s view of Holcomb portrays small town life as dull and ordinary.
Strategies--shadowed
Effect—italicized
Purpose--underlined
Example B
Holcomb, Kansas, Holcomb, Kansas. Even the sound of the place is boring and uninteresting. Moreover, Truman Capote seems to agree with this in his opening to In Cold Blood. Most readers would be inclined to pass by this sleepy, bland, and undistinguished hamlet. This view is developed through the author’s tone, structure, and selection of detail.
Strategies--shadowed
Effect—italicized
Purpose--underlined
Example C
“Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped here. This is the town of Holcomb, Kansas.” Using a reporter’s objective tone, specific structure, and selection of detail, Capote in the opening of his novel shows the town much like any other American town, perhaps to lull readers to believe into a false sense of security.
Strategies--shadowed
Effect—italicized
Purpose--underlined
Example D
In Cold Blood is a very appropriate title, because Capote presents a cold and unemotional view of Holcomb, Kansas. His tone, structure, and selection of detail creates a distant and detached picture of this desolate farm community thus showing this type of crime could occur anywhere.
Strategies--shadowed
Effect—italicized
Purpose--underlined
Which type do you use?
Sample A restates the question without elaborating: to the point and correct but does not catch reader’s interest.
Use if you feel unsure or uncomfortable with prompt
Which type do you use?
Sample B reflects writer who has a voice; he/she has determined Capote’s view and understands how view is created.
Which type do you use?
Sample C immediately places the reader into the passage by referring specifically to it.
Which type do you use?
Sample D reveals mature, confident writer who is unafraid to make his or her own voice heard; ties in some aspect of passage with his/her analysis.
What next?
USE transition from intro to first body paragraph
Transitional expressions
Word, phrase, that is used in thesis
Idea that is used in thesis
Arrangement of body paragraphs
Follow the format set forth in your thesis statement.
This will assist your reader in following your logic
Explain the strategy the author uses (first person narrative)
Give specific examples from the text to illustrate the strategy (Do not always paraphrase the original. Directly refer to the original. (explicit examples.)
Explain why the author uses this technique and what overall effect it has on the work.
.
How do you move from one idea to another?
Use connective tissue to stick to the question
Repeat key ideas from prompt and your opening paragraph
Use synonyms
town/village, hamlet bland/ordinary/undistinguished
Example
presents a cold and unemotional view of Holcomb, Kansas. His objective tone, structure, and selection of detail creates a distant and detached picture of this desolate farm community thus showing this type of crime could occur anywhere.
Capote utilizes an objective tone , much like that of a journalist in his description of the town. For example, in “Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there “ the author categorizes very ordinary life and all of its mundane behavior s in order to demonstrate how typical the town is. In so doing, he draws a parallel between Holcomb and the readers’ towns.
Conclusion
Briefly restate thesis.
Capote repeatedly draws on the readers’ sense of security in recognizing their hometowns .
Draw conclusions about the authors’ motives
After he lulls them to this point , he then reveals the horrific crime that befell the family of the sleepy farm town.
.
Clincher: return to attn getter
In Cold Blood is then effective not only to explain the details of the story style, but equally effective in describing Capote’s disregard of the horror of the audience
