More Strong Paragraphs

This paragraph is a response to the poem "Against Idleness and Mischief," and addresses the concept of theme, which we discussed in class today.

This is a TEAC paragraph:

Topic Sentence

Examples

Analysis

Conclusion

What is the central theme of "Against Idleness and Mischief?"

 The central theme of "Against Idleness and Mischief" is that hard work is important because it is the key to staying out of trouble. The busy bee is like the ideal individual--hard-working as she collects honey from flowers and builds wax cells to store it. The speaker says that he would also be busy like the bee, warning that "Satan finds some mischief still / for idle hands to do." The busy bee is constantly occupied, and therefore has no time to be idle; therefore, no time for mischief. By following the speaker's example, good children can do the same if they want to stay out of trouble.

Notice that the topic sentence answers the question, stating the central theme of the poem. The next two sentences provide details from the poem that support the central point. The examples show that the bee is good and hard-working. The example also shows that the speaker of the poem believes that working hard is a good thing, and helps keep young people away from "mischief." Therefore, the bee is a model to be followed, since hard work will help keep you out of trouble.

Classwork assignment:

Write a TEAC paragraph answering the following question:

What is the main theme of "How doth the Little Crocodile?" Label each sentence according to the TEAC model (Topic sentence, Example, Analysis, Conclusion).