Chunking Packet

Name:__________________________Mrs. Blandford, English 8What is ExpositoryWriting?What is a Responseto Literature?Chunking—One Approach to StructuringAnalytical/Expository WritingAnalytical/expository compositions are usually designed to explain, analyze, interpret,speculate, evaluate, persuade, or reflect. But, regardless of what they are about ortheir intent, analytical/expository compositions usually have a three-part structureconsisting of an introduction, main body and a conclusion.A response to literature is a piece of writing that responds to or discusses questionsgiven in a writing prompt for a specific novel, short story, or poem.What is a ThesisStatement?What’s an exampleof a Response toLiterature writingprompt?What should aResponse toLiteratureIntroductoryparagraph contain?What would anexample Introductoryparagraph look likein response to thewriting prompt listedabove?What is the formatfor a “Jane SchafferChunking” bodyparagraph?What does a typicalOne Chunk bodyparagraph consist of?A thesis is a sentence that appears at the end (ideally) of the introductory paragraph,which tells the reader what the paper will prove or discuss. The thesis is the keyproposition or argument to be supported, advanced or defended by the writerthroughout the remainder of the paper.In Harry M. Petrakis’s short story “A Whole Nation and a People”, the narrator,Haralambos, opens the story recalling an incident from his youth. As a teen, he hadspecific feelings about his cultural heritage, especially in light of the fact that he andhis friends were all immigrants. Analyze the change that occurs in the narrator fromthe beginning of the story to the end. How does one particular incident in his lifealter his perception of his heritage for the rest of his life?• Hook (generalizations work great for this domain of writing)• Author & Title• Brief bit of overview/background of story/text• Thesis(Generalization/Hook) In most people’s lives there comes a time when they are forced toconfront some of the harsher realities of the world. Often these eye-opening experiences leadto a greater sense of self-awareness or understanding about human nature. (Author/Title) Inthe short story “A Whole Nation and a People” by Harry M. Petrakis,(Overview/Background) a young Greek immigrant boy, Haralambos, is desperately trying toprove to himself and others his loyalty to the American way of life. To demonstrate hisallegiance, he leads a raid on the store of an old Greek grocer, Barba Nikos. (Thesis) Theprotagonist quickly learns that the grocer is a bold guardian of his mighty Greek heritage, andas a result of their interaction, Barba helps to restore the ethnic identity within Haralambos.One Chunk Paragraphs are 5 sentences in length. Two Chunk Paragraphs are 8sentences in length. Three Chunk paragraphs are 11 sentences in length.(You should aim for 2-3 chunks)One Chunk Structure —5 Sentences—1. Topic Sentence (TS)2. Concrete Detail (CD)3. Commentary (CM)4. Commentary (CM)5. Concluding Sentence (CS)To create a multi-chunk paragraph, you simply add 1-2 chunks after the first one, butbefore the concluding sentence.1

Step 5—Group Prewriting: Fill in the chart below with possible Concrete Details from the story which help prove thatyour topic sentence is true. (These can be exact quotes or just paraphrases)1.GROUP PREWRITING/GATHERING CDs2.( ).3.( ).( ).Step 6—Concrete Details have 3 sections:• T: the transition• L: lead-in• CD: a concrete detailChoose one of your concrete details and anchor it below with a transition and a lead-in. This is sentence #2 for your 2-chunk body paragraph.TRANSITION (T)LEAD-IN (L)CONCRETE DETAIL(CD)( ).6

Then choose a second concrete detail and anchor it below with a different transition word and lead-in. This is sentence #5for your 2 chunk body paragraph.TRANSITION (T)LEAD-IN (L)CONCRETE DETAIL(CD)( ).7

Step 7—Shaping the Paragraph (Shaping Sheet)—fill in your topic sentence from step 4 and your concrete details fromstep 6. Then complete the rest of the paragraph.1) TS:2) CONCRETE DETAIL (3 parts)transition:lead-in: (choose one of these words to start the lead-in: when, after, since, while, as, before, although)concrete detail3) CM: (Begin with a transitional phrase like: This shows that…)( ).4) CM: (Begin with a transitional phrase like: This is because…)5) CONCRETE DETAIL (3 parts)transition: Additionally, …lead-in: (choose one of these words to start the lead-in: when, after, since, while, as, before, although)concrete detail( ).6) CM: (Begin with a transitional phrase like: This is evidence of… )7) CM: (Begin with a transitional phrase like: As a result, …)8) CS: (Begin with a transitional phrase like: Therefore, …)8