Name: _________________________

Night Essay Assignment

For this essay, you will have your choice of topics. Choose one of the following four:
In the beginning of the novel, Elie considers himself a religious Jew. By the end, has he
kept his faith, or lost it?
How has Elie's relationship with his father developed throughout the novel?
Does Night ultimately reveal that humanity is evil, or does it offer hope for humanity's
goodness?
What is the significance of night in the novel?
Note: In this essay, you must have at least 4 quotes. Therefore, one body paragraph should have more
than one quote. Be careful not to depend on too many quotes. The most important part is your analysis.
Rough Drafts: due Sunday, January 25, midnight
Peer edits: Monday, January 26 in class
Final Drafts: Due Friday, Jan 31, midnight.

5-Paragraph Essay Mini Guide

Stylistic Reminders:
Do not use first personno you, I, or we.
When you quote, cite the author and page number the first time you cite: Quote (Wiesel
50). After the first time, you only need the page number. Quote (67). Parenthesis and
period goes outside the quotation marks, as shown.
Underline or italicize the book title every time you write it. Pick 1 and be consistent with it.
Your essay should have a title, be double spaced, and each paragraph should be indented.
Times New Roman font, size 12. Your header should look like this in the top left corner:
Student Name
English 1
Teacher Name
Date

Events in the book are written in present tense: Juliek brings his violin with him.

Introduction:
1. Open with a hook to introduce the essay and capture the readers interest. A thought-

provoking statement about the topic, a fact or statistic, interesting imagery, etc. For this essay,
do not use a quotation or question for your hook.
2. Background information about the book. Remember, we act as if the reader has not read
Night, so you need to give some context for what youre saying. This is where you should have
the title, author, and short summary of the plot/themes of what happens in the book.
3. Thesis statement is one sentence that states your argument and briefly lists the three main
points youre going to use to argue it. Your entire essay should be aimed at proving your thesis.

3 Body Paragraphs:
1. Topic sentence: This tells what the paragraph will be about / what you are arguing in this
paragraph. You can use transition words like first, next, or lastly. Dont forget to list your
body paragraphs in the same order you listed the points in your thesis. Your topic sentence
should not be a quote.
2. Each paragraph should have at least one quote that directly helps to strengthen your argument.
The purpose of quotes is to provide more proof/evidence for your thesis. If it doesnt do that, its
probably not the best quote.
3. You must introduce your quote with context. Rather than just randomly place a quote in the
middle of your paragraph, you need to provide some context for what the quote is: who is saying
it, when/why are they saying it, what is the setting.
4. Analysis is the most important part of each paragraph. Expand on the quote/evidence in your
paragraph. Use details and specifics. How does it relate to your thesis statement? What is the
deeper importance behind it? What is your understanding of it beyond simple summary?

Conclusion:
1. Restate your thesis preferably in new words.
2. Summarize the three main points you just made. Dont introduce any new information, this is
not the place for that.
3. End hook as the last sentence of your paper. Your reader just took the time to read your whole
paper! What thoughts do you want them to leave with? Whats the point of the argument you
just made? What powerful message or idea do you want the reader to leave with when they put
down the essay and go on with their life?