Assignment Task: Using the Thesis Plan, write a formalist analysis of the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
A Five Paragraph Plan
The Thesis Plan is a five paragraph essay, each paragraph having only 4 sentences each. This is a strict limit. Each paragraph should be no more (and no less) than four sentences long. There should be only 5 paragraphs. The entire paper should be only 20 sentences long.
First Paragraph:
The first paragraph of the essay is the most important. The sentences used in the opening paragraph are repeated verbatim as the topic sentence of each body paragraph, in order. The final paragraph restates the opening paragraph exactly. This may be either in the order of the opening paragraph, or in reverse order.
So, the first sentence of the first paragraph is the Thesis Statement of the essay. This sentence is followed by three sentences, making up the first paragraph of the essay.
Second Paragraph:
The second paragraph begins with the second sentence of the first paragraph. That sentence is the same sentence in both places, and it now serves as the topic sentence of the second paragraph. This sentence is followed the three original sentences, making a paragraph of four sentences.
Third Paragraph:
The third paragraph begins with the third sentence of the first paragraph. That sentence is the same sentence in both places, and it now serves as the topic sentence of the third paragraph. This sentence is followed the three original sentences, making a paragraph of four sentences.
Fourth Paragraph:
The fourth paragraph begins with the fourth, or final, sentence of the first paragraph. That sentence is the same sentence in both places, and it now serves as the topic sentence of the fourth paragraph. This sentence is followed the three original sentences, making a paragraph of four sentences.
Fifth, or Final, Paragraph:
The final paragraph is simply the first paragraph repeated. The sentences in this paragraph may be in the same original order, or this paragraph may begin with the final sentence of the first paragraph, and end with.