Your Mystery Novel Essay will consist of 5 paragraphs. It will answer this essay question: “Why is the novel a great mystery?” The first paragraph will be the introduction, the middle 3 paragraphs will be the body paragraphs, and the last paragraph will be the concluding paragraph. The last sentence of your introductory paragraph must be your thesis statement.
Introductory paragraph: In your first paragraph, you will need to introduce the book you have chosen as the best book you read. What is the title and who is the author? In this paragraph you need to introduce the main characters and the setting. You then need to introduce the premise of the mystery. The premise is the central mystery of the book. What is it that the characters are trying to solve? Do not go into great detail about the mystery in your introduction. Save the detail for your body paragraphs. This paragraph should end with a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should state that your novel is a great mystery and list the three main components which make it a great mystery.
Body paragraphs: Each body paragraph must start with a topic sentence. The topic sentence should state that your novel is a great mystery because of a particular component. The components are the categories which you brainstormed for your mystery chart: Detective, Milieu, The Case, The Investigation, The Criminal, The Misdirection, The Solution, and The Author’s Writing Style. You will need to choose the three components which are the strongest in the mystery. Each paragraph must be about only one component. Each paragraphs must convince the reader that the novel is a great mystery because of a particular component. Describe the component thoroughly in these paragraphs. What makes the component particularly effective? Explain this directly. Don’t just summarize the component. EXPLAIN why the component makes the novel a great mystery.
Concluding paragraph: In your concluding paragraph, you will want to do two things: summarize your argument and reflect on your opinion of the mystery genre. For the first half of the paragraph, briefly summarize the components which make your novel a great mystery. For the second half of the paragraph, end your paper with your thoughts of the genre in general. Are you a fan of the genre? What other mysteries have you read and enjoyed (or not, as the case might be). What about the genre do you like (or dislike, as the case might be). Will you continue to read books from this genre?
Reminders:
- Keep verb tenses consistent.
- Only use personal pronouns in the concluding paragraph.
- The order of the body paragraphs shoud be logical.
