How to write an essay!

Chinese Cinderella

Theme = Courage and Honor

Essay Topic = Adeline Yen Mah is a courageous and

honorable young girl. Discuss.

Essay Topic

The first thing that you need to do is decide whether or not you agree with the essay topic. For example, do you believe that Adeline is brave and courageous or not?

Example – Adeline Yen Mah is without a doubt, a very courageous and honorable young girl.

Decide on your position

The next thing you must do is select three EXAMPLES from the book to use as evidence to support your point of view. Your points should be arranged from the most important to the least important. For example:

1. Adeline demonstrates an immense amount of courage

when she sheilds little sister from being hit by Niang2. Adeline shows honor when she stands her ground and

does not apologize to Niang for borrowing pocket money from her grandparents.

3. Adeline shows courage when she decides to walk home alone from the city when nobody comes to collect her.

Find three points to support your view

In your introduction you must:

Give a general summary of the what the book is

about

Outline the essay topic

State your contention (point of view) on the topic

Outline your three points that support your view.

The Introduction

Chinese Cinderella is a book written by Adeline Yen Mah. The

author writes an autobiography about her own experiences and

her life as a child. It is a true story about an unwanted daughter

who suffered because of her family members, especially her

siblings and stepmother. Through out her life, Adeline shows an

immense amount of honor and courage. Adeline protects her little

sister from being thrashed by Niang, stands up for what she

believes and refuses to apologise to her stepmother and finally

has the courage to walk home from the city alone. The following

piece aims to highlight Adeline’s courageous and honorable

nature.

Introduction Example!

In the first paragraph you need to discuss and

elaborate (extend) on your first point (Adeline

demonstrates an immense amount of courage when

she shields little sister from being hit by Niang. You

need to prove to the reader why this point highlights

her courage, remember you are trying to convince

the reader that Adeline is a brave girl. Try to use a

quote from the book to back up your argument.

First Body Paragraph

Adeline’s stepmother was volatile (unpredictable) towards her and was

always fawning (flattering) over her own children and was unfair and

disdained (disregard) with her stepchildren. However, even when her

family mistreated her, Adeline was always strong and tried to not follow

what her siblings or parents told her. This became evident when Adeline

stepped in to protect her little sister from being beaten by their ruthless

stepmother “ your turn – find a quote that supports this point ( first student

to answer gets a chocolate”. Furthermore, despite being much younger

than her older siblings, Adeline was the only one who had the courage to

confront Niang and save her little sister from the physical abuse she was

encountering. Thus, apart from being brave Adeline also showed allegiance

(loyalty) she her little sister so in other words, she was honorable.

First Paragraph Example

In the second paragraph you need to discuss and elaborate

(extend) on your second point (Adeline shows honor when

she stands her ground and does not apologize to Niang for

borrowing pocket money from her grandparents). You need

to prove to the reader why this point highlights her

courage, remember you are trying to convince the reader

that Adeline is a brave girl. Why did Adeline not apologise

to Niang? Who’s honor was she protecting? What were the

consequences of her actions? Try to use a quote from the

book to back up your argument.

Second Paragraph

Unlike many children in the world, Adeline was unloved and unwanted. The

most powerful people in her life, Niang and Father, didn’t fulfill their parenting

responsibilities towards her and even her siblings were cruel to her. However,

despite the lack of love in which Adeline received she still did not allow herself

to be manipulated and controlled by Ninag’s conniving ( manipulative) ways.

This became clear in the scene in which Niang tried to make Adeline apologize

for accepting to take money from her grandparents for the tram ride to

school. Furthermore, Niang blackmailed Adeline by demanding an apology or

losing her share of the pocket money. Sadly, all of Adeline’s siblings

succumbed ( gave in) to Ninag and apologized for accepting money from Aunt

Baba and Ye Ye, all except Adeline who showed honor and pride by not

betraying her grandparents and not allowing Niang to have the better of her.

Second Paragraph Example

In the third paragraph you need to discuss and elaborate

(extend) on your third point (Adeline shows courage when

she decides to walk home alone from the city when nobody

comes to collect her). Discuss how this point proves that

Adeline is courageous? Why did she walk home alone? How

did her parents react when she arrived at home? You need

to prove to the reader why this point highlights her

courage, remember you are trying to convince the reader

that Adeline is a brave and honorable girl.

Third Paragraph

Adeline was seen as bad luck to her family as her mother died after

giving birth to her. She was always frowned upon by her sibling, ignored

by her Father and scolded ( shut down) by her stepmother. Thus, Adleine

had no choice but to depend on herself as there was no one else to help

her. A prime (major) example of this is when Adeline walks home from

the city alone when nobody comes to collect her. After being forgotten,

Adeline boldly (bravely) decides to make her own journey home in the

dark. Upon her arrival. Adeline is not welcomed by hugs and kisses of

concern as nobody had even noticed her absence. In this example,

Adeline not only shows an immense amount of bravery, but also

demonstrates honor in the way that she was able to hide her emotional

pain and sadness.

Example of third paragraph

In your conclusion you need to restate your

three main points and remind the reader of

your main contention ( whether you believe

Adeline shows courage and honor throughout he

novel). Try to end your essay with a powerful line

that will leave the reader convinced that your

POV (point of view) is correct.

The conclusion!

There is no questioning the fact that Adeline Yen Mah is a very courageous and honorable young girl. She had the courage to stop Niang from beating on her sister, the honor to stand up for what she believes and not submit to Niang’s controlling way and the courage to walk home alone at night. Adeline Yen Mah is a hero and an inspiration to us all teaching us that we can overcome life’s troubles and obstacles.

Example of conclusion