Here's a sample Trash essay so far...

‘Trash reminds the reader that justice should not depend on your wealth.’ Discuss

Opening paragraph
1… Tell us about the novel, in RELATION TO THE QUESTION. (If someone
who had never read the book but was interested in the ideas of “justice” and
“wealth”, asked you about it, what would you say?)
2… Tell us about the DEBATE behind the set question. (What do you think these
words mean? Why are they important?)
3… Tell us your OPINION / CONTENTION. (What is your opinion about these
words in relation to the book?)

Trash, written by Andy Mulligan, is a novel that portrays a country in the grip of
corruption and injustice. Written from multiple narrative perspectives, Trash mostly
presents its points of view from the eyes of three boys who live on the trash heaps
of a city in a third-world country where there are massive inequities of wealth. The
crimes of wealthy people portrayed in the novel (like Senator Zapanta) cause great
misfortune, injustice and unhappiness for the inhabitants of the novel’s semi-
fictional society. It is clear that, through characterisations of important political
figures like Zapanta, and through correspondingly positive characterisations of
ethical citizens like Jose (and eventually the three boys), the novel presents the
position that wealth and justice are certainly in opposition to each other.

Next, the middle paragraphs (three or four of them…)

Important step: make a list of at least three supporting arguments you could use in
helping to persuade readers about your overall opinion. Each of these supporting
arguments should be a middle paragraph.

Middle Paragraphs
T opic sentence
E vidence
E laboration
L ink

Each middle paragraph should be focused around one supporting argument. (The
topic sentence does not need to go first, as in the example listed below where it is in
the second sentence…)

Here’s a couple of sample middle paragraphs…

Paragraph 2
As French novelist Honore de Balzac posited in his 19th century novel Father Goriot,
"behind every great fortune is a crime". The crime on which the novel Trash hinges
is the theft committed by Senator Zapanta. Zapanta is portrayed in such a way as to
suggest that wealth doesn’t necessarily lead to justice. His crime was to siphon off
money intended for the country’s poor for his own personal use. Because of
Zapanta’s power, nobody was prepared to believe those, like Jose, who argued that
he was corrupt. It is Jose who Mulligan uses to convey concepts of justice and
retribution.

Paragraph 3
Trash also reminds us that the justice of happiness and security also do not depend
on wealth, but rather on the generosity of the people who most effectively and
compassionately use that wealth. When Olivia uses her credit card to buy Gardo
some new clothes, she reflects that “the reward … was that I had never seen a boy
so happy in my life”. Her reaction shows that it is not the simple ownership of wealth
that provides the justice of giving some happiness back to Gardo, but her generosity
towards him.

Paragraph 4
What does justice mean? Does it mean having money? Or does it mean
something bigger?The three boys from the dumpsite prove that you don’t
need money to change the world around you, but instead a feeling of wanting
to help others. They learn this from Jose, whose act of reappropriating the
stolen money from Zapanta’s fridge causes the gardener to exclaim “what a
boy… I just wish I’d got to shake his hand.” This shows that when you have
an ethical outlook, anything is possible and that the “miracle” needed by
those in need can indeed occur.

Conclusion
Restate your main opinion, using different words to your opening paragraph.
Explain how the evidence you have shown clearly responds to the prompt
question and proves the opinion you have offered.

Here’s an example…

Having money does not make you an ethical person. It does not give you the
right to push people around and treat them unfairly. Money does not equal
justice. This is clearly one of the most important messages of the book. It is
a lesson that Raphael, Gardo and Rat learn through the example of the
selfless actions of Jose Angelico. In one of the final scenes of the book, when
the three boys, with Pia Dante, throw millions of dollars of Zapanta’s stolen
money over the trash yards to help the poor people who remain there, we
can see that Andy Mulligan gives this message with a real sense of hope for
poverty-stricken people like those who remain on the trash heaps of Behala.