SSH 205: Academic Writing and Research

Instructor: Martha Addante

1. Do a close reading of the article by completing the following observational lists (3-5 details
for each):

Exact Repetitions:

1. The word “always”

2. Hermione's unique individuality when it comes to her accomplishments and path
3. “Harry is the hero”

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Repetitive Patterns/Strands:

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1. Voldemort stands for

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2. Herimones value in the story in spite of the fact she is not the main character

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3. What Harry has and possesses
4.
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Heroines being one the heroes in the story although not receiving the recognition she
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deserves in the story
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Binaries: compare or contrast

1. Personal vs Societal Greater Good: Constantly puts aside her own welfare and well being
and sacrifices a lot for the greater good of the people. For instance getting Harry to go up
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against Voldemort.
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2. Selfishness vs Selfness: Even when she is upset, Heroine continues to remain helpful and
assists Harry and Ron in their ventures. She offers all that is needed to overcome
Voldemort, but she is never commended.
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3. Main Character vs Side Character: Hermione is important enough to be considered a

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main character in the Harry Potter series vs her just being what is mentioned in the article
as the sidekick and being compared to Ron. Hermione has her own individual path unlike
Ron which adds value to the series.
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 Interesting Observations:

● Fair point the author makes about the fact that Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron are an
ideal heart, mind, and action triple threat
● “To Harry, she is a sidekick. To us, she is a heroine.”
● They are not only working together but also working against each other

Important Observations:

● It is unfair to compare between Harry’s loss of his parents, to Hermione hiding hers
● Hermione Granger is more than a sidekick, there is no story without her
● These characters can also be considered a thesis, and synthesis
● Hermoine is everything Harry isn’t

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Revealing Observations:

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● “heroine” are in the name “Hermione”

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●
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Hermione does have her own agenda and it’s complementary to Harry’s
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● we all should embrace the possibility of diversity wherever we can find it
● The characters reflect the complex nature of the book’s world or the moral dilemma of
the story
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Strange/Odd Observations:

● Why worry about what color a character is

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● Hermione is called a “Mudblood” by Draco and other characters in the series

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● Religion is deliberately ignored in the Harry Potter series

● Why does the author suggest Hermoine is relatable?
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2. Choose three of your best pieces of evidence from your lists and for each write a sentence that

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 explains why you chose that piece of evidence and what part of the author’s argument it
supports.

1. Hermoines own personal wants and needs vs society's common good: She has her own
individual aspirations, however to support everyone around her, she goes to great lengths
to fulfil/ greater needs. Selflessness is a trait central to a hero which she unconditionally
serves.
2. Selfishness vs Selfness: The achievement of Harry should certainly be also credited to
Hermoine as she was the individual behind many of the things that helped to prosper and
provide the credibility that Harry has. The very same way Harry is, she should be
commended as the heroine in her own way too.
3. Main Character vs Side Character: The article discusses the idea of a main character
versus side character which is what Hermoine is described as and in the story she is truly
not noticed for accomplishments which stood out to me.

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3. Of your three best pieces of evidence, choose one as the topic of your thesis and paper.
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Remember, you can only have one topic or focus per thesis and per paper. Your topic is also
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known as the representative example (see Writing Analytically p. 140). In one sentence explain
why you think your representative example (topic) best represents or conveys the author’s
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argument.
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Main Character vs Side Character: In the story, Hermione has more features of a main than a side
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character. The concept of a side character, in this case Ron and Hermoine's role in the storyline,
can become distorted and unrecognised in the Harry Potter series.
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4. Create a Three-Storey Thesis starting with your representative example (the topic of your
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thesis), then make a claim about the author’s argument (what the author is arguing) and explain
the significance of the author’s analysis (in the 3rd storey). For the purposes of this exercise,
underline your first storey, italicize your second storey, and bold your third storey.

● In Sarah Gailey’s “Women of Harry Potter: Hermione Granger is More Than a Sidekick,”

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 provides an alternative standpoint on Hermoine Granger's role as more than just a side
character in the Harry Potter series' plot. Her storyline shows that she adds to the main
plot with her successes and her individual ambitions, which makes her more than just
another side kick in the series. We frequently approve as readers the definitions given
by the author to characters without question, however, this article challenges the
label of Hermione being a side character.

5. Complete an outline for your thesis (only an outline). If you were to write a paper, 2.5-3
pages in length and based on your thesis, what ideas would you include and how would your
organize them? Would you start with your strongest piece of evidence and end with the most
subtle or end with your most convincing piece of evidence? Would you organize them
chronologically perhaps?

Point #1: Regardless of what conditions he was in, Hermoine managed to bring together

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everything necessary to help Harry, for example she was the one who persuaded him to combat

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Voldemort. Just like Gailey says, “she saves everyone's bacon all the time by being smarter and

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better prepared than anyone else. Those two boys wouldn't be a dead thousand times over

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without intervention quote” (Gailey, 2017). I believe it is often the case that Harry needs her

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more than she needs him. Throughout the article it is proven that her words and deeds are a key
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part of Harry's achievement, and for that she deserves more recognition.
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Point #2: Hermoine Granger has all the qualities of a hero, yet she was credited with the title of
the sidekick by the author. One of the greatest things that makes a hero is the sacrifice and
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commitment they make for the common good. As Gailey explains, “she makes the same sacrifice
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Harry did like losing her parents but instead of losing them to the Avada Kedavra curse, she loses
them to her own wand. She erases their memories of her”(Gailey, 2017). Given all these hurdles
she's faced for the collective good readers still perceive her as still living in Harry's background.
She should be regarded as much as Harry, because she's accomplished all the things a hero would
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do.
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Point #3: Hermoine Granger is a compelling individual, apart from being a friend of Harry's and
a sidekick in the plot. She put together an army to fight for Hogwarts, make it available for them
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to communicate directly in the code, and read about how to destroy the horcruxes (Gailey, 2017).
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Gailey also mentions how “Hermoine drives the story because she has her own story” (Gailey,
2017). This challenges the audience to change their mindset by seeing her as a side character and
thinking about her as a hero or even potentially a main character. Her character adds to the main
storyline, making her more than just Harry's sidekick.
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