The Picture of Dorian Gray – Essay writing

Task: read the essay topic below and write an introduction, complying with the essay structure
and instructions exactly. To help you through this first stage, read this document thoroughly. It
is a step-by-step writing guide.

Deadline: this is optional homework, however if you wish to hand in your introduction to your
teacher, you must do it by Friday, 23rd February 2024, noon at the latest.

Instructions: write a 100-word introduction that includes the five elements below. For more
precise instructions, have a look at page 2 of this documents, “how to write an introduction”
and “how to write a thesis statement” (they can also be found in your essay handout!).
1. An incipit: one sentence that announces the topic
2. The author
3. The title of the novel
4. A thesis: your opinion on the subject
5. Three arguments

In addition,
• Write your name, class and the date.
• Draw a 3-cm margin on the right, use black or blue ink only.
• Your paragraph must be well-written and well-presented (avoid scribblings!).
• Refrain from using Internet, online translators or worse, content-generated AI.
• Use your brain, book and notes only.

Style: Use formal English exclusively. If you do not know or remember what that entails, do
refer to your 2023 essay writing handout (pages 16 and 17). Use a variety of linking words and
connectors between and within each paragraph (same handout, pages 18 to 20).

Self-assessment: you may have overlooked it, but you must review your essay. After writing
your essay or introduction, read the assessment grid and make sure you have included all the
elements that will be assessed. Furthermore, read this instruction sheet again, as well as the
essay topic, and once more make sure you have complied with the criteria. There is no other
way to make sure that you will get a good grade!

Essay topic: Analyse the theme of love in the first six chapters of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of
Dorian Gray. Show how the novelist uses love as a bond between people and between people
and art.

Analysis of the essay topic: even before starting to draft your essay, you must analyse the
topic and ask yourself:
1. What is the main topic, which will determine the first sentence(s) of my essay?
2. Is the thesis given in the instruction? If not, what will my thesis be?
3. What three arguments am I going to use to prove my thesis?
4. What three quotations am I going to choose to support my arguments?
Then, write your thesis statement (thesis & arguments) in one or two sentences. Write the rest
of the introduction, including the three missing elements. Reread your introduction and make
sure it complies with the instructions and the assessment criteria.

GyYv 2023-2024 | NiJ | Skills 1

 HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION
Option 1
1. One or more sentence(s) that introduce the topic of your essays and its boundaries.
State the name of the author and title of work.
2. The three ideas (= arguments) that you are going to develop in the main body
3. Your thesis statement (= what you want to prove in your essay)

Option 2
1. A catchy beginning (“hook”) that indicates the theme of the essay
2. A narrowing down of your topic that will help transition to the thesis statement. In a
literary essay this is when you name the author and work.
3. A thesis statement (= what you want to prove in your essay) with the three main points
you will examine.

HOW TO WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT

A thesis statement has two parts: a topic portion (which states the subject) and a comment
portion (which makes an important point, claim, or argument about that subject).
Example: The death penalty (= topic portion) should be abolished (= comment).
Once you have a draft of your thesis statement, ask yourself the following questions:
• Do I answer the question(s) in the assignment? Have I followed my instructor’s
guidelines?
• How will I support my thesis? Can I provide enough evidence to support my reasons
for believing it?
Example: The death penalty should be abolished because it is fundamentally immoral,
ineffective in preventing crime, and sometimes mistakenly used to punish innocent people.

GyYv 2023-2024 | NiJ | Skills 2