How would you structure your paragraphs in an essay?

Firstly, if you were talking about how the characters in the Great Gatsby are presented in an essay, you could begin one of your paragraphs with a topic sentence (your point) such as 'Gatsby is portrayed as a Christ-like figure in the novel.'Secondly, you would then need some evidence from the novel to demonstrate this, such as a quotation or a paraphrase of an event. For this specific topic sentence, you could use a quotations such as 'He was a Son of God' and 'he must be about His Father's business.' In the second 'E' which is your explanation part, you would talk about how the quotations use Biblical phrases as metaphors to describe Gatsby. The 'Son of God' is Jesus's identity in the Bible, which is how Gatsby is portrayed here. The capital letter on 'Father' draws similarities between Gatsby's own father and God.You could then end the paragraph with another piece of evidence from the novel that conforms to your topic sentence, i.e-the fact that Gatsby is described as being very lit up and bright in the novel and then discuss how this portrays him as a Christ-like figure. You will then end the paragraph with a conclusive statement summarising the point you have demonstrated and even possibly saying why Gatsby is portrayed in this way/why it is significant in the novel. 

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Answered by Irini P. English Literature tutor

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