Quotation Sandwich: Where's the Beef?
This is a writing instruction tool my master teacher introduced me to recently. Think of it as a visual metaphor for writing body paragraphs in a Literary Response essay. Each component of the sandwich, featured in the graph above, represents a vital part of a body paragraph that contains a quote. The parts are labeled as follows:
- The Top Bun: Introduction to the quote. This uppermost part of the sandwich places the following quote, or excerpt from the literary work addressed in the essay, in context. This allows the reader to understand how the following quote is being used and to what effect.
- The Lettuce: Transition into the quote. The transition identifies where the quote originates in the story (page number, character) as well as to who it is attributed.
- The Meat: The quote itself. Evidence used from the text that can be described as anything originating from the studied work that is employed to reinforce the essay's thesis.
- The Bottom Bun: The student's commentary. A body paragraph in a Response to Literature essay should be concluded with the student's commentary (opinion) about the chosen topic. Commentary is used to make a point while addressing the student's analysis of the studied work of literature.
Example: This is an excerpt from a sample essay I wrote for "The Monsters are due on Maple Street", a short story by Rod Serling.
1 - Top Bun: Another way in which the people of Maple Street prove themselves to be the real monsters, indicated in the title of the story, is how they begin to turn on one another in act two. Soon after Les is harassed by his neighbors for owning a car that starts on its own, a sure sign to the others that he is somehow connected to the aliens, the blame is then passed on to Steve Brand who is said to be working on a homemade radio. Steve’s neighbors make a point of turning the attention away from themselves and scapegoat him for all the unusual things that are happening on Maple Street.
2 - Lettuce: Clearly exasperated by the turn of events, Steve cries out on page 222,
3 - The Meat: “You’re standing here all set to crucify – all set to find a scapegoat – all desperate to point some kind of finger at a neighbor! Well now, look, friends, the only thing that’s gonna happen is that we’ll eat each other up alive.”
4 - The Bottom Bun: Like frightened animals, the gathered mob becomes as dangerous as the very thing they fear, a monster!
Encourage your students to picture a hamburger as they write their essays, envisioning each separate component as a vital part of their body paragraphs. With any luck they'll remember to format their response in the way shown above. My master teacher and I gave each of our students a worksheet that featured a hamburger diagram as a writing exercise for constructing their body paragraphs..
