Introduction: Hook sentence to grab the readers attention
Background knowledge about Chris McCandless
Thesis statement: Chris McCandless was a courageous and inspiring young traveler.
Or Chris McCandless was an ignorant and selfish young man.
1st body paragraph: Ralph Waldo Emerson: How did Chris follow the philosophies of Ralph Waldo
Emerson? You must include two quotes from either Self Reliance or Nature. Make sure to include an
internal citation (Emerson page number)
2nd body: Henry David Thoreau: How did Chris follow the philosophies of Henry David Thoreau? You
must include two quotes from either Walden or Civil Disobedience. Make sure to include an internal
citation (Thoreau page number).
3rd body: You can use a third source that shows ways in which McCandless lived transcendentalist
philosophies. Perhaps you want to use part of the documentary Return to the Wild. You could break
Thoreaus or Emersons two works up into two separate paragraphs.
4th body: This paragraph should be argumentative. You will give your answer to the question:
Was his journey courageous and inspiring or ignorant and selfish? In this paragraph you will state
your claim. Use examples from the sources provided (such as online articles and the documentary).
Address the counterclaim. What does the opposite side believe? Use evidence fr
