The American Horror Story Book of Writing

Section 5 PARAGRAPHS Paragraphs – a group of sentences that together convey a shared purpose structured around the same topic.

Introductory Paragraphs (Introductions) Hook (Lead) – can begin with the title Anecdotal (Brief story to set the mood and intro the topic) Ex. The thrill of an exceptional television series is unmatched, especially when it comes to horror. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities, characters, and storylines that keep viewers on their toes. The hit T.V series “American Horror Story” gives a connected timeline to a universe filled with frightening events that’ll make you shiver down your spine.

Query Based (Question that brings the reader to the topic) Ex. How does fear and horror teach us valuable lessons and develop us as people?

Thesis Statements (the purpose of a piece of writing – usually one sentence in length, but can be longer depending on the purpose – must be something that is arguable) Assertion (claim) Ex. Horror and fear teaches us about our strengths and weaknesses Fact (empirically verifiable but often difficult to argue extensively about) Ex. Fear is caused by feeling threatened, real or imaginary and can cause anxiety.

Opinion (personal position on a topic) Ex. Horror films are the best genre.

Belief (social, religious, or political in nature – an opinion held by many to be a fact, though it is not necessarily factual) Ex. Indulging in viewing horror content is sinful.

Generalization (uses absolute or statistical pronouns: all, always, every, never, none, most, half – avoid using this type of thesis statement unless citing the source of the data) Ex. All mom’s do not condone the viewment of horror content.

Document Based (cites a specific source and its position on a topic) Ex. In Pop Buzz TV and Film, controversy is circling the triggering of trypophobia in American Horror Story’s 7th season, Cult and has been triggering people’s anxiety Theory (a statement that can be tested and potentially proven - often answers a research question) Ex. Horror content can build a desensitization to your fears.