In the Margin — Writing Table

← Find It · Narration

Step 1 · What Stayed with You

Proof of Presence

Before the argument comes the impression. What from the text kept coming back to you? What moment or image wouldn't let you go?

What stayed with you from the text? A word or image that mattered

Kim · Delight & Savor

‣ How does narration become an essay?

Your narration is not separate from your essay — it's the foundation. What you couldn't stop telling back is exactly what your essay will argue.

Frame It ↑ · Synthesis

Step 2 · Your Thesis

What do you want to argue?

Move from impression to claim. What is the author suggesting about one of the Great Questions? Say it as directly and honestly as you can.

Which of the Five Great Questions does this book ask? My thesis

Kim · Delight & Savor

‣ What makes a strong thesis?

Three tests: (1) Could someone argue the opposite? (2) Does it require textual evidence? (3) Is it specific rather than general?

See how a thesis grows — weak → strong ↓

← Follow It · Analysis with DELIGHT

Step 3 · Evidence One

What's your first proof?

Find one moment in the text where your thesis feels most true. Use DELIGHT to read it deeply — describe, explore, look, identify, gather, highlight, tie together.

Evidence 1 · Follow It

Scene or passage The quotation or detail What this reveals (your analysis)

Kim · Delight & Savor

‣ How do I use DELIGHT to analyze?

Describe the context — what's happening? Explore motivation — what do they want? Look at language — what words stand out? Identify tone — how does it feel? Gather the big idea — what truth does it reach for? Highlight a quotation — what's the most important line? Tie together — how does this connect to something bigger?

← Follow It · Analysis with DELIGHT

Step 4 · Evidence Two

What else does the text show?

Your second proof should come from a different moment and add something new. Use DELIGHT again — what does this passage reveal that the first one didn't?

Evidence 2 · Follow It

Scene or passage The quotation or detail What this deepens

Kim · Delight & Savor

‣ How do I find a second scene?

Good evidence builds. Ask: does this show a different character? A later moment in time? A complication of the idea? Your second proof shouldn't repeat your first — it should advance it.

← Follow It · Analysis with DELIGHT

Step 5 · Evidence Three

What does the ending reveal?

Your third proof often lives near the climax or resolution. Use DELIGHT one more time — what does this final moment show about your thesis that nothing else could?

Evidence 3 · Follow It

Scene or passage The quotation or detail What this reveals

Kim · Delight & Savor

Frame It · Truth (T in DELIGHT)

Step 6 · The Great Conversation

Who else said something like this?

Your thesis is part of a longer human conversation about how we should live. Which great thinker would have something to say about your idea?

The thinker The connection

‣ Who are the great thinkers?

Augustineordered vs. disordered love

Rousseaunature vs. civilization

Aristotlevirtue and habit

Machiavellipower and appearance

Find It · Follow It · Frame It

Step 7 · Why This Matters

What does this teach us?

You've found it, followed it, framed it. You've entered the Great Conversation. Now — what does this book ask us to consider about our own lives? What truth does it reveal?

My insight — the so what

Kim · Delight & Savor

‣ How do I find the so what?

You began with what stayed with you. You narrated faithfully. You analyzed deeply. You entered the conversation of thinkers across time. Now ask: What do I believe — about the text, and about my own life?

Your Outline

Ready to Write

Your essay arc — from what stayed with you to what it teaches. Everything here is your essay.

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