How to Write an Essay!!

Important things to know…

What is a thesis statement?

• An effective thesis statement tells readers specifically what you plan to write about in your paper.**It also serves as a personal guide to keep you on

track as you brainstorm ideas and compose your essay.

How to form a thesis statement:

• A thesis statement usually takes a stand or expresses a specific feature or feeling of your subject. The following formula can be used to form your thesis statement:

A specific subject (Friendship)

+ a particular stand (is just as much a burden as it is a blessing)

_________________________________________________________________

= an effective thesis statement (T.S.)

Friendship is just as much a burden as it is a blessing.

Thesis Statement Checklist:

___ identifies a limited, specific subject

___ focuses on a particular feeling about the subject

___ is stated in a clear, direct sentence

___ can be supported with convincing facts and details

___ meets the requirements of the assignment

How to form a paragraph:

• Most paragraphs begin with a topic sentence, identifying the subject of the writing.

• The sentences in the body of the paragraph support or explain the subject, while the closing sentence brings the paragraph to a logical stopping point.

Parts of the paragraph:

• The Topic Sentence• The Body• The Closing

What is a topic sentence?

• Your topic sentence tells your readers what your paragraph is about. Here is a formula for writing a good topic sentence: An interesting subject (Lennie’s dependence on George)

+ a specific feeling about (is burdensome and keeps George

the subject from finding happiness.)_________________________________________________________________

= an effective topic sentence (t.s.)

Lennie’s dependence on George is burdensome and keeps George from finding happiness.

What is the body of a paragraph?

• The body is the main part of a paragraph. This is where you place all of the information readers need to understand the subject. The sentences of the body should contain details that clearly support the topic sentence. Arrange these details in the best possible order!

What is the closing of a paragraph?

• The closing (clincher) sentence comes after all the details have been included in the body of the paragraph. This sentence may (1) remind readers of the subject, (2) keep them thinking about it, or (3) link the paragraph to the next one if it is part of a longer composition.

What is sentence fluency?

• SF is finely crafted construction combined with a sense of rhythm and grace. It is achieved through logic, creative phrasing, parallel construction, etc. It is easy to read aloud.

• Writer E. B. White advises young writers to “approach sentence style by way of simplicity, plainness, orderliness, and sincerity.”

• It’s also important to know what to look for when reviewing your sentences.

Sentence Fluency problems to avoid:

• Short, choppy sentences: combine any short, choppy sentences into one longer, compound sentence

• Incorrect sentences: check carefully for fragments, run-ons, and rambling sentences and correct them accordingly

• Unclear sentences: rewrite any sentences that contain unclear wording, misplaced modifiers, or incomplete comparisons

• Unacceptable sentences: change any sentences that include nonstandard language, double negatives, etc.

• Unnatural, flowery sentences: simplify any sentences that contain flowery language or clichés

What are transitions ?

Transitions are words or phrases that connect or tie ideas together.

Transition Words and Phrases

Words used to SHOW LOCATION:above away from beyond into

across below down near

against beside inside throughout

Words used to SHOW TIME:about first then now

before immediately later until

during meanwhile finally as soon as

Words used to SHOW SIMILARITIES:also likewise in the same wayas similarly like

Words used to SHOW DIFFERENCES:although even though still on the other handbut however yet otherwise

Words used to EMPHASIZE A POINT:in fact truly to emphasizeespecially to repeat for this reason

Transition Words and Phrases

Words used to CONCLUDE/SUMMARIZE:finally thereforeas a result lastly hence

Words used to ADD INFORMATION:additionally for example also as well likewiseagain for instance and besides moreoveralong with in addition another finally next

Words used to CLARIFY:for instance in other words that is to put another way

Transition Words and Phrases

Using quotations and support:

Without adequate support or evidence, you cannot effectively develop an essay. Here are 3 ways to support your thesis:

Include Facts: Facts are statements and statistics that add support and validity to your essays; they help provide you with main points.

Give Examples: Examples are a way of “showing” your ideas to readers.

Add Quotations: Quotations from the text add authority to your writing.

When selecting quotations, ask yourself the following:

• Which point of mine does the quotation illustrate?

• Why am I considering quoting this particular passage?

• Why should this particular passage be quoted rather than paraphrased?

Using Quotations

• Quotations should be integrated into your own sentences. Don’t drop quotations into your text without warning, and avoid standing quotations alone as sentences; instead, provide clear signal phrases, which include the author's name, to prepare readers for the quotation

If a quotation is four typed lines or fewer, work it into the body of your paper and put quotation marks around it.

Short Quotations

Quotations of more than four typed lines should be set off from the rest of the writing by indenting each line 10 spaces (2 tabs) and double-spacing the material. Do not use quotation marks.

**After the final punctuation mark of the quotation, leave two spaces before you cite the parenthetical reference. Generally, a colon is used to introduce quotations set off from the text.

Long Quotations

Using quotations and support:

Partial Quotations: If you want to leave out part of the quotation, use an ellipsis to signify the omission. An ellipsis (…) is three periods with a space before and after each one.

**Anything you take out of a quote should not change the author’s original meaning.

4 ways to integrate quotations

• Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon.

• Use an introductory or explanatory phrase, but not a complete sentence, separated from the quotation with a comma.

• Make the quotation a part of your own sentence without any punctuation between your own words and the words you are quoting.

• Use short quotations--only a few words--as part of your own sentence.

Introduce the quotation with a complete

sentence and a colon.

• In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states directly his purpose for going into the woods: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived" (1).

Use an introductory or explanatory phrase, but not a complete sentence, separated from the

quotation with a comma.

• In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states directly his purpose for going into the woods when he says, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (1).

Make the quotation a part of your own sentence without any punctuation between

your own words and the words you are

quoting. • In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,"

Thoreau states directly his purpose for going into the woods when he says that "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (1).

Use short quotations--only a few words--as

part of your own sentence.

• In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states that his retreat to the woods around Walden Pond was motivated by his desire “to live deliberately” and to face only “the essential facts of life” (1).