SENTENCE ORDER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARAGRAPHS Essays not written using this organizational strategy will not be graded.

Introductory paragraph ◦ Three sentences of hook – these are sentences about the general topic of the essay, but they do not reference the texts used ◦ One sentence of thesis – this must contain the author’s name, text name, and point of the essay, even if there are multiple texts and authors

Example – hook on general topic with a specific thesis for the essay ◦ People’s imaginations are often much more frightening than anything movie producers can manufacture on the screen. Some novelists have realized this, so they hint at scary situations knowing the reader’s imagination will fill in the gaps. In fact, certain writers are so very gifted with letting the readers’ imaginations scare them that sometimes readers will disagree about what happened in a book. Steven King’s Langoliers terrifies readers by showing creatures that eat the past and anyone stuck in it by presenting horrific philosophies. ◦ HOOK in red these are general statements about the topic at large ◦ Thesis in blue this is specific and mentions all authors, texts, and the one point of your paper.

How to handle multiple authors and texts: ◦ Stephen King’s It, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None have all been on the best seller’s list for their intrigue and suspense.

Body Paragraph Sentence Order 1. Topic sentence – this does NOT contain a quotation 2. Quote set up and cited: Henry says, “whatever he says” (101). 3. Transitional word, explain quote 4. Quote set up and cited: Henry says, “whatever he says” (101). 5.Transitional word, explain quote Please notice that quotes are introduced from the front in formal essays, and that you must use a comma after the name tag. Additionally, you must close the quotation marks before you give the page or line numbers. There is only ONE period at the end of a sentence.

Warning ◦ If you do not have two pieces of textual evidence in each body paragraph, you will not have a passing grade. ◦ Textual evidence is how you prove the validity of your topic sentence, and it is absolutely required for all work.

Concluding Paragraph Sentence Order ◦ Restate thesis – You restate the point of your essay, but you do not have to repeat the authors’ names and text names ◦ Explain the relevance of each point (one for each body paragraph) ◦ Explain how the quotes support the thesis – this is your last sentence, so make it a meaningful one that powerfully sums up your essay

Order for Expository Essays ◦ For each point you wish to explain, you need to have one paragraph. Therefore, if you are asked to explain what one line from an Emily Dickinson poem means, you would have one body paragraph dedicated to explaining that one line’s meaning. ◦ If you were asked to explain what two lines from one of Emily Dickinson’s poems means, you would have two body paragraphs. This simple organizational strategy ties things up nice and neat.

Order for Argument Essays ◦ There must be three body paragraphs for any argument essay you will write in here. ◦ Body paragraph one: Claim (your point) ◦ Body paragraph two: Counterclaim (the point of folks who don’t agree with your side) ◦ Body paragraph three: Rebuttal of counterclaim (this is where you cite even stronger evidence that supports the claim) ◦ Transitional words are VERY important in argument essays for clarity. Body paragraph two and three should begin with transitional words like these followed by a comma: Conversely, On the other hand, However, In opposition, In contrast,

Words that MUST be avoided in formal expository and argument essays All first and second person pronouns: I, me, us, my, we, you, yours Instead say: the reader, one, a person, people NEVER use contractions because they count as spelling errors: can’t, won’t, don’t, it’s Instead say: cannot, will not, do not, it is I think… It is your paper, we know it is what you think

NEVER use slang or cliché’s: He found out the truth. It is raining cats and dogs. (use adult not childish language to achieve a scholarly tone) Instead say: He discovered the truth. It is raining quite heavily. Use present tense verbs when discussing literature. Do not say: Hester said, “I am sorry.” Instead say: Hester says, “I am sorry.” (Literature is presently happening for you when you read it.) Remember: Silly grammar and capitalization errors hurt just as much as errors from the rest of the rubric, and they represent you in a negative way as being careless, even if that is not true.