The essay body Introduction: 1. Attention getter (Lead) 2. Contextualize topic 3. Thesis stament / question 4. Outline Thesis Main Body: 1. The body is organized into three supporting paragraphs that prove your thesis statement 2. Each supporting paragraph needs to be illustrated with details, facts, examples, or quotes that make your point clear. (NO OPINIONS) Conclusion: Summarizes the essay’s main points! 1.Summarize main points and answer thesis question. 2. Connect the answer to a new issue / topic.

Notes Introduction NEVER begin an essay with “in this essay”! Grab the reader’s attention (lead) Begin with a quote from the story “___________________” Start with a strongly stated question that your readers might have (it may have a predictable answer) Start with a unique observation about the story or character Start with a snapshot (when you paint a picture, you draw the reader into the action) Begin with a metaphor that shows the story’s significance

Notes Thesis Statement: A statement that gives the main idea or focus of an essay. Your thesis needs to be something that you are going to support with evidence throughout your essay. List THREE main points to your thesis so that these three points can be the three paragraphs in the body of your essay.

Transition Words and Phrases Use these transitions to help you connect the ideas between your sentences and between your paragraphs. TO INTRODUCE EXAMPLES for example in fact in one instance for instance in one caseas proof to illustrate to begin within one example TO ADD ANOTHER POINT alsoin addition (to)furthermore moreoveranothera second (third, fourth, etc.) besides further TO SHOW TIME RELATIONSHIPS beforesincein the meantime aftermeanwhileto begin with nexteventuallyat the same time thenat lastnot long after finallyafterwardas time passed TO SIGNAL RESULTS OR EFFECTS as a result because (of)for this reason due tothereforein response to thusconsequentlyin conclusion TO SHOW COMPARISON OR CONTRAST similarlyin contrastdifferent from likeunlikeon the other hand just asthe same ason the contrary as well (as)equally important TO CONNECT IDEAS yethowever nevertheless sothoughmoreover

Tips Miscellaneous things to remember when writing an essay Style *Never refer to yourself in the essay. Don’t say things like “I think...” or “I saw...” Just make your point. It’s obvious that you believe what you say. After all, it’s your essay. *Avoid the use of contractions in a formal essay. The only exception would be if they appear in a quotation from the text that you are using word for word. Instead, spell out the two words in the contraction. “Douglass is not deterred in his plan”--not “isn’t”. *Keep your writing in present tense. It seems more “alive” if you do. Say, “Douglass is a man who...” rather than “Douglass was a man who...” Again, you don’t want to change the wording of direct quotes, so if they use a verb tense other than present tense, copy it as it appears in the text. * Use standard English when writing. Avoid using slang (‘sup or could of), “texting” jargon (ppl, idk, lol, bff), or symbols (&).

Tips Using and documenting quotations and passages from the text There are several things to learn about using passages from the text to support your points. *Remember, the majority of the essay is in your words. You need to explain your points clearly and thoroughly enough so that someone not familiar with the text can understand you. *Use quotes/passages from the text to illustrate or support a point you make. They don’t have to be long passages. They should not be longer than two sentences. You should weave or blend short, but powerful, quotes or passages from the text into your essay. You want to avoid stringing one quote after another into an essay. *When you weave or blend quotes they should not appear in your essay as a sentence by themselves. Instead, they should fit smoothly into your explanation so if you were reading your essay aloud, listeners wouldn’t even know where your words end and the quoted passage begins. (look at the sample essay I gave you to see this). *For each quote or passage used, you must document where it appeared in the text. To do this for an essay in which all of the quotes are from the same source, the story you read, all you have to do is put the page number in parentheses before the final end punctuation. (look at the sample essay I gave you to see this). “quote” (68). DO NOT PUT “page” or “p.”--just the number. * Don’t forget to use strong transitions between your quotes and specific examples.

Final reminders… 1.Don’t use 1 st person. (I, me, you) 2.Don’t use your opinion. (I think, I believe) 3.Avoid using contractions 4.Keep your verb tense consistent 5.Keep your verb tense in the present tense to make it seem more “alive” 6.Leave your reader with something to think about! 7.Be sure to use strong transitions between paragraphs. 8.Be sure to explain your quotes! 9.Broaden your opening question so that it isn’t so predictable. 10.Avoid saying well, … 11.Spell out numbers 1 – Avoid saying “in this essay…” 13.Provide a bit more background info.