The Elements of an Excellent Essay General Principles of Essay Structure Applies to all essays

Titles *Conveys the main point of the essay in 10 words or less *Find a creative way to attract the reader’s attention *Capitalize the first word and all other words except for minor words like a, an, at, and, by, for, in, on, or, the, to

Titles *Can be a phrase like: The Elements of an Excellent Essay *Or Two parts – Subject : Theme, like: Excellent Essays: The Essential Elements *Are important to create good first impression

Essay Introduction *Begin with a sentence that captures the reader’s attention *Start or enhance the paragraph with an interesting story or example, surprising statistic , or other “hook” *Give background information on the topic *Include the thesis statement

Should use the inverted pyramid: Essay Introductions Should use the inverted pyramid: Start with a broad idea, then narrow down to a specific subject or theme and the thesis

Thesis statements *States the main idea of the essay *A one sentence analysis or claim about a specific topic *A road map for the paper. Tells readers what to expect from the rest of the paper *More general than the supporting material *May mention the main point of each of the body paragraphs

Thesis statements Determine the subject Take a position on the subject Give specific points about the subject Add active verbs

Thesis statements Example: Gardening and the elderly Gardening is a good activity for the elderly Keeps elderly fit and independent Active verbs : Helps, remain Thesis: Gardening helps the elderly to remain physically active as well as independent.

Paragraphs Begin with a topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph and relates to the thesis statement Fill with well-organized examples, quotations, comparisons, analogies, narration May end with a transition

Essay Conclusions “Echo” the thesis statement without simply repeating it Include a detail from the introduction to “tie-up” May pose a question for future thought or suggest a course of action End with a strong image or a bit of wit