An Organizational Model for Persuasive and Analytical Essays

Introduction Conclusion Body Paragraph

Strong Example Stronger Example Strongest Example

1. Begin Broad—Your Lead 2. Transition Some Strategies and Techniques for the Lead  Ask a thought-provoking rhetorical question  Use a quote  Define some key terms—No Dictionary Definitions!  Cite an interesting fact or statistic  Provide relevant background  See Writing Tool Kit (18-20) 3. Road Map and Thesis Provide Citations as Needed!

1. Transition/Topic Sentence(s): Has a transitional word or phrase, refers to thesis, and mention s the specific example that will be in the paragraph 2. Substantiation or Elaboration: Explain and describe ONE SPECIFIC example through... Quote: Word-for-word from a source—you must provide attribution and explanation with a quotation. CITE! Paraphrase: Putting source material in your own words and sentence structure; a paraphrase contains the ideas and details of the source. Summary: Condensing a portion of source material to focus on just the main idea. Include a citation after a paraphrase, quote or summary. You can blend these three. 3. Relevance to Thesis: Explain how your example relates to thesis (2-3 sentences) Avoid excessive summary! Focus on one event, description, etc. per body paragraph! Transition and Citation

1.Transition/Topic Sentence(S): Mention the two examples, the connection to the thesis, and point of comparison or contrast. 3. Relevance to Thesis: Explain how the two examples relate to your thesis Example One: Your paraphrase, summary, and quote of one example from the source Citation Example Two: Your paraphrase, summary, and quote of one example from the source Transition Citation Transition

“In conclusion” is an overused transition, so try something else!

Transition & Paraphrase Road Map and Thesis For the rest of the conclusion, AVOID MERELY SUMMARIZING! You can... Opine Predict Generalize Be creative and thoughtful! Use other strategies from the Writing Toolkit (18-20)