THE ESSAY

TITLE Grabs the reader’s attention and interest Capitalize the first word and all the important words that follow No “quotation marks”

INTRODUCTION Begin with a hook or attention getting sentence Add background information on your topic Last sentence should be your thesis statement

THESIS STATEMNT States the main idea of the entire paper May mention the main points of the 3 body paragraphs Must have a subject and an opinion Try not to use “I”

BODY PARAGRAPHS Begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph and relates to the thesis Provide at least two sentences of details, examples, descriptions, explanations… End with a conclusion sentence that wraps up the paragraph and relates to the topic sentence and thesis.

BODY PARAGRAPHS Three body paragraphs Start with the least important reason or example in the first paragraph. Next, the most important in the middle End with the most important or save the best for last.

CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH This is your last chance to make your point. “Mimic” the thesis statement without copying it Refer to the ideas in the introduction to tie everything together Offer a recommendation or suggestion Give them something to think about

Detail Detail Detail Reason/Ex. Detail Reason/Ex. Detail Reason/Ex. Topic Detail Reason/Ex. Detail Detail

Least Next Most

Hook Background THESIS LEAST NEXT MOST MOST Restate Refer Offer

Timing 5 to 10 minutes brainstorming and organizing 20 to 25 minutes writing 5 minutes reading and editing