Writing well Not writing good

1. Know your audience  Word choice  Background information  Style of the introduction (US vs. the World!)

Audience Exercise:  You just rear-ended a car at a stop-light.  Write a paragraph explaining this incident to: The police Your parents Your friends  What changes?

2. Write a Solid Introduction  Introductions introduce us to your essay, so you want to grab our attention right away.  How do you do this? Write a statement to which the reader can relate Start off very generally (again, with a somewhat universal statement)  How do you NOT do this? Do NOT start with a question Do NOT start with a random quotation that has little relevance to your topic

2. Write a Solid Introduction cont.  After your first statement, lead into your topic gradually, ending with the thesis statement (USUALLY as the last sentence of the introduction).  This is called an “inverted pyramid” style introduction most general most specific (thesis)

Inverted Pyramid  The world  The US  Washington  Sumner

2. Write a Solid Introduction Introducing the works  In one of your limiting sentences in the introduction, you MUST introduce the works, authors, and focus of your essay

2. Write a Solid Introduction Thesis  Your thesis statement is the MOST important sentence in your essay.  Your thesis: It MUST tell us what the ENTIRE essay will be about AND answer the prompt All information within your essay, then, MUST support your thesis If you are analyzing more than one work, introduce the works IN THE SAME ORDER as you will address them in the essay

3. Body Paragraphs Topic Sentences  Each BP must begin with a topic sentence This TS will introduce all information within that body paragraph. Therefore, all information within a BP MUST relate back to the topic sentence What would all information within this paragraph be about if this were the TS?  The Canterbury Tales was written in the 1380s.

3. Body Paragraphs Closing Sentences  Each BP must end with a closing sentence Closing sentences must wrap up the paragraph and make it feel complete CS may NOT introduce any new information, which means they SHOULD NOT transition into the next body paragraph. Where should the transitioning occur?

3. Body Paragraphs Evidence  Incorporating Quotations: All quotations must be introduced and incorporated smoothly into the paragraphs. If you are analyzing more than one work in your essay, make sure to state from which work your current quotation comes They should include some sort of “lead- in”

3. Body Paragraphs Evidence For example, rather than:  “The Prologue” makes fun of the nun’s singing voice. “She had a fine intoning through her nose” (245). Try this instead:  “The Prologue” makes a mockery of the nun by stating that “she had a fine intoning through her nose” (245).

3. Body Paragraphs Evidence  If you need to alter a quotation slightly to make it fit into your sentence more smoothly, simply put brackets around the letter or word you need to change.  For example, if you need to change “she” to “the nun,” write “[The nun] had a fine intoning through her nose” (245).

3. Body Paragraphs Evidence  If you only need a section of a quotation, but not the middle part of the quotation, omit the non-essential part and replace it with elipses.  For example: “There was a Friar... a very festive fellow” ( ).

3. Body Paragraphs Analysis  Then, tell us HOW this quotation supports your thesis/ topic sentence (through original analysis)  Move beyond “this quote shows...” Rather than telling us “this quote shows,” JUST TELL US WHAT THIS QUOTATION SHOWS. For example...

3. Body Paragraphs Analysis:  “The Prologue” makes a mockery of the nun by stating that “she had a fine intoning through her nose” (245). By claiming that her singing was “through her nose,” Chaucer tells readers that her singing was far from fine; rather, it was nasally, clearly mocking the nun’s singing ability.

3. Body Paragraphs Transitioning between ideas  Be sure to use transition words between your main ideas. These can include: Additionally, Besides, Furthermore, In addition, Indeed, In fact, Moreover, Second...Third..., etc.

3. Body Paragraph Exercise  The essay prompt is: How does Chaucer use satire in The Canterbury Tales?  Your two pieces of evidence for BP #1 are “she had a fine intoning through her nose” (126) and “she would wipe her upper lip so clean/ That not a trace of grease was to be seen” ( ).  Write a body paragraph with a TS, these 2 quotations, analysis, and a CS.

4. Conclusions  Your conclusion should: Re-state your thesis (in different words) Wrap up the entire essay and make it feel complete Leave the reader with a strong sense of your main ideas and writing BE STRONG