Basic Elements of the Essay

The Introductory Paragraph The basic elements of the introductory paragraph consists of the following elements: The “wow” or “hook” sentence—the purpose of this sentence is to capture the reader’s attention. There are six ways to write a hook sentence:  Rhetorical Question  Quotation  Analogy  Anecdote  Description  Provocative assertion

The Introductory Paragraph continued The thesis statement—the purpose of this statement is to tell the reader what they should expect to learn, understand, or agree with while reading the essay. The plan of action—is a brief listing of the main points the essay will cover. This is not the place to include specific details or facts. Transition sentence—leads the reader into the body of the essay.

The Body Paragraph (the “chunk” of a paragraph) The “chunk” of a paragraph is a basic paragraph structure that is found in most essays and articles. This structure consists of four parts. 1.The topic sentence (TS)—is the main idea (or topic) for that particular paragraph. Ex: The latest craze in telephone technology is the I-Phone.

The Body Paragraph (the “chunk” of a paragraph) cont. 2.Supporting detail 1(SD-1)—is one fact that is directly related to the topic sentence. It provides more detail or description about the topic sentence. Ex: One of the coolest features of the I-phone is the way it looks. 3.Example/Explanation 1 (EE-1)—is comments, description, details, and information that adds to SD-1 and provides additional information about the topic sentence.

The Body Paragraph (the “chunk” of a paragraph) cont. 4.Example/Explanation 2 (EE-2)— are additional explanations, comments, descriptions, and information that adds to and provides additional information about the topic sentence. EE-2 also contains the transition sentence. Body paragraphs can have unlimited “chunks” as long as they are related to the topic sentence. Each body paragraph repeats the same “chunk” of a paragraph pattern.

The Transition Sentence The transition sentence serves the purpose of connecting the current paragraph to the following paragraph. It does this by providing a one sentence hint as to the topic of the next paragraph. Ex: In addition to having a cool look, the I-phone also has lightning fast Internet features. As the example topic sentence suggests, the next paragraph is going to explain the Internet features of the I-phone.

The Transition Sentence A little practice--- If the next paragraph of the I-phone essay is going to reveal it’s game features, how would you develop a great transition sentence?