MEAL P ARAGRAPH : L INK Connect the entire essay to one argument.

T HESIS S TATEMENT (ARGUMENT OF THE ESSAY) Most stress management is targeted at adults. The assumption is often made that high school students will “get over” the stress they are facing, and that it’s “all a part of growing up.” The result is that many high school students have never been taught stress management techniques. Prompt: Are stress, anxiety, and depression serious issues for teenagers?

L INK The goal of the Link (the last sentence or sentence(s) of the paragraph) is to draw the reader’s attention back to the overall argument. Each body paragraph focuses on a specific point; the Link reminds the reader why the point is relevant to the argument of the essay. Without the Link, the overall argument of the essay will be forgotten by the reader, and each paragraph will be isolated. Think of the reader getting to the last body paragraph and thinking “Wait, what was this about again?” The Link prevents that.

Stem Seeds Petals

Think of the reader asking you at the end of each paragraph “wait, why are we talking about this again?” Example: For paragraph one, the reader will be asking, “Why are we talking about the way stress affects teenagers differently than it does adults?”