1. THE BASIC ESSAY FORMAT (PERSUASIVE OR OTHER) For expository or persuasive essays

2. THIS WEEK YOU WILL LEARN A basic essay format that you can use to write for the HSPA (Expository or Persuasive).

3. Hook: Grab as many readers as you can Give information on the situation Thesis: What you will prove in your paper

4. TEACHER MODEL  How many times have you walked down the sweets’ aisle and ignored that candy bar screaming your name? When it comes to healthy eating, most people cross off sweets from their list and deny themselves in order to lose the weight. Unfortunately, they may be denying themselves in vain. According to recent studies, dark chocolate may actually be beneficial to your heart, and when eaten in moderation, your diet too! Eating dark chocolate is good for your health BECAUSE it actually contains vitamins, helps lower blood pressure, and has less caffeine than coffee.

5. T.R.E.E. WordPhrase  Transition = A Word or Phrase that shows a change of thought or a new point is occurring.  Reason = This is the point you are trying to make. It is the “theme” or “Mini”-thesis of each paragraph.  Example = This is the citation or quote from the article (Persuasive).  This is the book or history example (Expository)  Explanation = Never assume your readers understood your example. Explain your example and connect it to your readers! What should your readers learn or understand about your example?

6. BODY PARAGRAPHS – T.R.E.E  In retrospect, perhaps more diets would be successful if they included the indulgence of one’s sweet tooth! While milk chocolate or white chocolate candy bars should be resisted (whenever possible), the power of dark chocolate should be an option for dieters! According to the study, “Chocolate and I,” it states that, “the power of dark chocolate should not be overlooked. In fact, chocolate milk can even be one of the best after-workout recovery drink!” When being healthy can be delicious as well, successful dieting can occur!

7. CONCLUSION – T.R.A.C.E. WordPhrase  TRANSITION – A Word or Phrase that shows a change of thought or a new point is occurring.  RESTATE (Thesis) - Put your original thesis into new words. Find a DIFFERENT way to write out your thesis.  AVOID new examples - Don’t add a new example in the last paragraph if you never mentioned that example anywhere else in the essay.  CALL to action - What should your reader LEARN from this essay? What should your reader DO about this issue? What do you WANT your reader to KNOW?  ENDING hook - End your essay with a hook! (Quote, strong statement, question, etc)

8. CONCLUSION As reflective thought, dark chocolate and dieting should be friends, not enemies, in the struggle for weight loss. It is always better to enjoy a little bit of sweet-tooth indulgence than it is to give into a total craving and blow your diet away. The common stop and start of most diets can be avoided if the dieter would simply enjoy personal and appropriate portion sizes of sweetened goods. So throw that dark chocolate bar into your shopping cart and walk tall and proud… because you ARE eating healthy. Original Thesis: Eating dark chocolate is good for your health BECAUSE it actually contains vitamins, helps lower blood pressure, and has less caffeine than coffee.

9. LET’S ANALYZE…. Go to your Sample Page for T.R.A.C.E. 1.Find the TRANSITION in each conclusion 2.FIND THE RESTATED THESIS 3.MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO EXAMPLES BEING MADE 4.IS THERE A “CALL” to action for the reader? Is there a LESSON to be learned from the essay? 5.IS THERE AN ENDING HOOK?

10. YOUR BASIC OUTLINE FOR PERSUASIVE & EXPOSITORY:  P.1. (H.I.T.)  Hook  Info (what will you describe?)  Thesis  P2 (TREE)  Transition word  Reason/Theme to paragraph  Example from article  Explanation/Lesson from the article  P3 (TREE)  Transition word  Reason/Theme to paragraph  Example from article  Explanation/Lesson from the article P4 (TREE) Transition word Reason/Theme to paragraph Example from article Explanation/Lesson from the article P5 (TRACE) P5 (TRACE) Transition Transition Restate Thesis Restate Thesis Avoid new Examples Avoid new Examples Call readers to action (what do you want the reader to do now? Call readers to action (what do you want the reader to do now? Ending hook Ending hook