1. C CAUSAL ESSAY Step by step

2. Parts of a Thesis Topic: The main topic of your essay For this essay it is: College Technical school Military Other Claim: verb (I’ll give you a list) Universal Idea: Abstract idea the main point of your essay What you will be arguing Universal Idea : For this essay, it is the life lesson that your interviewee learned from their post-secondary experience Examples: Growth as an individual (be specific) Job opportunities Value of time and money Grades don’t always predict success New and unique experiences that make a person more valuable in the workplace Sometimes a major does not apply to real life, but the degree opens doors.

3. Structure of the EssayEssay Four paragraphs 1. Introduction: Introduce your person End with the thesis statement 2. Cause: Explain what he/she did after high school Include two direct quotes 3. Effect: Explain the life lesson he/she learned through their post-high school experience What benefits and struggles came from their post-high school experience? How did those benefits and struggles impact him/her in the future? 4. conclusion: Apply that life lesson to your audience (other teens)

4. Basic rules of academic writing Do not use the following words: you, your, I, we, us Do not refer to yourself or talk to the audience. Do not say, “The person I interviewed is…” Use standard English, unless you are quoting someone, and then you can quote them word for word. Use correct punctuation and spelling. Remember, your person did not go to collage. They went to college. Avoid the following words and phrases: a lot, very, really, had,

5. The Introduction will…  Lead smoothly to the thesis! Pulls readers in through an idea that is relevant to the thesis.  Provide readers with an idea of what the paper will discuss. (Introduce your interviewee)  Provide something to interest readers that is RELEVANT to the paper topic!  Be RELEVANT, RELEVANT, RELEVANT, RELEVANT, RELEVANT, RELEVANT

6. Now write your introduction Your introduction should be about 4-5 sentences long, including the thesis statement. You have 10 minutes! Remember…  Lead smoothly to the thesis! Pull readers in through an idea that is relevant to the thesis.  Provide readers with an idea of what the paper will discuss. (Introduce your interviewee)  Provide something to interest readers that is RELEVANT to the paper topic!

7. Workshop the Introduction Swap with a partner On your own sheet of paper, answer these questions: How did they introduce their interviewee? What relevant information did they give? How did they transition from the info to the thesis? Do you have any suggestions to make it a more smooth transition? Give back to your partner and explain any suggestions you have for them.

8. Topic Sentence A sentence at the beginning of the paragraph that states the main idea of the paragraph. Must relate to a part of the thesis statement. The structure of the thesis statement dictates the structure of the rest of your essay. Body paragraph #1 will discuss the CAUSE (what the person did after high school), so the topic sentence will state that. Example: “Although Bill Nolan wanted to go to college, his parents did not have the money, so he joined the military instead.” Write your topic sentence for Body Paragraph #1

9. How to integrate quotesintegrate quotes Use two direct quotes per body paragraph. Review the rules. Now write your first body paragraph, describing what your interviewee experienced, integrating two quotes. Let’s have a volunteer show us their paragraph on the document camera. We will fix your errors for you!!!

10. Effect paragraph (body paragraph #2) Topic Sentence (Going to college) has influenced (name of person) because it ________________. Quotes with explanation Commentary (needs to be after each example, not just at the end of the paragraph) EXAMPLE: Don Ragsdale said, “The military taught me to be disciplined. You couldn’t just slack off. You had to do everything exactly as the authority figures wanted.” Because Don had to obey orders, he learned that he could not always do what he wanted. Sometimes he had to comply with the rules.

11. Conclusion How does the life lesson apply to teenagers today? What does that say about college, military, technical school, etc.? Write about it.