1. The Elements of an Excellent Essay
General Principles of Essay Structure
Applies to all essays

2. Titles
*Conveys the main point of the essay in 10 words or less *Find a creative way to attract the reader’s attention *Capitalize the first word and all other words except for minor words like a, an, at, and, by, for, in, on, or, the, to

3. Titles *Can be a phrase like: The Elements of an Excellent Essay
*Or Two parts – Subject : Theme, like:
Excellent Essays: The Essential Elements
*Are important to create good first impression

4. Essay Introduction
*Begin with a sentence that captures the reader’s attention
*Start or enhance the paragraph with an interesting story or example, surprising statistic , or other “hook”
*Give background information on the topic
*Include the thesis statement

5. Should use the inverted pyramid:
Essay Introductions
Should use the inverted pyramid:
Start with a broad idea, then narrow down to a specific subject or theme and the thesis

6. Thesis statements *States the main idea of the essay
*A one sentence analysis or claim about a specific topic
*A road map for the paper. Tells readers what to expect from the rest of the paper
*More general than the supporting material
*May mention the main point of each of the body paragraphs

7. Thesis statements Determine the subject Take a position on the subject
Give specific points about the subject
Add active verbs

8. Thesis statements Example: Gardening and the elderly
Gardening is a good activity for the elderly
Keeps elderly fit and independent
Active verbs : Helps, remain
Thesis: Gardening helps the elderly to remain physically active as well as independent.

9. Paragraphs
Begin with a topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph and relates to the thesis statement
Fill with well-organized examples, quotations, comparisons,
analogies, narration
May end with a transition

10. Essay Conclusions
“Echo” the thesis statement without simply repeating it
Include a detail from the introduction to “tie-up”
May pose a question for future thought
or suggest a course of action
End with a strong image or a bit of wit