2. Planning to Write  Pre-writing: We will use a pre-writing technique to generate ideas.  Plan, Part II: We will use sentence outlines to lay out essay plans.

3. The Introduction  Make a good first impression!  Interesting: Capture the reader’s interest.  Clear Intentions: Present the main idea  Arrange details from general (OPENING) to specific (THESIS).

4. Ways to Write Introductions  Use quotes to open.  Ask a question/questions.  Tell an anecdote ( a short, interesting story).  State an intriguing or startling fact.

5. The Thesis Statement  The thesis is the most important sentence in your essay.  It is often the last one or two sentences of your introduction paragraph.  The thesis statement should be clear, well- written, and state the overall focus of your composition.

6. General Guidelines for the Introduction  Engage the reader from the beginning.  You should mention the author and the title somewhere in your introduction.  Begin with broad ideas that narrow down to a specific idea---your thesis statement.  The thesis statement should be near the end of the introduction paragraph to lead the reader into the body of the essay. The reader needs to know the focus of your writing. Be careful not to state the thesis too bluntly (ex. I am going to write about…This essay will be about…).

7. Thesis  A thesis statement identifies the focus for your writing. It usually highlights a special condition or feature of the subject, expresses a specific feeling, or takes a stand. A good thesis statement should be a complete sentence that clearly conveys the point you plan to make in your paper.

8. Thesis  State your thesis in a sentence that effectively expresses what you want to explore in your essay. Write as many versions as it takes to come up with a sentence that sets the right tone and direction for your writing. You may use the following formula to write a thesis statement….

9. Thesis Formula A specific subject + a specific condition, feeling, or stand = an effective thesis statement

10. Sample Thesis Statement Young children exposed to low levels of lead (specific subject) may face health problems later in life. (specific condition)

11. Note…How NOT to Write a Thesis  Do not use these formats for writing a thesis statement. This is called announcing, and it is not stylistically effective.  In this essay I will show that…  This essay will be about…  I am going to write about….

12. The Body  The body needs to carry and develop the focus of the essay as given by the thesis statement.  It is imperative that each paragraph helps the writer to support the main idea of the whole composition.

13. Unity  Just like in a paragraph where unity helps the reader to follow connections between ideas, unity is an important part of the essay’s body. Every paragraph’s topic sentence should support and develop the thesis.

14. Coherence  Every paragraph should lead to the next paragraph.  Use transitional words and phrases between paragraphs to help the reader follow your connections.

15. Conclusion  After you’ve worked so hard to keep your readers interested, you don’t want to leave them hanging.  Your goal when writing the conclusion is to let your readers know that your composition has come to an end.

16. Ways to Write Conclusions  Refer to your introduction.  Restate the main ideas in different words.  Close with a final idea.  Arrange ideas from specific to general.