To Structure an Essay:
To Structure an Essay:
1. Read the prompt and determine what is being asked. That will FOCUS the writer on the topic which needs to be written.
2. Use the prompt to determine the direction of the essay. Does the prompt help the writer to see the number of body paragraphs needed? Does the prompt help the writer to see if the essay is informational or persuasive? Does the prompt assist the writer in determining the audience for which the essay is intended?
3. Draft the essay. ORGANIZATION matters. It is the art of paragraphing with all of the required elements.
a. Essays must begin with an introduction. The purpose of an introduction is to introduce the topic to a reader who may be unfamiliar with it. An introduction contains four elements:
- Hook (A hook grabs the reader’s attention. In previous years students could use a question as a hook, but the eighth grade teacher forbids that usage, so I am trying to train students to use other forms of attention getters. Exclamations work well. Odd facts also serve this purpose.)
- Background (Background sentences can be added to connect the hook to the next part of the introduction. These sentences provide information that the reader may need to know prior to reading the remainder of the essay.)
- Thesis Statement (This declarative sentence uses words from the prompt to restate the topic. This sentence – the most important one in the essay – explains the purpose of the essay.)
- Essay Map (This sentence tells the direction of the essay. It names the main things to be talked about in each of the body paragraphs. The items named in the essay map determine the order of the body paragraphs. The thesis and the essay map may be the same sentence or the essay map may directly follow the thesis statement. The essay map concludes the introduction.)
b. Essays then contain body paragraphs.
- The body paragraphs explain the items named in the roadmap sentence. Each new item is a separate paragraph and occurs in the same order as were named in the roadmap. All of this is CONTENT.
- Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence. The topic sentence tells what that particular body paragraph is discussing. It should include words from the prompt.
- Each body paragraph must contain details that support/prove the topic sentence. These sentences should illustrate the purpose of the paragraph and be filled with supportive details. In a persuasive essay, these details must prove the point trying to be made. In an informational essay, these details must provide illustrative details.
- Each paragraph must conclude with an ending sentence that restates the topic sentence and transitions into the next body paragraph.
c. Essays end with a conclusion paragraph.
-Conclusions are quite short. First, they should restate the thesis statement that was written in the introduction.
- Finally they should end with a final thought. This could be a restatement of the roadmap or a summative thought expressing the purpose of the essay. It could leave the reader with a good feeling about the topic. It should not introduce any new information.
4. Edit the essay. Check for:
a. capitalization
b. spelling
c. punctuation
d. word usage
e. sentence structure
f. formatting (indenting)
(a,b, and c contribute toward the MECHANICS whereas d
and e develop the STYLE.)
5. Create a final copy of the essay for publishing
**The completely capitalized words are the five areas in which student essays are judged for PSSA.
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