GUIDELINES TO WRITE AN ESSAY

Create an Essay Outline

An essay outline is your road map. It will guide you through to the finished product. When you
create an outline, you organize your thoughts about your topic. First, write your topic at the
top of the page. Then list all the points or arguments you want to make about the essay topic.
Finally, list the facts, examples and statistics that support those points or arguments.

Develop a Thesis Statement

Your thesis should inform the reader what point you will be making or what question you will
be answering about the topic. In other words, it is a prelude to your conclusion. A thesis
statement should be as specific as possible and address one main idea. Strong theses also
take a stand or illustrate the controversial nature of a topic.

Introduce Your Topic

The first paragraph of your essay will introduce your topic and provide direction for the entire
essay. The introduction should discuss your main idea, or what the essay is about, then state
your thesis and points or arguments that support your thesis.
The introduction also sets the tone for your essay, and you want to grab the readers attention
with interest and clarity. To capture the readers attention, you can make a challenging claim
about the topic or present some surprising (but factual) information.

Write the Body of the Essay

The body of the essay provide details for the points in your introductory paragraph that support
your thesis. Take the points you listed in your introduction and discuss each in one body
paragraph. First, write a topic sentence that summarizes your point then explain why you feel
the topic sentence is true. Finally, support your argument with evidence such as facts, quotes,
examples and statistics.

Present Your Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes the essay and gives the reader closure. In three or four concise
sentences, you should reiterate your thesis and review the main points of the body of the
essay. Just be sure not to restate your previous words exactly. You can even briefly describe
your opinion of the topic. Your final sentence should uphold your main idea in a clear and
compelling manner.
Just remember to tackle each step one at a time. Some people do better when they work
backwards from the conclusion. Write a rough draft of your essay first dont try to get it
perfect the first time through. After you finish your rough draft, proofread it thoroughly and
revise until you have a strong, informative essay.
 HOW TO WRITE A GOOD INTRODUCTION

Introductions can be tricky. Because the introduction is the first portion of your essay
that the reader encounters, the stakes are fairly high for your introduction to be
successful. A good introduction presents a broad overview of your topic and your
thesis, and should convince the reader that it is worth their time to actually read the
rest of your essay. Below are some tips that will make writing an introduction a little
less daunting, and help us all to write essays that dont make our professors want to
bang their heads against the wall.

1. Start your introduction broad, but not too broad. When I first started writing formal
essays, I didnt really know how broad to go with my intros. A brief paragraph on
Hamlet would suddenly include irrelevant details about Shakespeares childhood, then
grow out to be a history of Western literature, and then a history of the universe itself.
Do not write an introduction like this; this kind of intro is confusing and makes the
reader wonder where exactly youre going with your essay. Your introduction should
provide the reader with a sense of what they should expect out of your essay, not to
expound upon every piece of knowledge ever developed by man. Go ahead and start
relatively broad, then narrow to your thesis, but make sure youre still on topic.

2. Provide relevant background, but dont begin your true argument. Its fine to give
a bit of context to your essay in the introduction, but the real meat of your argument
should be located in your body paragraphs. A good test to see if information should
go in a body or introductory paragraph is to ask yourself a few questions. Is this
providing context or evidence? Does this introduce my argument, or try to prove
it? True evidence or proof deserves a body paragraph. Context and background most
likely belong in your introduction.

3. Provide a thesis. The majority of the time, your thesis, or main argument, should
occur somewhere towards the end of your introduction. It is a typical convention to put
your thesis as the last sentence of your first paragraph. My personal opinion is that it
can sometimes be awkward to shove your thesis in one specific place if it doesnt
necessarily fit, but if your thesis works in that position, that is the best place for it. That
being said, if you absolutely cant include your thesis in that location, go ahead and
stick it somewhere else.

4. Provide only helpful, relevant information. Anecdotes can be an interesting opener

to your essay, but only if the anecdote in question is truly relevant to your topic. Are
you writing an essay about Maya Angelou? An anecdote about her childhood might
be relevant, and even charming. Are you writing an essay about safety regulations in
roller coasters? Go ahead and add an anecdote about a person who was injured while
riding a roller coaster. Are you writing an essay about Moby Dick? Perhaps an
anecdote about that time your friend read Moby Dick and hated it is not the best way
to go. The same is true for statistics, quotes, and other types of information about your
topic.
5. Try to avoid clichs. Some types of introductions may have once been successful,
but have been used so often that they have become tired and clichd. Starting your
essay with a definition is a good example of one of these conventions. At this point,
starting with a definition is a bit boring, and will cause your reader to tune out.

6. Dont feel pressured to write your intro first. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure
out exactly what information is relevant to your introduction until youve written the
piece itself. Personally, I find that my writers block is always strongest when writing
the introduction. If you are having trouble with your intro, feel free to write some, or all,
of your body paragraphs, and then come back to it. You might find it a bit easier to
write your introduction once youre more comfortable with the essay as a whole.

7. Convince the reader that your essay is worth reading. Your reader should finish
the introduction thinking that the essay is interesting or has some sort of relevance to
their lives. A good introduction is engaging; it gets the audience thinking about the
topic at hand and wondering how you will be proving your argument. Good ways to
convince your reader that your essay is worthwhile is to provide information that the
reader might question or disagree with. Once they are thinking about the topic, and
wondering why you hold your position, they are more likely to be engaged in the rest
of the essay.

Basically, a good introduction provides the reader with a brief overview of your topic
and an explanation of your thesis. A good introduction is fresh, engaging, and
interesting. Successful introductions dont rely on clichs or irrelevant information to
demonstrate their point. Be brief, be concise, be engaging. Good luck.

In the Introduction Paragraph

NEVER EVER EVER. . .

bluntly announce the essay's intent ("In this essay I will...),

make unreasonable statements,
apologize for the material that is being written ("In my humble
opinion..."),
go into a detailed account of the writing,
include random information that has nothing to do with the essay,
use an encyclopedia or dictionary definition ("According to
Webster's...), and
dilly-dally. Get to it. Move confidently into the essay.
 HOW TO WRITE A GOOD CONCLUSION

A conclusion is, in some ways, like your introduction. You restate your thesis
and summarize your main points of evidence for the reader.You can usually
do this in one paragraph.

A conclusion should

stress the importance of the thesis statement,

give the essay a sense of completeness, and
leave a final impression on the reader.

Suggestions

Answer the question "So What?"

Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your
paper was meaningful and useful.

Synthesize, don't summarize

o Don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read
it. Show them how the points you made and the support and
examples you used were not random, but fit together.

Redirect your readers

o Give your reader something to think about, perhaps a way to use
your paper in the "real" world. If your introduction went from
general to specific, make your conclusion go from specific to general.
Think globally.

Create a new meaning

o You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By
demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new
picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.
Strategies

Echoing the introduction: Echoing your introduction can be a good strategy

if it is meant to bring the reader full-circle. If you begin by describing a
scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was
helpful in creating a new understanding.

Example

Introduction

From the parking lot, I could see the towers of the castle of the Magic Kingdom
standing stately against the blue sky. To the right, the tall peak of The Matterhorn
rose even higher. From the left, I could hear the jungle sounds of Adventureland.
As I entered the gate, Main Street stretched before me with its quaint shops
evoking an old-fashioned small town so charming it could never have existed. I
was entranced. Disneyland may have been built for children, but it brings out the
child in adults.

Conclusion

I thought I would spend a few hours at Disneyland, but here I was at 1:00 A.M.,
closing time, leaving the front gates with the now dark towers of the Magic
Kingdom behind me. I could see tired children, toddling along and struggling to
keep their eyes open as best they could. Others slept in their parents' arms as we
waited for the parking lot tram that would take us to our cars. My forty-year-old
feet ached, and I felt a bit sad to think that in a couple of days I would be leaving
California, my vacation over, to go back to my desk. But then I smiled to think that
for at least a day I felt ten years old again.

Challenging the reader: By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are

helping them to redirect the information in the paper, and they may apply
it to their own lives.

Example

Though serving on a jury is not only a civic responsibility but also an

interesting experience, many people still view jury duty as a chore that
interrupts their jobs and the routine of their daily lives. However, juries are
part of America's attempt to be a free and just society. Thus, jury duty
challenges us to be interested and responsible citizens.
 Looking to the future: Looking to the future can emphasize the importance
of your paper or redirect the readers' thought process. It may help them
apply the new information to their lives or see things more globally.

Example

Without well-qualified teachers, schools are little more than buildings and
equipment. If higher-paying careers continue to attract the best and the
brightest students, there will not only be a shortage of teachers, but the
teachers available may not have the best qualifications. Our youth will
suffer. And when youth suffers, the future suffers.

Posing questions: Posing questions, either to your readers or in general,

may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may
not have held before reading your conclusion. It may also bring your main
ideas together to create a new meaning.

Example

Campaign advertisements should help us understand the candidate's

qualifications and positions on the issues. Instead, most tell us what a boob
or knave the opposing candidate is, or they present general images of the
candidate as a family person or God-fearing American. Do such
advertisements contribute to creating an informed electorate or a people who
choose political leaders the same way they choose soft drinks and soap?

CONCLUSION
In the nutshell

I would like to pen down by saying ...

As an overall view, fast food is not healthy as ...

*add an idiom* when theres a will, theres a way too. if we join hands
to curb bullying at school, we can ...