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How to format an essay

How to format an essay. Introduction. Begins very broadly; talks about something general to get the reader’s attention. Often starts with a “hook.” Begins to get specific about halfway down. What appears at the “point” of the triangle?. Thesis statement.

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How to format an essay

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  1. How to format an essay

  2. Introduction • Begins very broadly; talks about something general to get the reader’s attention. • Often starts with a “hook.” • Begins to get specific about halfway down. • What appears at the “point” of the triangle?

  3. Thesis statement • Tells the reader the focus of your paper. • Should make a clear, strong statement. • Should encompass the main points that you’ll be writing about. • Since there are three body paragraphs, make sure the main idea of each body paragraph appears in your thesis.

  4. The Body Paragraph: Layout • Topic Sentence • Major Support 1 • Minor Support 1 • Minor Support 2 • Major Support 2 • Minor Support 1 • Minor Support 2 • Major Support 3 • Minor Support 1 • Minor Support 2 • Clincher

  5. The Topic Sentence • One sentence. • Should clearly support the thesis statement. • Must be supportable. • Should cover the main point of the paragraph.

  6. Major Supports • One sentence. • Must be supportable, NOT a self-evident fact. • “Christopher does not like brown and yellow.” • “One thing that makes Christopher’s life difficult is the fact that he does not like brown and yellow.” • Must clearly support the topic sentence. • Try the “because” test: • Topic SentencebecauseMajor Support

  7. Minor Supports • The Minor Supports are the part of the paragraph where you use evidence from the book to support your ideas. • May be more than one sentence. • The FIRST MINOR mentions a specific example from the book, like something a character says or does.

  8. Minors Continued • The SECOND MINOR analyzes the example. • This means that after you give the example, you explain HOW it supports the major. • Make sure you tie it back in to the topic sentence to keep your paragraph focused.

  9. Clincher • The clincher is where you “wrap up” your paragraph. • You never want to end on an example; always remind the reader what your main point was.

  10. Some grammar and style basics • Don’t use first person (I, we, us) or second person (you) in a formal essay. • Verbs should be in present tense. • “Christopher would get upset whenever somebody touched him” • “Christopher gets upset whenever somebody touches him”

  11. Let’s try writing an outline for a sample essay. • Thesis: You treat me like a kid even though I’m very responsible, and I want to work together to figure out how I can have more freedom. • There are three main ideas in this thesis statement, so it lends itself clearly to a five-paragraph essay.

  12. Topic sentence: you treat me like a kid. • Major (reason the topic sentence is true): You are too controlling • Minor (Specific example supporting the major): I have a curfew of 9:00 • Minor (How the example supports the major and ties to the topic sentence) This micro-managing of my time makes me feel like you don’t think I’m mature enough to handle being out late.

  13. Topic Sentence: You treat me like a kid. • Major: You don’t trust me. • Minor: Last week, you wouldn’t let me go over my friend’s house because her parents weren’t home. • Minor: It feels like you don’t trust me to make grown-up decisions.

  14. Topic sentence: You treat me like a kid. • Major: You don’t listen to me like an adult. • Minor: When I explained why I wanted to stop taking violin lessons, you told me that I’d thank you later. • Minor: I felt like you weren’t treating my opinions like they mattered.

  15. Clincher • You don’t act like I’m mature or like my opinions matter, which is the same way you’d treat a kid. • The clincher takes aspects of the ANALYSIS of your paragraph, and ties it back to the topic sentence.

  16. Next two body paragraphs • Thesis: You treat me like a kid even though I’m very responsible, and I want to work together to figure out how I can have more freedom. • What are the other two main ideas in this essay?

  17. Next two topic sentences • I’m very responsible • I want to work together to figure out how I can have more freedom. • With your partner, come up with three reasons (majors) that would support each of those topic sentences. • What examples would you use to support them?

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