1 / 12

A Brief Introduction to Structuring an Essay

A Brief Introduction to Structuring an Essay. Brought to You by The Writing Center University of Scranton Scranton, PA. Key Organizational Elements. Active, controlling thesis Anchor paragraphs Conclusion. Thesis. Must express the unifying idea Must be active and concise

sonja
Download Presentation

A Brief Introduction to Structuring an Essay

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A Brief Introduction to Structuring an Essay Brought to You by The Writing Center University of Scranton Scranton, PA

  2. Key Organizational Elements • Active, controlling thesis • Anchor paragraphs • Conclusion

  3. Thesis • Must express the unifying idea • Must be active and concise • (?) does (?) to (?) • Must be easily identifiable

  4. Anchor Paragraphs • Introduce, but do not necessarily complete, the development of an area of discussion • Lead into one or more subparagraphs which will resolve the particular area of development • Develop the entire weight of support for the thesis herein

  5. Conclusion • The conclusion should concentrate the argument of the rest of the paper and, based on that argument, forcefully restate (not repeat) the thesis.

  6. Essential Skills • Transition sentences • Active verb use • Unity of intent • Logical progression

  7. Transitioning • Bridging between paragraphs • Link the last idea of one paragraph to the first idea of the next and/or • Use the same noun or verb in the last sentence of one paragraph and the first sentence of the next

  8. Active verb use • When writing an essay, always prefer active over passive voice. Example: Passive: The ball was hit by the boy. Active: The boy hit the ball. • Avoid using forms of the verb “to be” (i.e., “is”, “are”, etc.) whenever possible.

  9. Unity of Intent • All information cited should relate to the thesis • Each paragraph should address one and only one topic

  10. Logical Progression • Ideas must flow into each other • Progress chronologically • Progress from the general to the specific • Give background first and then analyze details relevant to the thesis

  11. Outline Thesis ¶ Thesis Anchor ¶ I Introduction Background (if necessary) Sub¶s to A¶I (if necessary) Anchor ¶ II Area 1 Sub¶s to A¶II (if necessary) Anchor ¶ III (more may follow if necessary) Area 2 Sub¶s to A¶III (if necessary) Conclusion

  12. Need More Help? For more extensive help, visit The Writing Center Room 588 D Saint Thomas Hall (570) 941-6147

More Related