Essay Writing Notes *Not properly formatted!*(Also available on Student "S" Drive)

General Information on Writing Essays

Step 1 B Finding a Subject

A. Brainstorming
B list ideas in point form
B start with a topic; list everything you can think of about that topic

B. Web or Cluster Outline
B arrange ideas in a web, connecting points that go together
B record ideas in point form

Step 2 B Limiting the Topic

A. Limiting the Scope
B think about how long the essay will be (should be a minimum of 5 paragraphs)
B choose a small topic or focus on one aspect of a larger topic (*focus)

B. Focusing the Purpose
B give an opinion or generalization
B give direction to the essay

C. The Thesis Statement
B identify the topic, limit the scope, and focus the purpose
B should be a complete sentence (may be more than one for a longer essay)
B should come early in the essay, but not the first sentence (commonly the last sentence of the first paragraph); give background information first
B think of this as the Abig idea@ of the essay




Step 3 B Choose an Audience

A. Consider the Reader=s Level
B the reading level of your audience will determine the terminology you will use (your diction or choice of words)

B. Consider the Reader=s Knowledge and Beliefs
B consider what the reader already knows about the topic to determine how much detail you need to give
B consider the reader=s beliefs so that you can use appropriate persuasion without offending your reader

Step 4 B Organizing the Information

A. Making an Outline
B decide what order makes sense
B go from general to specific

Step 5 B The Rough Draft

A. Writing the Rough Draft
B write quickly to get the ideas down
B double or triple space to allow room for editing and revising
B try to follow the outline (although the outline may change as you write)
B don=t worry about grammatical errors at this point

Step 6 B Revising and Editing

A. Revising
B look for unsupported statements
B look for errors in facts or logic
B look at your wording - could it be more powerful, more clear?
- is there a better word you could use?
- does your language seem too familiar?
- is your language suitable for your audience?

B look at your content - have you repeated or left out any ideas?
- are your transitions effective?
- have you supported your thesis statement?
- do you have a strong introduction and a strong conclusion?

B. Editing
B look for mistakes in spelling and punctuation
B look for subject-verb agreement and proper verb tenses
B look for parallel sentences
B look for sentence faults (run-ons, comma splices, fragments)
B look for proper capitalization
B look for pronoun-antecedent agreement
B look for continuity of voice
B avoid using Ayou@
B do not use contractions

Step 7 B Further Drafts

A. Further Drafts
B if you have time, you may want to have multiple drafts
B if your essay does not support your thesis, either the essay or the thesis must change

Step 8 B Final Essay

A. Final Essay
B should be neat and free of errors
B should be typed and double-spaced on one side only of plain white paper (if you are unable to type it, then it should be neatly printed and double-spaced on plain white paper in blue or black ink)
B should include a title page (title of essay, your name, course, instructor=s name, date)
B pages should be numbered (except the title page)