Extra Notes on Essays (sorry the formatting is awful!)

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)


Outline Format

I. Introduction
A. Hook
B. Background information
C. Thesis
II. First main point
A. Topic sentence
B. Supporting point
C. Supporting point
D. Supporting point
III. Second main point
A. Topic sentence
B. Supporting point
C. Supporting point
D. Supporting point
(continue for each paragraph in body)
VI. Conclusion
A. Restate thesis
B. Summarize main points
C. Final recommendation