Last Name 1
Name
Instructor
Class
Date
Essay Title
Introduction. Tell the subject of your paper in the Introduction and you should have established
your thesis by the end of the first paragraph. The thesis could be the first line of your paper as
well.
 Tell a story (use narration)
 Establish yourself as someone knowledgeable about the subject
 Provide helpful background information
 Explain why your topic is important
 Describe something
 Define something
 Use an interesting or pertinent quotation
Example: Discuss how I think Pop Music is less about the music and more about popular
culture.
Body paragraphs. Provide at least THREE supporting paragraphs that all speak to your thesis,
giving further evidence that your thesis idea is right. There are 2 parts to each paragraph:
 Part 1 of paragraph: expresses the paragraphs main idea or the point the paragraph will
develop to help support or explain the thesis. This is called the topic sentence
 Part 2 of paragraph: Includes all the points you make to support, explain, or clarify the
topic sentence. These are supporting details.
Examples:
 Body paragraph #1: Talk about how America’s Top 40 songs don’t really stay with us
like classics. They do, however, reflect what’s happening in our culture right now.
 Body paragraph #2: Use examples of real-life singers and performers to show how
they’re all about fashion, hairstyles and Hollywood.
 Body paragraph #3: Suggest that really Pop Singers reflect our culture by setting the
trends for fashion, lifestyle and values or our lack of values.
Conclusion. Finish with a conclusion that flows directly from your last body paragraph and
reinforces (though doesn’t restate) your thesis.
 Draw a conclusion from body paragraphs
 Present the final, most important point
 Offer a solution
 Call reads to action
 Look into future
 Leave reader with final impression
 Bring the essay to a satisfying close
 Leave the reader with a positive final impression
Example: Finish by saying that Pop Music is not really the soundtrack of real life, but what we
think we want life to be.
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Works Cited
Author’s Name. “Title of Story.” Title of Your Textbook. Ed(s). The Editor’s Name(s). City of
Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year Published. Page numbers.
BEFORE SUBMISSION, BE SURE TO:
 Change to double space throughout the entire document
 Check for spelling and grammar mistakes, particularly fragments, comma splices and
run-on sentences.
 Verify that there is only one space after each period.
 Check to ensure each paragraph is indented using the “tab” key (5 spaces)