ESSAY COMPONENTS
A solid essay is made of the following parts. If you are missing one or
more of these Essay Components, it will affect your structure and, almost
certainly, your ability to pass the GHSWT.
• The Introduction
• The Thesis
• The Body Paragraph featuring a Topic Sentence and Specific
Evidence
• Transitions
• A Conclusion with a clincher
THE INTRODUCTION & THESIS STATEMENT
• An introduction is the part of the essay where
the writer sets up the topic for the reader. The
introduction should be 4-5 sentences long. It is
important to ease the reader into the topic by
starting general and getting more and more
specific until you close the introduction with the
thesis statement.
THE INTRODUCTION & THESIS STATEMENT
• For instance, if your topic is about the most dangerous animal in
the ocean, and you want to write on the great white shark, you
should have an introduction something like this:
• There are many dangerous animals in the world. -----------------------------------------general start
• Many of those hazardous creatures can be found in the oceans. ---------------a little more specific
• The scariest breed in the ocean is definitely the shark. ----------------------------even more specific
• The baddest of the bad when it comes to the shark world is great
white shark. ----thesis statement
THE BODY PARAGRAPH & TOPIC SENTENCES
• The body paragraph is the part of the essay
where you give evidence to support your thesis.
• The body paragraph begins with a topic
sentence that gives the main idea of the entire
paragraph.
• All information in the paragraph should be
directly connected to the topic sentence to
ensure that you do not get off topic.
THE TOPIC SENTENCE
• Pretend you wanted to make the following points, what would be a
good topic sentence?
-Stephen King has won many Bram Stoker awards, showcasing his
horror-writing talents.
-However, Stephen King was also honored with the O. Henry short
story award, which is the highest honor given to a short story writer,
showing he is more than just a master of horror.
-Most impressive, though, is the fact that Stephen King has also been
awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution by the National
Book Foundation.
THE TOPIC SENTENCE
• How about “Stephen King is an
excellent writer” or even better
(because it is more specific)
“Stephen King is an award-winning
writer.”
SPECIFIC EVIDENCE
• An argument MUST include specific evidence if it is going to be
convincing. A broad claim is usually the beginning of a good
argument, but you need to back it up with specific evidence that
supports that claim.
• For Example - Broad Claim: Mr. Smith is an awesome teacher
because he helps students learn.
Broad Claim w/ specific evidence: Mr. Smith is an awesome
teacher because he incorporates humor and wit into his
instruction to make it memorable. Also, his student activities
reinforce his instruction in ways that are meaningful and useful
in both the classroom and the real world.
SPECIFIC EVIDENCE
For each topic sentence you have, you need
around 3 examples of specific evidence,
which means every single body paragraph
should be at least 4-5 sentences long. Any
less and you aren’t being persuasive.
TRANSITIONS
• A transition is a word or group of words that maintains the flow of a paper while
moving from one subject to the next. Transitions are going to be used (almost always)
in the first sentence of the 2 nd and 3rd body paragraphs. A boring transition is better
than none – like this:
•
First of all,
topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence. Support and details in
the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body
paragraph. Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Support and details in the body
paragraph support and details in the body paragraph.
•
Another reason
is topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence topic sentence.
Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Support and details in the body paragra ph support
and details in the body paragraph. Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Sup port and
details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph.
•
Yet another important reason
is topic sentence topic sentence topic
sentence topic sentence topic sentence. Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Support and
details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph. Support and details in the body paragraph support a nd details in
the body paragraph. Support and details in the body paragraph support and details in the body paragraph.
TRANSITIONS
• Each of the following is a transition word that can be
used to make an essay more fluid:
Also
Furthermore
Additionally
In addition
Next
Another
Second (or secondly)
Similarly
Likewise
CONCLUSION
• The conclusion is the final paragraph in the essay. It should be 4-5
sentences long but really shouldn’t repeat the same points you’ve
already made. This is tricky, but a good way to conclude without
repeating is to focus on the importance of the subject. For example, if
you were writing an essay about why Babe Ruth is the greatest athlete
of all-time, you wouldn’t list his accomplishments; instead, you would
talk about how his legacy has affected the world:
Babe Ruth’s athletic prowess was unparalleled in his generation, and nothing has
changed. He revolutionized the game of baseball from how it was played to the
size of the stadiums it was played in. He has inspired young boys and candy bar
makers alike. Although the world is full of good athletes, there is only one Great
Bambino.
CONCLUSION
• Notice that there is no repetition of specific
details, statistics, or other information. There is
just a general discussion of the importance of
the topic. Also, the conclusion should end with a
clincher. A clincher is a sentence meant to
make the essay and its point memorable. It
should “drive home” the point of the essay. Do
your best to include this and make it creative.
PROOFREADING
In order to do well in the conventions category of the Georgia
High School Writing Test, you MUST learn to be a good
proofreader. That means reading your essay three times. You
will read it once to ensure that all the sentences make sense to
the reader and that the subjects and verbs agree. You will read
it a second time to make sure that punctuation is good – all
commas are in the right place, all contractions and possessive
words have apostrophes, etc. Then read it a third time because
you love your teacher and he asked you to.
FOR MORE HELP…
Pick one of the following worksheets based on what you think you
need help on and complete it:
The Introduction
Specific Evidence
Connecting to the Thesis
Transitions and Conclusions
Good Writing Checklist
Proofreading 101