Essay Format Part #1:
General Format & the Thesis
Statement
9/1: Thesis/Essay Notes page 4R
A Standard 5 paragraph essay follows a
certain format:
1. INTRODUCTION: with a “hook” and an
opinionated thesis statement
1. BODY: 3 separate paragraphs where the
argument is explained and supporting evidence
is cited.
• CONCLUSION: where main points are
summarized and reviewed and the reader is
left with something to think about.
First…Know Your Audience…
• Before you start writing, you should know your
audience:
– Who will read your writing? Who do you need to
convince?
– The audience may be your friends, your teacher, your
parents, your principal, the readers of a newspaper or the
President of the United States!
– Will you be graded? On What?
– Should you be casual or professional?
– What does your audience already think
about your topic?
Second… Pick a side!
• The writer must clearly state his/her position
and stay with that position. Pick a side! Don’t
be in the middle, or undecided!
• Your opinion about the topic, or your answer
to a driving question is your THESIS!
Three: Do Your Research…
In order to convince the
reader you need more than
just an opinion; you need
facts or examples to back
your opinion. So, be sure to
do the research!
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Four: MAKE A PLAN, then write!
The Standard 5 Paragraph Essay:
1. Introduction/Hook/Thesis
2. Argument 1 with support
3. Argument 2 with support
4. Argument 3 with support
5. Conclusion
Start with your Thesis Statement
• A thesis statement is one sentence at the end of your
introduction paragraph that states your opinion.
• It needs to be strong.
• It is the single-most important statement of your
opinion in your essay.
* Always start essays by brainstorming your thesis
statement first, and then build your essay around that
idea!
Start with your Thesis Statement
• One method is the 3-point thesis statement:
– First, choose 3 main focus points to discuss in your
essay. These points will become the focus of three
paragraphs in the body of your paper.
Let’s use fast food as an example again.
Fast food…(3 Discussion Points)
• rapidly increases weight
• causes high blood pressure
• leads to sluggishness
Writing the Thesis Statement
• Now list your three point in your sentence. Put your
completed thesis statement at the end of your first
paragraph.
THREE MAIN FOCUS POINTS
• I believe fast food is harmful because it rapidly increases
weight, causes high blood pressure, and leads to lethargy.
* Remember: You opinion is stronger when you don’t say “I believe,” or “I think…”
Revised
• Fast food is harmful because it rapidly increases weight,
causes high blood pressure, and leads to lethargy.
Practice:
• Answer the following question based on your
opinion:
“Who’s to blame for America’s growing weight
Problem?”
• What three reasons will you discuss in your
essay?
“________ is to blame for America’s weight
problem because (1) , (2) , and __(3)
.
An Umbrella Thesis
This approach summarizes your 3 main points into one
category, or umbrella
THREE MAIN FOCUS POINTS
• Fast food is harmful because it rapidly increases weight,
causes high blood pressure, and leads to lethargy.
COMPLETED THESIS STATEMENT
• Eating fast food frequently is a poor choice, as many
fast foods can cause negative health effects.
Thesis Statements continued…
• Your statement should be debatable.
– Non-debatable example:
• Many people blame the fast-food
industry for making them fat.
– Better example:
• The fast-food industry is to blame for
making people fat.
ESSAY FORMAT:
Part 2:
The Introduction Paragraph
The Great Introduction…
What makes an good introduction?
• It grabs or “hooks” the reader’s attention by using
one or more of the following strategies:
– An anecdote or scenario
– A quotation
– An interesting fact or statistic
– A question
• It tells how the writing will be organized.
• The author’s position is clearly stated in a thesis
statement.
Introduction
• To be the MOST clear, use this format:
• 1st sentence: hook (question, statistic, general
statement of the problem)
• 2-3th sentences: necessary background
info/description of the problem
• 4th sentence: In “Title of work,” Author’s full
name claims, summary of author’s argument.
• 5th/ LAST sentence: YOUR thesis
The Inverted Triangle Introduction
• Goes from general information to the most
specific aspects of your essay.
• Thesis should almost always be the last
sentence in your intro paragraph.
General info about topic
Specific opinion (thesis)
Grabbing Your Audience…
Good strategies used in introductions:
• Use an Anecdote/ Scenario
– The writer provides a personal experience or made-up
situation to introduce the position.
• Questioning
– The writer asks thought-provoking questions to capture
the reader’s interest.
• Interesting fact or statistic
– The writer gives an interesting piece of information to grab
the reader’s attention.
Lets Take A Look….
You Could Start with a Riddle:
• Get your reader’s attention with a challenging
thought.
• “What’s plain, and boring? What makes all students
in a school building look the same and lose their
individuality? If you guessed UNIFORMS, you’re
correct!”
You Could Begin with a Strong Statement:
• Example:
• Fast food consumption has risen 500 percent
since 1970 and today reaches nearly every
part of society, including some public school
cafeterias.
You Could Open with an Anecdote:
• An anecdote can provide an amusing and attention-getting
opening if it is short and to the point.
• “My hands felt sticky after pulling open the doors to “Big Bobby’s
Boisterous Burger Hut”. The odor smelled of fried everything. I ordered
a Big Bobby Combo #2. There was enough food to serve a small third
world country on my tray. I nibbled at the ¾ pound burger and my chin
was covered in a mayonnaise and ketchup concoction. I asked the server
if I could have a few fries with my salt. I left the place feeling like my
stomach was mad at me.”
You Could Open with a Quotation:
• Example:
University of Delaware professor states:
“Advertising, including television ads, billboards, and other advertising,
including toys in boxed meals, has had an effect upon children as never before.
Children these days are growing up with low concern for their health and
more concern for what tastes good.”
You Could Open with a interesting fact:
• Example:
• “Did you know that a typical child needs 2,000 calories for an
entire day and Burger King’s Whopper with triple cheese has
1,230 calories?”
You Could Open with a Fact or Statistic:
• Example:
• Thirty percent of the children in the survey ate fast food on
any given day during the survey, and they ate an average of
187 calories a day more than those who did not eat fast food.
These additional calories could account for an extra six
pounds of weight gain per year, according to Ludwig.
You Could Open with a Question:
• Ex) How many times have you eaten fast food
this month?
• BUT use a sophisticated
question…NOT like this,
“Do you think that fast food
Is bad for you?” 
Open with an Outrageous Statement:
• Example:
• “Fast food is killing America!”
Our Introductory Paragraph:
CATCHY TITLE
Fast Food Is Killing America!
HOOK THE READER
Did you know that a typical child needs 2,000 calories
for an entire day and Burger King’s Whopper with triple
cheese has 1,230 calories? That is far more calories than
anyone needs in one day! Fast food consumption has risen
500 percent since 1970 and today reaches nearly every part
of society, including some public school cafeterias. Fast
food is harmful because it rapidly increases weight, causes
high blood pressure, and leads to sluggishness. Fast food is
unhealthy and consumers should limit their intake.
YOUR THREE ARGUMENTS
THESIS STATEMENT
Three Supporting Paragraphs:
• Use each of the main arguments you used in
your introductory paragraph and expand on
each giving facts and reasons.
• In our example, you would write one
paragraph on how fast food increases weight,
one paragraph on how it causes high blood
pressure and one on how it leads to
sluggishness.
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Conclude or End Your Essay…
What makes an good conclusion?
 Last paragraph summarizes your main point.
 End using one or more of the following strategies:
–Call the reader to action
–Anecdote or scenario
–Make a Prediction
 The last paragraph wraps up the writing and gives the
reader something to think about.
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Strategies for Conclusions
• Call to Action
– Ask the reader to do something or to make something
happen “I challenge you to watch what you eat and to
avoid fast food.”
• Provide a solution
– Provide an answer to the problem “Fast food doesn’t have
to be “bad food.” Make better choices like salads, fruit
and low fat treats.”
• Make a Prediction
– Explain what might be the consequences of action or
inaction “If people continue to eat lots of fast food, they
put their health at risk. If kids don’t make better choices
today, they won’t grow into healthy adults.”
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Concluding Paragraph:
Restate your thesis.
In closing, it’s important to remember that too much
fast food can have negative effects on your health. If not
eaten in moderation, you can gain weight, suffer from high
blood pressure and become slow and sluggish. Is it worth
the risk to your body? Eat Healthy and Make good
choices!
End with…
– A comment (Don’t make your body suffer!)
– A question (Are you willing to risk your health?)
– A call to action (I highly recommend you consider your
options the next time your faced with a decision about
what to eat.)
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Don’t Forget…
• Make sure to read over
your work and edit for
mechanics and spelling.
• Write neatly!
• Include detail and great
vocabulary.
• Follow proper format:
Proper heading and skip
lines!
Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
Essay Format Part #3:
CITATIONS
Quotations
• Cite any outside information or statistics you
reference, including information from the original
article (Weintraub’s).
• Cite words that you paraphrase
• Don’t plagiarize – better safe than sorry!
• MLA format (See Purdue Owl cite)
• Purdue MLA
• In-text quotations must reference the author’s
first and last name the first time it is used.
• Subsequent uses – only use the last name.
• Name of essays/articles are placed in
quotations. Books and movies are italicized.
– Ex) In Daniel Weintraub’s article, “The Battle
Against Fast Food Begins in the Home,” blah blah
blah.
– According to Supersize Me, blah blah blah…
Citation
• The author’s last name and page number must
always be cited.
– Either in-text citation OR parenthetical citation
• Ex) He said, “Blah blah” (Weintraub 66).
– Notice the punctuation: “( ).
– There is no comma between the last name and the
page #.
– If you mention the author’s name in the sentence,
only cite the page number at the end.
• Ex) Weintraub states, “Blah blah” (88).
Embed your quotes: Don’t leave them
naked!
• Naked quote:
– “My own home is by no means a fast food-free
zone” (Weintraub 43). In this quote, Weintraub is
saying…
• Embedded Quote:
– Weintraub gives context to his own home life by
saying, “My own home is by no means a fast foodfree zone” (43).
Examples
• Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked
by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings"
(263). - direct citation with author’s name
• Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
- direct citation without author’s name
• Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion
in the creative process (263).
-paraphrased
Practice
• Embed and cite this quote according to the
information given:
– Daniel Weintraub. Pg 42. Obesity is the fault of the
parents who let their kids eat unhealthy foods.
1.Direct quote using author’s name in the
sentence
2.Direct quote without using the author’s name
in the sentence
3.Paraphrase the quote and cite it