A good essay consists of three parts
1. INTRO (with THESIS)
2. Body (usually at least three paragraphs)
3. Conclusion
What is a THESIS?
1. Your answer to the question (if you only had one sentence to
answer it)
2. Consists of two parts
 The Thesis


The Sub-thesis (reasons)
EX: The Beatles were the greatest band ever because they wrote
the best songs, had the catchiest melodies and had the most
variety.
II. THE BODY: Supports and expands on the thesis. It consists of
 A TOPIC SENTENCE (this should be arguing something)
o BAD: “The Beatles were a band from Liverpool England.
o GOOD: “One reason why the Beatles were the best band in history
is that they wrote the best songs.”


SEVERAL SENTENCES OF SPECIFIC SUPPORT.
One of your body paragraphs should REFUTE A COUNTERARGUMENT. EX:
Those that say the Beatles weren’t the greatest band ever might argue
that they’re old and music has come a long way since they were around.
This totally misses the point. The songs might have existed a long time
ago, but they still seem fresh today. Can you really say the melody of a
song like “And your bird can sing” sounds dated. Furthermore, many of
the best acts of today are still basically just doing the same thing the
Beatles did. For example….
CONCLUSION: Try to do more than merely summarize.
When we write essays for this class we want to see
1. An intro with a good thesis/subthesis
2. At least three body paragraphs, each starting with a topic sentence
that argues a point and follows that with several SPECIFIC facts that
support the topic sentence.
3. One body paragraph that refutes a counterargument.
4. A conclusion.