Hopes and Dreams Essay Outline
Introduction: (Remember – this is only a template! As long as your interest grabber is first and
your thesis is last, the other portions can be in whatever order you’d like.)
Interest Grabber:
General statement/discussion about hopes and dreams (introducing the topic)
Introduction of THREE works (from different genres; must include The Old Man and the Sea)
Thesis statement (the last sentence of your introduction paragraph; restate the scenario
question as a statement and include how hopes and dreams affect a person’s life.
Body Paragraph #1
Topic Sentence – identify first topic (same order as stated in thesis/intro)
Thorough discussion about work and hopes/dreams with EVIDENCE from text (direct quotes).
Don’t forget the discussion about how those hopes and dreams affect person’s life (connect
back to topic sentence)
(Details and direct quotations)
(discussion)
Concluding sentence/sum-up sentence:
Body Paragraph #2
Transition and Topic Sentence – identify second topic (same order as stated in thesis/intro)
Thorough discussion about work and hopes/dreams with EVIDENCE from text (direct quotes).
Don’t forget the discussion about how those hopes and dreams affect person’s life (connect
back to topic sentence)
(Details and direct quotations)
(discussion)
Concluding sentence/sum-up sentence:
Body Paragraph #3
Transition and Topic Sentence – identify third topic (same order as stated in thesis/intro)
Thorough discussion about work and hopes/dreams with EVIDENCE from text (direct quotes).
Don’t forget the discussion about how those hopes and dreams affect person’s life (connect
back to topic sentence)
(Details and direct quotations)
(discussion)
Concluding sentence/sum-up sentence:
Conclusion:
Restate the thesis in different words and recap the main points of the essay. Mention specific
works and what they prove about having hopes and dreams. DO NOT introduce new
topics/ideas in your conclusion.
End with a statement giving the essay a sense of completeness, and perhaps even a universal
application about hopes and dreams (without using clichés). Ask yourself, “What do I want my
reading audience to remember most about this topic?”