To Structure an Essay:
1. Read the prompt and determine what is being asked. That will
FOCUS the writer on the topic which needs to be written.
2. Use the prompt to determine the direction of the essay. Does the
prompt help the writer to see the number of body paragraphs needed?
Does the prompt help the writer to see if the essay is informational or
persuasive? Does the prompt assist the writer in determining the
audience for which the essay is intended?
3. Draft the essay. ORGANIZATION matters. It is the art of
paragraphing with all of the required elements.
a. Essays must begin with an introduction. The purpose of an
introduction is to introduce the topic to a reader who may be
unfamiliar with it. An introduction contains four elements:
- Hook (A hook grabs the reader’s attention. In previous
years students could use a question as a hook, but the
eighth grade teacher forbids that usage, so I am trying
to train students to use other forms of attention getters.
Exclamations work well. Odd facts also serve this
purpose.)
- Background (Background sentences can be added to
connect the hook to the next part of the introduction.
These sentences provide information that the reader
may need to know prior to reading the remainder of the
essay.)
- Thesis Statement (This declarative sentence uses words
from the prompt to restate the topic. This sentence –
the most important one in the essay – explains the
purpose of the essay.)
- Essay Map (This sentence tells the direction of the
essay. It names the main things to be talked about in
each of the body paragraphs. The items named in the
essay map determine the order of the body paragraphs.
The thesis and the essay map may be the same sentence
or the essay map may directly follow the thesis
statement. The essay map concludes the introduction.)
b. Essays then contain body paragraphs.
- The body paragraphs explain the items named in the
roadmap sentence. Each new item is a separate
paragraph and occurs in the same order as were named
in the roadmap. All of this is CONTENT.
- Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence.
The topic sentence tells what that particular body
paragraph is discussing. It should include words from
the prompt.
- Each body paragraph must contain details that
support/prove the topic sentence. These sentences
should illustrate the purpose of the paragraph and be
filled with supportive details. In a persuasive essay,
these details must prove the point trying to be made. In
an informational essay, these details must provide
illustrative details.
- Each paragraph must conclude with an ending sentence
that restates the topic sentence and transitions into the
next body paragraph.
c. Essays end with a conclusion paragraph.
-Conclusions are quite short. First, they should restate the thesis
statement that was written in the introduction.
- Finally they should end with a final thought. This could be a
restatement of the roadmap or a summative thought expressing
the purpose of the essay. It could leave the reader with a good
feeling about the topic. It should not introduce any new
information.
4. Edit the essay. Check for:
a. capitalization
b. spelling
c. punctuation
d. word usage
e. sentence structure
f. formatting (indenting)
(a,b, and c contribute toward the MECHANICS whereas d
and e develop the STYLE.)
5. Create a final copy of the essay for publishing
**The completely capitalized words are the five areas in which student
essays are judged for PSSA.