 | Essays have an interesting title which sets the tone. "Audience" would not be a suitable title as it reveals little of what will follow. On the other hand, "Troubled Teen Girls Locked in Roles Proscribed by Fathers" or "Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places" would be titles that allude to the thesis of a paper. | |
| A thesis is the next point of a successful essay.
A thesis is the main idea of your essay; it contains a fact and your opinion about that
fact. The thesis is very specific. For our purposes, you will also use an explicit thesis
which is stated in the introduction of your essay. Thus, for an essay about trouble teen
girls, we could use this thesis: "Fathers who make their daughters conform to old rules and traditions create troubled teenagers." The pattern of development for this type of essay would be cause and effect, and we could discuss three or four different rules or traditions and their outcomes on female teens. A thesis that would not work is "Parental rules create troubled teens." | |
| An introduction to contain the thesis is also needed. See Introduction help here or in the handbook if you are unclear about introductions. The thesis should be the last sentence in your introduction. | |
| Once the thesis is established, development and support are needed. Five or six sub-ideas (sub-points) to convince your audience of your point-of-view need specific development. Look toward methods of development located at methods if you are having trouble developing your essays. | |
| In most essays, we also want to rely upon experts or authorities. Thus, once you have your point of view established, go back and insert a quotation in at least two of your body paragraphs from two of the sources you read. Another way to support your ideas is through quotations from friends or other sources. Quotations are used to support what you have to say not the other way around. Use your handbook to aid you in documenting these experts. | |
| Look toward language use. Is the diction appropriate to the audience? Is it too formal? Too informal? | |
| Think about specifics. Are the examples used ones that will be of interest to the audience? Will they care? | |
| A successful essay ends well. Read the conclusion handout if you are unsure about how to end your essay. | |
| Another important aspect of an essay is the way you use transitions. Consider transitions as cues for your audience. They signal the reader that you are either changing direction, adding information, emphasizing or linking ideas. |
These are not all of the elements found in a good essay, but it is a good start. If you can gain control of these, then you will be on your way to fine writing.
