Ingredients
of an Essay
Writing 101
Ms. Moore
Table of
Contents
Subject Page
#
Formal Essay Ingredients 3
Narrowing sentences and
Thesis 4
Transition and topic
sentences 5
Quote Sandwiches 6
Conclusions 7
Dos and Don'ts 8
Assignment! 9
Formal Essay Ingredients
Recipe for Making Introductions
1 hook
3-5 narrowing sentences
1 THESIS
For your hooks:
Hooks are
essential to your essay. They grab the
reader's attention! The best hooks are
not just single sentences but broad, non-specific, whole stories that
interweave the outside world with the topic of your essay. There
are three different types of hooks:
story or scenario, General Topic, and Questions
Story or Scenario
A hardworking
family man does his best everyday to be a good person. He is someone who is helpful to his neighbors
and always looks out for. the best interest of others. One day, he finds a neighbor who is less
fortunate than himself, and he helps them; yet, he discovers that this act of
kindness will soon lead to his demise.
This is the scenario in which Tom Robinson in Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, finds himself…(+3-5 narrowing sentences +Thesis=full
introduction)
General Topic
As we walk
through city streets, suburban high-schools, or small, country towns, we can
hear the ignorant rants of people who only appreciate others who look, speak or
dress as they do. These rants are not always deadly, but the ignorance behind
them is. Prejudice such as this, can and
often does, lead to actions that are at least hurtful, and at their worst,
deadly. In Harper Lee's novel… (+3-5
narrowing sentences +Thesis=full introduction)
Questions (only use if you are going to
develop the questioning and not just stick one in there because you need a
hook!)
Do we live in a
world without prejudice? Without
discrimination, hurt and anguish? What
would this world be if we would simply get along with one another? What if we respected differences and valued
our diversity? One man in
Narrowing Sentences and
Thesis Statements
Making up a big batch of Narrowing
Sentences
3-5 Great Ideas
that support the thesis
A hook before the
sentences
A thesis after
the sentences
First, think of
the three main points you will use to defend your thesis. After you have these, mention them first in
your introduction through your narrowing sentences. Think about how to make the ideas flow from
one to the next using word choice and organization:
EXAMPLE:
A hardworking family man does his best
everyday to be a good person. He is
someone who is helpful to his neighbors and always looks out for the best
interests of others. One day, he finds a
neighbor who is less fortunate than himself, and he helps them; yet, he
discovers that this act of kindness will soon lead to his demise. This is the scenario in which Tom Robinson in
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, finds himself. He
tries to help Mayella Ewell and it backfires.
He is wrongfully accused of a crime he never committed. Atticus tries to
defend him, but because of the racism of Maycomb, Atticus fails. Throughout the novel, Tom Robinson is the
Mockingbird, who, despite his kind nature, is the victim of a small town and
the racism within it.
In the bold
lettering are your three body paragraph topics.
You will restate them in different manners, however, you are giving
hints to the reader about what comes next.
Recipe for making a Great Thesis
(bake-off grand
prize winner)
1 Topic
1 Attitude
1 ARGUMENT
Refer to the
Thesis writing sheet with the funnel. A
thesis is a short statement (one sentence) which tells the reader what the
essay is about. It states what you will
prove and what side of the argument you are taking. Therefore, everything that follows in your
paper will support the thesis statement.
EX:
Throughout the novel, Tom Robinson is the Mockingbird, who, despite his
kind nature, is the victim of a small town and the racism within it.
Recipe for delicious
Transitions and yummy Topic Sentences:
3 Main Points
As much flow as
is available to the chef
A fervent and
burning need to connect ideas
Between all
paragraphs, there must be smooth and logical transitions. This will give your essay FLOW. These transitions will come both before your
topic sentences and at the beginning of your conclusions. You will have at least four transition
sentences in each essay.
EX:
Start of Body Paragraph or Conclusion TRANSITION
Although Atticus
is clearly devoted to teaching and caring for his children, he is also tireless
in his pursuit of justice for Tom Robinson.
After you
transition, you will write the TOPIC
SENTENCE which will tell your reader the main focus of the paragraph. When you become a skilled baker of essays,
you will be able to combine transitions and topic sentences into one neat
little package. But until then…
EX:
Topic Sentence
Although Atticus
is clearly devoted to teaching and caring for his children, he is also tireless
in his pursuit of justice for Tom Robinson.
Atticus wants Tom to be found
innocent not for himself, but because it is the right thing to do.
RECIPE FOR A TASTY QUOTE
1 Lead in to introduce your quote
1 Quote from the text, correctly punctuated
1 Lead Out with commentary (CM) to analyze your quotation and connect it
to the thesis
See Yellow Sheet with
Lead in (introduction of concrete detail):
Introduces the quote and gives context for the quote.
Quote (concrete detail from the book):
Supports the thesis and fits in with the topic sentence
Lead Out (commentary, CM Analyzes concrete
detail): Analyzes and explains why quote connects
with thesis and topic sentence
Commentary (CM)- Analyzes Concrete Detail
These statements
are not personal, but serve to show the significance of how each CD relates to
the thesis. CM analyzes or illustrates why the CD is important.
Punctuation:
All quote
sandwiches are punctuated one of the following two ways:
NOTE:
Do not ever punctuate the quote sandwich in any other way than this!!
Example of Quote
Atticus says, "Scout, to understand someone,
you have to climb into their skin and walk around" (45). Illustration his
capacity for empathy, here Atticus discusses his philosophy of life with his
children.
NOTICE:
- Use a
comma or a colon directly after the Lead In to introduce the quote.
-
Use quotation marks around the quote (it does not have to be a quote
that someone says -it can be anything that the author writes in the book)
-
After the quote, use parenthesis and the page number only (no
"pp" or "p" or "pg" or anything!!! Just the page number will suffice)
-
Put the period outside the parenthesis.
Do not put the period after the quote itself. Put it outside the parenthesis.
-
If you have a question mark or an exclamation point, you may use that at
the end of the quote and then still put a period after the parenthesis.
YOU NEED ONE QUOTE SANDWICH WITH LEAD IN,
QUOTE, LEAD OUT AND COMMENTARY FOR EACH BODY PARAGRAPH!!!!
Recipe for a scrumptious
Conclusion:
1 Transition
sentence
3 Restatements of
the main points
1 Restatement of
the thesis
1 New Idea
Mix all
ingredients together in that precise order!
DO NOT
1. Give a mere
summary of events.
2. Give a simple
re-statement of thesis.
3. Think the Conclusion is not important. Spend time here!!
Though Atticus is a great father, his
father is affected by the trial. He
feels he has to defend Tom Robinson, the mockingbird, who is being
metaphorically shot at by the town of
Formal Writing Dos and
Don’ts
For every batch of tasty essay
you whip up, please consult this page!
DO:
- include all elements of a good essay every
time you write.
- create a snappy title that grabs attention.
- outline your essay.
- come up with thesis before writing.
- chose quotes before writing.
- create a title page for your essay with
title, name, date and period.
- Proofread before printing your last copy.
- Use 12 point font.
- Use only Palatino or Times New Roman.
- Double space.
- Staple in this order - Title page, Final
draft, Rough Draft, Peer Edit Sheet.
- Be an active participant in Peer Edit.
DON'T
- Leave out any part of the essay.
- Not create a rough draft first (You will
start with a C for the final)
- Have a heading on the first page
- Use big font, single space or any fancy font
- Handwrite the essay (even the rough draft)
- Come with your paper not stapled!
Check off all of
these things as you go along!
Using the "Essay
Ingredients" packet, you will write a short paper on the requirements for
a formal essay.
The purposes of writing this paper are the
following:
1. To ensure that
you understand the requirements for papers that you will write.
2. To ensure that
you are clear on what should and should not be in the formal papers.
3. To evoke any
questions you might have about the formal writing process.
4. To clarify the
elements of an excellent paper.
Directions:
1. Refer to your "Essay
Ingredients" packet, and follow the directions for each paragraph.
Paragraph #1
A. Introduce the
elements that are required for an introduction. See page 3-4.
B. Incorporate 2 "Do's"
and 2 "Don'ts." See page 8
Paragraph #2
A. Introduce the
elements that are required for the second paragraph. See page 5-6.
B. Incorporate 2
"Do's" and 2 "Don'ts." See page 8
Paragraph #3
A. Introduce the
elements that are required for the third paragraph. See page 5-6.
B. Incorporate 2 "Do's"
and 2 "Don'ts." See page 8
Paragraph #4
A. Introduce the
elements that are required for the third body paragraph. See page 5-6.
B. Incorporate 2 "Do's"
and 2 "Don'ts." See page 8
Paragraph #5
A. Introduce the
elements that are required for a conclusion. See page 7.
B. Incorporate all "Do's" and
"Don'ts"