Essay+structure+notes

Essay Structure Notes An essay puts forth one single idea. That idea is made clear in the thesis statement. The body of the essay supports the thesis with examples and explanations. Do not use “I feel that,” “it seems to me,” or other personal phrases. Be bold! Be aware of your audience, your reader. Check your spelling! Five paragraph essay structure: Introduction: First Body Paragraph
 * Don’t ** use contractions!
 * Start with a broad statement your reader will understand. (Students have been wandering the hallways of South Eugene for over fifty years.)
 * Offer several sentences that become more specific leading to your thesis. (As time has passed the numbers have decreased, but the halls are still crowded. In spite of attempts by the district to solve the problem, we are still suffering.)
 * Finish the introduction with your thesis statement, the controlling idea of your essay.
 * A thesis includes a topic sentence and an opinion. (South Eugene High School has so many students it is overcrowded.)
 * Somewhere in the introduction, include the author and the title of the text.
 * Begin with a topic sentence declaring the subject of the paragraph. (The halls at South are much too crowded.)
 * Give one example to support your topic sentence. (Between classes it’s hard to move.)
 * Explain that example. (If it’s hard to move, I’m late to class.)
 * Give a second example. (It takes too long to get outside during fire drills.)
 * Explain second example. (If we’re inside too long we’ll fry.)

Second Body Paragraph – same structure as prior paragraph Third Body Paragraph – same structure Conclusion: Begins with a restatement of the thesis, not in the same exact words. (Overcrowding is a big problem at SEHS.)
 * Broaden out from this idea to other possible connections to it. This is a chance to comment on aspects that don’t fit into the rest of the structure.

Citing sources: Each example in the essay will be a passage from the book. Begin the sentence that includes the textual evidence with a **signal phrase**: Ex. 1: It is clear that Gandalf has been a significant figure in the world because he has a sword with significant powers, “Glamdring the Foe-hammer, if you remember” (73).

Ex. 2: Gollum doesn’t know how close he comes to a significant issue when he asks, “What has it got in its pocketses?” (89).

Ex. 3: Tolkien wants us to know that Bilbo is not a regular hobbit when he shows him quizzing Gollum on his problems. Standing together in the dark, “’What have you lost?’ Bilbo persisted” (89).

Ex. 4: When Gollum asks, "What has it got in its pocketses?" he doesn't know how close he has come to an important issue(89).