Essay Tips

Essay Tips This makes the content scannable and easy to digest. Each paragraph should be centered around just one argument or idea. For our purposes in this class, you will always use third person point of view when writing expository paragraphs, unless otherwise directed. This means there should be no “I” or “you” words anywhere in the paragraph. The topic sentence in the example lets the reader know that the paragraph will talk about the expenses of going to college. Immediately following the topic sentence is the first supporting sentence and two detail/example sentences. Each support sentence and its two detail/example sentences are shown in different colors so you can see where one ends and the next begins. When you read a textbook, the news, magazine articles, or any other types of publications, you are reading expository writing. When you write answers for an essay test, you use the expository form. Avoid, avoid, avoid generic arguments and formula statements. They work well to get a rough draft started, but will easily bore a reader. Keep revising until the thesis reflects your real ideas. Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper. The final sub-point should be your thesis statement. State the idea or argument that you plan to discuss in your essay. Determine whether to use full sentences or brief phrases in your outline. Finally, the closing sentence neatly ties back to the topic sentence by rephrasing it. Remember that all paragraphs should contain a topic sentence. It may be even more important in the expository paragraph because this is where the main idea of the paragraph is expressed. This topic sentence lets the reader know what the rest of the paragraph will discuss. In an expository paragraph, you give information. A thesis should not be more than one sentence in length. Once you have developed your ideas and considered your purpose and audience, you should be ready to write a thesis statement. Write your subject down on the center of a piece of paper and circle it. Then draw three or more lines extending from the circle. At the end of each of the lines you have drawn, write down a new idea that corresponds to your main idea. Then draw three or more lines from each of those new ideas, and write ideas that corresponds to those ideas. Continue developing your cluster until you feel that you have explored as many connections as you can. Although outlining a paper can help you to develop and organize your ideas, you may need to do some other prewriting exercises to get started. The length of an academic essay varies by type. For most outline essays, full sentences will prove more useful because they allow you to provide more thorough information. Effective thesis statements express the main focus of a paper and state an arguable claim. You explain a subject, give directions, or show how something happens. In expository writing, linking words like first, second, then, and finally are usually used to help readers follow the ideas. Also, notice the use of third person point of view in this paragraph. The third person point of view is most commonly used for expository writing, technical writing, and any other sort of writing that has a business-minded or persuasive intention or purpose. High school essays are often 500 words, but graduate essays can be 5000 words or more. My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay. To give your essay a clear structure, it is important to make use of paragraphsand headings.