.
.
.
STEPS TO BETTER WRITING 38: PLANNING THE ESSAY
There are several basic steps you should go through in planning your essay before you begin to write. Since the structure of an essay is so similar to that of a paragraph, this planning parallels very closely the planning of a good paragraph.
| 1 | Write the thesis sentence. Be sure it is specific enough to say exactly what you are going to write about, but general enough to allow you to include adequate supporting details. Your thesis must show your position on the topic. Take a point of view; do not just write "about" something. But beware! Your thesis should not ever be stated in terms of you, the writer, (“In this essay I shall attempt to prove that taxes are unnecessarily high”). Instead, simply state your opinion or position directly (“Taxes are unnecessarily high”). |
| 2 | Jot down the main ideas that support the thesis. Think about your thesis. As yourself "why". Decide what ideas prove or explain your point. Eliminate ideas that are not directly related to your thesis or do not really add support to your argument. You should end up with 3 or 4 main supporting points. |
| 3 | Prepare an outline. This outline should consist of: |
| ..A | Thesis sentence |
| ..B | Main points listed in a logical order; this information applies to the main points of the essay as well as to those of the paragraph. |
| ..C | Plan out your supporting paragraphs using these steps: |
| .....1 | Write a topic sentence (your general statement). |
| .....2 | Decide on the best kinds of supporting specifics. |
| .....3 | List specifics. Eliminate any not directly related to the topic sentence. |
| .....4 | Decide on the most logical ordering of specifics. |
| .....5 | Number specifics in the order in which they will appear in the paragraph. |
| .....6 | Add signal words where appropriate. |
| ..D | Add any needed signal words at the beginning of paragraphs to help the reader see the relationships among your main points (paragraphs). Add them to your outline before beginning to write. |
Let us see if you can apply these steps to your own writing. First, choose one of the following essay topics:
Is religion dead in the 20th century?
What it means to be mature
The changes I would like to make in myself
The case against capital punishment
The perfect community
Plan the essay by filling in the following chart. You are simply to plan the essay. Do not write it in final form until after the next step. You will be told when to come back to finish it. Follow the steps given above in filling out the chart.
| Thesis statement | ___________________________________________________________ |
| First main point | |
| GS (topic sentence) | |
| Types of Specifics | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| Order of Specifics | |
| Second main point | |
| GS (topic sentence) | |
| Types of Specifics | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| Order of Specifics | |
| Third main point | |
| GS (topic sentence) | |
| Types of Specifics | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| SP | |
| Order of Specifics | |
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.