Essay Paper Tips

Questions to Consider for Your Introduction Does my introduction capture the reader’s attention by: --asking a question? --telling a story? --citing a quote? --painting a picture using description? --beginning with an opposite idea? --stating the relevance of the topic? --giving a shocking statement or statistic? Does the introduction prepare your audience for the main idea of the paper? Does the introduction provide an adequate lead-in to the thesis? That is, is it more than two or three sentences? Is the introduction more than two paragraphs? Generally speaking, in an essay of 500—750 words, an introduction should not be more than two paragraphs Questions to Consider for Your Thesis Does my thesis: --State my opinion about the assigned topic? --Discuss only one topic? --Have something worthwhile to say? Does it pass the “so what” test? --Relate to the ideas in my essay? --Maintain control over the topic? Is it too broad or too narrow? --Avoid the form of a question? --Avoid announcing the topic of the essay? (i.e. “This paper will be about?) --Avoid expressions such as “In my opinion?” “I believe?” Questions to Consider for Topic Sentence (s) --Have I limited my paragraph to one main idea? --Have I clearly stated my topic sentence at the beginning, middle, or end of the paragraph? --Do all details in my body paragraph support my topic sentence? --Have I summarized the points in my paragraph with a concluding sentence? Questions to Consider for Supporting Details

Have I developed ideas within paragraphs by: --Telling a story? --Discussing a process (i.e. explaining how something happened) ? --Comparing or contrasting? --Discussing cause-and-effect relationships? --Defining key terms? Have I provided both major and minor details? --Major details tell who or what --Minor details explain how or why Do all of the details support my topic sentence? Do all of the details support my thesis?

Questions to Consider for Your Conclusion Do you leave your audience with something to consider by: --Including a brief summary of the paper’s main points? --Asking a provocative question? --Using a quotation? --Evoking a vivid image? --Calling for some sort of action? --Ending with a warning? --Suggesting results or consequences? --Recalling ideas from the introduction? Have you avoided: --Ending your thesis by restating it as it was in the introduction? --Introducing a new idea? --A one or two-sentence conclusion?