Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Expository Essay Outline


It's the Essay Cat
Originally uploaded by Alexander Somma.
  1. Introduction
    1. Attention getter
      • Get the reader's attention. Examples:
        • Quotation
        • Anecdote
        • Stunning fact
      • Explain how it relates to your thesis sentence
    2. Background
      • Pertinent information on your topic and/or thesis
      • Should be more than one sentence
    3. Thesis sentence
      • The first thing you should write
      • Sentence that describes the main point of your essay
      • List the 3 main arguments used in your 3 body paragraphs

  2. Body paragraph 1
    1. Topic sentence
      • Introduce the main argument of this paragraph while relating it to the thesis
    2. Example 1
      1. Introduce
      2. Give the example
      3. Explanation of how this example relates to the thesis or topic sentence
    3. Example 2
      1. Transition and introduce
      • Same steps as example 1
    4. Example 3
      • Same steps as example 2
    5. Closing sentence
      • Summarize the paragraph and relate it to the thesis

  3. Body paragraph 2
    1. Transition and topic sentence
    • Same as body paragraph 1 for the rest

  4. Body paragraph 3
    1. Transition and topic sentence
    • Same as body paragraph 1 for the rest

  5. Conclusion
    • Summarize your main points while relating them to your thesis
    • Give future work that may need to be done
    • Extend your thesis into other areas

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