2. General Guidelines Take your reader from general to particular Make your reader interested and intrigued Give her a sense of what your paper will be about Leave him with something to think about
3. The Introduction DO Move from the general to the particular Include a strong thesis, usually in the last sentence Write more than one sentence
4. The Introduction: Don’t Write only one sentence Include important examples or evidence from your paper Try to accomplish too much in one paragraph
5. The Thesis Statement Identify a complete idea, not just a topic Topic: Love Idea: Love is painful In a critical essay about a reading or literature, link your idea to the text, but be sure to make a significant statement about it, not just state a fact Bad: Stephen Lewis’ essay is about Africa Good: Stephen Lewis argues passionately that we should do more for Africa.
6. The Thesis Statement: Do Make it ARGUABLE, not a statement of fact Bad: There are many similarities and differences between apples and oranges Good: A comparison between apples and oranges demonstrates the infinite superiority of oranges. Present your topic confidently, as something you believe to be interesting and useful.
7. The Thesis Statement: Don’t Put it in the form of a Question. This is a Thesis STATEMENT. Use expressions like “this essay will show”: just get to the point. Try and force your topic into a three part statement. You should abandon the three-part statement with the five-paragraph essay.
8. Conclusion Do NOT simply repeat intro or thesis Do NOT introduce any new or significant evidence or example for your main argument You MAY leave your readers with a question or some other food for thought. In general, bring your reader back to the framework you started with.
