Essay Writing - Patten

quotation

A group of words taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author or speaker. These excerpts of texts are good for elaborating a point or as an essay hook.

body paragraph

A middle paragraph in an essay. It develops a point you want to make that supports your thesis. It should be an ACE/RACE paragraph and use text evidence.

anecdote

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. Good to use as a hook.

thesis statement

A statement of the central idea in an essay, located in the last sentence of the introduction.

conclusion

Last paragraph in an essay. It restates the thesis in a different way, elaborates, and does not add new information.

no contractions

Best not used in formal writing like essays

ACE

Body paragraphs are like an ACE/RACE answer. Restate the thesis in a different way . Cite text evidence. Elaborate on the text evidence. Ending sentence. In an essay, don't write "the text states". Instead, write "Source one states," or "Document two states," or "in Sing Down the Moon, it states".

elaboration

Comments about the cited text. For example: This quotation proves the thesis point that resources for the drought were not available. Therefore, . . .

essay don'ts

Do not write -- Let me tell you about. . .; use onomatopoeia in a false manner-- "biff, bam, pow, the drought was bad";

vary sentences

Mix up your sentences. Use some subject/verb sentences. Use some complex sentences. For example: The firefighters took a break because their shift was over after their long night. Or: After their long night, the firefighters took a break because their shift was over.

statistics

Numerical data that summarize examples. Statistics are good for hooks and elaboration. For example: According to Education Week, 97% of all kindergartners who start school in 2035 may never see a paper book. It follows that. . .

punctuation

Punctuation is used as one of the conventions upon which essays are scored.

I you

Something that you should not use in an essay. Consider using the following: many think, one may think, etc., people

hook

The first sentence or question in an essay that is designed to grab the reader's attention

counterclaim

The other side of the argument in an argumentative essay, the side that disagrees with the speakers' or writers' argument. For example: The firefighters claim that the smoldering debris from the previous forest fire caused the fire to reignite. However, that claim can be refuted because there is written evidence that it had been over a month since the initial fire.

transitions

Transitions are used to introduce new topics or body paragraphs. Use higher-level transitions, such as the following: Primarily, for the first point, not only are these important, but these are also important. Transitions, such as first, second, or third are not high-level.

text evidence

Words from the text, source, or document that support your ideas/answers. Text evidence is a must in ACE/RACEE answers and essay body paragraphs. For example, "According to source two, "25% of all who entered the war were under the age of 19". This age range led to the fact that the young people might have been emotionally immature. Further, in source three. . .

writing prompt

You should read the writing prompt first before your sources. It is the topic you will be writing about. By reading this first, you can read your sources more efficiently and hit the target prompt.

essay introduction

The introduction of an essay beginning with a broad idea hook and narrowing to a thesis statement, forming an upside down triangle.