Notes

ESSAY WRITING

INTRODUCTION
Frame the question or problem that you’re writing about and explain why this question or problem is important.
1. Initial Thesis- clear idea of what u want to say (not perfect) - Structure
2. Hook - A sentence containing the topic and subject of the entire essay and adding a personal claim to it “The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability” hint at what u are going to disscusing while maintaining curiousity
3. Background information - Function to transition ideas from hook to thesis
4. Thesis- central arguement, States the purpose of your essay;Your entire essay will prove this statement - mention main topic/person, take a position to the question (answer u came up with), summarize all the evidence u will use to support ur argument
5. End it off with a “This essay ..” overview of the essay structure. - map out main parts of the essay
- Give the full title(s) of the work(s) you are exploring as well as the complete name(s) of the author(s).

BODY PARAGRAPH
P = Point
E = Evidence
E = Evaluate
L = Link
To write strong paragraphs, try to focus each paragraph on one main point—and begin a new paragraph when you are moving to a new point or example.
1. Topic sentence - a claim then developed in the rest of the paragraph 1.5. Second, the topic sentence signals to readers how the paragraph is connected to the larger argument in your paper. - The topic sentences are an extension of the thesis statement—each topic sentence clearly proves and supports the thesis statement and responds to the prompt or writing assignment.
2. You have to tell your readers what you want them to understand about that evidence. In other words, you have to analyze it. How does this evidence support your claim?
3. Concluding sentence - End your paragraph with a sentence that tells readers something that they can now understand because they’ve read your paragraph.


Transitions help your readers move between ideas within a paragraph, between paragraphs, or between sections of your argument. When you are deciding how to transition from one idea to the next, your goal should be to help readers see how your ideas are connected—and how those ideas connect to the big picture.
One useful way to do this is to start with old information and then introduce new information.

CONCLUSION
Rephrase of the intro
Restates the thesis statement (in a different way).
Summarizes the main ideas without being repetitive
May possibly revisit the hook or provide an appropriate quotation
Never write “In conclusion…”

ORGANIZATION
Once you have broken down your thesis into main claims, you can then think about what sub-claims you will need to make in order to support each of those main claims.

COUNTER ARGUMENT
Think of counterarguments to your thesis as alternative answers to your question. In order to support your thesis effectively, you will need to explain why it is stronger than the alternatives.
State the counterargument and explain why a reasonable reader could raise that counterargument.
Counter the counterargument. You may explain why your argument is still convincing, even in light of this other position. You may point to a flaw in the counterargument. You may concede that the counterargument gets something right but then explain why it does not undermine your argument. You may explain why the counterargument is not relevant. You may refine your own argument in response to the counterargument.
Consider the language you are using to address the counterargument. Words like but or however signal to the reader that you are refuting the counterargument. Words like nevertheless or still signal to the reader that your argument is not diminished by the counterargument.