Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Basics

The Basics

Outlines

Intro paragraph—often written last
Hook
State background of the case
Lead naturally in to:
Thesis statement towards end (Arguable, Narrow, One-Three Sentences, changeable)

Body Paragraphs—

pick your best point and write that paragraph first then your next best until you get to your least persuasive point.

Topic sentence at the top.


Sandwich quotes
Signal phrases.
Evidence.
Connect/Cite the evidence.

One paragraph, at least should be devoted to making the case against your ideas and then “unmaking” them. Try, Some might argue that… but I argue that…

Conclusion
Keep it short.
Reinforce main point

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks a bunch for these comments. This definitely helps me organize my paper. I know it sounds dumb, but sometimes I forget the really basic things when I am working on a larger idea.
CUl8r,
Kathryn Dozier-Quine

Leftmost said...

Yes, thank you so much for showing us what you're looking for. It's so nice to have a sense of direction for this paper. The the format is so organized that it actually makes me feel more professional. So again, thank you.
- Karl Wright

Unknown said...

I sometimes forget what exactly needs to be in the paper too... I'm glad you go over this stuff in class and post it on your blog because it helps me to remember to do it and get better at the format.

SNO_ANGEL said...

Thanks for the help. It is nice to have a road map on this journey!

E=mc2 said...

I am glad for this blog as I never remember in what order I should put my evidence. Everybody I ask has a different idea on order. However, you told us exactly how you want it. I echo everyone else now, THANKS!!