Where Do I Start?
Ok you have been given a writing assignment, first
things first, take a deep breath, it’s going to be ok. You can do this you just don’t know it yet.
Ask yourself a couple of questions:
What is my topic?
What do I like about this topic?
How can I make this topic interesting?
Is there a question I have to answer?
Is there something I am trying to prove or disprove?
Time to brainstorm! There are many ways to put your ideas down
and here are a few of them:
- Observe what
goes on around you
- Journaling: write
it down!
- Hypothesize
- Question your
ideas
- Put into categories
- List possible
ideas
- Free write: write
as much as you can on the topic that interests you for 2 minutes and see what you come up with
Time to Organize!!
Now that you have some ideas on what you want to say it’s time to make your outline and then begin to write!!
Think of your paper as a sandwich:
Introduction: the top bun, this is how you will grab the attention
1st body paragraph: the lettuce, this is where you
will give your first point
2nd body paragraph: the tomato, this is your second
point
3rd body paragraph: the meat, this is your final
point and the strongest
Conclusion: the bottom bun, this is what holds it all together
Outline:
Pick your 3 major points and how you will support
them. Come up with a catchy idea to grab the reader’s attention. Finally, write up your thesis statement.
Introduction
It’s all about what you first see. The first
thing you look at when you get a sandwich is the top bun. It has to look appealing or you will not want to continue eating.
So with your introduction, you want to grab your reader’s attention so that they want to read the rest of your paper.
You can do this by using:
- A startling fact
- An interesting
quote
- A catchy story
- Image inspiring
words
So once you have your attention grabber you want to add some background information. If you are writing about a certain
book or story than this is where you want to put the name of the book, and the author’s name. Finally you want to conclude
with your thesis statement.
Thesis: this is the final statement in your introduction where
you will state what you will be talking about and why, as well as your 3 supports.
1st Body Paragraph
So now you are going to begin with your first statement.
(Remember you want to save your most important support statement for your 3rd body paragraph). You start out with
a topic sentence explaining what your support point is. Then your next 3 sentences are your supporting point of your topic
sentence. Then your final statement is your transition into the next paragraph.
2nd Body Paragraph
This is set up just like the first. You have your
topic sentence, your 3 supports and then your transition into your final support.
3rd Body Paragraph
This is your final support and therefore, your most
important. You again have your topic statement and your support for it. Then you conclude with a thoughtful statement leading
to your conclusion.
Conclusion
This is the end. The last paragraph is where you
will restate what you said you would talk about in the introduction. You want to restate your ideas, but in different words.
Then you want to end on a statement that will leave your reader thinking about your topic.
To wrap up your paper, read over it for any spelling or grammatical
mistakes. Then congratulate your self on a job well done!!
