When writing an essay, it’s important to think about which aspects you would like to include in your paper. For example, are there definitions or background information that you’d like to explain ...

Extended "discourse," such as class presentations or essays written as school assignments, has a particular structure arising from particular expectations and standards. Such structure, expectations, ...

A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. This handout breaks the paragraph down into its conceptual and structural components. The conceptual components — ...

In the most abstract sense, the function of an introductory paragraph is to move the reader from the world of daily life into the textual and analytical space of an essay. In a more concrete sense, an ...

A thesis must always demonstrate an argument. If you are not trying to prove something and persuade your audience to accept your point of view, you are not writing an academic paper. Your thesis is ...

Focus your editing efforts on: Your thesis statement and topic sentences Transitions between paragraphs The strength of your evidence and examples Basic grammar and spelling errors Citation format ...

Begin with a “working” thesis. Your thesis statement is essentially going to be the main point of your entire essay: think of it like answering the prompt and summarizing your essay in one sentence.