What to know before you write
Writing a thesis and organizing your paperWhat to know before
you writeThesisThis is the road map of your paper; it explains what
the rest of your paper will do.
ThesisYou are writing an argumentative or persuasive paper.
You will make a claim about a topic and justify your claim with
specific evidence. The claim in our assignment could be an opinion,
an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation.
The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience
that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
ThesisYour thesis statement should be specificit should cover
only what you will discuss in your paper, and it should be
supported with specific evidence.The thesis statement usually
appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.Your topic may
change or evolve as you write, so you may need to revise your
thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the
paper.
ThesisA good thesis will have the following parts:A whatA
why
It will also be a good idea to include some Hows (literature,
history, human nature) as well.Thesis exampleExample of an
argumentative thesis statement:High school graduates should be
required to take a year off to pursue community service projects
before entering college in order to increase their maturity and
global awareness.
Thesis example continuedThe paper that follows should:present an
argument and give evidence to support the claim that students
should pursue community projects before entering college
Organizing your paperYou will have an introduction where you
state your thesis.You should have two body paragraphs where you
will discuss two main points that prove/support your argument or
positionYou should have a conclusion that wraps up the essay and
leaves your reader with a clear sense of your purpose.SupportIn
your essay, you will refer to examples from Beowulf and your modern
hero article.You may also reference the essay The Man in the Water
if you wish.You should have at least 2 strong examples from the
texts for each body paragraph. You can include more.OrganizingYou
can organize the body of your paper in a few different ways.Compare
and contrast body paragraphs:This will work well if you are arguing
that heroes are irrelevantOption one:Paragraph about
BeouwlfParagraph about modern heroOption two:Paragraph about then
vs. now with evidence from both Paragraph about traditional hero
vs. modern hero (or non-hero)
OrganizingIf you believe that heroes are relevant today, you can
trace a chronological patternGive traditional, historical examples
and why heroes were important thenGive support and examples about
why heroes still exist and are needed in our society today.You can
start in the present and work back, or you can start in the past
and move to today.ConclusionTies body paragraphs togetherOffers the
reader something new, a broad perspective on mankind, a look into
the future, etc.Your paper will look like this:IntroductionBody
paragraph 1 support for point 1Body paragraph 2 support for point
2Conclusion
Questions?
