WRITING AN INFORMATIVE ESSAY

PREPARING FOR AN INFORMATIVE ESSAY

• BRAINSTORM A LIST OF ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE TO DO

•MAKE CATEGORIES FOR YOUR ACTIVITIES

THESIS STATEMENT

•A THESIS IS A ONE SENTENCE STATEMENT (NOT A QUESTION) THAT EXPLAINS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR ESSAY.

•A GOOD THESIS IS STRONG, STRAIGHTFORWARD AND CONCISE

WHAT SHOULD MY THESIS STATEMENT INCLUDE?

• YOUR THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD MENTION ALL 3 OF YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES.

• (LOOK AT YOUR BRAINSTORM LIST-THE 3 YOU CHOSE!)

• A POSSIBLE THESIS STATEMENT FOR THIS COULD BE:

• OUT OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES THERE ARE, I LIKE PLAYING SOFTBALL, READING AND SWIMMING THE BEST

• MORE ON THESIS STATEMENTS:

• MAKE SURE YOUR THESIS IS AT THE END OF THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

• CREATE TOPIC SENTENCES THAT ALIGN WITH YOUR THESIS STATEMENT

• AFTER YOU FINISH YOUR ROUGH DRAFT, GO BACK AND READ ONLY YOUR THESIS STATEMENT AND TOPIC SENTENCE. IF IT MAKES SENSE, THEN YOUR RIGHT ON TRACK, OTHERWISE, REVISE!

TOPIC SENTENCES

• EVERY BODY PARAGRAPH WILL BEGIN WITH A SENTENCE THAT INTRODUCES THE CONTENT OF THAT PARAGRAPH

• YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE WILL ALSO SERVE AS A TRANSITION FROM THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH

• USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS OR PHRASES TO SHOW HOW YOU ARE MOVING FROM ONE TOPIC TO THE NEXT.

• TRANSITIONAL WORDS = NEXT, THEN, SECOND, THIRD, IN ADDITION, ON THE OTHER HAND, EVENTUALLY, ETC.

BODY SENTENCES

• EACH PARAGRAPH SHOULD BE LIMITED ONE GENERAL IDEA.

• THIS WILL ALLOW FOR CLARITY AND DIRECTION THROUGHOUT THE ESSAY.

• CREATES AN EASE OF READABILITY FOR ONE’S AUDIENCE.

• EACH PARAGRAPH IN THE BODY OF THE ESSAY MUST HAVE SOME LOGICAL CONNECTION TO THE THESIS STATEMENT IN THE OPENING PARAGRAPH.

• EACH PARAGRAPH NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST 5-7 SENTENCES

• BE CREATIVE.

• DO NOT WRITE SIMPLE SENTENCES THAT ARE BORING! BE CREATIVE (IT WILL BE MORE FUN!)

WRITING A HOOK SENTENCE

WHAT IS A HOOK SENTENCES AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

• A HOOK SENTENCE IS THAT JUICY STRING OF WORDS THAT MAKE UP THE FIRST SENTENCE (OR TWO) OF YOUR WRITING PROJECT

• THE WORDS THAT GRAB YOUR READERS’ ATTENTION AND DON’T LET GO.

• GOOD HOOK SENTENCES SAY, “DROP EVERYTHING YOU’RE DOING AND READ ME RIGHT NOW,” WITHOUT ACTUALLY COMING OUT AND JUST SAYING THAT.

FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO WRITE A HOOK SENTENCE

• STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE

• ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

• WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?

• DO I HAVE TO CAPTIVE AUDIENCE?

• WHAT MATTERS TO MY AUDIENCE?

• STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WRITING

• ANSWER THESE TWO QUESTIONS:

• HOW DO I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO FEEL?

• WHAT DO I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO TAKE AWAY?

FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO WRITE A HOOK SENTENCE CONTINUED…

STEP 3: CHOOSE YOUR HOOK WISELY

STEP 4: CRAFT YOUR HOOK

CONCLUSION

• A CONCLUSION THAT DOES NOT SIMPLY RESTATE THE THESIS, BUT READDRESSES IT IN LIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE PROVIDED.

• DO NOT INTRODUCE ANY NEW INFORMATION

• SUM UP “YOUR FINDINGS”