1. Creating a Well Written Essay “Charlie” issues addressed

2. Introduction Paragraph Structure: Attention grabber - This is any related sentence that will pull us in. Sometimes it may be a quote or statistic. It may be a question. It must relate. Connector -this starts to lead us to what we will write about, connecting the attention grabber to the main idea, or claim. Background - the reader knows nothing. Put us in the picture. Thesis or claim - given the attention grabber, connector, and background, where are you going with this? Tell the reader your main idea, and the points you are going to elaborate on to explain or support that idea.

3. The Attention Grabber Think about what is going on. What do people want? What is a thread from your essay that people can relate to? Don’t tell us what you are going to write about yet- that is the thesis’s job. Some Examples: What if you could change something about yourself? (This is the only place that the word “you” is acceptable.) “All my life I wanted to be smart.” Some people change dramatically during their life.

4. The Connector Many people may wish to be smarter than they are. There are many things that people can change in their life, but some things are out of a person’s control. This quote from “Flowers for Algernon” expresses Charlie’s life-long wish.

5. Background Give us the picture. What if I never read the book? This does not mean that you should launch into a retelling of the story. This would give us the story’s premise; Charlie had an operation that changed his intelligence. Example: Charlie, in the story “Flowers for Algernon,” was given the opportunity to have an operation that would increase his intelligence.

6. The Thesis, or Claim It is larger than the topic sentence, so it has a different name. It is the “topic sentence” for the whole essay, so it is a thesis or claim. The claim tells the reader, your audience, what your main idea is, and the points you will explain to back up, or support that idea. Main idea + Point, Point, and Point (minimum of two points) or Point, Point, and Point + Main Idea The thesis, or claim, also tells the reader, and you, the order of the body paragraphs. Getting this right = good focus and organization

7. Thesis examples I will be telling you about what Charlie was like before and after the operation. This is not a thesis. It makes no claim, and has no points. What was Charlie like? What will the FOCUS be? Charlie’s intelligence, emotions, and friendships were all drastically changed due to the operation. This is a thesis. It makes a claim: Charlie drastically changed It also gives the three points the author will discuss to support the claim that Charlie drastically changed.

8. More thesis examples Remember, a thesis can also be called a claim. Due to the operation that Charlie received, his intelligence changed, but his social life did not. The decision to have the operation done improved his intelligence and his perception of how others treated him, but he remained lonely. Charlie Gordon, in the stotry “Flowers for Algernon,” changed intellectually and socially after the operation.

9. Body Paragraphs TEEEEEE (you get the idea) C You can say that something happened, for example, “People made fun of Charlie.” That is not enough! Show us how! Give a SPECIFIC example, for instance, “Whenever someone did something wrong, the workers at the factory would say that the person “pulled a Charlie Gordon.” Then go on to explain how Charlie didn’t get it, then he did. SPECIFIC EXAMPLE AND LOTS OF DETAIL MAKE IT A GOOD ESSAY!

10. Tips - The Body Paragraph Keep the focus! Even though something might sound interesting or important, if it isn’t strongly connected to the topic of that paragraph, lose it! Keep parallel structure in mind. Within sentences - say sequential things the same way. Across paragraphs - especially in block style. for instance, if you address Charlie’s ability before the operation in the order intelligence then friendships, address it in the same order in the “after” paragraph. Avoid redundancy - “First off, before the operation” Use “first” or “before,” not both. Don’t use “off.” We use that in conversation.

11. More Tips! Use transition words - visit the list you were given for ideas Use Formal, Academic English “He was way more…” is informal. Yes in conversation, no in academics. “He was much more…” is acceptable. Read it aloud. So that you can hear yourself. One sentence at a time. Out loud. Read one sentence at a time. Listen to yourself. Evaluate what you are saying as if you are hearing it for the first time. Does it make sense if I knew nothing about Charlie? Oh, and read it out loud. So that you can hear it. And listen to yourself.

12. Conclusion Restate the thesis or claim. IN A DIFFERENT WAY. Change it up a bit. Example: Thesis:Charlie’s intelligence, emotions, and friendships were all drastically changed due to the operation. Restated: From his intellectual ability to how he felt and his view of people, Charlie grew by leaps and bounds after the operation. Summarize main points - Charlie’s writing improved drastically and he was able to see people for what they are. Conclude: Bring it full circle. “All my life I wanted to be smart.” Just as the grass is greener on the other side, being smart was not all Charlie thought it would be.

13. Revising and Editing These two are not the same. There may be some places where they seem to blend together, for instance verb usage. In revising you may change verbs to be more effective, in editing you will make sure the tenses agree. Add detail. Use specific examples. Remove redundancy. Take out repetitive language. Use variety. Take out anything that weakens the focus. Be incredibly particular about CUPS - Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Spelling

14. You Can Do It You can write an academic essay. Follow the structure. Elaborate on the main points. Have no fear of revising! Nothing is done till the writer decides it is. Changes can be big! Change body paragraph order, change sentence order, add examples, combine or separate sentences… it goes on! Read it aloud for flow, and to quadruple check that all sentences are complete.

15. Evaluation Essays are evaluated using the same criteria as before, and as will be in the future- Focus Content Organization Style Conventions Check the rubric for the specifics in those categories.

16. We’re Finished! ●Hand in every part of the writing process, in the order it occurred. ●The final copy should have the MLA heading single spaced on the first page only. PLEASE don’t use the “heading.” ●Give the essay a title. ●Double space. ●Indent paragraphs. ●Use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font ●Font size 12