Steps for Writing an Essay

Outlines Outlines are important because they help you to organize your thoughts for the essay. You can create your own outline (Microsoft Word has a few different ones you can use) or your teacher will provide you with one. Hamlet Outline: Can be found on this website: Miss Butcher Document is called Hamlet Essay Outline

Introduction Paragraph Three main parts to an Introduction Hook Statement/Attention Getter Brief background on your topic Thesis Statement

Hook Statement/Attention Getter An Attention getter’s goal is to lead the reader into your essay. Needs to grab attention Examples: Important quote Setting the scene Interesting fact Onomatopoeia words Bam! Whoosh! Clang!

Brief Background This sets the stage for your essay. It should answer this question: What does the reader need to know about my topic in order for my thesis to make sense? This should be three to four sentences to help the reader understand what is going on in the topic you are presenting

Thesis Statements The thesis is your “My essay is about” statement. Needs to re-state the prompt and then give at least three reasons that answer the prompt. Example: “Abbigail Williams is to blame for the events of The Crucible because she committed adultery with John Proctor, she convinced the other girls to go along with her plans of witchcraft with Tituba, and she levied the most accusations against others within the play.”

Body Paragraphs Basic Outline Sentence 1: restate your point from your thesis statement. Sentence 2: quote(s) from the story that support your statement Sentences 3-4: explanation on how that quote proves why your answer is correct from your thesis statement. Sentence 5: a transition statement that leads to your next paragraph.

Counterclaim Paragraph The counterclaim is the paragraph that addresses the other side of the argument The goal is to explain what the other side could say about your answer, but then prove to them why your answer is still correct. Example: Some might say that Hamlet is the most to blame for the tragedies that occur in the play because if he did not want revenge so badly, then the other events would not have happened. However, Claudius is still the one that holds the most blame because if he had never killed his brother, King Hamlet, for his throne, then young Prince Hamlet would not have had a need for revenge.

Conclusion Paragraph This is your paper’s last stand! What should I know about your paper if I only read your conclusion paragraph? Sentence 1: restate your thesis from the intro paragraph Sentences 2-4: Summarize your key points Sentence 5: definitive statement- a statement that wraps up the whole essay Example: If Claudius had never killed his brother for his throne, then Prince Hamlet would not have made it his personal goal to kill him and the other characters that got involved would not have died.