Writing an Effective Essay How to outline and structure an effective essay.

Writing Is a Process A good essay doesn’t just happen. A good essay develops an argument and clearly communicates a writer’s ideas. A good essay begins with an idea, is developed through an outline, must be drafted, and is completed through revision.

Thesis must be arguable must narrow your topic must communicate your paper’s purpose must contain more than one key point for your topic

What does a thesis look like? Example 1: When London sponsored the Olympics in 2005, the influx of people from around the world had both positive and negative effects on London’s citizens. Example 2: The formation of America’s Dream Team in the Olympic Games brought positive results for American players and impacted basketball players from other countries during the games.

Topic Sentences Your topic sentence is always the first sentence in your paragraph. Your topic sentence must address a portion of your thesis statement. Your topic sentence must be clear and concise. Your topic sentence tells the reader what that paragraph will be about.

What do good topic sentences look like? Example 1: When London sponsored the Olympics in 2005, the influx of people from around the world had both positive and negative effects on London’s citizens. Topic Sentence 1: England experienced a high number of visitors during the weeks the Olympics was sponsored. Topic Sentence 2: Positive effects of hosting the Olympic games were experienced by the citizens and the country of England. Topic Sentence 3: London’s citizens experienced several negative effects from the large number of visitors the city had.

What do good topic sentences look like? Example 2: The formation of America’s Dream Team in the Olympic Games brought positive results for American players and impacted basketball players from other countries during the games. Topic Sentence 1: America’s Olympic committee formed the Dream Team to represent the USA in the Olympic Games. Topic Sentence 2: Many American basketball players reaped positive results from participating in the Olympic Games. Topic Sentence 3: American athletes have impacted other countries’ sponsorship of the sport and the rise of basketball players from other nations.

Conclusion Your concluding paragraph should contain: restate the overall topic of your paper, one summary sentence for each body paragraph ( This could be a rewording of your topic sentence.), restate the thesis restated another way to emphasize your position on the topic. When your Conclusion is finished, you should have 4-5 completed sentences summarizing each part of the essay.

Conclusion Examples: Example 1: (1) Choosing to sponsor the Olympic Games is a large undertaking for any country, but especially smaller countries such as England. (2) The large number of visitors that arrive with the athletes and Olympic committee members challenge countries abilities to be a good host. (3) Many positive effects were felt by the citizens of London during their hosting of the 2005 Olympic Games, but (4) the country also experienced negative repercussions directly resulting from the games. (5) As stated in this essay, London citizens experienced both positive and negative effects from sponsoring the Olympic Games in 2005.

Conclusion Examples: Example 1: (1) Basketball’s inclusion in the Olympic Games opened the doorway for a sport that many American’s love. (2) America’s Dream Team was created to represent America in the worldwide Olympic Games. (3) American players benefitted from their Olympic experiences, and (4) set a higher standard for that sport within the Olympics. (5) As shown above, the American Dream Team participating in the Olympic Games produced not only positive results for American players, but made difference for basketball players worldwide.

Your job… Now, it’s your turn. **Use the graphic organizer handed out to plan your paper. **Write in complete sentences, so they can be easily transferred into your paper. **Attach your Works Cited information to the outline. **Turn your finished outline in for a grade. If you need help, ask for it!