Introduction, Body, and Conclusion Mini Essay Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

Introductory Paragraph Hook – a statement, quote, phrase, or word that grabs the audience’s attention General Ideas – ideas that speak to the topic without getting into specific details or textual evidence Thesis Statement – Located at the end of the introductory paragraph, this statement captures the major ideas your essay attempts to explain, defend, or prove.

Body Main Point Located at the beginning of each body paragraph Mini-thesis statements that are more focused and specific to a part of the body paragraphs.

Body (continued) Transition Words – words that connect sentences and ideas. See mysurveylit.com for examples. Lead-in Sentences – introduces textual support Examples: Drexler further explains the effects of technology as she states… Similarly, Collins agrees with these effects, claiming….

Body (continued) Analysis Always relate your analysis to the claims in your thesis statement. This is important to a avoid a thesis statement/body disconnect An effective analysis does not explain what the textual support means, but rather, it explains the textual support’s significance to the Main Point and/or Thesis Statement.

Concluding Paragraph Restatement, not a repeat, of the thesis statement Restatement, not a repeat, of the major points No new points should be made in the concluding paragraph. The last couple of sentences should answer the question: what now? In other words, how should the reader transform after reading your paper? What philosophical, real-world, or universal connection did you make in your paper?