1. Easy Steps to Writing an EOC Essay Or most any basic expository/persuasive essay.

2. READ THE TOPIC  WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT EXACTLY?  TAKE A POSITION OR SIDE.  BRAINSTORM (ON PAPER!) GOOD ARGUMENTS AND DETAILS THAT WILL SUPPORT YOUR ESSAY TOPIC  Personal anecdote, historical examples, pop culture, from literature

3. READ THE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL  WHAT IS THIS ARTICLE, STORY, ETC. ABOUT? READ THE BACKGROUND ON THE LITERATURE THEN READ THE LIERATURE ITSELF.  WHAT ATTITUDE DOES THIS LITERATURE HAVE ON YOUR ESSAY TOPIC?  WHAT CAN YOU QUOTE FROM THIS LITERATURE THAT WILL FIT INTO YOUR ESSAY?

4. DEVELOP A THESIS  THE TOPIC + YOUR VIEW + SIMPLIFY YOUR ESSAY’S “DIRECTION” OR REASONS = A THESIS  Write out a thesis or two and play around with them to make them fit for your ENTIRE ESSAY. I needs to stay on focus from beginning to end.

5. OUTLINE OR USE A FLEE MAP TO PLAN YOUR PARAGRAPHS

6. WRITE THE ROUGH DRAFT!  FOUR PARAGRAPH MINIMUM  Your INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH should have an attention grabber, lead the reader through your topic, and end with your thesis statement.  Your BODY PARAGRAPHS must have topic sentences and REMAIN ON TOPIC. Stay focused, do not go on tangents, and never forget to refer back to your thesis!  Your CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH should restate your thesis and end on a BIG THOUGHT.

7. REVISION  Check your thesis, does it still fit your entire essay? Change it until it does!  Does each body paragraph have a clear focus? Do you effectively use examples, details, and quote the supplementary material?  Is your spelling and grammar correct? Any fragments and runons? Could your words be “stronger”?  FIX FIX FIX!