Is This Short Essay Well Written

How to write a good essay?

What a good question! Even after graduating with a degree in English and writing hundreds of papers I still rely on one single thing to help me write the best possible essay I can . . . an outline. See, the problem with most essays is that the content is disorganized. You may have great ideas and facts that you want to write about, but somewhere during the writing process you start mixing them up. Suddenly your perfect paper sounds all wrong and you want to scream! I've found that the best papers I've ever written (meaning my A papers) have all started with a good, solid outline. Once you have an outline down, your paper writes itself. Your thoughts are organized and the teacher can understand your main point (which is your thesis) and how you supported that point. A focused paper is the key to writing a good essay. Here's the format for the outline I usually follow:

I. Topic / Title

II. Introduction of Essay
A. Write a few sentences that lead into the main point of your essay
B. End the paragraph with your thesis statement (3 main points you are going to support)
1. First point in thesis
2. Second point in thesis
3. Third point in thesis

III. Body of Essay
A. Topic One - First Point in Thesis
1. Support your point with either quotations or solid evidence
2. Have at least five sentences
B. Topic Two - Second Point in Thesis
1. Support your point with either quotations or solid evidence
2. Have at least five sentences
C. Topic Three - Third Point in Thesis
1. Support your point with either quotations or solid evidence
2. Have at least five sentences

IV. Conclusion
A. Write a few sentences summarizing your essay
B. Restate your thesis and how you proved your point

Once you fill in the blanks to this outline with your topic and information, the rest is easy! Make sure to check your spelling and punctuation, and then you're good to go!

You can also refer to the following links if you need more help:

ClassBrain Guide to the 5 Paragraph Essay

The Nuts & Bolts of College Writing (Cool Site for Teens)


Hope this helps! If you have any more questions, feel free to email us again.

:-)

Is this a well written paragraph (short paragraph)...?

I just finished writing the conclusion paragraph for my comparative essay (on family life in two books), and I wanted to know if it was well written. If you see any mistakes (tense issues, sentence structure, grammar, etc). Any help would be greatly appreciated (sorry I couldn't paste it here, Y!A said it wouldn't fit:

Conclusion: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50779637@N02/4668338460/sizes/l/

-Thanks