I've been writing a lot of papers, so that's what's on my mind.
So this mostly applies to your standard 5-paragraph paper, though it's fairly straightforward to adapt it to longer (or sometimes shorter) assignments.
One of the main things to note is that essays are VERY formulaic, so knowing the formula and being able to write down your ideas in a way that fit into the formula is probably the number one way to get stuff done fast. Because of that, most of what I’m covering is breaking down the formulas so they’re more accessable.
Also this got very long. If there’s anything you want me to expand on just let me know in the comments or send me an ask/DM and I’ll make another post that goes more in-depth about it.
Structure (I hate this step, so I’ve figured out how to do it very fast becuase it’s still important)
The first thing to consider is prewriting and structure. To start, there are two major paper structures I usually consider. The first goes
Introduction
Main point #1
Main point #2
Main point #3
Conclusion
This is good if you have a lot to say on the topic, or if it's something closer to a summary essay where there's not really an opposing side. In something where there are distinct sides, (or if you have less to say to support your own side), you may want something that looks like
Introduction
Main point #1
Main point #2
Why the other side is wrong
Conclusion
The "why the other side is wrong" side is involves thinking through the MOST credible arguments the other side might make, and methodically breaking them down to show how they don't work. The stronger the argument you choose, the more effective this is.
Since I personally hate prewriting with a passion, I usually do this step very fast and end up with an outline that looks like
Intro [insert thesis statement]
P1: [three word summary]
P2: [three word summary]
P3: [three word summary]
Conclusion
(thesis statement, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion tips are all below the cut)
Usually, this is enough so when I look at my outline, I can see what I'm trying to focus on for each paragraph - and do so without straying from my main point.
For the prewriting, the main things to do are identify with basic structure of the two will serve your purposes better, and write a thesis statement that solidly supports your argument.
Thesis Statement
There are so many guides about creating thesis statements that are powerful, but I'm just going to quickly go over how to be fast about it.
The first thing to know is that a thesis statement is usually a complex sentence: it's your entire essay distilled down to a single line. The general formula I follow goes something like this:
"In their [media type] [name of specific piece], [creator's full name] explored/demonstrated/other verb [theme you're going to be arguing about] demonstrated/using/as evidenced/as shown by [example 1], [example 2], and [optional example 3]."
For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go
“In his short film Job at Place, David Davidson explored the manifestations of human stupidity through the absurdity of the main character’s home, school, and office.”
Or, if you're writing a historical piece, it might look something like this:
"In [place/time period], [thing you're arguing was happening]: they had to/the conditions were such that/other thing to set up a list [example 1], [example 2], and [example 3]."
For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go
“During the Tusken Invasion of 32nd century Tatooine, it was the lives of the children that were most affected, from their social development and connections with others to more personal struggles they didn’t yet have the tools to overcome.”
The examples you give are going to correlate to your paragraphs - example 1 is for body paragraph 1, and so on.
Introduction
I like to think of the introduction as a funnel that gets more and more specific.
First, write a broad statement that touches on whatever theme you’re referencing.
Job at Place is about human stupidity, so something like “while great minds have flourished throughout the ages, so have the not-so-great.”
Tatooine is about war, and about child development, so something like “children’s development has always been impacted by the state of the world around them.” or “war has many effects, many of which impact those not directly involved with the conflict.”
The idea is that it’s a broad statement that can almost be looked at like a universal truth.
Next, you’re going to go deeper - two sentences that narrow down the time and place you’re talking about specifically, and how that time and place fit into your universal statement.
The fourth sentence gets even more specific - introducing how the thesis sentence fits into your first three sentences.
Then the last line is your thesis statements.
Body Paragraphs
Your three main body paragraphs all follow the same formula. (I’ll get to the “why the other side is wrong” paragraph in a minute)
The first sentence you’re going to want is a topic sentence. For this, you’re going to want to look at the example you gave in your thesis statement that corresponds to this paragraph, and see how it relates to your central claim.
If we’re going with the Job at Place example from above, for the second paragraph, you might open with a line like:
“A striking characteristic of Davidson’s short film was the abnormality of the main character’s school, used to showcase exactly what happens when poor decisions get taken too far.”
Everything within the paragraph will then back up the claim you’re making in the topic sentence (which in turn is backing up your thesis).
For each paragraph, you’re probably going to want about three pieces of evidence, either in the form of direct quotes (plucking words directly from the source) or paraphrased quotes (summarizing what happened in your own words). The quote should be used to directly support your argument.
After each piece of evidence, you’re going to want about... twoish lines of analysis (this number can change as you need it to, but two lines is something solid to fall back to).
While analysis can take all kinds of forms, one pattern you can use if you’re stuck is
evidence sentence
what it means
how that meaning ties back into your main point
Following this pattern, a piece of analysis of Job at Place might look like:
“One of the first images of the private school is that it’s a tall spire with creaking stairs and loose floorboards. Despite this, the principal has eight personal cars parked outside on full display. While the first glimpse of the school might indicate that there is little money to care for the structural integrity, the notion is directly negated by the principal’s actions. By using these two images, Davidson demonstrates what can happen to the youth when those in power let greed carry them away.”
After you write your analysis, include some kind of transition phrase, and go onto the next piece of evidence.
The last line of your paragraph is going to transition into the next paragraph while also summing up the main point of what you talked about in the current one. (This line can also get moved down and tacked onto the beginning of the next paragraph, before the topic sentence, but I have found it tends to look less cohesive that way).
You might choose something like:
“While the school was a disaster in its own right, it wasn’t the only example of human folly.”
If you’re writing a “this is why the other side is wrong” you’re going to want to think about the MOST compelling arguments the other side could make. Take the top one (or two), and figure out ways to crack them apart using evidence from your source material.
In this case, your topic sentence might start off with something like
“While opponents might say [insert compelling counterargument], their reasoning breaks down when one takes into account the evidence.”
At this point, you’re going to follow the same formula as above. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the duration of this paragraph, your point is that the other side’s claim of X is wrong.
Conclusion!
If you know what you’re doing, this is actually the easiest part.
(wait, what??????)
The thing is, you NEVER want to introduce new ideas into your conclusion. Instead, you’re summarizing your main points.
The formula I follow per sentence is:
Thesis statement but reworded (you can change the sentence structure too)
Topic sentence for paragraph 2 or 3, but reworded (I’ll explain why you shouldn’t do the sentence for P1 in just a sec)
Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 3 but reworded
Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 2 but reworded
Wow sentence or question (i’ll get to this too)
The idea for the middle three sentences is you don’t want them to read as repetitive, so you’re going to mix up the order so it doesn’t match the order of the rest of the essay. This will help to keep it fresh.
The wow sentence is basically the last impression you get to make. I find it’s usually a good idea to go just a tad dramatic (it sounds dumb, but it has never failed me). If I can’t think of anything, a declarative statement on whatever major theme was being discussed throughout the essay usually does the trick.
Examples:
All of this shows that in the absence of friendships and platonic love, humanity will falter.
Fiction may seem far fetched now, but if the world falls into those same mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a reality.
Art has existed for as long as humans have populated the earth; it’s not going away any time soon.
A lesson everyone must understand is the most powerful weapon isn’t anything physical or tangeable: it’s the ideas that exist in the minds of those who care.
(I told you they were going to be dramatic) A way I look at it is if you can’t imagine dropping the mic on the last line, it needs to be stronger (yes I found that plagiarized with not even a whisper of credit on Pinterest, but it works).
If you wrote a SOLID essay, consider ending with a question aimed at the reader (this will push your essay in the direction of either the positive or negative extreme: a strong essay will become stronger, a weak essay will become weaker). Questions can be a call to action or rhetorical as a means to drive home your final point. Becuase they’re more nuanced to the content of the essay, I don’t really have great examples to give you though (sorry).
Hopefully this is useful to at least some of you - good luck!
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Here's a hot take on a new theme statement about the three little pigs. Courtesy of an 11-year-old student:
Don't be impatient because if you had the choice of getting an iPhone 8 or the iPhone 11 then if you were impatient then you would choose the iPhone 8. This is what the little pigs did and they died. But if you were patient then you wouldn't die and you can take nice pictures.
