#essay tip

Step number 1:  Read the question.  I know this sounds like a ‘well, obviously.  I can’t ignore it, now can I?’, but I’m serious.  Read the question and figure out what your essay is supposed to be about.  I’ve misread a few questions and have worked out a system to see what exactly I’m looking for:

filter out the technical details.  This is page count, word count, due date, documenting style (MLA, APA, Chicago [rip your poor souls], etc), etc.

separate all the sentences out.  Sometimes prompts get long-winded, so read each sentence independently.  Look for words that say ‘your paper should’ or ones that end with a question mark.  Those tend to be the ‘main ideas’

Here’s an example:

Your mother has decided to discuss with you the idea of lowering the family’s intake of sugar after reading a health magazine.  She’s been health conscious for a while now.  In an essay of 500 words, support or argue against your mother’s decision.  Use materials from the class to support your argument.  MLA style, due 11/29.

First thing to do is to take out all that technical junk.  (put it to the side, cause you’ll need it waay later in the writing process)

Your mother has decided to discuss with you the idea of lowering the family’s intake of sugar after reading a health magazine.  She’s been health conscious for a while now.  Support or argue against your mother’s decision.  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

Next, separate out the sentences.

Your mother has decided to discuss with you the idea of lowering the family’s intake of sugar after reading a health magazine.

She’s been health conscious for a while now.

Support or argue against your mother’s decision.

Use materials from the class to support your argument.

Pick the sentences/phrases that give you the most instruction on how to write your essay/what the teacher is looking for.

Your mother has decided to discuss with you the idea of lowering the family’s intake of sugar after reading a health magazine.

She’s been health conscious for a while now.

Support or argue against your mother’s decision.

Use materials from the class to support your argument.

Rewrite the prompt:

Support or argue against lowering the family’s intake of sugar.  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

OR

Do you think the family should lower their intake of sugar?  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

See?  Much easier to deal with.

Step number 2:  What is the short answer to your question? Take the prompt you just recreated and make a short answer to it.  This answer isn’t the thesis entirely, and it doesn’t even have to be a whole sentence.  Just answer the question.

For example:

Le question:

Do you think the family should lower their intake of sugar?  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

My answer?

Yes

Okay, next part.

(”what do you mean next--”I mean next part.)

Step number 3:  What are some reasons to your answer?  The answer isn’t complete yet because someone can argue against it.  Like, for this example, a younger sibling could come running up to you and say ‘NOPE NOPE NOPE GIVE ME SUGAR’ or if you say ‘no’, your mom would ask you ‘why not?’.  It’s basically just giving people less reason to doubt you.  So come up with a few reasons why you’d say what you just said.  Please note you don’t have to use all of them.

For example:

Do you think the family should lower their intake of sugar?  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

Yes.

Why?

1)  sugar makes kids hyper

2)  we get enough natural sugar from fruits

3)  sugar can be bad for kids

4)  genetic variations of diabetes put our family at risk

5)  we don’t need it

Step number 4:  screen some of the reasons out.  You don’t need all of them.  The last step was spitballing ideas.  Pick out the ones that work best with your prompt and use them.  If they ask for evidence from the class, use reasons that would work best with your class.  If they ask for personal anecdotes (ie things that have happened to you and around you), then use reasons that would work best with your own stories.

I tend to pick three reasons because that usually fits in my page count, but you pick as many or as few as you want or need.

For example:

Do you think the family should lower their intake of sugar?  Use materials from the class to support your argument.

Yes.

Why?

1)  sugar makes kids hyper

2)  we get enough natural sugar from fruits (this seems scholarly)

3)  sugar can be bad for kids (could probably do research on this)

4)  genetic variations of diabetes put our family at risk (this seems scholarly)

5)  we don’t need it

Step number 5:  start splicing it together.  And when I say ‘start’, I mean ‘you’re going to be doing this a couple of times’.  You don’t get the best thesis instantly, so write down your main idea and then write down your reasons.  Go nuts putting them in a sentence that works for you. (also, look back at the original prompt for word choice if you get stuck) 

For example:

Main argument: Yes (sugar intake should go down 4 fam)

‘why’s: fruit gives us good sugar, sugar is bad for kids, diabetes

1)  Our family can’t eat too much sugar because we like fruit, sugar isn’t good for kiddos, and diabetes.

2)  We should lower the family’s intake of sugar because we get enough natural sugar from fruits, sugar is bad for kids, and genetic variations of diabetes  put our family at risk.

3)  Because a healthy diet should provide us enough sugars from fruits, synthetic sugars are bad for children’s health, and our family has a genetic history of diabetes that puts us at risk, we should lower our family’s intake of sugar.

4)  We should lower our family’s intake of sugar because a healthy diet would provide us with natural sugars from fruit, excess sugar is bad for children’s health, and our family has a genetic history of diabetes that puts us at risk.

Step number 6:  pick the thesis you like the best.  There will be some where you’ve put in more detail, some you don’t like, and there will even be times where you like bits of one and bits of another.  If that happens, throw them together in the same sentence until you’ve got something you’re happy with.

For example:

I like number 4 the best.  I thought I’d like 2 (I was intentionally going overboard with 3 to be overkill, but I liked some things and so I mashed 2 and 3 together to get 4), but I changed my mind.

Thesis:

We should lower our family’s intake of sugar because a healthy diet would provide us with natural sugars from fruit, excess sugar is bad for children’s health, and our family has a genetic history of diabetes that puts us at risk.

There’s also the thing of actually organizing the paper (which, in making the thesis, you’ve already done half of that), but that’s another post if I get to it.