All writing contains a basic blueprint with three main parts: a beginning, a middle, and an ending. The beginning should engage the reader's attention, state the argument, and provide an essential context so the reader has a sense of "so what?” Do not forget your thesis statement. This one statement should inform the reader about what the entire paper will cover (even if you don’t specifically name the paragraphs).

It should do more than this:

This essay will look at Amazon.com.

A good introduction should pose a problem:

Jeff Bezos became a billionaire after founding Amazon.com in 1995, but his company has yet to make a penny of profit. How did Amazon get so big so fast? Can it sustain its remarkable growth? And will Amazon and scores of other high-profile dot-coms ever become profitable—or are they built on a flawed business model?

After the beginning, the middle is where you actually make your argument—where you talk in detail about the topic you've introduced. Here's where you bring in background material, tell your story in detail, and work through the argument step by step. These logical steps typically unfold in paragraphs or clusters of paragraphs.

Finally, the ending is where you remind your reader of what you argued, and make some larger point that sends him off with a satisfied feeling that he's learned something worth learning, that he hasn't wasted his time.

Title

Topic Sentence

Topic Support Statement 2

Support Detail Statement 2

Support Detail Statement 2

Support Detail Statement 1

Support Detail Statement 1

Support Detail Statement 1

Topic Support Statement 1

Topic Support Statement 3

Support Detail Statement 2

Concluding Statement

Pre-Writing

Brainstorming

I. INTRODUCTION - (Brief comment leading into subject matter - Thesis statement on your poet or artist)

II. BODY - Early Life, Works, Later Years

A. Early life

1. Family

2. Eduationmarriage

B. Poet or artist’s works

C. Later Years

1. Death?

2. Awards and Events

III. CONCLUSION

A. Analytical summary

1. Restate the body paragraphs.

B. Thesis reworded

C. Concluding statement – End on a good note!!!

Opening Paragraph-

Begin with the key facts I need to set up in order to engage my reader. That forces me to figure out what the key facts are. Names? Dates? Definitions? Context? Conventional scholarly opinion, which I'll either work within or react against? Particular scholar I'm drawing on? Key moment in a larger chain of events? Three main questions drive me: (1) What's my topic? (2) What's my thesis? (3) What do I need to tell my reader right away?

State your thesis and the purpose of your research paper clearly. What is the chief reason you are writing the paper? State also how you plan to approach your topic. Is this a factual report, a book review, a comparison, or an analysis of a problem? Explain briefly the major points you plan to cover in your paper and why readers should be interested in your topic.

A strong thesis makes writing the whole essay easier, because it helps you see how the whole argument should be organized.

On a more superficial level, I also need to figure out exactly how to start. With a quotation? A question? An anecdote? A surprising finding? A paradox or puzzle? Whatever I choose, if I'm writing well it'll be in sync with the deeper level of thinking I'm working on—the particular detail, image, quotation or whatever else will fit with my thesis, my whole argument. For instance, if I'm writing about the fall from grace of many Internet dot-coms, I might start with a particular example—say Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, and I might choose as a starting point to make a sharp contrast between his zenith (Time's man of the year in 1999) and the subsequent swoon in Amazon's stock price (down by two-thirds in half a year as I write this).

An opening paragraph establishes a context for your exposition. If you are discussing an author, what is his or her full name? Is the time period you're discussing relevant? Is there a general scholarly tradition or conventional wisdom you're going to be working with, or reacting against? You don't need to cram every significant fact into the opening paragraph, but it's a natural place to put as much critical info as reasonably fits.

The middle-

By the "middle" of the paper I mean the main section, after you've introduced your topic and stated your argument. The middle is where you actually make the argument, step by step.

Readers like to know why they're reading a particular passage as soon as possible. That's why topic sentences placed at the beginnings of paragraphs are a good habit. A topic sentence, as its name implies, states the paragraph's topic—it need not state the paragraph's particular argument about that topic. That means that questions can make good topic sentences.

This is where you present your arguments to support your thesis statement. Remember the Rule of 3, i.e. find 3 supporting arguments for each position you take. Begin with a strong argument, then use a stronger one, and end with the strongest argument for your final point.

The Ending-

The ending of a speech or an essay is not the time to raise a new substantive point: it is the time to remind, to reflect, and to send off the reader with a satisfied feeling.

Restate or reword your thesis. Summarize your arguments. Explain why you have come to this particular conclusion.

(1) In-text citationThe novel opens evocatively, with a beginning that sounds almost like an ending: "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead" (Hurston 9).

(2) Reference in the list of works citedHurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1978.

Harry Berger argues that "Mowbray serves as the medium in which are condensed Bolingbroke's darker purposes" (226).

It's okay to repeat information if additional material between the signal phrase and the parenthetical might make for ambiguity:

Berger alerts us to Mowbray's role in the scene, suggesting an alternative to Booth's perspective (Berger 226)

1. Basic book formatCitation (Garner and Sprengnether)

ReferenceGarner, Shirley Nelson and Madelon Sprengnether, eds. Shakespearean Tragedy and Gender. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1996.Note the abbreviation UP for "University Press."

2. Basic article formatCitation (Lupton 15)

ReferenceLupton, Julia Reinhard. "Creature Caliban." Shakespeare Quarterly 51.1 (2000): 1-23.

3. Two or more works by the same authorCitation. If you cite more than work by a scholar in your paper, you must point to the right one in a particular citation by adding a short version of the work's title. This can be done in several ways (note details like the absence or presence of commas):

Charnes's critique has prompted a rebuttal (Levin, "Poetics").

In "The Poetics and Politics of Bardicide" Levin again defends the values of traditional humanist scholarship.In his rebuttal Levin singles out Charnes for this criticism ("Poetics" 491).

Reference. For second and subsequent entries by the same author(s) type three hyphens instead of the name. Sort alphabetically by title (disregarding but not deleting The, A, and An).Levin, Richard. "Bashing the Bourgeois Subject." Textual Practice 3:1 (Spring 1989): 76-86.---. "The Poetics and Politics of Bardicide." PMLA 105 (1990): 491-504.But do not use --- for any case where the same person is cited as part of a different coauthorship. The three hyphens are never used in combination with a spelled-out name (not --- and William Harrison).

4. A chapter from an anthologyCitation. No different than a normal citation: (Moore 195). Cite the author of the specific text you wish to refer to in the citation, not the editor of the whole book (unless you're referring to the whole book, of course).

ReferenceMoore, Henrietta L. "The Differences Within and the Differences Between." Gendered Anthropology. Ed. Teresa del Valle. London and New York: Routledge, 1993. 193-204. Anthologies often republish works first published earlier. If you wish to note when a work was first published, put the original year after the title.Steele, Shelby. "On Being Black and Middle Class." 1988. The Norton Book of Personal Essays. Ed. Joseph Epstein. New York: W. W. Norton,1997. 449-61.

5. Multiple citations from an anthologyCitation. No different than a normal citation: (Moore 195).

Reference. Use cross-references in the list of works cited. The anthology gets a full bibliographic reference, and short cross-references are provided for its articles.del Valle, Teresa, ed. Gendered Anthropology. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.Moore, Henrietta L. "The Differences Within and the Differences Between." del Valle 193-204.

6. An anonymous work Citation. Don't use "Anonymous." Cite a short version of the title, making sure that it will direct your reader to the right reference in the alphabetized list. (Geneva Bible xv).ReferenceThe Geneva Bible: A facsimile of the 1560 edition. Introd. Lloyd E. Berry. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1969.Remember that A, An, and The are disregarded when alphabetizing the list of works cited.

7. An article from an anonymous reference bookCitation. Cite the title or a short version.Split infinitives became more common in the 19th century ("Split Infinitive").Reference"Split Infinitive." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1989. 8. An introduction to a bookCitation. Cite the author of the introduction, not the author of the whole work. The cultural influence of Rome on St. Augustine cannot be overestimated. "Rome," John O'Meara says, "was the centre of his human interest" (xxi).Reference O'Meara, John. Introduction. Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans. By Augustine. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1972. vii-xxxv.9. Two authors with the same last nameCitation. In a parenthetical citation add the first initial to the citation: (C. Parker 217-18). If you cite the author in the text rather than with a parenthetical, use the full first name.Reference. Alphabetize by last name and then first name.Parker, Charles L. The Reformation of Community: Social Welfare and Calvinist Charity in Holland, 1572-1620. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge UP, 1998.Parker, Geoffrey. The Grand Strategy of Philip II. Yale UP, 1998.If one of the authors is part of a collaboration, there will be no confusion from referring to last names alone, and no additions are needed (Wilson; Wilson and Adkins).

10. A work by two or three authorsCitation. Give the last name of each author: (Wildavsky and Drake 44).

Reference. The second and third names are formatted first-name first.Wildavsky, Aaron and Karl Drake. "Theories of Risk Perception: Who Fears What and Why?" Daedalus 119 (1990): 41-60.Lenz, Carolyn Ruth Swift, Gayle Greene, and Carol Thomas Neely, eds. The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1980.

11. A work by more than three authorsCitation. Either give the first author's last name followed by et al. (for et alii or alia, "and others"), or give all the last names. (Quirk et al. 198).

Reference. You may give all the names, or just the first followed by et al.Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London and New York: Longman, 1985.

12. A work by a corporate authorCitation. Treat the organization as the author, and cite the name or a short version of it: (Modern Language Association)

ReferenceModern Language Association of America. MLA Directory of Scholarly Presses in Language and Literature. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1991 - .

13. A multivolume work—referencing the whole workCitation. For a citation from a particular volume include the volume number, separated from the page reference by a colon. Don't use volume, vol., page, or p.: (Churchill 6: 269). If you cite an entire volume, use the abbreviation vol. and a comma: (Churchill, vol. 6). If you integrate the citation into a sentence, spell out the word: "In volume 6 Churchill describes the end of the war and the return of peace."ReferenceChurchill, Winston S. The Second World War. 6 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1948-1953.

14. A multivolume work—referencing one volumeCitation. As if you're citing a single book: (Churchill 269).ReferenceChurchill, Winston S. Triumph and Tragedy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953. Vol. 6 of The Second World War. 6 vols. 1948-1953.If the volume has an individual title, you may cite it without any reference to the other volumes.Churchill, Winston S. Triumph and Tragedy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953.

15. Literary worksThe custom for citing classic works is a bit different, for a good reason. There are many editions of these works available, so your citation should allow readers to find the original passage in any edition, for instance by including book and chapter numbers after a page reference.Citation Eliot shows, with subtle but devastating power, how the hypocritical Bulstrode and his loyal wife lack the strength to face the truth head on: "She could not say, 'How much is only slander and false suspicion?' and he did not say, 'I am innocent'" (Eliot 551; bk. 8, ch. 74).ReferenceEliot, George [Mary Anne Evans]. Middlemarch. Ed. Gordon S. Haight. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1956.

16. Poetry Citation. Omit page numbers when citing classic poems. Instead, cite by textual division (act, scene, canto, book, part, etc.) and line, with periods separating the numbers. However the numbers are formatted in the original, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).

Don't label the divisions in parentheticals or use l or ll. to denote lines, because these can be confused with numbers (though you may use division names in the text: "In the sixth canto Dante meets a man transformed into a pig"). If you're only citing line numbers, use the words line or lines followed by the numbers: Returning to civilian life he struggled toward some semblance of normalcy, "Unloading hell behind him step by step" (Sassoon line 25).

ReferenceSassoon, Siegfried. "The Rear-Guard." The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Eds. Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973. 382.

Quoting poetryYou can quote up to three lines of poetry by incorporating the quotation within your text. To indicate line breaks, use a slash with a space on each side ( / ):

Gray imagines what those buried in the churchyard might have done had they lived: "Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest, / Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood" (47-48).

If you quote more than three lines, you need to set them off the quotation using the same formats as with other set-off quotations, including a one-inch left indent.

You also need to reproduce the poem's appearance as best you can, which means attention to line indentations:The best-known line of Emerson's "Concord Hymn" comes at the end of the first stanza:   

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,Here once the embattled farmers stoodAnd fired the shot heard round the world. (1-4)

CHECKLIST ONE:1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear?2. Did I follow my outline? Did I miss anything?3. Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence?4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing?5. Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments?6. Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay?Re-read your paper for grammatical errors. Use a dictionary or a thesaurus as needed. Do a spell check. Correct all errors that you can spot and improve the overall quality of the paper to the best of your ability. Get someone else to read it over. Sometimes a second pair of eyes can see mistakes that you missed.

CHECKLIST TWO:1. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence?2. Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples?3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?5. Varying lengths of sentences?6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next?7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation? 9. Are all my citations accurate and in correct format?10. Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of "don't"?11. Did I use third person as much as possible? Avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose"12. Have I made my points clear and interesting but remained objective?13. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?

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