Interest catcher/HookAvoid:

Questions (avoid these throughout your essay)QuotationsDefinitions (your ideas are key)“Imagine,” “Think”

Important introductory informationThesis statement

The titles, authors, and genres Underline or italicize the titles of longer works;

shorter works go in quotation marksDo not call anything a book or a story!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (a science fiction novel)

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (a novel) “MTV’s ‘Teen Mom’ Makes for Teaching Moments” by

Karen Grigsby Bates (an article)Any other important background information

your reader will need to know in order to understand your pointPretend your reader is not 100% familiar with your

topic

The thesis statement is one sentence that states what you are going to prove in your essay.

It sums up your entire argument – before you begin to argue.

The thesis statement is the last sentence in your introduction – your first paragraph.

Where does it go?

A three-point thesis makes three points: You will discuss each point in its own paragraph.

Since you are making a statement about the relationship between media and society in your thesis, your three points can be your three examples.

Topic sentence: States what you are going to prove in that paragraph and refers to a thesis point

Elaborate: How does your topic sentence support your overall position?

Specific evidence: Give a quotation that supports your point.

Interpret: What does this quotation mean? How does it support your point?Conclude: Sum it all up and

reference your thesis point.

Lead insWhen you use a quotation, you must start off the

sentence with your words and lead into your quotation – don’t just drop in your quotation after a sentenceOedipus is clearly oblivious to the truth because

he says, “Loxias said I was foredoomed / To make my mother my wife, and kill my father, / With my own hands shedding his blood. This the reason / Of my long estrangement from Corinth” (Sophocles 1024-1027).

Odysseus shows his leadership when he “drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches” (Homer 101-102).

If the text you quote ends in a period, place that period after your citation. Do not put it inside your quotation marks.

Only include ending punctuation in your quotation if it is a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!)“You are all grammar gurus” (Krug 3).“This class is great!” (Vilardi 4).“OMG, why am I stuck with Ms. Krug again?”

(Valente 5).

Citations come after your quotation at the end of the sentence

Citations are necessary because they give the author credit for the words you quote

When you quote a work of prose, use the author’s last name and page number inside the citation.(Bradbury46). Period goes after citation

Restate thesisSum up each body paragraph in a sentence or

twoLeave your reader with something to ponder

DOUBLE SPACED!!!Write using third person onlyWrite using present tense verbsProofread for misused words such as: two, to, too; a

lot; their, thereAvoid using contractionsDouble check for typos and spelling errorsHeading:

Upper left hand corner/double spaced Your first and last name Instructor’s name (Ms. Krug, obvi) Class information: English 2 CP 1A Date