A wise professor once said this about the structure of a paper: In your introduction, tell your audience what you plan to tell them. In the body, tell them what you want to tell them. And then in the concluding paragraph, tell them what you just told them.
Although simplistic, this professor's advice is a good way to remind yourself of what should be included in most (if not all) of the papers you write. Here's an easy way to remember it:
"Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you just told them."
Click each of the parts of an essay listed below to learn what should be included in each section.
| Introduction | Your essay should begin with an interesting question, quotation, or thought that captures the reader's attention. The introduction should also briefly explain what your paper will be about, and you should include your thesis statement in this paragraph as well. |
| Body | The body of the paper should include your reasons for why you believe the way you do. These are the reasons you listed as support your thesis statement in a previous assignment. You should already have at least three reasons for why you believe your thesis statement is true. Note that each reason can be the subject of its own separate paragraph; therefore, the reason itself can be turned into the topic sentence for each paragraph. Then add details that give examples of or support the topic sentence. Later in the lesson, you will add to this information with evidence from the research documents. |
| Conclusion | In the conclusion, you should briefly review what your paper is about and restate your thesis using different words than what you used in the introduction. You should also leave your audience with a call to action or important thought that encourages them to agree with your main point. |
Now that you have a game plan for how to do your persuasive essay, write a rough draft that includes an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You will revise this rough draft throughout the rest of this lesson; however, save a copy of this version of your rough draft to turn in with your final assignment.
