How to Write an Essay

  “Title of Essay”

**Your title should always be centered and in “quotation marks”. 

**Your title should best describe your essay.

            The first paragraph of your essay is the Introduction.  There are two ways to start off your introductory paragraph.  First, you can begin with your topic sentence that tells the reader what the essay is about.  The second way is to begin with a short, one sentence story that will capture your reader’s attention.  If you use the second way to begin your paragraph, then your next sentence should be the topic sentence.   After you introduce your topic, you will list the 3 reasons or examples from your prewriting sheet that best support your topic.

            The second paragraph is where you will write about the 1st reason/example.  You need to introduce the 1st reason/example with a topic sentence.  For example:  The first reason why I believe a school newspaper is important is to inform students of the events of their school.  Then you will continue this paragraph by writing supporting sentences that go into more detail about this 1st reason/example.

             The third paragraph is where you will write about the 2nd reason/example.  You need to introduce the 2nd reason/example with a topic sentence.  For example:  The second reason why I believe a school newspaper is important is to allow students to express themselves.  Then you will continue this paragraph by writing supporting sentences that go into more detail about this 2nd reason/example.

The fourth paragraph is where you will write about the 3rd reason/example.  You need to introduce the 3rd reason/example with a topic sentence.  For example:  The third reason why I believe a school newspaper is important is to create a community between students and teachers.  Then you will continue this paragraph by writing supporting sentences that go into more detail about this 3rd reason/example.           

            The last paragraph of your essay is called the Conclusion.  This is where you re-state the topic of your essay and summarize the 3 reasons/examples you discussed in your essay. Many times the best way to write a concluding sentence is to answer any one of these questions: “What is the most important lesson to be learned from this topic?” or “Why is this an important topic for me to write about?”