After reading a work of literature, one will probably have to write about a topic related to the piece to demonstrate that they actually understood it.
This writing usually takes upon the form of an essay with defined paragraphs. Though one might be inclined to respond in the form of a prose poem or play, the AP board generally frowns upon this method of expression. So stick with the essay form.
In this essay, there should be a well written introductory paragraph that sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Graders are generally reading hundreds of these at the speed of lightening, so the first sentence of the first paragraph better be absolutely riveting. (Maybe not absolutely riveting, but at least somewhat riveting so that the grader doesn't automatically want to give a 1 for downright boringness). This attention grabber sentence should probably relate to the prompt in some way, so that it actually makes sense when its put there, and it should also be something that everyone can relate to.
After a fabulous sentence that grabs the attention of the grader has been written, there should be a sentence providing a connection between the attention grabber and how it pertains to the prompt. For example, if I were writing an essay about why anorexia isn't a good weight loss method, my attention grabber may be something along the lines of:
"Without gas, a car will not run."
Simple, straightforward, something everyone understands. My connector sentence then may sound like:
"Likewise, if one resorts to anorexia and doesn't fuel themselves with food and nutrients, their bodies will not be able to carry out daily activities and may gradually deteriorate."
The next sentence in this paragraph will then be the thesis. The thesis is the most important sentence in the entire essay, as it lays out what will be discussed and how assertions will be supported. Observe:
"One should never resort to anorexia as a catalyst to weight loss, as it destroys not just fat cells but bones, muscles, and self-esteem as well."
My assertion is "One should never resort to anorexia as a catalyst to weight loss", and then my points to support it are "bones, muscles, and self-esteem" damage. Though I only touch on these points and do not elaborate on them till the body paragraphs, the reader has a good idea of what I will discuss. Thus, the purpose of my thesis statement has been fulfilled.
Effectively writing an introductory paragraph will yield infinite success. Just like how a house with a faulty blueprint crumbles and topples quickly after it's built, an essay with a bad introduction will immediately falter as one realizes the lack of guidance they've left themselves. Learn how to efficiently write an introduction and one should find the essay writing easier.
Ok, so if it hasn't come through before I'll state it again so you know. I love your writing. This is a great post and your point is clear, but I am a little conflicted about the organization of the post. You've split up your post and together they work and flow but I think that a whole post about introductions is a bit excessive. You have a lot to say and it does run on a bit, but it is still full of good points. I just think that having one forth of our course focusing on introductions may not an accurate depiction of what the course of a whole is about. If the posts were supposed to be about writing then this would be great. And yes, writing our essays for the AP is very important but I think that if a whole post was going to be devoted to a part of essay writing then I should about Thesis Answers Prompts. That is something that can be very difficult and I don't thing we are all perfect at it but if your thesis doesn't answer your prompt then your essay has failed. You have included a wonderful piece about the structure of an introduction but there is so much more that we have to think about when we write our essays.
ReplyDeleteThis is helpful. It is realitvly straightforward and to the point. The examples that you use are good. It is interesting and helpful. I could probably use this for studying. This is really helpful Jiaxin.
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