Aetre’s Guide
to Essays:
Before you start
the essay, you should come up with a “thesis statement.” Here’s how:
A thesis
statement contains two parts: the Argument and the Controls.
The Argument is
simply something you want to prove. It usually comes in the form of either an
adjective or an adjective clause related to your main topic. For example, if
your assignment is to write a paper on Mozart, your Argument might be,
“Mozart’s music was revolutionary for his time.” This is a simple statement of
opinion, which you intend to prove in your essay. Other possibilities are,
“Mozart’s most famous opera, Don Giovanni, was scandalous for its time.”
The Argument sets the tone for the whole essay, since it’s basically your
entire essay summarized in one sentence.
The Controls,
which come next, are your reasons supporting the Argument. You should probably
have three Controls, and they should be added in list format after the
argument. Example:
“Mozart’s music
was revolutionary for his time, as can be seen in his concertos, symphonies,
and operas.”
In this case,
the concertos, symphonies, and operas are the three Controls. This is now a
complete thesis statement, since it has both Argument and Controls. Here are
some other useful formats for thesis statements (note that the blank spaces are
where the Controls go):
For when the
assignment is to prove/disprove a theory or controversy:
“[Theory] is
[true/false], because _____, _____, and _____.”
For when the
assignment is to examine symbolism/hidden meaning in literature:
“[The Author’s
name] brings about [his/her/the] dominant theme of [whatever the theme of the
work is] in [whatever the name of the work is] through _____, _____, and
_____.” (NOTE: in this example, oftentimes the Controls will simply be
characters from the literature in question.)
For when the
assignment is to examine any kind of trend:
“[Some random statistic] has been [increasing/decreasing/doing
something else] because _____, _____, and _____.”
For when the
assignment is to examine a person or a person’s works (Also applicable for
examining a group or a group’s works):
“[Person]’s [works] [are/were/is/was] [adjective], as can be seen in
[his/her] _____, _____, and _____.” (NOTE: the Controls here are all specific
types of work done by the person in question. Note also that my earlier example
with Mozart fits this format.)
For when the
assignment is open-ended and factually based (you picked your own topic to
research for this essay):
“Upon examination of the topic, one finds that [whatever you want to
prove] [based on, because of, or because; whichever transition fits your
sentence best] _____, _____, and _____.”
For when the
assignment is open-ended and opinion-based (otherwise known as an “Opinion
Essay”):
“[Your opinion: usually, whatever “should” or “should not” be done]
because _____, _____, and _____.” (NOTE: the Controls here end up being long,
since they’re full reasons for your opinion.)
OR
“[What should be done] [in cases of/in such cases as/when] _____,
_____, or _____.” (NOTE: the Controls here are specific cases in which the
action you mention in the Argument, i.e. “What should be done,” should be
carried out. Example: “Abortion should only be a legal option when the mother
has been raped, the mother’s health is in danger, or the child would be born
with extreme birth defects.”)
For a generic
essay (in case yours is not on the above list):
“[Argument] [one of the following: because, because of, due to, as can
be seen in, as is evidenced by, as shown in, in cases of, when, in such cases
as, based on, for, for such reasons as, etc.]
_____, _____, [and/or] _____.”
--
Once you have a thesis statement written and ready, proceed with the
rest of this template.
Name
Date the Assignment is Submitted
Class or Section Number / Period
Professor / Teacher’s name
The Essay Title Goes Here
[after this
point, double space the document if necessary]
Introductory Paragraph.
First Body Paragraph.
Second Body Paragraph.
Third Body Paragraph.
Conclusion.
Format for the
Introductory Paragraph:
- The first sentence should introduce
your topic with a statement of fact; for example, if you are writing about
Mozart, you might want to start by stating Mozart’s year of birth and
death.
- The second sentence should be just
as factual, but it should contain information specific to the topic of
your essay, such as the number of Operas Mozart wrote, and which was his
most famous opera (Don Giovanni, in case you’re curious).
- The third sentence should be a
statement of opinion, preferably one that agrees with the thesis
statement. You may add an extra sentence if necessary to transition into
your thesis statement.
- The fourth (and final!) sentence
should be your thesis statement, complete with at least three controls.
Format for the
First Body Paragraph:
- The first sentence should just be
your thesis, restated in different wording, and including only the
First Control. The other two controls stay out of this sentence. Using
the Mozart example from the earlier section, I might write something like,
“Mozart’s concertos were revolutionary for his time.” A slightly sloppier
version might be, “Mozart’s concertos are one reason why his works were
considered revolutionary for his time.” I might actually prefer the
sloppier version, though, just because it’s longer; if there’s a page
minimum for your essay, stretch the sentences for all they’re worth! (No
teacher or professor will ever tell you that, probably, but they never
take off points for it, just as long as your grammar is technically
correct.)
- The second sentence should be a
reason behind the First Control. In my case, it should effectively answer
the question, “What makes Mozart’s concertos so revolutionary?” The answer
might be that they use instrumentation never seen before in European
music.
- The third sentence should be a
direct quotation, in quotation marks, from one of your bibliographical
sources (one of the books you ran to the local library for and randomly
picked off the shelf because it had the name “Mozart” in the title
somewhere). Flip to a random page, try to find a quotation that backs your
statement in sentence two, and write it down here. IMPORTANT: You must
document your source after you quote it. How you document it depends
entirely on how your professor/teacher wants it documented. See your
assignment sheet for details. Listed below are the three most commonly
used documentation formats. If there is no specified format of
documentation in the assignment, you should assume the following: if
the assignment is for English class, use MLA format; if the
assignment is for a History, Social Studies, Science, or Art class, use
APA format; if the assignment is for a Music class, use Turabian.
Some Art classes use Turabian, too, but in that case, the
professor/teacher should specify that format in the assignment
instructions.
For MLA format: Put the author’s (or editor’s) last name and the
page number of the quotation in parentheses after the quotation marks
close. E.G. “The quoted sentence goes here.” (Author, page number)
For APA format: Same as MLA, except, instead of writing the page
number, write the year of publication.
For Turabian format: After the quotation marks, insert a footnote
number, and place a footnote at the bottom of the page. (NOTE: Some
professors prefer endnotes, which would instead be at the end of the
document. Check your assignment sheet to see which one applies to you.) In
the footnote, include the Author’s last name and the page number of the
quotation.
- In the fourth sentence, you explain
the above quotation in your own words. Basically, just restate it, in the
wordiest way possible, so that it “proves” your Argument.
- Start this sentence with the word,
“Thus,” followed by a comma. Then, restate the first sentence of this
paragraph (i.e., restate the thesis with only the First Control), using
different wording. For my example, “Thus, Mozart’s concertos are one of
the main reasons why his works were revolutionary for his time.”
--
Now that we’ve
done the first body paragraph, the other two body paragraphs will be easy. This
is because the other two body paragraphs have the exact same format,
with only a few changes:
--
Format for the
Second Body Paragraph:
- This time, include only the Second
Control when you restate the thesis. You might want to include a word like
“Secondly,” or “The next way in which…” to help make a smooth transition
into this paragraph.
- Explain the Second Control and the
reasoning behind it.
- Insert a quotation from one of your
sources, backing what you said in sentence two. Use appropriate
documentation.
- Explain the quotation in your own
words, in the context of your thesis. (NOTE: It helps greatly if it’s also
in the context of the work you’re quoting. Otherwise, you’re “quoting out
of context.” That’s not a good thing, so avoid it when you can by picking
statements that really do back your Argument. This will help to validate
your thesis statement. For the strict purpose of this fourth sentence,
though, you should focus on explaining how the quotation “proves” your
thesis).
- Same as for the First Body
Paragraph, but write “Hence” instead of “Thus” and use the Second Control.
Format for the
Third Body Paragraph:
- Use the Third Control.
- Explain the reasoning behind the
Third Control.
- Quotation backing your statement in
sentence 2. Use appropriate documentation.
- Explain the quotation in your own
words, in the context of your thesis.
- Use “Therefore.”
Format for the
Conclusion Paragraph:
- Rewrite the thesis statement, this
time in a different wording. Just play around with it, basically. Include
ALL of the controls in this sentence.
- Write several sentences summarizing
your main points (if you need guidance, check the second and fourth
sentences of your body paragraphs).
- Close by writing some vague
statement that leaves the reader thinking. A famous closing line would be,
“Only time will tell.” For Mozart, I might write, “These revolutionary
aspects of his music are what make Mozart not only an icon of his day, but
a legendary composer for the ages.”
NOTE: The
conclusion is probably the most pointless paragraph of the essay, so feel free
to do whatever you want with it. If you are ever writing an essay as part of a
timed exam, don’t even bother writing anything more than the rewritten
thesis statement for your conclusion paragraph.
--
NOTE: If you
need to make your essay longer, add a fourth control, and add a fourth body
paragraph to go with it. In the fifth sentence, use “For this reason” in place of
“Therefore,” “Hence,” and “Thus” from the previous paragraphs.
--
Bibliography
format:
For information
on MLA format, go here: http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/sample.shtml
For APA format,
go here: http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm
(scroll down)
For Turabian
format, go here: http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/turabian.html
--
Variations on a
Theme:
There are
several forms of essays that are not covered by this template; however, you can
use this template and make certain changes for different essays.
- The Compare/Contrast Essay: This is the most common variation.
Your thesis statement will be of the following format:
“[Thing/Person/Idea 1] and [Thing/Person/Idea 2] are [similar/different]
because of _____, _____, and _____.”
Even though you only have three controls, though, you will have six
body paragraphs; one for each Thing/Person/Idea with all three controls.
In essence, the First Body Paragraph will be Thing/Person/Idea 1 with the
First Control. The Second Body Paragraph will be Thing/Person/Idea 2 with
the First Control. The Third Body Paragraph will be Thing/Person/Idea 1
with the Second Control. Continue the pattern from there.
- Essays done in class or for a test: For these essays, you won’t have
any sources handy (probably), so you do not need quotations or sentences
explaining quotations. So what you end up with is a body paragraph format
that eliminates the third sentence (quotation) in this template, and the
template’s fourth sentence now becomes sentence three. It now explains the
second sentence in the context of your thesis, instead of explaining the
quotation in the context of your thesis. Lastly, as I mentioned in the
note below the Conclusion Paragraph format, for an in-class essay, you do
not need to write any more than the restated thesis statement for your
conclusion.
- The College Entrance Essay: THIS IS NOT COVERED AT ALL BY THE
ABOVE TEMPLATE FORMAT. College entrance essays should not have thesis
statements, and therefore, this entire template is irrelevant for them.
Your English teacher should give you specific instructions for writing
this.