The Writing Process
Brainstorming is the beginning stage before the rough draft of an essay. There are certain strategies one can use to help generate ideas such as line clustering, bubble graphs, free writing, or even using columns and charts. Line clustering and free writing push one to write as much as they can about their topic for them to sort through later, while bubble graphs and charts allow one to visually structure their thoughts around certain ideas. The main thing to remember when brainstorming is that there are no wrong answers or wrong ways to do it. The more you think about your topic, the easier it will be to write about it. You can type it up on your phone, take a walk and record your thoughts for later, or sit down and take bullet-point notes of your ideas. The following templates come from the English 100, 101, and 102 Composition and Rhetoric Guide, and they are here to help you visualize the strategies mentioned.
Outlining comes after (or sometimes during) the brainstorming process. An outline organizes one's ideas for an essay so that they are in order. A typical essay can be structured like an inverted triangle--starting with broader ideas and then getting specific, can be in chronological order, ca be grouped by similar subjects, can follow a pro/con or problem/solution pattern, or can be organized by logical flow. One can also begin by generating ideas with another prewriting strategy (like those mentioned in the brainstorming section) and then organize the ideas by placing them into an outline.
An outline template featured in the 100, 101, and 102 Composition and Rhetoric Guide:
- Introduction
- Topic:
- What makes the topic interesting?
- Why is the topic important?
- Thesis (argument):
- Topic:
- Body paragraph 1
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- What is it and/or why does it matter?
- Examples to support topic sentence claim:
- How do the examples support the topic claim?
- How does the topic claim support the thesis?
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- Body paragraph 2
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- What is it and/or why does it matter?
- Examples to support topic sentence claim:
- How do the examples support the topic claim?
- How does the topic claim support the thesis?
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- Body Paragraph 3
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- What is it and/or why does it matter?
- Examples to support topic sentence claim:
- How do the examples support the topic claim?
- How does the topic claim support the thesis?
- Topic sentence (i.e. claim that supports the thesis argument):
- Any additional body paragraphs, evidence, or supported claims
- Conclusion
- How do all the supporting points relate together?
- How does all the evidence in the body support the thesis claim?
- What should readers be thinking about the topic or argument once they finish reading the conclusion?
Things to remember when drafting a thesis statement:
- A thesis statement cannot be a question
- A thesis statement cannot be an irrefutable fact, it must be arguable
- A thesis statement cannot be a taste or preference
- A thesis statement cannot be a list of points
- A thesis statement cannot be a logical fallacy
- A thesis statement cannot be an incomplete sentence
- A thesis statement must be clear
- A thesis statement must be a complete sentence
- A thesis statement must be argumentative
- A thesis statement must be defensible
Whether you start with a thesis statement or jump right into writing your body paragraphs, once you begin drafting your essay, it can be helpful to keep in mind what the structure of the final essay might look like. Academic essay structures, in general, work on a rule of threes (hence the three body paragraphs in the outline), but one should always think of the three as a minimum. There are three pieces to an essay: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The body should provide at least three supporting points for the thesis, so there are at least three body paragraphs. (Note that this makes a minimum of five paragraphs; five paragraphs is the shortest any essay should ever be in order to be a complete essay). Each body paragraph must include at least three elements: make a topic claim, show concrete examples to support the topic claim, and explain how the examples and topic claim support the thesis. Notice that in most cases, there are at least three not only three. The only time that people mistakenly use the rule of threes when they should not is with the thesis statement; a thesis statement makes only one claim and never more than one claim.
The following metaphors are used in the English 100, 101, and 102 Composition and Rhetoric Guide, and they can help you better understand paragraph structure and drafting.
Essays are like Criminal Trials:
Metaphorically, the thesis is the side the writer takes in the trial, the body of the essay is the testimony and evidence, while the conclusion is what the jury is left with before deliberating on the fate of the issue being tried. Trials and essays are even structured the same: they both have an introduction/opening statement, they both use evidence to support their claims (one via testimony and the other via body paragraphs), and they both have a closing statement/conclusion. Like a trial, one cannot introduce anything that does not relate to supporting the position taken in the opening statement, nor can they introduce any new evidence in their closing statement. One can cross-examine pieces of evidence that do not take the same position, but only to show that they are wrong or less reliable than the evidence shown for the side being supported, like refuting the counterargument to one's topic in their argumentative paper.
Essays are like the Human Body:
All the paragraphs in an essay parallel a bag of bones. Until they have a purpose—to run, to jump, etc.—they
are relatively useless. Without a thesis/purpose, the paragraphs in an essay serve no purpose, and even with a purpose, nothing works until the various pieces are developed and connected to each other. Developing one's argument with evidence and examples work like muscles to support the bare bones of the essay, and transitions and analysis function like connective tissue.