I-Cant-Believe-Thats-All-It-Takes-To-Write-A-Good-Essay

Recipe

Title
Introduction
The Big Picture - What is this essay about? The general topic
Getting Specific The Authors Name and Title of the Text
Names of the character(s) you will be analyzing
Thesis - What you are going to prove.
What your whole paper is based on.

Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence A claim that helps to prove your thesis.
Analysis Explaining the parts of your argument and relevant parts of the text
Commentary - Explaining your opinions. Your interpretation of the text
Support Evidence from the text that backs up your claim
Conclusion - So what? How does this whole paragraph support your thesis?

Body Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence A claim that helps to prove your thesis.
Analysis Explaining the parts of your argument and relevant parts of the text
Commentary - Explaining your opinions. Your interpretation of the text
Support Evidence from the text that backs up your claim
Conclusion - So what? How does this whole paragraph support your thesis?

Body Paragraph 3
Topic Sentence A claim that helps to prove your thesis.
Analysis Explaining the parts of your argument and relevant parts of the text
Commentary - Explaining your opinions. Your interpretation of the text
Support Evidence from the text that backs up your claim
Conclusion - So what? How does this whole paragraph support your thesis?
(Use as many body paragraphs as you need to support your thesis.
Dont limit yourself to three paragraphs, but make sure that
every paragraph is important to proving your thesis)

Conclusion
Restate your thesis - Dont use the exact same words
Go broad again - How does this text reflect life as a whole?
Go beyond the text. Why is this paper important?

Step 1 - What is your paper about? In the introduction, you go from broad to specific. If you are
going to write a paper about how Brutus betrayed Julius Caesar in William Shakespeares Julius
Caesar, you will want to first start talking first about betrayal among friends, dirty politics, or
conspiracies since these things happen all the time. Your reader will be familiar with these topics.
Once you have set up the main idea of your paper, you start to move towards the specific.
(General) Every one of us has been betrayed at least once in our lives.
Some of us have even betrayed others. It is a sad fact of life, but sometimes our
own ambitions get in the way of our better judgment and we do things that hurt
others. Sometimes we even hurt the ones we love. (Specific) In William
Shakespeares Julius Caesar, Brutus commits a horrible act of betrayal - he kills
Caesar, his friend and the emperor of Rome.
Step 2 - All that is missing from your introduction is the final sentence - your thesis. The rest of your
paper is an attempt to prove that your thesis is true. Saying that Brutus killed Caesar in order to take
over the empire is not a thesis. It is a fact. The play already proves that. Your thesis goes beyond
the facts and makes a statement that you feel about the text. While murdering ones best friend is
usually considered a terrible act of betrayal, Brutus feels that killing Caesar is necessary and not
betrayal because it is accepted by the people of Rome, the government, and the Gods themselves, is a
thesis because you have taken a position about the play. We know that killing your friend is betrayal
by definition, so now your paper has to prove why Brutus thinks that it is not betrayal.
Step 3 - Now you have a strong thesis statement. How will you prove it? Turn your thesis into a
question. DO NOT PUT THIS QUESTION ANYWHERE IN YOUR PAPER! Do this in your
head or on another sheet of paper. (Example: Why does Brutus know that killing Caesar is justified?)
If you can come up with three or more answers to your question, you have a strong thesis. If you
dont, then you need to modify or change your thesis statement.
Step 4 - Do you have three or more answers? If you do, now you have the topics for your body
paragraphs. Brutus thinks that his actions are justified because Caesar is abusing his power which
comes directly from the Gods, because the other senators want to get rid of Caesar, and because the
people love him after he gives his speech telling them why Caesar was killed. Three answers to the
question that now have to be defended.
Step 5 - Turn your answers into topic sentences. After Brutus speaks to the people of Rome and tells
him why he had to kill Caesar, they cheer and demand that he not kill himself. The rest of your body
paragraph explains how this sentence proves your thesis. You do this by first citing the novel and then
by commenting on how exactly is proves your thesis. First give specific quotes from the people who

cheered Brutus . What exactly did they say? Then, comment on these quotes. Put it all together and
you have a body paragraph.
(Topic Sentence) Brutus feels most justified in his assassination when he
receives the support of the public. (Support) When he gives his speech
explaining why he had to kill Caesar and offering to kill himself if the common
people think that he should pay for his crime, they shout, Live, Brutus! Live,
live! and Bring him with triumph home unto his house (Act 3, scene ii).
(Commentary) By demanding that Brutus not kill himself as punishment for his
crime, they are in fact saying that there is no crime in the first place. There is
nothing for Brutus to punish himself for. What he did was for the betterment of
Rome. His actions were done for Rome, which will ultimately benefit the people
of Rome. They are grateful for what he has done. They want to reward himat
least until they hear Marc Anthony speak.
Notice that nowhere in the paragraph is the word I used. Even though the commentary is your own
opinion, a professional essay presents opinion in a straightforward manner. It is also a good idea to
double check and make sure that your paragraph is answering your thesis question.
Step 6 - The conclusion. You have proved your thesis. Now it is time to go beyond your thesis.
Restate your thesis to remind your audience of what you were writing about, but try and use different
words. Comment on why you wrote the paper and then go beyond. What does this paper say about
the human experience as a whole?
(Restating Thesis) Brutus has many reasons to believe that killing Caesar
was the right thing to do. (Commentary) His initial rewards make him feel that he
really did do the right thing. But after Marc Anthonys speech, everything starts to
go wrong for him. Ultimately, he cannot fight off the guilt that he feels for killing
his friend and commits suicide to atone for his sins. (Going Beyond) Shakespeare
seems to be saying that no matter how good the reasons seem at the time, betrayal
is never justified. The blade that Brutus plunges into Caesars back ends up in his
own stomach. Brutus has in fact killed himself. When we betray our friends, we
are really only betraying ourselves, and that is the worst sin of all.