General Drafting Strategies

A.) For most types of writing, draft an introduction that includes a thesis statement.

Introductions

• Doesn't always have to be written first

• "Perhaps the most common strategy is to open the paragraph with a few sentences that engage the reader and to conclude it with a statement of the essay's main point. (The sentence stating the main point is called a thesis.)

  "Ideally, the sentences leading to the thesis should hook the reader, perhaps with one of the following:"

  • a startling statistic or unusual fact

  • a vivid example

  • a description

  • a paradoxical statement

  • a quotation or a bit of dialogue

  • a question

  • an analogy

  • a joke or an anecdote

Thesis Statements

• "An effective thesis should be a generalization, not a fact; it should be limited, not too broad; and it should be sharply focused, not too vague."
  
• "In the process of making a vague thesis more precise, you may find yourself outlining the major sections of your paper . . . This technique, known as blueprinting, helps readers know exactly what to expect as they read on. It also helps you, the writer, control the shape of your essay."

B.) Fill Out the Body.

Information about Body Paragraphs

Steps for Developing Body Paragraphs

Developing Body Paragraphs - Example #1

Developing Body Paragraphs - Example #2

C.) Attempt a Conclusion.

Conclusions

• "The conclusion should echo the main idea, without dully repeating it."
  
• "Your conclusion simply drives [the main point] home and perhaps suggests its significance."
  
• "In addition to echoing your main idea, a conclusion might:
  
  • summarize the essay's key points
  • pose a question for future study
  • offer advice
  • propose a course of action."
    
• "To make the conclusion memorable, you might include a detail, example, or image from the introduction to bring readers full circle; a quotation or bit of dialogue; an anecdote; or a humorous, witty, or ironic comment."
  
• "Avoid introducing wholly new ideas at the end of an essay."
  
• "Also avoid apologies and other limp, indeterminate endings."

SOURCE: My Outline for RFW, chapter 2, pages 19-25