Helpful Tips
State a clear thesis.
Determine the points you will discuss.
Give each point more or less equal treatment.
Develop your ideas by referring directly to the film or the story; by explaining; & by using paraphrases and quotations.
Avoid using the first person “I” and the second person “you.”
Do not begin or end paragraphs with quotations.
Use the present tense and be consistent.
Your topic indicates your area of focus (setting and character in “The Rocking-Horse Winner”), and your thesis states your specific argument about the topic (The setting of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” reflects Paul’s character). Work on creating your thesis. Once you establish it, you will have a guide by which you can accept, change, and reject ideas.
Organizing a Paper
After you have created a central argument or thesis, you can begin organizing your ideas. Your goal is to establish a number of major ideas to support your central argument or thesis. In order to discover the major ideas, look all of your ideas over. Look for ideas that relate to each other or fall together into groups. Look at the several groups. What is your major idea for each?
The major ideas should support the thesis, and the ideas in each group should support the major idea of that group. In addition, you must use quotations and paraphrases (Lifrom the readings/films to support your ideas.
Devote a paragraph or two to each major idea (topic sentence) and its supporting evidence, and determine the order of the paragraphs.
Your outline should look like this:
Introduction
Topic, Necessary Background Information or Context
Thesis Statement
Body
Major Idea or Topic Sentence
Quotations or Examples
Analysis of Quotations or Examples
Explanation of How and Why the Major Idea Supports the Thesis
Major Idea or Topic Sentence
Quotations or Examples
Analysis of Quotations or Examples
Explanation of How and Why the Major Idea Supports the Thesis
Major Idea or Topic Sentence
Quotations or Examples
Analysis of Quotations or Examples
Explanation of How and Why the Major Idea Supports the Thesis
Conclusion
Summary of the Most Important Details or Main Points of the Essay
Thesis Statement
