Basic Elements of the

Essay

The Introductory Paragraph

The basic elements of the introductory paragraph
consists of the following elements:
The wow or hook sentencethe purpose of
this sentence is to capture the readers attention.
There are six ways to write a hook sentence:

Rhetorical Question
Analogy
Description

Quotation
Anecdote
Provocative assertion

The Introductory Paragraph

continued

The thesis statementthe purpose of this

statement is to tell the reader what they
should expect to learn, understand, or
agree with while reading the essay.
The plan of actionis a brief listing of the
main points the essay will cover. This is
not the place to include specific details
or facts.
Transition sentenceleads the reader into
the body of the essay.

The Body Paragraph

(the chunk of a paragraph)
The chunk of a paragraph is a basic
paragraph structure that is found in most
essays and articles. This structure
consists of four parts.
1. The topic sentence (TS)is the main
idea (or topic) for that particular
paragraph.
Ex: The latest craze in telephone technology
is the I-Phone.

The Body Paragraph

(the chunk of a paragraph) cont.
2. Supporting detail 1(SD-1)is one fact that is
directly related to the topic sentence. It
provides more detail or description about the
topic sentence.
Ex: One of the coolest features of the I-phone is
the way it looks.
3. Example/Explanation 1 (EE-1)is comments,
description, details, and information that adds
to SD-1 and provides additional information
about the topic sentence.

The Body Paragraph

(the chunk of a paragraph) cont.
4. Example/Explanation 2 (EE-2)are
additional explanations, comments, descriptions,
and information that adds to and provides
additional information about the topic sentence.
EE-2 also contains the transition sentence.

Body paragraphs can have unlimited

chunks as long as they are related to
the topic sentence.
Each body paragraph repeats the same
chunk of a paragraph pattern.

The Transition Sentence

The transition sentence serves the purpose of
connecting the current paragraph to the
following paragraph.
It does this by providing a one sentence hint as
to the topic of the next paragraph.
Ex: In addition to having a cool look, the I-phone
also has lightning fast Internet features.
As the example topic sentence suggests, the
next paragraph is going to explain the Internet
features of the I-phone.

The Transition Sentence

A little practice--If the next paragraph of the I-phone essay is
going to reveal its game features, how
would you develop a great transition
sentence?