English Class

ENG 130 Module Four Preliminary Introduction Template

Complete this template by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information.

Selected text you will use for your project: [Insert text.]

Write sentences to draw the reader into the paper. [Insert text.]

Write sentences to provide an overview of the topic. [Insert text.]

Include the thesis statement you created in the previous assignment in Module Four. [Insert text.]

Compile all sections to form an introductory paragraph. [Insert text.]

ENG 130 Module Four Decision Tree Template

Creating a Thesis Statement

Complete this template by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information.

Selected text you will use for your project: [Insert text.]

Part One: First Part of the Thesis Statement

Identify the topic.	State the claim. (evaluate effectiveness of article)	Combine the topic and claim to form the first part of the thesis statement.
[Insert text.]	[Insert text.]	[Insert text.]

Part Two: Second Part of the Thesis Statement

One reason the claim is true (how/why or why not)	Another reason the claim is true (how/why or why not)	Another reason the claim is true (how/why or why not)	Combine the different reasons why the claim is true to form the second part of the thesis statement.
[Insert text.]	[Insert text.]	[Insert text.]	[Insert text.]

Part Three: Whole Thesis Statement

Compose the thesis statement.

[Insert text.]

Developing a First Draft

This week, you will develop a full draft of an analysis paper by building on the introduction and writing body paragraphs and a conclusion.

Developing a First Draft

A first draft will start with an introduction paragraph, which you worked on last week. As we learned, the introduction should provide an overview of the essay’s focus, indicate how you’ll develop the ideas, and include your thesis statement. Last week, you also wrote your thesis statement, so you already have the final sentence of your introductory paragraph.

With your introduction as the first paragraph, you’re ready for the body paragraphs. To develop the content, review your thesis statement, which is a summary of key points. Then you can map out one body paragraph per key point. In other words, the first body paragraph should focus on key point one, the second body paragraph on key point two, and the third body paragraph on key point three. Each body paragraph should also include supporting evidence from the article. Just keep in mind that the majority of each body paragraph should be in your own words. Quotes or paraphrases should support your ideas but not take the place of them.

What should your body paragraphs not do? Don’t include separate paragraphs for audience, writing choices, purpose, and context. Integrate awareness of these into the body paragraphs, but don’t call them out directly. Instead, develop the three key points identified in the thesis statement.

After your body paragraphs, you will draft a conclusion. The conclusion will tie everything together and leave your reader with a strong impression of your ideas. The conclusion is where you drive home the importance of your analysis.

The outline below can help you organize your ideas for each paragraph of the essay. The Roman numerals represent paragraphs, and the capital letters represent content within the paragraphs.

1. Introduction paragraph
   1. Draw in the reader.
   2. Provide an overview of the topic.
   3. Present the core idea or thesis statement, which lists your three key points.

1. First body paragraph

1. Restate the first key point (this is the topic sentence of the paragraph).
2. Provide follow-up analysis of the key point.
3. Include supporting evidence.
4. Finish with a tie-back sentence, to connect with the topic sentence.

1. Second body paragraph

1. Restate the second key point (this is the topic sentence of the paragraph).
2. Provide follow-up analysis of the key point.
3. Include supporting evidence.
4. Finish with a tie-back sentence, to connect with the topic sentence.

1. Third body paragraph

1. Restate the third key point (this is the topic sentence of the paragraph).
2. Provide follow-up analysis of the key point.
3. Include supporting evidence.
4. Finish with a tie-back sentence, to connect with the topic sentence.

1. Concluding paragraph

1. Restate thesis statement.
2. Emphasize the importance of the analysis.
3. Provide your reader with a final reflective thought.

Remember: Don’t introduce new information in the conclusion!

Key Concepts

The following are the key concepts to consider as you work on this module:

• An essay is composed of an introduction, multiple body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
  • How can you organize the ideas in your paper so that your audience can understand them?
• Body paragraphs should focus on one point each. That point should be one reason why your thesis is true. Each body paragraph will state the point, use evidence to back up that point, and tie back to the thesis.
  • How can you develop each body paragraph so that by the end of the paper, your audience fully understands the claim you made in your thesis?
• The conclusion will tie your essay together and state why your analysis is important. 
  • How can you end your paper in a meaningful and memorable way? 

Creating a Thesis Statement and Drafting an Introduction 

This week, you will learn how to create a thesis statement that serves as the focal point of your writing and how to write an introductory paragraph that includes that thesis. 

Creating a Thesis Statement

The thesis is your main claim plus your key points. In your thesis, you state YOUR stance on the topic of your writing. When you create a thesis statement, you create a structure for the ideas in your writing. That structure also helps your audience know what to expect if they keep reading past your thesis. 

To create it, you first need to organize two concepts: 

• Your central claim 
• Your support(s) for that central claim 

How do you know what your central claim is? You can think of it as what you believe to be true about the topic you are exploring. It is arguable rather than a fact, which means it requires evidence and support in order to make other people believe it with you. So, you can ask: 

• What is my topic? 
• What do I believe is true, or what do I believe people misunderstand, about my topic? 

If you answer those questions as a single statement, you will have the first part of your thesis. 

Then, to pull together the support for your thesis claim, you can ask yourself these questions: 

• Why do I believe that claim is true? 
• How do I believe it works? 
• When is it true, and under which conditions? 

You might not have an answer to all the questions, and you might have two or three different answers for one question (the “why,” most typically). Just trust yourself and your way of thinking about your ideas. Once you have three or four answers to the why, how, and when questions, you can turn them into a list and attach them to the claim statement you made earlier. This equation of what you believe and how and why you believe it is your thesis. 

Drafting an Introduction

An introductory paragraph has three parts, typically in the following order: 

• Hook/attention grabber 
• Context 
• Thesis 

Once you have drafted your thesis, the next step is to draft the hook and context for the introduction paragraph. To do this, you can ask yourself the following: 

• What is the subject of the article and what makes it exciting? 
• What does your audience need to know for your thesis to make sense? 

Hook

The first sentence of an introduction should introduce the subject in a bold or interesting way. Here is an example of a hook: 

• By 2030, entire knowledge industries might be overtaken by artificial intelligence workers.  

Notice how this is a statement about the subject of the reading AND a bold statement that would engage the audience and make them want to read more. 

Context

After writing the hook, the next step is to provide context that will help the audience understand your thesis. If the purpose of your writing is to analyze a written text, you can provide context to your audience by including a concise summary of the reading, along with any other information that is necessary for the audience to understand your thesis. This is an example of a summary that is used to provide context to the reader: 

• In her article “What Everyone Needs to Know to Be More Productive,” Dana Rousmaniere addresses these issues by focusing on workers who feel they are competing with artificial intelligence, technologies, and each other and want to be more productive in order to be more competitive in the workplace and as earners. She evaluates a range of productivity tips and shares the best and most popular productivity tips as well as popular tips that are not as useful. 

Thesis

After you have written the hook and the context, you can end the introduction by adding your thesis as the last sentence of the paragraph. This process removes the mystery from writing introductory paragraphs. Once you have drafted your paragraph, you have completed a significant step, but you are still not done. Think of your introduction as a work in progress, with room to improve by revising and editing it until you have a polished product. 

Key Concepts

The following are the key concepts to consider as you work on this module: 

• The thesis is your unique claim plus support for your claim. 
  • What strategies can you use to write the thesis statement for your project? 
• An introduction is made up of a hook, context, and the thesis. 
  • How might you draft your introduction in a way that captures the attention of your audience? 

Introduction

These resources will help you learn how to communicate an analysis of a text to a specific audience and for a specific writing situation and how to support that analysis with evidence. All resources will help you complete this week’s assignment. 

Required Resources

Click the link(s) to complete the assigned readings within Macmillan Achieve: 

Textbook: How to Write Anything, Chapter 4  Once you decide on the idea you want to pursue, you can arrange the details that support that idea in ways specific to certain audiences and even industries. You can make simple changes to your sentence structures or length, or even the vocabulary you use, to adapt your style for specific audiences and situations. Above all, make sure what you write is respectful of all audiences and is clear enough that all audiences can understand what you want to share. As you read, consider the following: 

• Have you considered your writing as something you can design or something that has a style? 
• How important are word choices when writing?  

Textbook: How to Write Anything, Chapter 26  One way to begin thinking about organization is to read and study an essay or artifact that is similar to what you want to write. Once you’ve studied that structure from a model or exemplar text, you can start thinking about your own. Gather your ideas and see how they might fit a structure similar to the one you studied. Once you’ve drafted a first, really loose version of your own project, use reverse outlining to see what your structure actually is. Look also at the promises you made to your reader. Did you mention something but not offer support? Did you promise to show something and then not mention it again? Look for those moments, and then add more details and make corrections as you go. As you read, consider the following: 

• What is the core idea, and where and how is it stated? 
• Where is the support, and how is it arranged? 
• How can different modes or types of support, from interviews to research, enhance the writing experience?  

Textbook: How to Write Anything, Chapter 34  When we think about paragraphs, the first thing we probably consider is the visual: a blob of text on the page. Each body paragraph in a writing project needs to focus on one idea you’re trying to develop as a support for your core idea. Each paragraph needs a topic sentence that describes what the paragraph will be about and then a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph drawing the ideas to a close and relating them to the thesis statement for the essay. The body paragraph’s ideas can be explored with quotes from an article you’re analyzing, research you’ve conducted, or even your own observations. Every time you include evidence, make sure you explain it as though you are teaching it to your reader. If you include multiple pieces of evidence in a single paragraph, make sure you link them to the core idea of the paragraph so the reader can develop a better understanding of what you are trying to explain. As you read, consider the following: 

• What are five reasons that give paragraphs purpose in writing? 

APA and MLA Resources

Library Resource: APA Style Guide This webpage from the Shapiro Library will be a great resource as you cite the sources you are using throughout this course. 

Library Resource: MLA Style Guide This webpage from the Shapiro Library will be a great resource as you cite the sources you are using throughout this course. 

Additional Support (Optional)

Video: Introduction to Audience and Writing Situations (2:40)  This video explores audience and writing situations. It may help you complete this week’s assignment. As you watch, consider the following: 

• How can you combine all elements of a writing situation as you work on your assignment this week? 
• How might the audience’s culture influence their reading of your work? 

Video: Writing About Ideas From Readings (1:54)  This video explores writing about ideas from readings. It may help you complete this week’s assignment. As you watch, consider the following questions: 

• How is writing your first draft like having a conversation with friends? 
• Why should you quote or paraphrase the writer’s words in your assignment this week? 
• How is writing about a course reading like having a conversation with the published writer?