Essay Structure

The Introduction

Jennifer BennettSanderson High School

Raleigh, NCWake County Public School

System

Essay Structure Basics

Three Parts: Introduction

Tell audience where you’re going to take them.

Body Take them on the

journey. Conclusion

Remind them where they’ve been and why this journey was meaningful.

Body

Introduction

Conclusion

A Little More Detail . . . Introduction

Purposes: To introduce topic and purpose of

essay To capture the audience’s attention

and draw them in To set the tone of the essay

A Little More Detail . . . Introduction Logical progression: general

specificGeneral Opening

Specific Thesis + Comment

Opening the Intro. Paragraph

Begin with . . . An interesting, relevant quotation A challenging (rhetorical) question A general statement relating to your

topic A specific fact or statistic An anecdote that illustrates your topic

Opening the Intro. Paragraph Begin with . . .

a quotation—something profound and generally related to your topic

(Topic: MLK’s use of language in speech) Ex. “Free at last, free at last, thank God

almighty, I’m free at last!” The most powerful tool that King used to free his people was language.

a rhetorical question Ex. How can language be as powerful a

weapon as a gun?

Opening the Intro. Paragraph Begin with . . .

A general statement Ex. The evils of segregation were the

catalyst that ignited the powerful flames of Martin Luther King’s rhetoric.

A fact or statistic Ex. One hundred years after the

Emancipation Proclamation, the evils of segregation still infected American society.

Ex. On August 28, more than 2,000 buses, 21 special trains, 10 chartered airliners, and uncounted cars converged on Washington.

Opening of the Intro.

Begin with . . . An anecdote: a brief, relevant story

that— captures the readers’ interest, drawing

them into your essay (everybody loves a story!)

illustrates the spirit/idea of the thesis, leading readers to down to it

sets the tone and mood for the rest of the paper

Example of an Anecdote “. . . it was pitch dark, maybe 4:00 in the morning. We were coming

down from the north and we cross over this big bridge, I think it might have been the bridge over the Susquehanna. . . . There had been all this stuff in the newspaper . . . [some] were in total panic mode — Call out the National Guard! Alert the 101st Airborne! Close the liquor stores! Hide the white women! Evacuate the children to the countryside! It was like they thought the Mongol hordes of Gengiz [sic] Khan were descending on the nation's capitol to rape, ravage, and pillage.”

Michaels, Shiela. “Interview: Bruce Hartford.” February 2002. Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. <http://crmvet.org/nars/bruce1.htm>. 6 October 2010.

How do I connect this story to my thesis?? Instead of fearing physical violence, the newspapers should

have been more concerned about the power of the now-famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr. that shook the foundations of American society.

Connecting

After your general opening statement, you need to lead the reader to your specific thesis and comment (the part of the thesis that lists your main pts.).

Make logical connections between your opening and your thesis, gradually becoming more specific.

Transitioning: Sample Intro. Paragraph

How can language be as powerful a weapon as a gun? Most people would consider the analogy ludicrous. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., however, abhorred violence and did not consider it an option in the war against segregation in mid-twentieth century America. King’s most powerful weapons were his words. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, he artfully crafts his rhetoric, using the power of metaphor, imagery, and repetition to expose the evils of racism and segregation and to inspire his audience to immediate and enduring action against them.

How can language be as powerful a weapon as a gun? Most people would consider the analogy ludicrous. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., however, abhorred violence and did not consider it an

option in the war against segregation in mid-twentieth century America. His most powerful weapons were his words. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, King artfully crafts his rhetoric, using the power of metaphor, imagery, and repetition to expose the evils of racism and segregation and to inspire his audience to immediate and enduring action against them.

Opening rhetorical question

Comment on the analogy in the opening question

Transition from “people” in general to a specific person

Words “violence” and “war” tie sentence back to “weapon” and “gun” in the opening.

Specific setting

General reference to “powerful weapons” from opening now specific-ally named: “words”Specific thesis and

comment

Moves in the opposite logical direction of the introduction: specific general Begin by restating the thesis (NOT

using the same wording).

End by moving outward to a general conclusion.

The Concluding Paragraph