You have decisions to make before you even begin.

Think about the audience, purpose, and genre of what you are about to write.

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Audience• Who will be reading your

writing?• What does this person

already know or what they might they need to know to understand what you are trying to say?

• Do you need to give background or are they experts in your topic?

• Is your audience likely to be skeptical of your viewpoint? 

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Purpose• Writing can have a

variety of purposes: to persuade, to entertain, to describe, to inform, or to analyze.

• Consider what you want your audience to think or to know after reading your work.

 

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GenreThere are all different kinds of writing,

and each has its own set of conventions - be aware of the tone, the organizational structure, and the typical features of the kind of writing you are being asked to perform.

 

TONE: The attitude of the writer towards the subject as seen through word choice…

• Formal or informal?• Objective?• Persuasive?• Optimistic or

pessimistic?

Organizational Structure

Should your writing follow a pre-determined structure? If you are writing an essay, follow the steps laid out in this presentation. For other types of writing, see other tabs on the Writing Guide.

Typical features vary depending on what you are being asked to write. For example, a research essay always has a works cited page. A creative brief usually includes coverage of the target market. Finding good examples of the genre will help you decide what you should include in your writing.

Brainstorm. Try writing on paper.Write down your ideas – good or bad.Organize your thoughts in a graphic.Take breaks.Do some background reading.

Don’t judge your writing yet – let it flow.

A good thesis statement has these three qualities:

• The statement is concise, typically being limited to a single sentence.

• The idea expressed is specific.  Avoid vague claims.

• It would be possible to argue with the idea presented.  A thesis is not simply a statement of fact or a declaration of the topic of the paper.

You cannot start writing your paper until you have written your thesis though you may need to revise it as you write.

Examples:Bad thesis statementsThis paper is about school violence, a prevalent problem in

the United States. (declaration of the topic)

School violence is a prevalent problem in the United States. (vague claim, not specific)

Violence in schools has a negative effect on students.      (not an arguable claim, very obvious)

 

Better thesis statementSchool violence, a prevalent problem in the United States,

must be addressed through stricter punishments for juvenile offenders and parental monitoring of children's media and lifestyle choices.

The outline allows you to organize your ideas.

• What are your main points?

• What are your sub points?

• What evidence will you provide for each of your points?

Once you have written an outline, it will be much quicker to write your paper. See the following example outline.

I. Introduction    A. Open with statistic about growing obesity in US    B. List diseases associated with obesity and the cost to American consumer    C. Discuss marketing and presence of sugary foods    D. Thesis statement: Given that the United States is experiencing increasing

obesity rates, the government needs to help the public make better choices about food though the use of strongly worded nutritional labels, stricter nutritional guidelines, and taxation of sugary foods.

Body Paragraph #1A. Description of standards for food labels    B. Evidence from study on the effects of labels on consumers    C. Lack of sugar content labeling and transparency of ingredients    E. Effect of label prominence on food choice, according to research

Body Paragraph #2A. Current state of nutritional guidelines    B. Effect of government guidelines on public opinion about nutrition, according to a 

survey    C. Competing ideas of the food pyramid    D. Lack of governmental guidance on sugar intake    E. Possible connection of government recommendations to subsidized food 

industries

Body Paragraph #3A. Evidence of poor food choices despite proper information    B. Review of effects of fatty food taxes in Europe    C. Foods with poor nutrition tend to be cheaper, taxes would reverse that scenario    D. Rebuttal of argument that taxes on fatty foods in Denmark barely increased 

expected lifespan

Conclusion    A. Restate thesis    B. Review main arguments    C. Importance of changing Americans nutritional choices, especially for future 

generations

In your introduction, you need to catch your audience's attention and set the stage for the rest of your paper. 

Here are some ideas for your introduction:• Give context for your topic.  What

are you going to talk about?• Give necessary background

information.• If writing an argument, present

both sides of the issue.• Consider opening with a

provocative quote or anecdote, if appropriate.

• Think of your introduction as starting with the broader topic that is then funneled down to your specific hypothesis.

• Your introduction ends with your thesis statement.

Example: Thesis: Given that the United States is experiencing increasing obesity rates, the government needs to help the public make better choices about food though the use of strongly worded nutritional labels, stricter nutritional guidelines, and taxation of sugary foods.

Ideas for a catchy introduction:• Obesity statistics in the United States• Facts about the effect of obesity on 

health and lifespan• Facts about the eating habits of the 

American public• Overview of various efforts to improve 

public health• Lead in to the argument• Finish with the thesis

Your body paragraphs are where you present your main points in support of your thesis statement. Consider that these points are evidence proving your opinion. You should organize your paper so that there are separate paragraphs for each of the points that you refer to in your thesis.  

• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence that introduces the point that you are developing.

• Make sure to include sentences that help transition from paragraph to the next.

• Only include evidence that relates to your thesis.

Example:Thesis: Given that the United States is experiencing increasing obesity rates, the government needs to help the public make better choices about food though the use of strongly worded nutritional labels, stricter nutritional guidelines, and taxation of sugary foods.

Body paragraph #1 topic sentence: Rather than alerting the public about the nutritional content of food that is being consumed, labels on food are confusing to understand and tend to downplay the negative aspects of sugar and preservatives.

Body paragraph #2 topic sentence: Correcting the appearance of labels on food will only go so far to solve the problem of obesity; stricter nutritional guidelines are also necessary to reshape public thought on what food to eat.

Body paragraph #3 topic sentence: Finally, the government should make the public literally put their money where their mouth is by enacting a taxation of sugary foods.

You need to wrap things up in your conclusion. It should be narrow at the start, and then broaden to include the consequences now or in the future of what you have discussed.

Here are some things to include:• Restate your thesis in different

words.• Sum up your main points or

arguments.• Include broader or future

consequences.• Answer the question: So what?• End with a strong, meaningful, final

statement that ties your paper together.

• DO NOT introduce any new ideas or arguments at this point.

Example closing statements:

Soaring obesity rates, particularly amongst children, mandates a response from our society. Because school programs look to government sources to define nutrition, it is imperative that the government provide strongly worded nutritional labels and stricter nutritional guidelines. Furthermore, the taxation of sugar could help further deter the overconsumption of these unhealthy foods. By redefining what it means for a food to be considered healthy, our country could go a long way to managing the obesity epidemic. However, even though the government should be doing everything possible to inform and persuade the public of the correct choices, ultimately it is the individual who actually makes that choice. Given the high cost that the United States is already facing, it can only be hoped that the government's efforts will be enough.

Revising your paper is more than simply checking for grammatical mistakes.

If possible, give yourself a day off before revising.

Be prepared to spend more than a few minutes revising – you may need to organize your paper, add stronger evidence, or rewrite passages. This all takes time!

Ask the following questions when re-reading your paper. Be honest with yourself!

1. Did I follow the assignment?2. Does my paper have a main idea represented in a 

thesis?3. Do all the ideas in my paper relate to the thesis?4. Are there any unnecessary sentences that could 

be eliminated?5. Are my ideas supported with enough evidence?6. Is my writing organized? Does each paragraph 

relate to the topic sentence? Are there smooth transitions from one idea to the next?

7. Do all my ideas make sense? Are there confusing or awkward sentences?

8. Are there any problems with grammar or spelling?

9. Is my language appropriate for the assignment? Did I use slang?

10. Would someone else reading my paper be able to understand what I am trying to say?

11. If needed, have I properly cited and quoted all my sources?