Thesis Statements
- Thesis
- a statement or theory put forward to be maintained or proved.
- Statement
- a definite or clear expression of something in speech or writing
Writing a Thesis Statement (Purdue OWL)
This gives general tips and explains several different types of thesis statements.
Introductions & Conclusions
- Introduction
- 1. a preliminary thing, such as an explanatory section at the beginning of a book.
- 2. a person's first experience of a subject or activity.
- Conclusion
- 1. the summing-up of an argument or text
- 2. a judgement or decision reached by reasoning.
Introduction/Conclusion Links
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Introductions - A Top-Down Model (St. Cloud University)
Explains the function and elements of an introduction, with a nice graphical model. -
Strategies for Writing A Conclusion (St. Cloud University)
Readers remember the conclusion best, so how can you make yours stand out? This gives several strategies and examples of each.
Paragraphs
- Paragraph
- ta distinct section of a piece of writing, beginning on a new line and often indented.
- --from Greek "paragraphos" (short stroke marking a break in sense)
Paragraph Links
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The Paragraph (Purdue OWL)
Basic advice on creating coherent, unified, well developed paragraphs. -
Paragraphs (McDaniel College)
Covers the "ideal" paragraph, bad paragraphs, and topic sentences, with lots of examples.
Transitions
- Transition
- a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another
Known/New
Want a great way to check if your paper's structure holds together? Try rereading your paper checking for Known/New. Known/New means that as you move sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragrap, you start with known information (meaning information you introduced earlier in the essay or that is fairly common knowledge) and put the new information at the end.
This placement helps the new information -- the information that's causing you to write the sentence -- clearly stand out.
Known/New forces you to create links, just like the purple Ns link the words in my headline. Examples of Known/New at work can be seen on this University of Central Florida handout, or in any clear writing you found easy to follow. Try using Known/New in your own papers and see how much it helps!
Paper Organization
- Organize
- 1. arrange systematically; order
- 2. to form into a coherent unity or functioning whole
- 3. to arrange elements into a whole of interdependent parts
Paper Organization Links
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Developing an Outline (Purdue OWL)
This not only covers the "what sort of numbers/letters go where" issues, but also explains more about the purpose of an outline, how to get started, and how to think schematically. -
Writing for an American Academic Audience (Purdue OWL)
Though this is officially for ESL students, does anyone really know the language of professors? This explains what should be in an academic essay (and what should not) and why. -
Logic in Argumentative Writing (Purdue OWL)
Being "logical" is a lot more complicated than it sounds. Logic is a formal discipline in philosophy, but understanding the basics really strengthens your writing. Learn how to check your papers for logical fallacies that will cause readers to lose faith in your argument. (This link is to the introductory page, be sure to follow the sublinks, which also include exercises!)
Maps & Directions