My *personal* Essay Writing Formula

 

According to my Freshman year English teacher, there are people out there who are in High School and don't know how to write an essay, so I took the initiative of sharing the essay writing formula that I've used since I first started writing essays. That was in Elementary School, by the way. 

Disclaimer: I am not guaranteeing anything with this post. I am simply sharing my personal essay writing formula with the world. 

Essay Outline 

Title: self-explanatory

Intro paragraph 

Thesis statement: 1 sentence, the response to the prompt. This is the first supporting statement, a supporting statement is essentially the reason why your thesis statement is right, for every supporting paragraph, you need a new supporting statement. This is the second supporting statement, supporting statements are used as thesis statements or topic sentences for your supporting paragraphs. This is the third supporting statement, all of the supporting statements must be on the topic and make sense. This is the closing statement, which is a restatement of your thesis statement, when I say restatement, I mean a different sentence that gets the same point across, don't say your thesis statement word for word again. 

Supporting Paragraphs 

This is a more refined and detailed version of your topic sentence/thesis statement for this paragraph. This is supporting evidence for this specific supporting paragraph. There can be as much supporting evidence as you want, but 2-5 sentences is my go-to. There's no closing sentence necessary for these kinds of paragraphs, but if you have one that doesn't feel unnecessary, go ahead and use it. 

Closing Paragraph 

This is a response to the prompt. This is a supporting statement, this is another supporting statement, this is the last supporting statement. This is a restatement of your thesis statement. This is a call to action which is only used in argumentative essays. 

Bibliography/Works Cited 

This is where you give credits to the sources you used to get evidence for your essay. You should always cite your sources in the way your assignment/teacher tells you to. The most common citing format is MLA. This section does not count as part of your total paragraphs unless you are told that it does. 

Essay Evidence 

Every essay requires supporting evidence to back up your thesis statement/claim. You should only use evidence from reliable sources, like scientific journals. Sites with .org, .gov, or .edu at the end are usually reliable. When you begin researching, always save your sources in some type of document. I usually put the links in a word document. Jot down any information from reliable sources that can help support your cause. You should also have rebuttals if you're writing an argumentative essay. That would be where you take evidence that supports the rival cause, and prove it wrong. 

Introductory Paragraph 

1. Take your prompt, and write a response to it. 
2. Take that response and beef it up. This is how you get your thesis statement. 
3. The reasons why your thesis is right will be your supporting statements. Each supporting paragraph will be represented here using 1 sentence that briefly showcases the main point of that paragraph. You should not be using any supporting evidence in these sentences. 

Supporting Paragraphs 

1. There will be 1 parapgrah per "reason". 
2. To find out how many supporting paragraphs you need, take the assigned paragraph amount and subtract 2. The 2 paragraphs you subtract will be your introductory and closing paragraphs. For example, if your teacher says you need to have 8 paragraphs in your essay, 8-2=6. You will need 6 separate supporting paragraphs. 
3. The topic sentence for these paragraphs are a more detailed version of the supporting statements that were used in the introductory paragraph. 
4. Use the evidnece that supports this specific "reason" and make them into sentences. These will be the supporting evidence. 

Closing Paragraph 

1. This is essentially a restatement of your entire introductory paragraph. 
2. Restate your thesis, again. 
3. Restate your supporting statements, again. 
4. Restate your thesis, AGAIN!!! Add a call to action or some type of closing statment so that it doesn't seem like you're restating your theisi for the umpteenth time. 

Bibliogrpahy/Works Cited 

1. These are ALL the sources you used. Every single one. Cite them the way you're asked to. If there isn't a specific way your teacher wants you to cite your sources, ask them how to cite them. If all else fails, use MLA. 

Example Essay 

For this essay I w.ill only be doing 3 paragraphs not including the bibliography. The prompt is: "Your favorite bird and why." 

Why Crows are the Best Birds 

My favorite birds are crows. Crows are my favorite birds becuase they're very smart and are similar to humans. 

Crows are some of the smartest birds on earth. They can recognize faces, and make and use tools. There's also evidnece that shows that tool use can boost the crow's mood. Tool use isn't something necessary for the crow's survival, but it could be used as something that keeps the mind sharp. Like humans solving puzzles. 

Crows are genius birds. They're so smart that they can use tools. I hope that this essay made you like crows too! 

Works cited 

Crows could be the smartest animal other than primates. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191211-crows-could-be-the-smartest-animal-other-than-primates. BBC Future. September 3, 2022. 

Well I hope you enjoyed that very long read. If you did enjoy it make sure to follow me on Pinterest and subscribe to my newsletter. Come back next week for more words from Willow!