Lena Epperhart
English 111
Essay #2
Have you ever dreaded the fact that you had to write an essay? There are times you will just sit for hours trying to think of a topic and it can be exhausting. After reading this essay you should have no trouble in writing your own. You will not only know how to choose a topic but also some of the strategies that you can use to write a basic essay. Writing an essay is not as intimidating when you know the basic format and structure.
The first thing that you want to think about when writing an essay is your topic. Sometimes your topic will be given to you and other times you will have to choose your own. Let’s assume that you have been told to choose your own topic. When choosing a topic you want to choose something that interests you, which will often make your essay stronger. Write down some things that interest you no matter what they are. Think about the purpose of the essay that you must write and evaluate each potential topic and how it corresponds with your purpose. The purpose effects how the essay is presented.
Once you have a topic for your essay you need to organize your ideas. Some people use an outline to do this. An outline is used to put your ideas about the topic on paper in an organized fashion. This will help you put your main ideas about your topic in order. An outline will give you an overlook of what your paper will entail, but the structure of your essay may change as you write.
Your next step is to compose a thesis statement. The thesis statement tells the reader what the essay will be about and what points you will be making. You know what the essay will be about because you thought of the topic. Now you must look at your outline and decide what points you will be making. Your thesis should have two parts. The first part states the topic and the second part states the point of the essay. After you figure out your thesis statement you are ready to build your beginning paragraph.
The...