Introduction: Connecting Your Learning
Have you ever walked into the middle of a movie or tried to start watching a TV series halfway into the season? It can be a bit confusing. In your writing for the information technology (IT) world, you will be required to engage in various forms of communication. While it may seem cliché, every piece of writing, whether it is an email, a proposal, or a set of instructions, needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. Organizing your writing will allow your reader to follow and understand your thoughts.
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| Required Readings | Read the following before starting this lesson: |
| Multimedia Resources | |
| Required Assignments |
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Focusing Your Learning
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Support a topic with relevant and specific examples.
Key Terms
Thesis
Specific
Relevant
Presentation
Essays: Beginning, Middle, and End
Beginning
The beginning of your essay is an introduction. An introduction is your first chance to hook and orient the reader and assert your argument. Your introduction can be divided into three parts.
- Hook: This is the first sentence or two in your paragraph that attracts the reader's attention. You have several options for the hook. You can begin with a quote, an anecdote, a strong statement, or description.
- Background: This is the transition from the hook to the thesis. The background is a place to give more information on your topic and orient your reader.
- Thesis: This is the most important part of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and specific.
Middle
The middle of your essay is comprised of body paragraphs to support the topic.
- A specific number of sentences is not required in a body paragraph. Generally, you need more than a few sentences to fully develop and support your ideas.
- Every topic sentence in each body paragraph should support the thesis.
- Each body paragraph should have only one focus.
End
The end of your essay is the conclusion, the last chance to leave an impression. Your conclusion, just like your introduction, can be divided into three parts.
Restate Your Thesis
Restate but don't repeat your thesis. Look for synonyms, alternative words, and varied sentence structures to restate your thesis.
Connect Your Essay
Connect your essay to a universal concept. Think of the question, "So what?" Why should your audience care? Why does it matter?
Bring Your Hook Full-Circle
Leave your reader with a "wow." If you started with a quote, you might weave important words from your quote into the last sentence to leave a final impression. If you started with an anecdote, you might conclude with an ending to the same anecdote.
Practice
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Review the reading, Essay Writing. |
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View the following presentations: Forming a Thesis Statement -- Write Right podcast |
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Review the following samples of five-paragraph essays by visiting the Web sites below. |
These resources will help you complete the activity below.
Now it is your turn to practice. Complete the following interactive practice activity.
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The essay map practice activity walked you through the steps of completing an essay on your own. Good work!
Summarizing Your Learning
Writing doesn't just happen. Writing is a process. The best writers make mistakes, and the best writers correct those mistakes by taking advantage of the steps in the writing process.
Assessing Your Learning
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Now that you have practiced, it is time to show what you know. Complete the assignment below. |
- Writing: Writing an Essay