Correct formatting
Reference the course syllabus to find which format your professor prefers (MLA, APA, or Chicago). Each style calls for a different heading and citation format.
Original ideas
Before starting your essay, take some time to brainstorm about the topics at hand and find interesting, unique ways to analyze and interpret those ideas. This will make your paper stand out and keep your readers intrigued.
Introduction
The introduction is a description of the topic to be discussed. It’s typically a broad statement that hints at what is to be discussed in the paper.
Examples:
“For many people, exploitation is not the first thing they consider when thinking of freedom.”
“The mind of a human is a tricky puzzle. Especially that of Francis Marion Tarwater, Francis O’Connor’s protagonist in The Violent Bear It Away, a journey of creation and destruction, good and evil.”
Thesis
Your thesis is what you will be arguing in your essay. It should appear at the end of the introductory paragraph, give the reader a preview of what to expect, and act as a guideline for the entirety of your paper.
Examples:
“Frankl asserts that suffering presents an opportunity for man’s inner freedom to flourish, allowing space for spiritual development while Skinner views both suffering and freedom to be detrimental concepts to spiritual enlightenment, which can only arise as a result of an efficient society.”
“Emma chooses fantasy in lieu of reality which leads to her self-destruction while
Jeanette finds her sexual (and overall) identity through the amalgam of fantasy and
reality.”
Body paragraphs
Your body paragraphs are where you tackle each part of your thesis statement. Body paragraphs should include introductory sentences, analysis, quotes and evidence (with citations), and transitional phrases that link each paragraph together.
Example:
“[Introductory sentence setting up the body paragraph.] Thoreau and Marx agree on their examined state of man’s dehumanization in an industrial society, yet differ in their examination of what brought about this state of depravity that suffocates individual liberty. [Quotes and evidence with in-text citations.] Thoreau compares working class men to “machines” synonymous to “wood and earth and stones,” while Marx equates the wageworkers’ state to that of “soldiers” and “slaves”--mere cogs (Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” 285; Marx 351). [Analysis that relates back to thesis.] The governmental structures in both Europe and America in the mid-nineteenth century do not consider the holistic, creative, and spiritual nature of what it means to be a human with any remnants of liberty; man is considered a zombie: dead of heart and mind. As a result, man’s work is virtually meaningless--reduced to a single task that can be done by any man regardless of skill or incompetence. No longer is the artisan’s careful craft his own property, but a commodity meant for public consumption (Marx 350). [Transitional sentence leading into the next paragraph.] One’s identity is lost in a pool of servants all working toward some goal to which each man has no connection. When identity is lost, there can be no liberty.”
Counter arguments
During your research, you may find sources that negate the points you're trying to prove (as laid out by your thesis). While counter arguments are optional, presenting these counterpoints and defending your own ideas will strengthen your paper.
Example:
“While literary critic Thomas Matterson states, “Skinner’s interpretation of a perfect utopia ultimately negates the sense of spiritual growth he aims to project into the world of Walden Two,” this could not be further from the truth (Matterson 32).”
“I disagree with Jones’ assertion that Tarwater’s “divided self” is represented by the voices that he hears while digging his father’s grave (Jones 32).”
Evidence from legitimate sources
These can range from primary to secondary and tertiary sources. They may help back up your argument or serve as sources of counterarguments you present.
Primary sources
Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based (and typically, the direct texts you're referencing in your essay). For example, if you’re writing about Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, that text is considered a primary source.
Primary sources haven’t been filtered through interpretation or further evaluation (e.g., novels, short stories, poems, speeches, patents, newspaper articles, letters, peer-reviewed journal articles, interviews, transcripts).
Secondary sources
These are sources that interpret and evaluate primary sources. They are not evidence, but commentary and discussion of evidence (e.g., scholarly journals/articles/magazines, literary criticism, published academic papers for masters and doctorate work).
Tertiary sources
These sources summarize or synthesize secondary sources (e.g., almanacs, guidebooks, abstracts, fact books, dictionaries).
⇒ Use a library catalog or the “scholarly journal” search filter on your internet browser to find legitimate primary and secondary sources. Websites ending in .org, .gov, or .edu are considered more legitimate than .com or .net sources, which should largely be avoided in academic writing.
A conclusion
The last paragraph of your essay should tie up your paper, restating key points and ideas. Think of it as a summary of all the things you’ve shown in the preceding body paragraphs. Feel free to end on a note of reflection, point of further inquiry, or quote that relates to your thesis and/or main ideas.
Example:
“The meaning of social justice goes beyond guaranteeing economic and equality and distribution of resources. It means “valuing diversity” and treating all parts of the human condition equally and with care--from resources and human rights to murky emotions (Robinson 1). So Mac and Jim’s clumping men into an animalistic pack that they can manipulate and coax completely undermines ideals of equality and social justice because they are not seeing the whole range of men and their distinctive values. And Crake cannot program the humanness out of humans--even his genetically pristine “Children” are “hardwired for singing [and dreams]” and perhaps they, like Crake, will soon be screaming in their sleep (Atwood 218, 352). Overlooking even the smallest impulse of the human condition is a social injustice. As Freud says, “instinctual passions are stronger than reasonable interests” (69).”
Works cited or bibliography
It is essential to provide a list of sources at the end of your paper so readers can see where the citations and quotes came from. Be sure to format each entry according to MLA, APA, or Chicago style as requested by your professor.
Examples:
O'Connor, Flannery. The Violent Bear It Away. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986. Print.
Kitchener, Richard F. "B. F. Skinner: The Butcher, the Baker, the Behavior-Shaper." PSA:
Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association
1972.No. (1972): 87-98. JSTOR. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.
