Your paper also needs to include a Works Cited page with all the sources you use in the essay. The sources must also be used in your paper itself, with correct MLA citation in both the paper and the Works Cited page.
Essay Organization
Introduction: the introductory paragraph should start with a hook to engage the reader – something shocking, startling, or intriguing, using the strategies I’ll teach. You may include some relevant background information (but no more than a few sentences of this – save specifics for the body paragraphs). It also needs a clear, focused thesis statement indicating your own stance on the topic.
Body paragraphs: Your body paragraphs will detail your reasoning for your position. Break down your argument into sub categories, such as different reasons for your position. Do not separate your paragraphs into one paragraph for every source you use – this is not a good organizational strategy. Your job is to integrate and synthesize information from the sources into your own argument organically, using multiple sources in each paragraph to support your claims.
Each body paragraph needs to contain a clear, strong topic sentence indicating what that paragraph will be about, as well as a transition from the previous paragraph if appropriate. It must also contain clear, specific evidence to support your claims (generally, at least 2 or 3 specific, distinct pieces of evidence are necessary to fully support an idea). All evidence should be introduced with clear signal phrases – including the credibility of the source the first time you use it (such as “In a recent opinion article published in The New York Times, Google CEO Sindar Pichai says …”) and should use correct in-text citations. Any other evidence, such as paraphrases or summaries, must also be cited correctly. Each piece of evidence needs to be clearly analyzed or explained before you move on. Never start or end a paragraph with a quote or other piece of evidence!
Conclusion: The concluding paragraph should summarize and pull together the ideas in the paper, without using the same language. The summary should be roughly one sentence summarizing each 1-2 body paragraphs. The conclusion should also give some indication of the wider importance of the topic; leave your audience thinking! Don’t use any new evidence in the concluding paragraph.
Works Cited page: this should be a separate page in the same document that includes all sources used in your paper.
Don’t forget to use the resources in the Helpful Resources module for help with organization, citation, and research.