College Writing

College Writing Study Guide Once you have decided upon a strong thesis – an arguable claim – then you should proceed to organ- izing the remainder of your paper. The most common form of organization is the “ Five-Paragraph Essay ,” which breaks down as follows: • Paragraph 1: Introduction – the introduction begins with a discussion of the background of the topic and presents the thesis. It also signposts the three supporting points for the thesis. “ Signposting ” refers to deliberately and explicitly telling your reader where you are in the argument. Phrases like “In this essay, I will …” and “�irst,” “second,” and “third” at the begin- ning of paragraphs are examples of signposting. Many professional writers try to make their signposting more subtle, but at the beginning stages of your writing, there is nothing wrong with signposting to maintain your paper’s organization and clarity. • Paragraph 2: Supporting Point 1 – your �irst supporting point should be your strongest reason for your thesis. What is the most important, most obvious, most inarguable reason why your thesis is true? Put this one �irst. • Paragraph 3: Supporting Point 2 – your second supporting point should be your weakest rea- son. In order to understand your weakest reason, you have to use some self- re�lection and self-awareness, putting yourself in your opponents’ shoes and trying to understand their point of view. Within this paragraph, you should consider including the refutation ; we will discuss the refutation in greater depth later, but for now, know that it is not enough to understand the weaknesses in your argument. You should also be able to come up with counter-arguments to what others might say. • Paragraph 4: Supporting Point 3 – your third supporting point should be your most interesting reason for your thesis. The strongest point may be the most obvious, but the most interesting point is the one your opponent might not have thought of. You want to leave your reader with the argument that makes him/her think. • Paragraph 5: Conclusion – most writers think that the conclusion is simply a restatement of the thesis and the paper’s main points. While that works, it does give your paper a repetitive feel: you say it in the introduction, you say it in the body (paragraphs 2-4), and you say it again in the conclusion. Like signposting, this is a rudimentary organizational tactic, and there’s nothing wrong with it. However, professional writers ask different questions in their conclu- sions: assume that you were successful in convincing your reader of your thesis; now how does the world change? What are the results of your thesis’s truth? What’s next? What makes your argument important? If you answer these questions in your conclusion, you will get away from a simple restatement of your thesis and give your paper a more dynamic quality. Now that we understand wha t is supposed to go in the �ive paragraphs of a Five - Paragraph Essay, let’s outline an example. On the exam, you will have to discuss some controversial issues, but for right now, we will use a low-stakes argument: where to go for dinner tonight. In this scenario, let’s assume the writer wants to go to a local pizza joint, but the writer’s signi�icant other would prefer a steak- house.

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