Directions for Writing an In-class Essay (with outline): Due at the end of the period

1. Prewriting

   Do some prewriting or review the prewriting you did during a previous class meeting, and select one well-narrowed topic that could be developed into a substantial, well-constructed paper of at least five, preferably more, paragraphs (including introduction and conclusion).

   If necessary, do additional prewriting to generate content for the paper. Remember that each body paragraph should develop one point that will help support the thesis statement.

   Important: Save your work regularly. Since three separate items are to be submitted (see below), you may save each separately with a different file name, or you may save them together in one larger file. In any case, be sure that the number of the paper is included in each case: "Paper 1" (without quotation marks) for the paper developed by examples, "Paper 2" for the next major assignment, etc.

2. Organizing

   Organize the results of your prewriting into an overall plan for a paper. In most cases, you will probably want to put the most important point last.

   At some point you will need to construct a clear thesis statement (statement of subject and assertion about the subject) with an essay map (summary of the main point to be made in each section of the body). To generate a thesis statement, however, you may need to start on the next step to help you discover what you really have to say about the subject. Also required from now on is a formal outline (which, for the contrast paper must necessarily be a two-level outline, with each Roman numeral heading divided into A and B).

3. Drafting

   Prepare a preliminary draft of your paper. Do not necessarily begin with the introduction. That important part of the paper often grows out of what is included in the body, so you might want to save it till last, along with the conclusion.

   Be sure that each body paragraph has a clear topic sentence toward the beginning and that it contains adequate development in the form of specific examples and details.

   When you do draft the introduction, be sure to put the thesis statement toward the end. Begin the introduction with some interesting general observation, brief background information, or some other statements that will catch the reader's attention. Be sure that the conclusion gives a strong sense of finality.

   Important: Print a copy of your preliminary draft, that is, some version of your paper before you complete the revision and editing stages. You do not need to save a separate preliminary draft.

4. Revising

   Review and revise the paper to make sure that everything is there that should be there and that nothing essential is missing. Check to see that the body paragraphs in particular have unity and coherence. Be sure also that you have used double spacing, a 12-pt. font (Times New Roman), and automatic page numbering with your last name in a "header."

5. Editing:

   Review the details of your paper to make sure that it is as correct as possible. Check particularly the following elements:

Items to be submitted at the end of the period:

  1. Evidence of prewriting (unless that has been submitted during a previous class meeting)
  2. Preliminary draft (an early version of the paper before revising and editing)
  3. Final draft, with formal outline page (three or four copies of this final draft, two or three for peer review later, depending on the number of people in your group): labeled clearly as final copy (e.g., Paper 1: Final draft, Paper 2: Final draft, etc., as appropriate)

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