Composition Terminology and The Writing Process

The efficiency of an essay; this means that the essay is easy to read and paragraphs and ideas are well-connected.

• Organization

• Flow

• Tone

• Purpose

The first paragraph of an essay; includes an attention grabber, necessary information, and the thesis statement.

• Body Paragraphs

• Introductory Paragraph

• Concluding Paragraph

The order in which your paragraphs and/or details are arranged.

• Purpose

• Tone

• Flow

• Organization

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.6

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RI.7.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

The first sentence of an essay in the introductory paragraph; should grab the reader’s attention; can be a question, exclamation, or powerful statement.

• Topic Sentence

• Thesis Statement

• Attention Grabber

• Necessary Information

The reason you are writing your essay (to express yourself, to persuade, to inform, to entertain, to describe, to analyze, etc.)

• Flow

• Organization

• Tone

• Purpose

The concluding paragraph should contain a brief summary of the main points discussed in the essay serving as a reminder to readers as they near the end of the essay.

• Modified Thesis Statement

• Concluding Paragraph

• Summary of Main Points

• Lasting Impression

Information that connects the attention grabber to the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. It should be a broad, general discussion of the topic, and can be a commonly held belief or fact.

• Attention Grabber

• Details

• Necessary Information

• Thesis Statement

The “attitude” of the essay; word choice and word arrangement determine the tone.

• Purpose

• Organization

• Tone

• Flow

Involves getting your ideas down on paper in roughly the format you intend for the finished work.

• Prewriting

• Drafting

• Revising

• Editing

YOUR opinion on the topic; must be written in sentence form (CANNOT EVER be written in the form of a question !). It is one sentence long. It’s the LAST SENTENCE of the introductory paragraph.

• Topic Sentence

• Thesis Statement

• Topic Support

• Lasting Impression