“Every time you

smile at someone, it
is an act of love, a
gift to that person, a
beautiful thing.”

-Mother Teresa

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 “Let no one ever
come to you without
leaving better and
happier. Be the
living expression of
kindness: kindness
in your face,
kindness in your
eyes, kindness in
your smile.”

-Mother Teresa

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Today’s Agenda

1. Formal Essay Structure

2. Thesis Formula

3. Writer’s Workshop

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 HOOK
Introduction

THESIS

Body Paragraph

T.S
Supporting Body Paragraph
Details
C.S
Body Paragraph

Conclusion

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 An Effective Introduction

Hook
Engages interest
‣Question
Introduction ‣Quote
Supporting
Details
‣Direct Statement
‣Statistic

Thesis

A one or two sentence summary of your

entire essay.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Basic Paragraph Structure
Topic Sentence (TS)
• Introduces the main idea
• Short, simple and focused
‣Question
‣Quote
‣Direct Statement
Body Paragraph ‣Statistic

Concluding Sentence (CS)

Concludes main idea presented
in TS

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Basic Paragraph Structure

Supporting Details (SD)

• Explain ideas from TS or HOOK
Body Paragraph
• Provides new & insightful information
• Answers as many W5 + H questions

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Basic Paragraph Structure
Begin with a
linking word.

E.g.
Reflects ideas in In conclusion
Hook and Thesis To conclude
Conclusion
In summary
To summarize

In brief
In short

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Basic Thesis Formula
describe
This essay will focus 1 focus 2

analyze
In this essay, I will focus 3
discuss
The following essay will

explore

E.g. The following essay will describe what made Terry so

special, how he showed me how to be persistent, and the
importance of being selfless.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
 Thesis Example 1

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Thesis Example 1

The following essay will reveal how I would like to be remembered

when I leave my school one day: being committed to helping
students learn and grow, creating a welcome learning
environment, and being a mentor to new teachers.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Thesis Example 2

In this paper, I will describe how Terry Fox has made me a

better teacher through his examples of perseverance, being true
to his beliefs, and having the courage to face great challenges.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Thesis Example 3

In this essay I will share three lessons I would give myself when
I was a first year teacher: lesson planning should begin with
clear objectives, learn from other educators, and always remain
true to your teaching philosophy.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Homework

1. Prepare your Thesis Statement

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 “Knowing is
not enough,
we must apply.

Willing is not
enough, we
must do.”

-Bruce Lee

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Writer’s Workshop

o r ks h o p
r iter ’s W
W

tatemen t
hesis S
1. T

Thursday, October 21, 2010

 Writer’s Workshop

1. Editing & sharing

o r ks h o p
r iter ’s W
2. Compose yourWFirst Draft

tatemen t
hesis S
1. T

Thursday, October 21, 2010