Beginning the writing process

At this point, you have examined the question, determined what type of question it is, and you have answered the question.  Well, luckily, the tough part is over.  From this point, you merely put your opinion on paper in an organized fashion.  How do you do that?  It's easy.

Let's begin by setting up an example to work with.  For example purposes, let's use the following topic:

What is your most prized possession?  Discuss.

OK, this is a question of value.  So our job is begun by simply answering the question.  In the case of this topic, we are being asked to pick one possession as our most prized.  For our example, let's say that my most prized possession is my copy of Conan the Barbarian #1.  The next step is to simply ask myself "why?" and write down my top three reasons "why."  Once I've done that, I've written the thesis and the preview.  For instance, if my three reasons are:

1. It was a gift from my wife.
2. It is a book I always wanted as a kid, but could never find or afford.
3. It is my favorite comic book.

Then the thesis and preview (see below) would be:

Thesis:  My most prized possession is my copy of Conan the Barbarian #1.

Preview:  That issue of Conan is my most prized possession because:  it was a gift from my wife; it is a book I always wanted; and, it is my favorite comic.

From this point, writing the essay is just a matter of fully developing each idea and making each concept vivid.

The essay itself is most effective when it is  organized in the following manner (hyperlinks take you to pages which completely cover each component):

A. INTRODUCTION:

• Attention Getting Device
• Thesis Statement
• Organizational Statement(Preview)

B. BODY:

• contains 3 to 5 substantial paragraphs
• concrete examples used as support/evidence for each part of the overall argument
• logical connections between the paragraphs

C. CONCLUSION:

• Organizational Review
• Restate Thesis
• Concluding Remark/Tieback.

The sad thing is that, at this point, most students rush up and hand in their paper in hopes that they might get back to the dorm a few minutes early and catch that surprising episode of "Jerry Springer."  Invariably, these are the same students who feel that their paper was graded "unfairly" because they got such a low grade.  Remember, you've got to take you time with and show your pride in your work.  Use the full time allotted.  Look at it as an investment in your grade.  The problem is that many students don't know what is involved in the "post-writing" process.  Here are the steps you should take when you are done with your first draft:

• Read the paper.  You'd be amazed at how often your hand isn't as fast as your brain.  Many beginning writers feel so pressed for time that their hand leaves words out.  A quick read-through of the paper will show you these errors and other simple mistakes that would have cost you one or more letter grades.
• Rethink the logical connections.  Make sure that you have fully developed the argument and that all the body paragraphs add up to the conclusion you want the reader to reach.  Make sure you have linked each body paragraph back to the thesis.
• Rewrite unclear, ambiguous, and awkward phrasing.  Make your writing as user-friendly as possible.
• Edit for grammar, style, and clarity.  This is critical.  Catching your errors here can save you a letter grade as well.  If you make the same mistakes over and over, be sure to look carefully for these chronic errors. 
• Proofread it again before you hand it in.  There is no excuse for spelling errors or simple grammatical errors when you have a total of 90 minutes to write each essay.