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3.11: Planning and Writing an Essay

  • Page ID
    293708
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    Planning and Writing an Essay

    Writing Practice: Read the following introductory paragraph and write three body paragraphs using the outline to organize an essay with a completed thesis statement. Organize your ideas here. Write complete sentences for the supporting topics and list some key words/phrases for the details.

    Writing Prompt

    Here is the writing prompt: Write about the three biggest changes that immigrants must make or adjust to after moving to the United States.

    I. Introductory Paragraph:

    Throughout our lives, we experience changes—changes in living conditions, changes in health, and changes in any of life’s circumstances. Some changes are more dramatic than others. Moving, for instance, can create big changes in one’s life. Moving to another country, in fact, with a different culture and language, can create major life changes for better or for worse. Thesis: Three of the biggest changes that immigrants must make or adjust to after moving to the United States are__________, _________, and __________.

    II. Supporting Topic Sentence 1:

    A.

    B.

    III. Supporting Topic Sentence 2:

    A.

    B.

    IV. Supporting Topic Sentence 3:

    A.

    B.

    V. Conclusion:

    Restate thesis:

    Summarize supporting points:

    Final remarks:

     

    Now, type a draft of your essay. Format it according to MLA style.

    MLA Academic Format

    This is the style to follow for essay writing in MLA style. At the top left of the page, put a heading with your name on the top line, your professor's name on the second line, the title of the course on the third line, and the date on the last line. Keep a one-inch margin on all sides of the page (this is the default setting in Micorsoft Word). Then put a title below the heading. The title of your essay should not be in bold, italicized, or in quotation marks. The title should be centered on the page and capitalized correctly. Double-space your essay using the double-spacing function under “Paragraph Format” in Microsoft Word. Do not press return twice to double-space. Use size 12-point font and Times New Roman style. Indent each paragraph using the Tab key on the computer keyboard.

    Here is an example of a properly formatted heading. Please note that this heading appears only on the first page of your essay.

    Sally Smith

    Professor Jones

    ESOL 0184 A01

    30 April 2024

    Attributions: 

    Content on this page was adapted from ESL Academic Writing(opens in new window), which was shared under a CC BY (opens in new window)license by Prince George's Community College.


    This page titled 3.11: Planning and Writing an Essay is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Connie Mathews, Elizabeth Stein, and Mary Elizabeth Wilson-Patton.