Background- what do we need to know about your topic?

Thesis- what is your argument?

Preview- what are you going to write about? argue?

TREE

Use the TREE organizer to structure your body paragraphs. Usually, there are 3 of these!

Topic: introduce your topic/argument

Reason: give one reason to support your argument

Evidence: what evidence do you have?

Elaboration: so what? Add details to connect your reason and evidence.

Thesis- restate your thesis statement in a new way without introducing new information

Summary- summarize your main points

So What? - what is the ONE big takeaway you want your reader to be left with or thinking about?

Facts - information we know is true

Reasons - beliefs and opinions

Examples - what you have heard, read, seen or done

Details - extra information about the topic

<-- Use these words/phrases to connect your sentences/ideas together

• Introduce the quote with context: When...,

  • Your quote shouldn't stand alone!

• State the speaker + dialogue tag: Name says, "Quote..."

  • If you are using a dialogue tag (says, etc.), the first word of the quote should be capitalized.

• At the end of your sentence, cite the page number in parentheses: "..." (#).

  • The parentheses should be after the quotation marks.

  • The period should be after the parentheses.

Example: When Benvolio and Romeo are chatting before the party, Benvolio says, “Tut man, one fire burns out another's burning" (55).