Advanced Tips

Organizing Your Writing

One of the categories on the rubric is ORGANIZATION. Organizing your writing is extremely important. The most basic structure we use is: introduction-body-body-conclusion. However, how do you know which reason goes in which body paragraph?

See the PDF below to review some ways to organize your writing. This PDF was found on Shona Rose's Bulb website .

What Makes a 4 a 4?

Want to see what high scoring essays have in common? Here are all of the example essays (2013-2019) that scored a 4.

I took all of the 2019 essays that scored a 4 and did a deep dive. I looked at what these essays had in common and what was different about them. Click the link below to see my analysis.

Smaller Details

You may choose many different ways to organize your essay, but there are still rules that should be followed.

1. Your thesis statement should come early in your paper. The reader should be able to see which side you are on in your first paragraph. I personally believe it is best to end your introduction with the thesis statement.

2. You need to start your essay off in a way that is interesting. That example essay that I reverse-outlined began with a metaphor! Genius! I think starting your essay off with a metaphor or by painting a picture in the reader's mind is a great idea. There are many different types of "hooks", but I would be wary of using a question as a hook. Sometimes students get tempted to just ask their reader the prompt, and that isn't very interesting.

3. Your body paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence. A topic sentence is a little glimpse of what the paragraph was going to be about. Look at the example essay from before. Before discussing Elon Musk, the author said, "To be able to succeed economically one without a doubt needs to find their spirit for competition." That is a great topic sentence! Please do not say "This paragraph is going to be about ..."

4. Your body paragraphs must have transitions! Don't just jump from idea to idea, make sure you tidy up your thoughts.

5. You must have a conclusion -- even if it is just one sentence.

Bridge to Depth

Shona Rose has this really great activity on her website called "Bridge to Depth". This helps writers identify ways to add depth and meaning to their writing. Take a look at the process that she uses and consider how you could use it in your own writing!