Sentence 1 – (topic sentence) – make one claim about the overall topic of the essay that relates to the thesis: Students who learn how to write well will earn better grades in most classes.

Sentence 2 – explain why the topic sentence is true, or develop it further: This is true because most instructors assign a variety of written assignments, and depending on the class, these written assignments often encompass a large percentage of a student’s final grade.

Sentence 3 – give an example of the claim made in the topic sentence (make a "for instance" statement): For instance, all college students seeking a degree will be required to take a composition class. In this class alone, students will write five different essays.

Sentence 4 – give another example of the claim to better support it: Furthermore, other classes, such as history, psychology, nursing, etc., also require students to write multiple essays.

Sentence 5 – support the claim with even more specific information (this is where integrating an outside source can be helpful): According to John Doe, a Professor of English at Aims Community College, the average undergraduate student will write twenty-five different essays while seeking a bachelor’s degree. This number increases dramatically for students who go on to seek a graduate degree(s).

Sentence 6 – write a sentence that wraps up the paragraph (an “in conclusion” sentence): Because all students, regardless of major, will be required to compose a large number of essays, it is important that they learn how to write well.