Working Thesis Statement, Outline, & Starting Draft

Instructions: Every powerful essay starts with an idea that grows and improves over time.

You are well on your way to discovering the power of your own writing! You've already completed your Prewriting & Research Packet and received helpful feedback from your instructor.

Now you will use that feedback to write your thesis statement and outline. You'll start drafting your persuasive essay in a new Word document. Writing Activity 2 has four sections to complete:

1.) Working Thesis Statement

2.) Outline

3.) Starting Draft and

4.) Feedback Reflection.

It may seem like a lot, but just take them one at a time. When you finish all four, you will have declared your position and drafted the main body of your essay.

Section 1 Working Thesis Statement This is a brief, one or two sentence statement summarizing the main idea of your essay.

Use your Supporting Points Graphic Organizer from Week 3 to develop your working thesis statement.

ASSIGNMENT

Section 2 Outline Create an outline based on your Prewriting & Research Packet and your Working Thesis Statement.

This outline is the roadmap for your final essay. It can be in topic, sentence, or paragraph format. Use brackets [ ] to indicate sections that you need to research, develop, or restructure.

Outline Structure:

I. Introduction Ideas for hooking your audience Working thesis statement Relevant background information

II. Supporting Points Include 3-5 supporting points in your essay to flesh out your argument. Apply the three audience appeals. Logic: What is your reasoning and why? Credibility: What evidence are you using? How are you building credibility? Emotion: What emotional appeals are you making and how? (e.g., personal stories, quotes, etc.) Consider including a counter perspective. Anticipating arguments against your thesis will strengthen your position.

III. Conclusion Summarize your argument. Rephrase your thesis statement. Include the benefits of taking action and the consequences of inaction. Call to action: What do you want your audience to do?

Section 3 Starting Draft Now that you have an outline of your ideas, it's time to start building your essay by adding the "meat to the bones." You'll expand your thoughts into sentences and paragraphs, using the best Supporting Points you've found to back up your argument.

Your goal is to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively and to identify where you have gaps (areas that need more information, supporting points, or analysis). There will be plenty of time to revise your writing as you continue to do research and find additional sources.

For for now, just get started. For each supporting paragraph, write a topic sentence that tells your reader what the paragraph will be about. Cite your sources in the text and continue updating your reference list as you find additional resources.

Edit Your Work: Run your Word document through Grammarly and fix any errors. Check Your Formatting: Include a cover page, page numbers, and indented paragraphs.

Use 12-point Times New Roman font. Section 4 Feedback Reflection List the feedback you received from your instructor on Writing Activity 1: Prewriting & Research Packet. Explain how you used the feedback to improve your thesis, outline, and draft. Describe how this feedback will help you with future writing.