What is a Thesis Statement?
A sentence that states the purpose of the essay. A thesis statement should be: found at the end of the introduction, debatable, not a fact, one sentence long, and focused on answering the prompt or question.
What is a Topic Sentence?
The first sentence in a body paragraph that states the main idea of the paragraph; A sentence that connects the main point of the paragraph with the main point of the whole paper (thesis statement).
What is an Assertion?
An assertion is a further breakdown of what you are claiming. An assertion is an original idea that puts forth your insight about your topic, rather than a mere repetition of a fact.
An assertion:
- States a clear reason that the topic sentence is true;
- Cannot be the same statement as the topic sentence;
- Is provable;
- Works in conjunction with other assertions to support the topic sentence
What is solid Evidence?
Evidence helps to prove the assertion is true. It offers data or specific information (research, examples from your book, results of an experiment, etc.) that is summarized, paraphrased, or directly quoted from a reputable source.
What is an Elaboration?
This piece of your writing explains how the evidence proves the assertion; it provide the connection between the idea and the proof. begin with “This shows”).
What is a Clincher Sentence?
The last sentence in a body paragraph that reinforces the idea in your topic sentence, but it does not repeat it. This sentence may also aid in transitioning into your next thesis idea/paragraph.
Click here to print an Introduction Paragraph model
Click here to print a Body Paragraph model
Click here to print a Single Paragraph model
Click here to print a Conclusion model
Below is what the format in which a body paragraph should be composed:
