THE FOUR BASICS OF GOOD WRITING

1.       Considers the needs and knowledge of the audience

2.       Fulfills the writer’s purpose

3.       Includes a clear, definite point

4.       Provides support that explains or proves the main point

AUDIENCE

The person or people who will read what you write.

PURPOSE

Your reason for writing.

PARAGRAPH

The three necessary parts of a paragraph are the topic sentence, the body, and the concluding sentence.

                TOPIC SENTENCE – states the main point.

                THE BODY – supports (shows, explains, or proves) the main point and is generally three to six sentences.

                CONCLUDING SENTENCE – reminds readers of the main point and often makes an observation.

ESSAY

An essay has at least four paragraphs and has three necessary parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

THE INTRODUCTION – states the main point (thesis) in a strong statement and is at least one paragraph long.

THE BODY – supports (shows, explains, or proves) the main point (thesis) and is generally two to six paragraphs.

THE CONCLUSION – reminds readers of the main point (thesis) and summarizes and reinforces the support in the body paragraphs. It should be at least one paragraph long.