The North and South Are Fighting—GB Favor

The North and the South fought the Civil War for many reasons; some of them were the same, and some of them were different.

LOL, I bet you thought this was going to be an essay about the Civil War. Even if it was, I wouldn’t start a paper out that way, because I’m pretty sure at this point, having attended Dr. Fullman’s “How to Write a Great Thesis” discussion three times now, he would probably scoff, jeer, and post pictures of such an absurd introduction to his secret Instagram page for his colleagues to scoff and jeer at as well.

All that being said, I am not writing about the Civil War today, but about one key point that I took away from our discussion on writing a solid, well-rounded essay.

When writing an essay, one of the first things we should consider is our audience and how we can effectively grab their attention, hold their attention, and leave them feeling satisfied or compelled at the end. The structure of the first paragraph is crucial when it comes to gaining the readers’ attention; if the first paragraph is well-written, the reader will want to read on. If not, the reader will likely lose interest. The introductory paragraph should first contain a sentence that acts as a “hook” for the readers—perhaps a question or a relatable anecdote to rouse their interest and curiosity. From there, the paragraph should begin to broaden, leading up to the forte of the introduction, the thesis statement.

A solid thesis statement should, in brevity, explain just what the reader should expect from the paper. However, something to be watchful of is revealing too much, not enough, or non-essential information to the essay. The reader does not want a book report or encyclopedia article. The reader does not want a vague, choppy explanation of what to expect. An effective thesis statement should be long and detailed enough to weave the reader into the depths of the essay, yet short enough to where they are curious as to what the entire essay has to say. (For example, if I were writing a thesis statement about thesis statements, the sentence above would be my thesis statement.)

Now, I’m only a freshman. Granted, I was an English major for seven hours (sorry, Dr. Jacobs😢), but I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about thesis statements and composing the perfect essay. I do know, however, that Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is about a woman who descends into insanity and also that Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” is a great American novel.

And that’s good enough for me