C What Is An Essay? WRITING FOR THE ESSAY TEST An essay is a short piece of writing. You write an essay to say what you think about a topic. The person who grades your essay will expect to find four things: 1. The central idea: the most important idea of the essay. Your whole essay will be about this idea. 2. The introduction: the first paragraph of the essay. Give the central idea in a sentence at the beginning of the introduction. 3. The body: the middle part of the essay. The body should be two or three paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain one thought about the central idea. 4. The closing: the last paragraph. In the closing, state the central idea again. You can use different words, but be sure the meaning is the same. Here is a picture to help you remember the parts of an essay. Introduction states the central idea Body: 2 or 3 paragraphs about the central idea Closing restates the central idea CHAPTER THE THREE ELEMENTS OF GOOD WRITING Knowing and using these three keys to good writing will help you get a better grade on your writing test: Focus Everything in your essay should be about your central idea. Support Give details to back up your central idea. Organization Start with the central idea. Give details. Then repeat the central idea in your closing paragraph. LESSON 1 A Good Essay Read the prompt below. Then read the essay. Check It Out The principal in your school wants to start a dress code. This dress code would require boys to wear jackets and ties two days a week. Girls would have to wear dresses or skirts. Do you agree or disagree? Our principal wants to start a dress code in our school. I think this is a very bad idea. Kids should be free to decide how they look. Junior high students need to practice making good decisions. How can we practice if the school makes every little decision for us? A dress code is unfair to kids who don't have formal clothes. A dress code will make these students feel bad twice a week. They'll feel that they don't measure up. A rule that makes people feel bad about themselves is bad. Also, dressy clothes make it hard to relax. Kids must be relaxed to do good work. For example, I can't keep my mind on homework if I'm uncomfortable. That's why I work in comfort- able clothes. I know I'll do my best work that way. A dress code will make students unhappy and uncomfortable. It definitely won't help us make decisions for ourselves. 1 2 3 4 in 16 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15