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Writing Guide

English-speaking readers expect documents with the following organization:

Introduction
Your introduction may be one or more paragraphs. You should give your readers background information (including definitions) about your subject. You should also state your thesis (your controlling idea) clearly. You might also give an overview of the main parts of the paper.

Body
The body of the paper contains your basic information and the points of your argument.  Each paragraph in the body develops a single point in detail.  Each paragraph is connected to the one before it and the one to follow it.

Well-organized Paragraph. The organization of a paragraph reflects the organization of the essay: All paragraphs have a beginning, middle, and an end. Begin with a clear statement of the idea of the paragraph (and make it clear that this idea is connected to the thesis of the paper). Develop the pieces of the idea in logical order with the sort of information that your reader will need in order to understand your point. Then finish the paragraph with a sense of ending and a sense of connection to the next idea.

Write in complete sentences. Avoid sentence fragments.  All sentences consist of at least a subject and verb combination. 

Conclusion
Your conclusion restates the point of the paper using the insight that your reader has gained from having read the paper.  Do not simply summarize, but offer the reader an answer to the question: So what? Now what?

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