Will Hochman
Idea Structure Guidelines
Writing is thinking! The idea of
idea structuring is to break down some of the initial thinking and research so
the writer has a solid plan. Instead of waiting for the night before a due date
and for fear to kick in and get you going, why not organize your ideas more
carefully earlier? Last minute writing is not fun to do and it often fails to
succeed. Planning and thinking about how your ideas will fit together allows
you to consider your ideas and research more powerfully before you spend a lot
of time writing the actual pages of your essay. To complete a successful idea
structure, write a paragraph of thesis thinking, a paragraph of concluding
thinking and ask yourself how they appear as beginning and ending thoughts for
your paper. (Sometimes, initial ideas for conclusions make better
introductions, but in any case, seeing these two key paragraphs as an idea unit
will help you see your whole paper more powerfully.) After you have an idea of
the beginning and ending of the essay, try to "flesh out" as many
ideas and as much research as possible in an outline. Consider how you may use
research. Even if you haven't found it yet, you can imagine where researched
support may come in handy. Consider also how to include required sources in
your outline. Try to make your outline as detailed as possible. Sometimes
writers forget good ideas and the purpose of the outline is to quickly capture
as many ideas as possible. Finally, list your possible sources and list them in
MLA style. This will enable you to quickly compose your Works Cited list
because you have already checked MLA style, and more important, listing your
sources will help you see how much research you can use or may need to do. Idea
structures must be word processed and given substantial time and effort.
The following explanations of
thesis, conclusion, outline, and sources should guide you through this initial
writing stage. Please use the links for further explanation and guidance.
THESIS
When considering a research
thesis, it makes sense to call it a working thesis or research question because
you may learn something from your research and critical thinking that makes you
able to develop and revise your original thesis. A thesis states your main
topic idea and lets readers know how you will shape your thinking about the
topic. A good thesis statement articulates a carefully worded, focused, idea.
Refresh your thesis thinking and read about composing a good thesis in The Everyday Writer and
at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_thesis.html
for more insights about thesis composing. When considering theses in your idea
structures, try to use the following critical questions.
Has the writer written a complete
sentence that does more than announce a topic? Can you suggest active verbs to
improve the sentence?
Does the thesis generate interest? Can you tell the writer
what you found interesting and why?
Does the thesis make you want to
know more? Can you tell the writer in what direction your curiosity is going?
Does the thesis begin to specify
what you may learn from reading more? Can you tell the writer what specific
details the thesis suggests that the writer will probably cover?
Is the thesis too broad or too
narrow for a college essay? Can you suggest helpful and creative ways to shift
the emphasis of the thesis?
CONCLUSION
A good conclusion should do more
than repeat thesis thinking. It must answer a thesis and attempt to send the reader out of the essay
thinking further about your key ideas. Simply repeating thesis thinking stops
readers. Why should they read an entire essay to get to the point they began
with? Offering final insights, issuing ongoing challenges, reconsidering key
concerns in a changed light, or arguing for continuing study are active ways to
think about finding good concluding ideas. Although your conclusion in the idea
structure will probably change as you learn more through research and revising,
the idea of writing a possible conclusion helps writers imagine how ideas may
be written. For a helpful link on thesis writing, concluding, and structuring
your academic ideas, go to http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/endings.htm
. When considering conclusions in your idea structures, try to use the
following critical questions.
Does the conclusion do more than
repeat the thesis?
Can your readers critically and
creatively understand how your conclusion answers your thesis and continues the
thinking you started?
Are there holes in the logic of your conclusion that show that you need to do more idea structuring to come up with a valid answer to your thesis?
Have you set up a clear concluding
paragraph and have you phrased your conclusion strongly?
OUTLINE
When starting an essay or at some
point in your early drafts, it makes sense to organize possible thinking in an
outline because you will have to manage a number of ideas. Try to stay open to
creatively arranging ideas in your outline, as well as seeking more specific
points to explore in support of your ideas. Going to a helpful instructional page like http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlin.html
can give you some more insights about outlining your ideas, or you check page 47 in The Everyday Writer . When considering
outlines in your idea structures, try to use the following questions.
How has the writer organized the
outline? Can you tell the writer
if you see a pattern of ideas developing from the thesis?
How do the main points in the
outline relate to the thesis idea?
Can you tell the writer if you see irrelevant ideas?
How do ideas in the outline progress? Do you see any holes in the ideas that need better transitions or additional ideas to make better sense of the essay?
As you review the outline, can you
see if any important ideas or details that are missing? Can you suggest other ideas and sources
that could support the thesis?
An online source that will explain
more about outlining as part of your drafting process can be found at:
http://www.izeon.com/writers/drft-lin.htm
POSSIBLE SOURCES LISTED IN MLA
STYLE
Part of any good essay writing
includes research. Often, students wait until the body of an essay is completed
to go back and cite sources and compose their MLA Works Cited List. This is not
a wise writing process to use. Instead, try to list sources as you find them,
and try to list them exactly as you would in your MLA style Works Cited List.
Click on http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everyday_writer/docsource/default.asp and then click on "Documenting Sources" for MLA guidance.