After you write your thesis, ask yourself a thesis question such as "why" or "what" or "how." You must be able to generate three answers to this question in order to develop the essay map and the body of the paper. In fact, those three answers become the topic sentences for your body paragraphs.
The essay map sets up the body paragraphs in the same order in which they appear in the paper. Each A, B, and C idea becomes its own topic sentence for the body paragraphs.
TOPIC + VERB + PRECISE OPINION + because of A, B, and C.
or Because of A, B, and C, TOPIC + VERB + PRECISE OPINION. |
Topic |
This is your idea, usually expressed in one word or one short phrase. Make sure your idea is a limited subject. |
Verb |
This is usually some form of the verb to be: am, is, are, was, were. Action verbs will work as well. |
Precise Opinion |
Your clearly stated opinion; omit all 1st person references from your opinion as they are unnecessary. For example, you need not write "I think" or "I feel." As this is your essay, the reader will assume that the information presented is what you think or feel. Eliminating 1st person pronouns also decreases the likelihood that you will write an announcement. |
Because of |
This word introduces your three reasons: A, B, and C. You may also use words like with, by, through, or when. |
A, B, and C |
The three reasons that demonstrate why the opinion is true...or three reasons that support the opinion. |
Grammar Point: Creating an essay map is a wonderful way to organize the essay and help your reader follow your points; however, they can be confusing when the sentence doesn't follow parallel structure. Follow this link for an explanation about parallel structure: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/623/01/.
Proceed to the next page for examples.