You are going to be fine writing your essay! That is an
interesting prompt to work with, and all you need is a little
help.
What is going to be the main idea in your essay? The
writing prompt really gives it to you, doesn't it? The idea that you shouldn't start
something you can't finish really is an important idea, and clearly, that is going to be
the main point of your paper.
So, now you have your main
idea. How are you going to support that idea? Why is it a good idea to complete things
you started? What reasons can you offer? When you think of some good reasons, for
example, maybe three reasons, you can write a thesis statement that essentially says,
"Finishing things you start is a good idea because....." Of course, you don't have to
say it just like that, and I'm sure you will find a better way to express that idea for
yourself.
A thesis statement on its own does not make an
introduction. An introduction is just like walking up to someone on the street and
leading that person into your main idea. You would not walk up to someone you didn't
know and say,"I think it's important to finish what you start." You would lead into
that idea gradually, which is what the introduction does. Place your thesis statement
at the end of your introduction.
Once you have a thesis
statement that lists the reasons that support your main idea, you have a structure for
your body paragraphs. For each reason that you give, you will have one body paragraph
that talks about just that reason. Give your body paragraph a topic sentence. And be
sure that all the sentences that follow in that paragraph give examples and details that
support your topic sentence.
Let me give you an example of
what I am talking about. If I were writing this essay, one of my reasons I think
finishing things is important is because it teaches us commitment. There are so many
examples in everyone's life that support that idea. I remember when I was young, my
mother would not let me sign up for any extracurricular activities unless I finished the
whole school year or the whole semester, whatever the time frame was. When I wanted to
take piano lessons, I had to commit to an entire year. When I wanted to join the Girl
Scouts, I had to commit to an entire school year. So these are examples that show how
that main idea taught me commitment.
Once you have one body
paragraph for each of your reasons, it's time to wrap it up in a concluding paragraph.
A conclusion should remind your reader what your main idea is and give the reader a
review of the reasons you discussed.
Once you have done all
of this, it doesn't mean you are done working. It is time to go over the essay, make
sure your introduction is smooth, make sure each body paragraph keeps a good focus, and
check to see if your conclusion has any new information, which it should not. Once that
is done, it is time to go over the essay again and proofread slowly and carefully.
Sometimes I do both of those steps twice before I feel I am truly done. And it might be
that you have to do both of those steps more than twice. Writing is a messy business,
and it is hard to get it right the first time. But you can do
this!
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