Structure of an Essay

One of the first things new college students need to learn is how to structure an analytical essay. Here is a worksheet that I use in my first writing workshop in first-year courses. The purpose of the worksheet is to show the connection between thesis statement and topic sentences and to demonstrate the three elements of an analytical body paragraph: point, evidence and analysis. Talented high school students come to college skilled in making points and finding evidence to prove those points. College teachers want more than that: they want the student to analyze the points and evidence. This worksheet enables first-year students to envision they way in which points, evidence and analysis work together to create a solid analytical college-level essay.