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8 Planning the essay before writing it
A few minutes of planning is what keeps an essay answering the actual chosen statement all the way to its final paragraph, rather than drifting into a prepared but unfocused response.A workable planning sequence
- Read all eight statements, choose one, and underline its exact key terms.
- Write a one-sentence THESIS: your position on the statement, as a full claim, not a topic.
- List 3-4 technique-driven moments from the text supporting that thesis, each with the specific technique and effect already in mind.
- For each, note in one phrase what WIDER idea it will connect to at the end of the paragraph.
- Only then start writing the introduction.
Write the thesis before the introduction, not as part of it
Drafting the thesis sentence separately, before starting the introduction itself, forces it to exist as a genuine, testable claim — rather than emerging vaguely somewhere in the first paragraph's prose.What the plan should leave you with
- A one-sentence thesis you could recite without looking at the paper.
- 3-4 moments, each already paired with a technique, an effect, and a wider idea.