Truths+about+Good+Academic+Writing

**Bradford English Department**
The title indicates that there are standards for grade-level performance (‘truths”). We are the standard bearers. What is a “truth” about good academic writing must be true in all classrooms. It is not subjective based on individual teachers or individual students.

Essay Format We use MLA Format – headings, headers, spacing, citations, and documentation. It’s non-negotiable. Failing to know it and/or teach it is professional malpractice.

Essay Content INTRODUCTIONS
 * An introduction includes a thought-provoking //hook//, //background information// that gives the reader the context in which the argument occurs, and a clearly stated //thesis// which provides the argument of the rest of the essay
 * The quality of an essay cannot rise above the quality of its thesis

BODY SECTIONS
 * A body section must begin with a //topic sentence// (aka “tells”) that clearly connects one area of reasoning to the thesis. Without that clear connection, the body paragraph is pointless.
 * The single most important element of a body section (besides a topic sentence) is //evidence// (aka “shows”). There are two types of evidence: //anecdotal// (as told in the writer’s own words) and //direct// (quoted material from a credible source). Direct evidence (quotations, facts and/or statistics from research) is as essential to an argument as physical evidence (DNA, finger prints, murder weapon) is to a murder prosecution. Without direct evidence, the argument fails just as a prosecutor will fail to convict without physical evidence.
 * Direct evidence must be accompanied by clear, insightful explanations of what the evidence “means” to the argument. This happens __throughout a body paragraph, not just at the end.__
 * Body sections must follow some //organizational principle// if they are going to communicate coherently to the reader. Examples of organizational principles are chronology, points of comparison, literary elements, characters or character traits, and elements of a causal chain. Every essay should have an explicit organizational principle. The appropriate //transitional expressions// for an essay depend upon the chosen organizational principle.

CONCLUSIONS
 * Conclusions of brief essays __do not__ need a repeat of all of the main arguments. Instead, they should contain a brief emphasis of the central argument only. Just as essays begin with clever, thought-provoking hooks, they should end with clever-thought provoking //clinchers.//

STYLE
 * //Diction:// Words are the vehicles that carry meaning.
 * Poor word choice = poor meaning
 * //Sentences:// Sentences are the vehicles by which complete thoughts are shared.
 * Poor sentences = poor thinking