ESSAY AND COMPOSITION HANDOUTS

General Writing guidelines

• General Writing Guidelines: The DO NOTS and Formatting a Paper
• Writing an Effective Thesis Statement
• Creating an Effective Outline
• Writing an Effective Introduction
• Writing an Effective Conclusion
• Using Transitions

Guidelines for Writing Essays

• 1-3-1 Essay Guidelines
• Methods of Essay Development
• Structuring an Illustration (Exemplification) Essay
• Structuring an Argumentative (Persuasive) Essay
• Structuring a Process Analysis Essay  
• Structuring a Narration Essay
• Structuring a Comparison-Contrast Essay
• Structuring a Cause-and-Effect Essay  
• Structuring a Descriptive Essay
• Structuring a Division-and-Classification Essay

Students may also wish to visit Principles of Composition.
To review sample essays, select the essay type of choice from the list provided under “Patterns of Composition.”

Guidelines for Literary Analysis

• Analyzing a Short Story
• Analyzing a Novel
• Understanding Poetry
• Analyzing Poetry
• The Literary Present