Thesis Statement and Conclusion

¶ … strong opening that catches the reader's attention. The most important thing about the first paragraph is that it must contain a clear thesis statement. The thesis statement is the point that you are proving in the rest of the essay.

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 are where you develop your ideas. Each paragraph will contain one central point that helps to support the main thesis. In each paragraph, the main point will be supported with evidence. At this point, a good is to prioritize the three main points you will use to support your argument. In the essay, they should be organized from the strongest point to the weakest. On the GED exam, the evidence that you use to support your argument may come from information provided in the prompt, or it may come from your own knowledge of the subject.

The final paragraph is the conclusion paragraph. This paragraph summarizes each of the three points from paragraphs 2-4, and then ties them to the thesis statement from the opening paragraph. The final paragraph should make the case that your points prove the thesis statement to be correct.

When you first receive the essay, the first step is to read the prompt carefully. Then, generate some thoughts before you start writing. Think about the main topic for a minute, and then devise your thesis. Now, sketch out the three supporting points. This is the basic outline of your essay.

At this point, you are ready to begin. First, write your thesis statement. Then write the three supporting paragraphs. The main core of the essay has now been created, and all the most important information is on the page. The added bonus is that now you, the writer, are familiar with all of the material in the essay.

This familiarity will help you with the next two steps. You need to write the introduction and the conclusion. The introduction usually is written first, but you can reverse these if you prefer. The introduction should grab the reader, perhaps with a story or something in the current news that relates to the subject. The most important thing is that you must remember the thesis statement. It can come at the beginning, or at the end, but should not be buried in the middle.

The final part of the writing is the conclusion. The conclusion ties the entire paper together. The main objective is to reinforce the arguments you have already made. You should not add too much to the conclusion that has not already been stated. The conclusion instead should focus on emphasizing the most important arguments from your essay, and tying them directly to the thesis.