Have You Memorized the Templates?

Introduction (3 to 4 minutes)
1. Hook
  1. General statement about the topic that doesn’t give away our thesis or our reasons
2. Shift to the prompt
  1. Bridge that connects the hook and thesis
3. THESIS
  1. I recommend doing either the mostly agree or mostly disagree
4. Outline
  1. Necessary. I see a lot of people skip this.
  2. Tells the grader or the reader how many body paragraphs we have
  3. …for the following two reasons, though I do concede that…
Body Paragraph 1 (6 minutes)
1. Transition word of some sort
  1. First, Firstly, First of all, The first reason
2. Rephrase the thesis
3. REASON #1
  1. Use the word “because”
4. Example #1
  1. For example, To illustrate
5. (Example #2)
  1. Good for word count.
  2. Prevents storytelling
  3. Further develops your ideas – makes it more persuasive
6. Commentary / Development
  1. You have to develop your idea
  2. You have to explain why your reason is even important. Why should we care?
  3. Why should I care that I have consistent energy throughout the day?
    1. Even if it’s obvious, you still need to include 2 or 3 sentences to develop this idea.
Body Paragraph 2
1. Exact same thing as above, except…
  1. Your transition word Secondly, In addition
  2. I think that’s the only difference
Concession Paragraph (5 to 6 minutes)
1. Very important transition word – a contrast transition word
  1. However, In contrast, Nevertheless
2. No need to rephrase thesis (we’re no longer supporting it in this paragraph)
3. CONCESSION
  1. However, I do concede that people in certain situations should eat either fewer or more than three meals a day.
4. Example #1
  1. Give an example of people who should eat fewer than three meals a day.
5. (Example #2)
  1. Give an example of people who should eat more than three meals a day.
6. Commentary / Development
  1. It could even just be one sentence
Conclusion (1 to 2 minutes)
1. Transition word that indicates you’re wrapping it up
  1. In conclusion, To sum up, In summary…
  2. DON’T SAY FINALLY
2. Rephrase the thesis
3. Reference our outline in some way

GRE Writing

The Issue Essay

Essay Examples