6. Write your essay. Write a separate paragraph for each major idea. Make sure each paragraph starts
with a topic sentence. Add specific details from the text to support the topic sentence. Refer to your
outlines. Be sure to organize your ideas chronologically. Connect your ideas with transitions.
Introduction:
• provides background information about your story: author’s name, title of the story, name of the main character,
the story’s setting, and the conflict the main character faces
• states the thesis
Body:
• one to four paragraphs
• shows the key events in the development of the story’s theme
Conclusion:
• restates the character traits discussed in the essay
• explains and summarizes the theme (what the main character has learned / what the author is trying to tell us)