Using a Skeleton to Write Your Essays

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When given an essay to write, the easiest way to write it, or at least to give yourself a kick in the behind to get going on it, is to start out by creating a “skeleton” or a preliminary outline. When you create a skeleton, most of the work of the essay is already done; the rest is simply filler.

To start a skeleton you first want to write your THESIS STATEMENT. The thesis statement is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of your essay! This is the statement that lets the reader know exactly what they will be reading or learning about. If you have the thesis statement wrong, you might as well throw your whole essay out the window. It is also EXTREMELY important that you stick to exactly what you stated in your thesis statement throughout the entire essay. You do not want to make a thesis statement by saying, “This is what I’m going to be talking about,” and then jump all over the place and never really talk about what you said were going to talk about in the first place. That is the first sign of a bad essay and one of the first things your prof is going to notice. So again, make your thesis informative, concise, and to the point and DO NOT STRAY from that thesis statement.

I’ll give you an example of a good thesis statement. Say you were to write an essay on different literary devices that author’s use to bring their point across in a creative form. My thesis statement would be something like this: Many author’s use the help of literary devices, such as imagery, symbolism, allusion, and  other elements to convey their point and help their readers understand the importance of their writing. I would stick to exactly what I stated in the thesis statement as I write the paper. I would not stray to talk about the bio of the author or how I personally felt about the works of writing by certain authors. I would simply stick to talking about the use of literary devices and their importance in works of literature or writing. I know that it might seem dry and you may really really want to add your own personal input into one of these essays, but the fact is most profs are not really interested in your opinion on the subject. If you inject your own opinion, it will look like you are straying away from your point, which will lower your grade in the end. If this is a personal essay, aka not a research paper, simply an opinion paper, then here is your chance to go all out with your witty anecdotes and personal opinions.

Now back to the skeleton. I am using the skeleton outline in this examle for research papers, but it is a universal tool and will also work on personal papers too. After your thesis statement, you need to write your thesis paragraph or INTRODUCTORY paragraph. The introductory paragraph ties in with your thesis and it is basically an explanation or going in a little deeper about your subject. Your last statement in the paragraph should be a smooth transition into the next paragraph. Do try to avoid using sentences like “Now I’m going to talk about such and such”, or, “In the next paragraph I will discuss so and so.”  These type of transitionary statements appear weak and manufactured. You still want to have voice in your paper– just don’t overrun it with personal opinions. In research papers avoid the use of any “I’s, “We’s,” and You’s”. To do so assumes something about the audience reading the paper, and there should be no assumptions in a formally written essay.

Once you get into your BODY PARAGRAPHS, you want to again write a “mini thesis,” or reiterate what you will be mentioning in that particular paragraph before going into it. Then you want to have at least two points to back up what you mentioned in the paragraph. You always need valid JUSTIFICATION in your essays or else it will seem as if you are just blowing steam. Again, end the paragraph with a transition into the next and continue on repeating the process until you have completed all your body paragraphs and you are finally at your last paragraph!

Your final paragraph is a synopsis for what you said in your thesis, but use a restated version of your thesis. This paragraph is your summary and should provide some insightful words for the reader. REMIND your audience, briefly, of what they learned by reading your paper. Finally end the paragraph with your RESTATED THESIS–  this is to back up your original thesis and tie up the loose ends to make a pretty little package: Your completed essay.

To follow is an example of a skeleton using a 5-paragraph essay format, but you can use this skeleton with 3- paragraphs, 6- paragraphs, or 10- paragraphs. It doesn’t matter, just modify it to what ever you need. Also remember that you never have to stick to a 3- or 5- paragraph essay format. Use however many paragraphs you need to explain your thesis throughly.

Here is my example of an essay skeleton. Use it and Love it!

Thesis Statement:

Write down the full thesis statement, one you could use in your rough draft. Remember the thesis statement MAKES the essay! You don’t need to write out the full opening paragraph just yet, but do write your transition statement for the first body paragraph of the essay.
Transition Statement:

Body Paragraph 1:
Intro Statement

Point 1:  You can have as many points as you want in your body paragraphs, but the idea of a skeleton is not to go into tons of detail, simply put down a few words to remind you of your point.
Point 2:
Transition statement:

Body Paragraph 2:
Intro statement

Point 1:
Point 2:
Transition statement:

Body Paragraph 3: ( Are you seeing a pattern?)
Intro Statement

Point 1:
Point 2:
Transition Statement

Closing Paragraph:
Intro Statement

Restated Thesis: This should also be a fully thought out statement like the Thesis Statement and written out in full as well.

You are now done your Skeleton– see how easy it is to write your essay now!  You can thank me for my brillant outline of how to construct an essay skeleton as soon as you get that “A” on your paper.