The number of words in the essay should be between 700 and 1000 words. Students should follow the “five-paragraph essay” format, which consists of three principal components:
- Introduction - The principal purpose of the introduction is to expose the thesis statement explicitly. An effective introductory paragraph usually begins with a hook to grab the reader’s attention. This might be a personal anecdote, relevant statistics, or a quote. After that, the writer should move on to a clear, one-sentence thesis statement.
- Body - A good essay usually contains roughly three body paragraphs. The first sentence of these paragraphs is known as the topic sentence and should provide an argument in favor of the thesis. Body paragraphs make use of examples, supporting evidence, statistics, and citations. To ensure continuity, you might want to use a “transition phrase” to connect different paragraphs (e.g., “moreover”, “on the other hand”, “by contrast”, “furthermore”).
- Conclusion - This paragraph should start with a “concluding transition” and briefly recap on the main arguments of the essay. Lastly, it should restate the thesis statement.
| +3 | +1.5 | +0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro and thesis statement | Clear and concise; directly related to the topic; Engaging hook. | Clear but slightly unrelated; mediocre hook. | Vague and unclear. |
| Body and topic sentences | Main argument of paragraph is identifiable and in the first sentence. | Hard to distinguish main argument | Vague and unclear. |
| Supporting evidence | Use of evidence, examples, citations, etc. | Regular use of supporting evidence. | Little to none usage. |
| Conclusion | Correct transition; recap of main arguments; restates the thesis. | Slightly unaligned with the rest of the essay. | Fails to provide closure. |
| Grammar | Free of grammatical errors. | Few grammatical errors. | Frequent grammatical errors. |
In-text citations & reference list from at least 2 external sources using the APA Format Citation: +1
Total points: 16
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