Introduction: Use an anecdote (a story or relation of an experience) in order to set the stage for your paper. This provides context in an interesting way and helps the reader relate to the content. This will also help you to introduce a problem that will be addressed throughout the paper and resolved in the conclusion.
BP 1: Provide one reason/example why this problem you’ve introduced is important.
BP 2: Use a related issue or side effect to intensify the problem.
BP 3: Here, you may choose to either continue the anecdote that you used to begin your essay, or you might decide to incorporate a second reason why the problem you are addressing is important.
BP 4: In this paragraph, introduce some ideas that push against your own. What alternative perspective might counter your own argument?
BP 5: Here you might collaborate with the naysayers you introduced in the previous paragraph. Where is there room for compromise? How might you see their perspective and address their concerns, or offer evidence that perhaps your opinion is based in a stronger argument?
Conclusion: In the conclusion, you should complete your anecdote. This is the time when you can finally introduce the heart of your argument. In other words, your thesis will appear in this paragraph as a means of bringing together all the points you made and distilling them into one clear statement.
