Project 1: Building the Body of Your Essay, Composing Your Conclusion

Up to this point, you have all drafted and revised your Project 1 introductions. We've discussed how personal experiences and anecdotes help strengthen the persuasive nature of essays, and how the mixture of these, along with your claims and sources, ultimately creates an authoritative, purposeful piece of writing.

Composing the Body to Project 1
To help you compose the body (or middle paragraphs), as well as the conclusion, to your Project 1 essay, I want you to first turn to Sample Essay #1 as your primary example of what your essay should eventually look like. If you look closely, you will notice that the author is also turning to personal experiences in the body of Sample Essay #1 in order to find the answer to his/her personal literacy question. Additionally, the author is justifying all claims by making direct connections to some of the articles we have read in class. Just like in Sample Essay #1, remember to include in-text citations AND a Works Cited page that documents all of your sources. Ultimately, the body to your Project 1 essay should be the place where you seek to find the answer/s to the personal literacy question you stated in your introduction.

Composing the Conclusion to Project 1
You want to think of your conclusion as a summary to your Project 1 essay. Here are some key elements which your conclusion should contain:

1. Include a transitional word/phrase such as 'In conclusion' or 'In the end' or, as Sample #1 shows us, 'Ultimately.' These transitional phrases allow readers to understand that the essay is winding down, and that the "answers" to your research question/s will soon be re-stated and re-evaluated.
2. Next, re-state your personal literacy question from your introduction. Remind the reader what your essay sought to uncover from the very beginning.
3. Summarize the main point/s of your essay. Go through the middle paragraphs of your essay and determine which points are the most important, then re-state these in your conclusion. Evaluate these main points by asking yourself: How did these main points help me find the answer to my personal literacy question?
4. Confirm the answer/s to your personal literacy question. End your conclusion with an affirmation of your answer/s to your personal literacy question. Ask yourself: What did I learn about myself through this exploration? Did I end up with the answers I thought I would find? Or did I uncover new answers I never considered before?

In the end, this assignment is about getting to know who you are as a writer, reader, and learner, and you have all made great strides in each of these areas this semester. I look forward to reading all of your Project 1 essays!