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Writing Developing Your First Draft

After you have organized all your details, you’re ready to write your essay. Use your list or outline and follow the suggestions below.

Beginning 🟪 To get the readers involved, your first paragraph should say something interesting or surprising about your subject. It should also include a focus statement that names the main idea of your essay.

Middle 🟪 The middle paragraphs should include lots of facts, figures, and examples that support your focus sentence. Each paragraph should develop a key supporting detail about the topic. Consider adding a drawing or photograph if that would make part of your explanation easier to follow.

Ending 🟪 The final paragraph should summarize the main points covered in the essay. It should also remind the readers of the importance of the topic and help them understand it better.