Noting specific reasons to be thankful will help organize your essay.
Many class essays will ask writers to recall a memorable person in their lives. These types of assignments require writers to spend time thinking about their relationship with the person in order to identify and discuss specific qualities or ways the person has influenced their lives. Cheryl Glenn and Loretta Gray, editors of the "Hodges Harbrace Handbook," advise writers to "remember that writing is a form of discovering, understanding, and thinking." There are several strategies that can help writers more easily pinpoint the positive affect someone has had on their lives and write an effective essay expressing respectful gratitude.
Instructions
1. Use prewriting strategies to narrow the focus of the essay. Create a list of all the things the person has done to help. Create a cluster diagram with the person's name in the center circle, and supporting points, usually the reasons you are thankful, in surrounding circles. Free writing, which means writing everything you know about the topic as fast as you can, can also generate a lot of content. Regardless of the type of prewriting used, carefully examine the results for possible paragraph topics and to determine the overall theme of the examples.
2. Most essay writing assignments are three to four pages long, and fully developed paragraphs can be up to 2/3 page long. This simplifies essay organization, for the paper will only have room for an introduction, three or four specific reasons the writer is thankful, and a conclusion. At the end of the introduction, place a thesis statement, the sentence that tells readers what the paper is about (the person) and that contains the writer's stance (thankfulness).
3. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, which is a single sentence containing three parts --- a transitional phrase, the single topic being discussed in the paragraph, and a clear connection to the thesis's main idea. A good topic sentence might read: The first reason that I am thankful for Mr. Jones is that he always encourages me to do my best.
4. Develop paragraphs by including two or three specific examples to support any assertion made about the person. This means provide an example and analysis and/or explanation two or three times in one paragraph. A writer who is thankful for the encouragement given by Mr. Jones will name specific actions or words used by Mr. Jones and then describe or explain to readers the importance of the each behavior identified.
5. Use the conclusion to wrap up the discussion. Avoid introducing any new material; instead, restate each of the reasons given in the paper to be thankful to the person being written about. Make a strong final analysis of what the person's actions mean to you and look forward to the future by anticipating how the person might come to positively influence others. Remember to restate how thankful you are to know the person.
6. Put the paper away for a few hours. This allows the paper to be read later with new eyes. Because errors will distract readers from appreciating the depth of your gratitude, always carefully read the paper to double check the accuracy of all spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics. Reading the paper aloud will allow writers to hear mistakes in grammar and sentence structure.
