- 1). Write an assertion that echoes your essay's thesis. Make your assertion one sentence long and argumentative. If, for example, you are going to write on the topic of global warming, consider using a simple assertion that says something like this: "Global warming is a significant problem for the United States because it has damaged our fragile atmosphere." Your assertion will vary, of course, depending on the exact argument you wish to make.
- 2). Cite any evidence that relates directly to your initial argument. This evidence must directly follow the initial one-sentence assertion, and should illustrate how that assertion is true or worth considering. Consider the following example assertion+evidence on the same topic of global warming:
[ASSERTION] -> Global warming is a significant problem for the United States because it has damaged our fragile atmosphere. [EVIDENCE] -> According to Bill Smith, nearly "12 million tons of pollutants are expelled into the atmosphere every day" (234). What makes this disturbing is that, of these millions of tons of pollutants, almost "two-thirds of them become trapped in the upper atmosphere, effectively warming the air around the planet" (235). Sarah Stanly adds to this when she argues that "these pollutants by themselves have caused our planet's temperature to increase by nearly 1 degree Celsius over the past 10 years" (34).
Notice that each of these citations is properly cited (in this case using MLA citation format) and each citation flows grammatically from the first to the next. - 3). Write your analysis. In a paragraph of between four and six sentences long, expand upon your initial assertion by drawing the reader back to the evidence you just shared. Continuing with our global warming example, the assertion+evidence would be followed by the analysis:
[[ANALYSIS] -> What makes these statistics troubling are the fact that the United States is on the brink of total ecological disaster. Without significant change to our use of fossil fuels and our treatment of emissions, our country and even the entire globe could face serious economic, political, and environmental consequences. The burning of fossil fuels in the form of petroleum and coal has harmed our atmosphere by releasing toxic chemicals into the air and increasing the overall temperature of the planet. This has both harmful long-term and short-term consequences for our country and the people who inhabit it. This pollution is harmful in the short term by hurting the general health of those who breathe polluted air. More troubling by far, however, are the long-term harms of continual pollution: rising temperatures, failed crops, decreased rainfall and social unrest caused by an increased struggle over the planet's natural resources. It is clear that the United States must take this threat seriously if it hopes to overcome these potentially devastating problems.
In the above example paragraph, the analysis reaffirms the initial assertion by expanding upon the evidence and analyzing how these statistics are alarming. Added to this, there is a short, one-sentence transition sentence between the two paragraphs that moves the reader into the follow-up analysis. When citing a source in the evidence paragraph, explain how the sources are valid and how the sources prove the argument within the analysis paragraph. Avoid wandering off topic in the analysis paragraph; make sure it directly relates to the assertion and evidence you just shared with the reader.