One major challenge of completing a longer research essay is creating an essay that is cohesive. One concept we have briefly discussed in class (specifically with the Essay II assignment) is the notion of a ‘through-line’. Essays that are focused on a single specific issue will be better set up to achieve this cohesiveness and have a through-line. It is also something that can be achieved while planning your specific points within the essay.
One writing exercise to find & test a through-line is called a ‘skeleton exercise’. Creating a ‘skeleton’ to your paper allows you to plan for main points that seem to connect and follow a logical order. It is also an opportunity to make sure you are meeting the expectations of the assignment itself. A successful skeleton exercise should also form the foundation of your outline as the points presented in a ‘skeleton’ can form the main points (topic sentences) of your outline.
For this assignment, please use this Part I Skeleton Exercise.docx
Settings and complete a skeleton of 5-7 points you will present (each representing a potential paragraph) in Part I (Part 1 of Research Assignment Update.pptxSettings ) of your research essay.
Here is an Example Part I Skeleton Exercise.docx
Settings to help guide your work (note only the first 3 have commentary on source use – each point in your skeleton should have such information).
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