The Best Way to Start an Essay
There’s one absolute first step in writing a good essay, starting a great proposal, and writing a book report…
Look 👏 at 👏 the 👏 prompt
I often find that the clients I work with skim the prompt, get a vague idea to “summarize the book,” and want to jump right into writing. They want to be DONE WITH IT ALREADY. They have video games to play, friends to see, and usually a lot more work to get done before tomorrow.
But how are you supposed to write a good essay, report, or proposal if you don’t know what they are asking for?!
Okay, maybe you are with me now. Maybe you’re like, “I read each word. You happy now?” Nope! I want you to engage with the prompt. Underline what you think are the keywords. No, you can’t underline every word. What is this prompt asking you to do? What kind of ~thesis statement~ is it asking for? What are the details it wants you to cover?
A quick google search for high school essay prompts brought me this prompt:
Some parents give children a weekly or monthly allowance regardless of their behavior because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible. Other parents only give children an allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly. Explain what you think parents should do and why.
What do you think the most important words are to pull out of this prompt? What is this prompt asking you to do?
Here’s how I really quickly marked up this prompt:
Some parents give children a weekly or monthly (option 1)allowance regardless of their behavior (example of a “why:” because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible). Other parents only give children an (option2) allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly.
Explain what you think parents should do and why.
After doing this, it’s really easy for me to come up with a thesis statement: “I think parents should option 1 or option 2 , because x,y,z (something like the example reason they gave) .”
Need help with writing essays?
If looking at how I marked up this prompt made you feel more hopeful about how you or your child can start an essay with more ease, sign up for a free consult to see if I can help!
We can find a solution that works specifically for your needs.
Hi, I’m Hollis, the owner of Mindful Speech.
I’m a speech-language pathologist licensed in Illinois and Colorado.
I specialize in providing speech therapy to help children, teens, and young adults to improve language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. Now offering in-person sessions in Chicago!
Learn more about me on my About Hollis page.