The Quality Writing Center

Essentials in Writing Themes

TITLE: The title should accurately suggest the contents of the paper.; It should attract interest without being excessively novel or cute.; It should not be too long.; Note: Do not underline the title of your own paper (to represent italics), and do not put quotation marks around it.
INTRODUCTION: The introduction should be independent of the title. No pronoun or noun in the opening sentence should depend for meaning on the title.; It should interest the reader, catch his attention.; It should properly establish the tone of the paper as serious, fanciful, humorous, ironic, or otherwise.; It should state the subject and purpose.; It should be closely related to the main topic of the theme.; It should not be too long.
BODY: The materials should be arranged in logical sequence.; Technical terms should be explained.; Paragraphs should not be choppy.; Enough space should be devoted to main ideas. Minor ideas should be subordinated.; Concrete details should be used when appropriate. Insignificant details should be omitted.
TRANSITIONS: The connections between sentences and those between paragraphs should be shown by good linking words.
CONCLUSION: The rest of this page is under construction. Check back soon!