Posted: January 14th, 2016

Write your introduction. Your introduction should contain an attention getter that draws the reader in. You can start with a dramatic incident, such as:

W. E. B. DuBois invites all readers, regardless of ethnic background, to consider his proposition that the “color-line” will constitute the “problem of the Twentieth Century.”Write a formal, 5-paragraph essay in response to this question. Base your answer on your own observations – as well as on your assigned reading this week and next.

Skim through DuBois’ essay and the assigned readings. Take notes that focus on the topic of “color-line” as the “problem of the Twentieth Century.” Highlight or copy sections you may want to quote, summarize or paraphrase in your own writing.

Draft a thesis for your essay. A thesis states your main idea in a sentence. A sample thesis (which you are free to use) might be:

W. E. B. Dubois claims that the “color-line” has and will continue to be America’s Number 1 problem, which may be as seen in or disputed by the (chose to agree or disagree) sample writings by ____, ____, and ______ (insert 1, 2, or 3 writers from your assigned reading.)

Create a brief but accurate outline for a 5-paragraph essay. Your outline should include:

Introduction (and thesis)

Three body paragraphs

Conclusion

Be sure to include a topic sentence for each of the 3 body paragraphs as well as 1 or 2 supporting ideas you plan to address in the paragraph.Remember that the topic sentences should tie back to the thesis statement. Each supporting point should support and further develop the idea of the topic sentence for the paragraph. Include at least 3 quotes from the readings in the overall outline.

Write your introduction. Your introduction should contain an attention getter that draws the reader in. You can start with a dramatic incident, such as: “Yesterday 2,000 protesters marched in Jena, Louisiana, in defense of black students who had been unfairly treated by the law.” And so on. The scene should flow into your thesis, which becomes the last sentence in your introduction. The introduction should be a solid paragraph of 4 to 5 sentences.

Combine the introduction and thesis and outline into one document. Place the introduction and thesis on first page and the outline on following page(s).