School of Literature, Communication, and Culture

Writing the Essay

                                                                                                                                         List of Approved Essay Topics   

The Body Paragraphs

Most successful Regents' essays include two to four body paragraphs, each of which develops one of the points supporting your thesis. These paragraphs should make up the bulk of the paper, and the evidence and arguments you provide in these paragraphs in support of your thesis should be very detailed and specific.

Main Elements of Body Paragraphs:

For this kind of essay, start each body paragraph with a topic sentence clearly stating what supporting point (a reason, a cause, an effect, etc.) the paragraph will develop. Try to be subtle rather than mechanical and repetitious. If you have outlined your main points already in your introduction, be sure not to repeat them word for word in the topic sentences in your body paragraphs.

Use transitions in the topic sentences, but, if possible, avoid "first," "second" and "third."

After the topic sentence, develop each paragraph with a substantial amount of specific supporting detail and evidence. Think of your topic sentence as a claim. Once you make that claim, you need to support and/or prove it. Try following these steps:

1. State Your Claim
2. Provide reasons why the claim is valid/sound
3. Offer proof -- examples, facts, and/or observations that support your claim and illustrate your point
4. Explain why and how the claim supports your thesis statement

Many times, you can supply convincing proof by providing one or more of the following:

• specific details
• an expanded example
• a series of closely-related short examples
• a narration of an event
• an analysis of a process
• a cause-effect sequence
• a classification scheme
• a definition
• a comparison/ contrast
• a detailed description
• or a combination of these techniques.

Try to end each body paragraph with a concluding sentence that ties the paragraph's details, examples, reasons, etc. to its topic sentence and your overall thesis. You will want your readers to understand why and how your arguments in the body paragraph support your thesis statement. Do NOT end with a sentence repeating your topic sentence.

Avoid body paragraphs full of vague generalizations. Instead, give your readers specific details, examples, and reasons. Specific details will always create a more convincing argument, so use them!

Two sample student paragraphs (one vague, one specific):

Topic: Is a college degree less meaningful today than in the past?

VAGUE Response: A second area which shows the importance of a degree is that of the high technical aspects of society today. As more advances are made in every field concerning living today, jobs are requiring that people obtain more knowledge and technical know-how. A college degree should insure that more knowledge has been obtained; thus the person is more prepared for his job. Again, higher paying jobs such as those available in the professional fields are those same jobs that are more technically orientated. Professional people need to acquire a college degree before they can even consider becoming professionals. Again experience is just not enough.

SPECIFIC Response: First of all, the sheer number of degree candidates today seems to cheapen the accomplishment of working one's way through four years of classes. In my parent's day a diploma was a rare and treasured thing; in the mill towns of west Georgia it was a virtual assurance of financial security. Today, the same area of the state is overrun with degree holders, many of whom work in the same pulpwood mills or textile "sweat shops" as their unschooled parents. The advent of the community college "diploma mills" is largely responsible for this phenomenon; by providing almost everyone a chance for a low-cost education, these colleges have flooded the area with men and women whose degrees make them the rule, rather than the exception, when they begin job-hunting.

Sample Well-Developed Paragraphs from Successful Student Essays:

Topic: Is the traditional role of fathers changing? Discuss.

Response: It is true that fathers are becoming more involved with the lives of their children. Many even find happiness in munching homemade cookies with other parents at PTA meetings. Discussing school lunch menus is pure bliss to some. It is the changing attitudes toward traditionally male (and female) roles that have facilitated the coming-out of these "closet mothers," and it deserves a great "Hurrah!" More and more articles and papers are being written on the impact of fathers' active participation in their children's development. There are classes and seminars on not only "How to be better parents" but also on how to be a better father. Fathers are beginning to realize that it's all right to be involved with the PTA, to play with their kids on the weekdays, to help with homework and fix lunches. They find it doesn't hurt to ask if the children have taken their Fred Flintstones and Barney Rubbles, to change the baby's diapers, or give baths.

Topic: What advice would you give to an entering freshman? Discuss.

Response: Granted that the dorm has some surprises, the real shock comes from the dining hall. Where else can you get the same meatloaf three weeks in a row? To eat in the dining halls you need only two things -- antacid and a very vivid imagination. By the time spring quarter rolls around, you should be addicted to either Rolaids or Pepto-Bismol. Both are quite effective and are frequently on sale at Kroger. The vivid imagination is the part I have trouble with. It's quite difficult to believe that they use fresh chicken every day. We have fried chicken on Monday, soggy fried chicken on Tuesday, Italian chicken hidden fathoms deep in tomato sauce on Wednesday, and the ultimate "Chicken Surprise" on Thursday. Friday of course is reserved for fish.

Topic: In general, do movies and/or television provide a realistic picture of life in America? Explain.

Response: Suppose you are from a foreign country and your television set happens to receive American programming. One day while changing channels you happen upon an episode of The Bold and The Beautiful. Obviously, you would have the misconception that everyone in America is untrustworthy, manipulating and rich. Kristen has just married Clarke and Clarke happens to be the father of an unborn child. Of course, Kristen is not carrying this unborn child, nor is she aware of it. Everyone else on the show is either having an affair or calculating some devious plan in pursuit of greed. No one cares about anyone else, only his or her own pleasure.

Additional Information and Resources:

Essay Section

Organizing the Essay
Developing a Thesis Statement
Writing the Essay Introduction Part I
Writing the Essay Introduction Part II
Developing the Body Paragraph
Writing the Conclusion

Reading Section

Description
Practice Reading Test with explanation of the answers

General

Commonly Asked Questions & Answers

Georgia State University: Regents' Exam Program General Info    

Georgia Tech Registrar's Office: Frequently Asked Questions

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Please direct any other questions regarding the Regents' Exam or RGTR 1098/RGTE 1099 to

Dr. Scott Banville or Dr. Shannon Dobranski.