Private Tutor Sat Writing 2013-2014 Prep Course

139

Let’s put an entire Body Paragraph together:

Question: Are we born with our identity, or is identity something we

create ourselves?

• Another example in which true identity is shown
  through one’s actions is in the novel, Percy
  Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
  The protagonist, Percy, is the son of a human and the
  Greek god Poseidon. It is revealed early on that the
  lightning bolts of Zeus, the supreme ruler of the gods,
  have been stolen, and Zeus blames Poseidon’s son
  Percy, thinking that Poseidon is trying to usurp his
  place as king of the gods. Percy, however, embarks on
  a quest to retrieve the bolts from the real enemy of
  the gods, Luke. Percy succeeds and returns the bolts
  to Zeus, who changes his view of Percy. Through his
  heroic actions, Percy reveals that his true identity is
  not the one given to him at birth, but the one he
  created himself.

We have a basic Transition

but it is really all you need.

Notice how he reiterates his

thesis (we create identity

through our actions).

Remember to always underline

book titles. I would like it

better if he had included the

author: Another example in

which true identity is shown

through one’s actions is in

Rick Riordan’s novel, Percy

Jackson & the Olympians:

The Lightning Thief.

Fabulous level of detail.

He goes into just enough

background information and

only shares details from the

book that support his thesis.

Thesis Connection

Examples of Conclusions:

Question: Do we need adversity in order to truly understand ourselves?

• Adversity strengthens our resolve and highlights aspects
  of our personality that we may wish to foster, or
  squelch. As witnessed by the fortitude of survivors
  such as Christopher Reeve and Helen Keller, adversity
  can manifest amazing bravery in those who have the
  courage to embrace it. May we likewise look adversity
  squarely in the eyes and welcome it the next time it
  comes calling.

Restatement of Thesis

Relist of Examples – even

better, she connected it to her

thesis.

Final Thought

Conclusion....................................................................................

There are three components to your Conclusion: Restate your Thesis, Relist your Examples, and add a
Final Thought. The Final Thought shows that you understand the problem at hand in a greater context than
simply the scenario being addressed.

It is imperative that your essay has a conclusion. If you are running out of time and need to sacrifice the
thoroughness of your 2nd or 3rd body paragraph, then do so for the sake of the conclusion. If you only have
time for a one-sentence conclusion, then so be it. A one-sentence conclusion is better than no conclusion.