Essays-body-order

When writing an essay, which of your points should be first, which second, and which last?

Great question.

Research shows that people remember what they read LAST the best. They also remember what they read FIRST pretty well, but they tend to forget or muddle what they read in the MIDDLE.

In order for your essay (timed or not) to leave a strong impression of well-supported, well-written writing, you want to put your ideas in B, C, A order.

In other words, put your body paragraph with the BEST evidence, the BEST writing and the BEST developed ideas in the LAST BODY PARAGRAPH slot. Put your SECOND-BEST paragraph at the BEGINNING of the body, and put your WEAKEST paragraph hidden in the MIDDLE.

If you have more than three body paragraphs (like in a lawyer's brief or psychologist's report), you want to follow the same idea. Use B, C, E, D, A order, or some such. Just remember to put the best last, the second-best first, and hide the weaker stuff in the middle.

1. Your body paragraphs should be in the same order as the points in the "forecast" portion of your introduction paragraph. 2. You have to know which paragraph will have the best EVIDENCE and WRITING before you get to the body...so you need to go over in your mind AND on your outline the evidence for each of your points and ask yourself, "Which one of these am I going to rock [this is your A paragraph] and which one am I worried about [C paragraph]?"
 * HERE'S THE HARD PART: YOU HAVE TO PLAN!**