It's almost time for the final exam!

I can't believe that final exams start this Friday! That means that there are only three more classes before the academic writing and grammar final exam. However, I'm not worried at all. I've even come up with a 13 step plan for my students to write a great short essay on their final exam. Here it is:

Thirteen Steps to Writing a Short Essay

Step One:
Brainstorm three or four supporting ideas for the topic.
Step Two:
Brainstorm three or four supporting points for each of the supporting ideas from Step One. Brainstorm facts, details, statistics, anecdotes, examples, elaborations, explanations.
Step Three:
Choose the best two supporting ideas from your brainstorm and decide which one is the first body paragraph, and which one is the second body paragraph.
Step Four:
Choose the best two or three supporting points for each of the supporting ideas you have chosen for your essay. Underline or circle them in your brainstorm.
Step Five:
Write a thesis statement for your essay.
Step Six:
Write a topic sentence for your first body paragraph.
Step Seven:
Write a topic sentence for your second body paragraph. Don’t forget a transition between the two body paragraphs.
Step Eight:
Write a concluding statement for your conclusion paraphrasing the thesis statement.
Step Nine:
Write a general to specific introduction. It should be about four sentences long.
Step Ten:
Write the first body paragraph. It should be about 100 – 150 words long.
Step Eleven:
Write the second body paragraph. It should be about 100 – 150 words long.
Step Twelve:
Write the concluding paragraph. Use added thoughts, comments, predictions, hopes, wishes, judgements, opinions, or recommendations. Do not add any new information about the topic.
Step Thirteen:
Read over the essay carefully two or three times. Revise for ideas, and edit for grammar and mechanics.