The ACT: Hamburger Writing - The Organization of the Essay

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Ever take apart a Big Mac?  Well, okay, we don't blame you for not wanting to really see what's lurking in there (even though they taste darn good.)  If you ever decided to do it, you would find that every single Big Mac is built the same exact way.  They don't ever deviate! "Two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onion-on-a-sesame-seed-bun." Every time, our dear fast-food friends! And boy, did that company know what they were doing!  What we are teaching you is that every great essay is organized like a Big Mac.  No matter what your prompt is, the ACT wants to see a specific format to your writing and doesn't want all the ingredients thrown in any old way.  The organization that we are about to explain to you makes sure you give those ACT people a supersized essay.

Top Bun: The Introduction

The top bun includes the funnel of information that leads to your thesis. 

The Three Meat: Example Paragraphs

For your supporting arguments think in terms of three different kinds of meat.  Each meat represents a separate paragraph in your essay, the purpose of which is add specific examples that help prove the position that you stated in your top bun (are you getting hungry yet?).  Each paragraph needs to include:

• About four to five sentences
• A solid topic sentence that relates directly to your position.  Remember, you already wrote your three ideas in your top bun (the third sentence of your introduction).
• Variety of reasons, details, and examples that illustrate that specific topic.

For example, if the prompt is about school dress code and in your top bun, you wrote that clothing can be distracting.  We are going to use that thought  as the topic sentence for this first meat paragraph.  You may write:

One of the reasons that a dress code should be mandated is because some clothing choices can be very distracting in the learning environment.

Now you have to write four or five sentences that prove that clothing can be distracting.  Make sure you use specific and clear examples and details taken from a variety of areas, including personal experiences, history, culture, and literature.  Do not stray off topic, or in this case, begin writing about anything else other than clothing being distracting.  In other words, don't get distracted when writing about distractions.

Sink your teeth into this meat paragraph:

One of the reasons that a dress code needs to be mandated is because a variety of clothing choices can be very distracting in the learning environment.  MTV and pop stars flash images of young girls wearing practically nothing, for example, a fashion that most teenagers try to emulate (culture reference).  However, wearing skimpy clothes and showing body parts can make some people look, perhaps react, and maybe even interrupt an important part of class and that can be quite distracting when you're trying to learn the Pythagorean theorem (personal experience reference).  Furthermore, paying attention to the teacher is difficult when you hear people discussing another student's $150 Dolce and Gabana jeans (cultural reference).  A dress code away with these distractions by enforcing a more conservative style of clothing, allowing the focus in the classroom to remain on education rather than fashion.

Your essay cannot be full, however, even after a meaty paragraph like the last one.  Although you still have two more or gobble down, don't despair, you have time! The topics of the next two examples (meats) already have been decided in your introduction.  You mentioned distractions, school violence, and fitting in.  You already wrote about distractions; your second meat is about school violence, and your third is about fitting in.