Summary for Chapter Two

Chapter two of Rules for Writers is centered around making a rough draft. Hacker talks about a few vital steps that will help you produce a helpful draft. It's all about organization, so in order to sketch a draft you have to have all your materials ready. That includes lists, freewritings, outlines, etc. If you have these materials within reach you're better prepared to take on the task at hand. An essay has three main components, you'll target all of these while doing your rough draft. You'll begin by drafting an introduction, then the body, and lastly, you'll try to put together a conclusion.

The purpose of an introduction is to point out the main point of your essay. The first few sentences need to capture the reader's attention and establish what your purpose is. Include a focused thesis in the introductory paragraph, it doesn't matter if it's shown at the begin or at the end of paragraph. In order to make the thesis more attractive, you can make use of examples, quotations, questions, and other enticing sentences. You want your readers to want to read on. Sometimes it will be impossible to express the main idea in one thesis sentence. If that's the case, don't force the main idea into one sentence. Hacker then goes on to suggest drafting the body of your essay. The body is crucial because it develops your thesis, therefore you should have a tentative thesis before beginning the body. It's a good idea to have a plan as to how you'll be approaching this part of your essay. If you don't have already have a plan, take a break and write one up. The conclusion is the last paragraph and should echo your central idea. You don't want to simply repeat the idea, instead briefly remind the reader of the main idea. The conclusion paragraph can also include key points or offer advice. Most importantly, make it memorable.

I've always know what a thesis is, but when it comes to my writing, I have a hard time composing an effective thesis. This is probably because it's very hard for me to try and convert my main idea into one sentence. This chapter did make me think a little about how I can make improvements in my writing when it comes to this specific component. I don't necessarily have to have a perfect thesis when I first begin drafting my essay. I should have a tentative thesis, which means I can adjust and alter it as I go. This is really going to help me because I won't lose confidence in my paper if at first my thesis doesn't sound as good as i'd like it to sound.