Most readers scan the first few lines of an article before deciding whether or not they want to read it.  Before you write the rough draft of your essay, think of a way you can HOOK your audience.  Sit back for a few minutes and be creative.  How can you capture their attention in the first few lines of your essay?    What caught YOUR attention when you were doing the research?  Be daring, but don't stray from the topic.  The last line of your introductory paragraph will be your thesis statement.

The hard part is done!  Now write a rough draft of your essay.  Use the same words that you wrote in your outline -- just add more to make the ideas flow smoothly together. Make sure you use some of the language from the lessons you studied.  When you write the conclusion,  tie everything up nicely so that the reader feels satisfied that you have supported your thesis.  Never re-write the thesis statement in the conclusion -- write things related to it, but don't copy it.