On a separate sheet of paper jot down adjectives that describe the encouraging person. Once you have the list of at least 15 to 20 words, add details. For example, include the experience that showed you this person's encouraging attributes. For instance, you might write the adjective "motivational" and describe the time your Aunt Cynthia saw you were feeling low and motivated you to finish your poetry project by reading you a poem she wrote when she was your age.
Create a graphic organizer. Draw a square at the top of a piece of paper. Label this open box "introduction." Underneath the introduction, draw three boxes. Add lines to connect these boxes to the one above. Label each box "Main Idea 1, 2 and 3." Below these boxes, draw connecting lines to three more boxes, labeled "Supporting Detail 1, 2 and 3." In the final, singular box below these three, draw a larger box and label it "Conclusion."
Write an introduction that starts with a "grabber" line, a sentence that will lure readers into your essay. Include an example, or a short anecdote, in the introduction that begins to describe the person you are about to focus on in your paper. In the last sentence of the introduction, write a thesis sentence, which lays out for readers what you will concentrate on in the paper. For example, write "Because Aunt Cynthia knew I was shy, she encouraged me to join clubs to make friends, read and share my short stories with her and to complete all my projects, no matter how intimidated I felt."
Fill in the graphic organizer. Complete the main idea boxes first. List one or two qualities in each box. For example, if you are writing about your younger sister, you may write "academics," "family bonds," "independence." Each of these main ideas will become a body paragraph, the "meat" of your essay.
Fill in the "supporting detail" boxes with further explanations, descriptions and anecdotes. For example, to follow up on the your "academics" main idea paragraph, describe how your younger sister, though 5 years your minor, knew the importance of doing well in school from a very young age. Whenever you were feeling down or wanted to go out to party instead of study, she brought you your books and notebooks and told you, 'Knowledge is power,' with a girlish smile." Devote a paragraph to each of these main ideas.
Conclude your essay. Leave the reader with a memorable impression of the encouraging person and of your idea about her. Summarize your main ideas in the conclusion with concise sentences and vibrant language. For instance, instead of writing "My sister encouraged me to make the best of every day," you may write "My younger sister knew exactly what to say and how to hug me to cheer me up and make every day potent and valuable; without her I don't know if I would be myself today." Evoke familiarity and appreciation in the reader so that by the end of the essay the reader wishes he knew the influential person in your life and enthusiastically appreciates her attributes.