In the first sentence, Linda Riley grabs the audience’s attention by saying, “I thought college was going to be fun” (p. 1). She then describes background information about herself, such as how she did well in high school, but she became less fortunate in her grades once she got to college. At first, she is happy with her schedule and college life, but when she gets caught up in her newfound freedom and party life, she realizes she is behind in all of her classes. As Riley realizes her grades are at risk of dropping drastically, she declares, “It was obvious I needed to manage my time better” (p. 1). With this as her thesis statement, Riley has many accounts throughout the essay where she supports and adds to this central idea. An example
